We recently connected with Tearra Davis and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tearra, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
In 2020 I decided to come up with an idea of creating a vegan skincare line due to me struggling with acne for years because of my increase of hormones caused by my hyperthyroid and puberty. I felt like nobody made skincare products for my skin complexion and start struggling with self-esteem issues. I tried everything to store bought and going to a dermatologist. When I saw I was getting no results and it was only making my skin worst that’s when I started to research and study at home natural remedies and herbs for acne. I would start being creative like creating masks and scrubs with the ingredients I had in my kitchen and soaps. When I started to see it helped my inflammation from my acne go down, I was relieved and ecstatic that something finally worked. What was once a period of frustration and discouragement started to turn into hope and empowerment. When I saw that my products, I created started to heal my acne I wanted to share it with the world because I wanted people to feel confidence again and to give people hope that there is something out that works for their skin type.
Tearra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Tearra Davis a 23-year-old entrepreneur, the CEO of Nubian Chemistry a vegan skincare line established in 2020. I got into the skincare industry because I wanted to create products that was targeted to people that couldn’t find any skincare products that was for their skin type. The struggles, frustration and challenges I went through trying to find products that was for my skin type gave me the drive to jumpstart my business. I started hand making all of my skincare products in the kitchen like body butters, face washes, facial oils & etc. Ever since I created my skincare products that target acne and hyperpigmentation my products have spoken for itself with my customers results and reviews. My company stands out from other brands because not only do I to care about the quality of my products, but I care about building a relationship and bond with my customers to make them feel heard and cared for when they come to me about their skin problems. I have always seen my customers as family because they have always supported and trusted me with their skin. The most thing I am proud of is the positive impact I’ve made with my products and how many of faces my products touched and changed. I am proud of how many people gained their confidence back using my products. It truly makes me feel blessed and makes me feel like my products are making a difference in the beauty industry. I want people to know that I know how acne and hyperpigmentation can make you feel like it’s permanent and stuck without an option, but it can be reversed and treated with organic products like Nubian Chemistry.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Having a marketing strategy to build your audience in the beauty industry is very important because you want to make sure you target the right buyer, and you stand out from your competitors. I know for me to have a good social media presence it wasn’t going to be easy, and it was going to take a lot of work and consistency. The last mistake I wanted to make is to sound too much like a salesman or just post pictures so, I started shooting videos of my personality and me actually using the products and people seeing results from it. I wanted my potential customers to feel like they knew me, and I wanted to create a relationship with my customers by engaging and showing my personality which would make them want to support. Also, I would share my brand story so customers would feel a deeper connection with me and know more about the background of my brand. I would make people feel like they were missing out if they didn’t have my products in their bathroom with my videos. Making videos of what products to use step by step and what they do helped too. The key is to sell a lifestyle instead of the product itself. I would post on Instagram around 3 times a day and more on my story because I noticed more people check their story first than their feed. Posting reviews and results were also a bonus as well. Going to pop up shops help build my social media audience tremendously too because when people bought from me at different pop up events, they want to keep up with my brand and new products.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There are many lessons you have to unlearn in business, and it could be a hard pill to swallow. One huge lesson I had to learn is that it’s okay to take breaks and live life while managing a business. Learn how to create boundaries with you and your business because you will literally run yourself into the ground and experience countless burnouts. There were many times where I was so exhausted from running my business that I had to put myself on bed rest because I would continuously overwork myself. I always put my business before my health and finally came to realization that if I don’t get proper and adequate rest, I can’t show up for myself or my business and customers. You have to learn how to balance your health, business and personal life, being a entrepreneur is not easy but it’s manageable. Yes, it’s cool running a business by yourself but do yourself a favor by hiring an assistant because receiving help from others will get you further in your career than working by yourself.
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