We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Whisper Smith . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Whisper below.

Whisper , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

As a e-commerce store owner some of the biggest trends I’m seeing in relation to growth and visibility is collaborations. Instagram has implemented being able to tag collaborators in posts, tik tok has made it easier for collaborators to collaborate on content and ALL brands need influencers or people in general using their products to bring visibility. If a person consistently sees a certain product they are more likely to try it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started Certified Bella Beauty with the goal of being a top hair care brand coming out of Black Wall Street.. at the time I was (19 years old) working a full time job at the hospital and I had no experience or knowledge of business. I started reading books and taking free college classes online for marketing and business. I self taught myself everything even how to create a website. My first year of business was successful because my focus was completely on creating this vision I saw in my head. I was very discipline with my money and time. Writing my plans down was a major help, I always knew what my next move was and where ALL of my dollars were going. A major key to my success was I understood the importance of community early. When bringing my business to life I reached out to different women in my city I knew had influence and BEAUTY. By working with these women my brand gained automatic trust and major traffic. The biggest thing that helped me on my journey was continuous growth both personally and professionally. The healthier my mindset got the easier it was for me to knock out goals and stay on track.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Email marketing and text message marketing is key. If anything was to happen to your social sites it’s important to have contact lists that you own. I’ve made 6 figures just from utilizing direct marketing. In this day and age many times people take breaks from social media or get overwhelmed by the constant flow of people trying to influence or sell them something, being able to stand out and reach out to your customers in a direct manner gives them more of a personal connection to your brand. Offering special sales, and giving away free gifts to loyal customers is always a plus.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Doing things yourself because you want them done right was a big thing I had to unlearn. When scaling a business there’s no way possible to do everything yourself and not get overwhelmed. I was the marketer, assistant, social media manager, bookkeeper, package shipped, customer service associate, CEO and so many more starting out. I clearly had time for no extra activities and it was hard to grow at times even though I wanted more success I was TIRED. Delegating tasks and hiring help gave me a peace of mind but also allowed me to make more money and add more creative plans to my business. Time to think and execute is extremely important for any CEO. Easy tasks can and should be passed to someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.certifiedbellabeauty.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/certifiedbellabeauty