On Saturday, January 20th I attended the wonderful Purpose Push Her Workshop. The event which is the dream child of Sade Soloman was an empowering event as it pushed and inspired everyone in the room to set a vision, set goals, be aware of our setbacks and push forward to invest in ourselves, our craft and or our businesses. It was truly an amazing event where women of color came together to teach, learn, uplift and connect with each other.

I came upon this workshop via a newsletter invite from the E.K.O event group that dropped into my mailbox and I knew instantly that this was going to really help kick off my 2018. I made a promise to myself that in 2018 I would completely immerse myself in investing in my growth. Investing in your growth does not have to be a costly venture but whenever you put even just a small amount of money towards expanding your skill set, opening your mind to different experiences and putting yourself in places to connect with like-minded individuals then you will always experience a high return. You just may learn something that will elevate you in ways that you wouldn’t have imagined simply because you put 25$ down towards a workshop.

The panel of speakers and teachers were also incredibly selected as each woman shared her wisdom on a topic of her expertise. The workshop began with Roxanne Duquesnay from the Fly Financial who shared her expertise on saving and investing through her experience working in the financial industry. She was able to teach us about our investment personality, high and low risk investment vehicles, and also what would consist of a diverse investment portfolio. The topic was very important to me to learn because anyone who struggles with high loan debt and aspires to one day pay off their debt and create wealth would find this information extremely important.

Other great leaders from the workshop included Cheyenne Alder from Squarespace who shared her expertise on brand marketing, Sade Council who talked about digital brand strategy, and Laurise McMillian from Refinery29 and Refinery29 Unbothered who talked about creating killer content. My favorite part about the event was when they opened up the floor to questions with a small panel led by Christine Akomea from Just Missed The Runway and Tarah Lynn from Adorned In Armor. The panel was amazing as we really got into detail with each question asked.The best part was when Tarah shared a personal story on how she persevered to get into her current position as Teen Vogue Fashion Editor.

I encourage everyone who gets the chance to really seek out at least one avenue that feeds your soul, motivates you to continue, or teaches you something that will help you reach your next level. My experience has shown me the importance of these kind of events in one’s journey towards self growth.

Comment down below your city and an event, workshop, or webinar that really pushed you to your next level!

Laws of Nature Cosmetics

Jasmine Rose, CEO of Laws of Nature Cosmetics, birthed her idea through her experience and a need. She began her journey in 2007 after learning of her mother’s Stage 4 Breast Cancer diagnosis. The diagnosis of her mother led Jasmine to learn more about breast cancer and the risk factors that lead to cancer. In her research, Jasmine discovered that there was a strong link between certain chemicals in cosmetics and environmental factors in instances of breast cancer. Jasmine’s discovery led her to seek cosmetic products without harmful chemicals and she found that it was hard to find the right products for her skin tone. It was from this need that she began to experiment and make her own products which led to the launch of her brand Laws of Nature. Laws of Nature includes  different lines of foundations perfect for your skin tone without harmful chemicals.

Beauty Bakerie

Cashmere Nicole founded Beauty Bakerie in 2011 with a mission to sweeten the lives of others with a carefree brand that influences men and women to feel empowered and beautiful. Cashmere started at a young age with different entrepreneurial ventures. She was a creative entrepreneurial spirit but none of the businesses she started resonated with her and stuck until she founded Beauty Bakerie. It is important to note that if you have a vision for something it is best to just start and keep trying until you find something that sticks. Cashmere also had that moment during her fight with cancer that left her to create a more health conscious and research driven brand. Beauty Bakerie includes a line of liquid lipsticks, setting powders, illuminators, eyebrow gels, eyeshadows and eyeliners.

Unsun Cosmetics

Unsun Cosmetics also began with a need and founder Katonya Breaux created a lane where her need was fulfilled. Unsun Cosmetics was born after Katonya struggled with finding an all natural sunscreen that did not leave a white and grey film on her skin. One day, she looked in the mirror and decided that enough was enough and she decided that she needed to create something that worked for her skin. Shortly after, she sought out a lab and founded Unsun Cosmetics. Katonya also wants Unsun Cosmetics to draw the attention to the fact that people with dark skin still need to protect their skin. Ozone layer depletion and environmental issues will now affect dark skin tones more than it did previously. Unsun Cosmetics includes a line of tinted mineral sunscreens, SPF hand creams, and SPF lip tints.

Comment down below if you have used any of these products or if you use any black-owned beauty products!

Sneaker Pawn

Started by 16-year old Chase Reed, Sneaker Pawn takes a classic business model and remixes it in a modern way. Everyone is familiar with a pawnshop and Chase simply took the idea and applied It to high end and dead stock sneakers for his first business idea. Sneaker Pawn was born after Troy asked his father for $50 to put towards another release of sneakers and his Father would hold onto the new pair of sneakers until Chase could pay off the money that he borrowed. Chase eventually had the big idea to apply the pawn shop model to sneakers and he began to sell all of his sneaker collection which consisted of $200 pairs of sneakers to raise the money he needed to start his business. The money he eventually raised came up to $30,000 which he used to get officially begin Sneaker Pawn. Now, Sneaker Pawn is available at 26^th West 14^th street between 5^th and 6^th street in New York.

Chase took his simple idea and created something never before seen but needed in the community.

Pink Plastic

Pink Plastic is an avant-garde 20^th century inspired jewelry and clothing company curated by Princess Aurum and Ann Wynn who use influences like fashion moguls Twiggy, Cher, and Dior as well as culturally trademarked movies like Clueless and Life-Size to create clothing that exudes ingenuity. Each piece is made to make ALL women standout as they seek to embrace ALL women of different shades, sizes, and skin tones to embrace their inner confidence and diva.

Pink Plastic’s message of inclusivity in all sizes and shades is important and in the spirit of supporting other women they are an inspiration for other businesses to embrace other sizes and to celebrate women in all their forms.

Pish Posh Apparel

Emani, who is the brains behind Pish Posh, has taken actual art and combined it into the context of fashion. Her pieces are unique as each piece is hand painted and different from the next piece. She is inspiring a new age of fashion as she took her thoughts and translated them to goals which led to action that created her brand Pish Posh.