Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Brown.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started Being Brown, LLC in March 2020 at my student living apartment during the pandemic. It was my senior year at my undergraduate college, UNC Charlotte, when I started cultivating the brand Being Brown. I started my cosmetic journey out by doing makeup tutorials on social media and doing college students’ makeup frequently on campus. I was known as the “spokesperson” for all things makeup in my friend group, but I just knew I wanted to do more. After class, my campus leadership organization meetings, and my internship, I would stay up long nights jotting down ideas for my cosmetic line. When I looked back at my notes, I had started manifesting my dream business in 2018. I couldn’t believe it. I knew that I wanted to merge my passion for makeup with my passion for spreading mental awareness. I wanted to change the way Black people viewed mental health and give people a safe space to talk about their mental health and their journey towards healing. I wanted Being Brown to be a space for creators to express themselves.
In between classes, I would look up makeup ingredients of some of my favorite beauty products and watch YouTube videos on how to create my own cosmetics. During the summer, I worked at my part-time job Red Robin and also worked 3rd shift at a Bic lighter factory to accumulate extra money to fund my dream business. Around that time, the first stimulus checks were released. Instead of taking all of my money and going grocery shopping like a normal college student, haha. I took all of my money from my stimulus and the money I saved up from working and purchased my ingredients to start making my brand. I made my first ever semi-matte lipstick which is now named “Not Your Average Brew”. I remember taking it to work that day and showing my good friend who immediately fell in love with the formula. During summer 2020, I googled and watched Youtube videos on how to get my LLC. At the time, I was trying to spare expenses anyway I could, so I watched a YouTube video tutorial on how to fill out the LLC paperwork. In August 2020, I received my paperwork stating Being Brown is now an LLC.
I graduated from UNC-Charlotte with my Social work degree and got accepted into my Master’s program at the University of Southern California for Social work. I signed up for numerous free online courses through UNC Charlotte. One of the courses I signed up for offered business resources for those looking to start a business. One of the Business resources listed was score.org, where they give you a mentor to help guide you through the start-up of a business. I met with two business mentors every month who helped me understand the importance of a business plan and how to set up my business to be successful and stand out. I’m still very thankful for them today. I did extensive research on the cosmetic industry to see how my brand would stand out amongst so many beauty brands. I researched social media engagement, everything I thought was important to run a successful cosmetic business.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Before launching my business Being Brown, I struggled with manufacturing my formula. After talking to major formulation companies, a lot of them were charging over $2000 to manufacture just one formula of my lipstick. A lot of companies also tried to pitch me their lipstick formula and just put my brand label on it but I knew that wasn’t how I wanted my brand to be represented. I wanted to create my own products using my own ingredients and formulas. Instead of waiting for the funds to have a manufacturing company make my product, I moved back home to Raleigh, NC. I got a job at Target in the Style and Beauty Department, all the while still taking classes online at the University of Southern California.
We’ve been impressed with Being Brown, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Being Brown, LLC is not just a cosmetic company it is the go-to hub for black and brown women’s focusing on bringing awareness to mental health, black mobility, and beauty influencers. Being Brown is for the brown girl by the brown girl meaning that all that we do is geared towards black women and giving them a platform to be comfortable and confident. I launched my blog The Brownie Pointe actually in 2016 before I moved to Charlotte, NC for school. The Brownie Pointe is a blog I started when I went to Pitt community college in my hometown Greenville, NC. During this time, I was preparing to transfer to a 4-year university, working two jobs and also experiencing depression. My blog “The Brownie Pointe” was an outlet for me to write out how I was feeling and express myself. Seeing my blog come back full circle and give other writers the ability to do just that made Being Brown even more purposeful. I hired 3 writers from word of mouth and social media to write on topics such as black mobility, mental health awareness, and/or beauty influencers.
I then went on to release my Let’s Talk Mental Health Podcast: where I had guest features from the mental health field and family and friends to have an open dialogue discussion about mental health. In 2019 my mom and I made a YouTube video titled “Let’s Talk Mental Health” it was one of my first videos openly discussing mental health and the Feedback and response I got back from people was amazing. Turning this into a podcast was a great way for it to reach more people since the podcast industry is taking the world by storm and I’ve always wanted to have my own podcast. I worked with black creatives to capture the vision of my brand in my first ever promotional video. I launched Being Brown to the world on November 30th. I. called my first lipstick collection The “Being Brown Signature Collection.” The first two lipsticks I ever made that would go on to capture the aesthetic of being brown.
I created two lipsticks, one red vegan liquid matte lipstick called “CEO” and one brown vegan semi-matte lipstick called “Not Your Average Brew.” The next month my sales dropped tremendously. Instead of giving up in late December early January, I started manifesting my next line… the 713 Affirmation Line. 713 is an angel number I see very frequently. Kinda like when you hear people say “11:11” or “2:22”. When the angels and the Universe began showing me the angel number 713, it was a sign of support and encouragement to continue pursuing my goals and dreams. They reminded me of the importance of keeping my vibration clean and high and not allowing destructive and negative influences to interfere. I think 713 is something everyone can relate to. That’s why I named it the 713 Affirmation Collection. Each product comes with an affirmation card with one of my best-selling vegan lipglosses named “Mint4You” affirmation states that “what’s meant for you will always be for you.”
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I would say the willingness to Inspire. It’s easy to start a business, but what keeps that business going is the purpose behind it. Without purpose, there would be no success.
Contact Info:
- Email: beingbrownllc@gmail.com
- Website: beingbrownllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beingbrownllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeingBrownLLC
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/beingbrownllc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/beingbrownllc
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/7uZUCU1MawFxhOKJvdjndz?si=aTMBxX3lTKaV9fHP-grvYA
Image Credits
Devon Vereen Barbara Dajour
