Today we’d like to introduce you to Kinara Smith
Hi Kinara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all began during the covid era, so July 2020. Covid was a difficult time for a lot of us because we didn’t know if going to work would be an option anymore. I wanted to find a new hobby. Something that would keep my mind going and busy. I thought on it a while as well as prayed on it a while. I came up with the idea of creating my own homemade skincare line. No one else in the area had a business like it so I took advantage of that.
Since I was a kid, I have suffered with having eczema. I can’t use certain soaps and lotions. I researched and thought of skincare products that could be homemade and would be beneficial to my skin as well as others skin. I started off making body scrubs and body butter. As years went on, I added products such as lip scrubs, turmeric bar soaps, and added a home care line that features homemade candles, room sprays, and more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
When I first started my business, I had it in my mind that it would be an easy process. I shortly found out that that’s not always true. In the beginning it was a lot of trial and error going on. With the kind of business that I have, I always tested and still do test products on myself before releasing them to the public. As a small business, a struggle that I’ve faced and sometimes I still do face is heavy traffic in sales. I became an entrepreneur with hopes of my business being as big as Sephora or Ulta one day. I figured that as soon as I launched, I would get consistent sales. It’s not always like that. One day I will could get somewhere between 5-12 sales and the next day there could be no sale at all. The no sale days in my opinion are the most difficult days.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When becoming an entrepreneur, coming up with your business name has to be one of the hardest things to do. My business is named “Bodied By Nara J.” simply because my business focuses on the skin on your body. It’s also named after myself as a lot of my peers call me Nara J. Once you make a purchase from my business, you have officially been “bodied” by Nara J.
What sets me apart from other businesses that are similar to mine is that I make everything on my own. From every product that I sale to the labels on the products, my hands and fingers have touched. Most nights when I’m making products, I’m in my work area from the time I get home from my “9-5” job until about midnight or a little before. This is because some of my products such as body butters and body scrubs I like to make “made to order.” I do sometimes have my fiancée to help (the label may not be on the products straight, but his help is beyond appreciated).
When it comes to Bodied By Nara J., I’m most proud of the positive results and feedback I get from customers. As we all know, we all have different skin types and not all products will work for us. I always tell my customers to give products time to work its’ magic, and results should show 2-3 weeks from the start of them using the product, but you must be consistent with use. I absolutely LOVE getting picture mail (before and after) from customers. I also absolutely LOVE the 5 star reviews that I get on products through my website!
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory would be the times that my sister, my favorite cousin, and I would have sleepovers together. We would watch certain movies over and over until we could recite the movie ourselves. A few nights, we would laugh so hard and loud until we got in trouble. It’s something about being over our grandparents house that made us want to giggle a tad bit more than we usually would. Of course I was the ring leader.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bodiedbynaraj.com
- Instagram: @_bodiedbynaraj
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15i5q2dEeB/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
Yolacia Davidson of YDCreativeStudio in West Point, GA
