Business Feature: Made With Hope 

From the site: 

"I love the following: World Vision, pearls, painting, and awesomeness. There aren't too many ways you can combine all of those passions, but very recently (January 2011) I decided to open an earring shop to help support myself. 

But the problem is that I want to help others as well, so I've decided that when you buy from my store (Made with Hope), a portion of the profit goes to help World Vision's Hope for Girls campaign. 

So feel free to splurge today and help another girl feel beautiful tomorrow."


DIY Hair Care Blog, got the opportunity to ask Brittany (the owner of Made With Hope) about her business here is our convo! Enjoy!

DIYHCB: When did you start Made With Hope?
Brittany: I started Made with Hope January 2011.

DIYHCB: How did you come up with the idea to make button earrings? and rings!
Brittany: I met a lady who made necklaces from old buttons and I realized that buttons would make great rings and earrings.

DIYHCB: Being a small business owner, what do you find is the hardest part of running a business?

Brittany:The hardest part of owning a business is staying motivated to work everyday. I don't really have set hours, so it seems like there isn't anything pressing when no one is dictating your schedule.

DIYHCB: Since you've started your business what is one of the biggest lessons you have learned?
Brittany: I have learned that I shouldn't just sell products that only I enjoy. Sometimes it's good to expand to products and prints that others frequently suggest.

DIYHCB:  Would you like to share any tips for other women looking to make their own products to sell?
Brittany: Don't get discouraged if you don't hit your selling goals when you first start out. Selling is hard and there is always something you can do better.

DIYHCB: Can you tell us more about your products? What are some of your best sellers? What product do you like making the most? What product is your personal "Must Have"?
Brittany: I make button jewelry that benefits World Vision's Hope for Girls campaign. This campaign (from which the my business name is derived) rescues girls from sex trafficking and gives them the necessary medical, psychiatric and educational attention they will need to succeed in life. I am a huge supporter of green businesses. I try to use recycled fabric when possible and all of my jewelry is shipped in gift boxes made from recycled paper. My best sellers are my new Queenie Button Dangles, which is my latest, most enjoyable product line. This product line is geared toward the natural hair community, or just anyone who wants a unique ethnic dangle. My Orange Kente Queenie Button Dangles are a must have for anyone who wants a vivid, tribal earring without a lot of extra frill.

But wait there's more!! Enter: DIYWITHHOPE at checkout and receive 20% your total order with Made With Hope!!

Oh Wait there's another thing! 

Made With Hope has offered to sponsor a Giveaway for you all!! 

To Enter: Comment with: "I love these earrings!" with a link to a pair from her Made With Hope Etsy store that you like! Contest Ends august 21,2011!! 

Thanks Brittany, Owner of Made With Hope for letting our readers know more about your wonderful jewelry!

For Your Body & Hair Butters Visit: DIY Hair Care Products

Ya'll know how much I love finding QUALITY and REASONABLY priced products for natural hair care and skin care. I have been looking for small businesses to interview and products to feature and review and I will tell you it is not easy to find a company that fits my criteria.... This company: Be Naturally Jazzy fit everything I look for in a business. After looking around their site, I asked them to do an interview for DIY Hair Care Blog and being the kind people they are, they agreed.

So let's get to it, shall we?

Be Naturally Jazzy Products

DHCB: When did you start Be Naturally Jazzy and why?

BNJ: Be Naturally Jazzy was an idea that was started in 2009. I wanted to create a brand that would energize natural women to reinvent themselves into not only looking beautiful but feeling beautiful as well. Our hair and visual imagine is the first thing people notice when they meet us. Being Naturally Jazzy promotes the fearlessness of stepping out in style, not being afraid to dress your hair up, making sure we live healthy lifestyles, and choosing products that are essentially healthy for our natural hair. Hair and self imagine is what makes natural women very unique, often times we are the stand outs!

DHCB: Do you make any of the products on your site? If so, how did you learn to make them?

BNJ: Everything featured on our site is homemade, with the exception of the bath soaps & natural herbs, which are imported from local organic growers and a natural handmade soap business partner. Our homemade products are formulated with great detail and many of our customers have enjoyed using them.

Learning to make products was a very long and worth while process. It involves hours, months, and even years of research! Many ingredients have to be bonded together using safe preservatives and that process involves a lot of trail, error, tools, and testing. The final product of our items takes special care to formulate and perfect. Production moves a lot faster now and my goal is to always keep the products wholesome and organic.

DHCB: Being a small business owner, what do you find is the hardest part of running a business?

BNJ: I think in order to have a successful business you have to be doing something you enjoy doing all day, so that it doesn’t feel like you’re working. Years ago, back when I was in grad school for business management, this was one of the many things that professors wanted students to understand. I always kept that in mind when I made the decision to make natural hair and skin products. Having been natural 8 years, I had been boot leg mixing during that time and actually enjoyed it. So now it doesn’t really feel like work but more of a hobby. There is a lot of freedom in self employment. I encourage anyone to find there passion and go for it!

DHCB: Since you've started your business what is one of the biggest lessons you have learned?

BNJ: Since opening our doors back in 2009 and online in 2010, one of my BIGGEST lessons I’ve experience was investing in partnerships with more then one supplier for obtaining ingredients. Customers don’t like wanting for their orders and sometimes having a slow supplier can slow down production. Now that I know better, I order supplies and tools in bulk and always have a back up partnership with others in getting the things I need to formulate our products.

DHCB: Would you like to share any tips for other women looking to make their own natural hair care or skin care products to sell?

BNJ: My advice would be to study what customers are looking for in a product. Understand that your products might work for some and not others. Give yourself time to learn formulations, ingredients and what benefits they have on the hair and skin. Natural and organic users like things simple, create products that are not difficult to use or over whelming to customers. And lastly, surround yourself with a supportive support system that will help you succeed at what you do. Friends and family can be very helpful in the process.

DHCB: Can you tell us more about your products? What are some of your best sellers? What products do you like making the most? What product is your personal "Must Have"?

BNJ: I have really enjoyed them all and my hair has become quite spoiled! Our products are very user friendly and are for those who enjoy treating their hair to natural essentials and treatments that promote healthy hair growth. We offer many products you can use to create your own treatments and also products already formulated with natural oils, herbs, and powders. Many of our advanced natural hair customers love to buy the raw herbs/powders to mix stuff up at home. Newly transitioned naturals enjoy trying products we have formulated for them. At our store we cater to everyone and what ever their needs are at the time. There’s something for everyone!

I have incorporated many of these items into my own personal weekly regimen. Depending on what my hair and skin tell me it needs. My personal favorites are herbal/powder deep conditioner glosses. It’s simply taking any number of powders and adding them to my conditioner as a pre-poo or overnight treatment. My hair also loves butter creams and the one I use the most is the Shealoe Herbal Paradise Butter Cream and a little bit of Castor oil to seal. It smells divine, moisturizing, and works great for twist/braid outs! For the skin I am IN LOVE with the Hibiscus and Aloe facial mask. Deep cleans, tightens the skin like nobody business and keeps break outs in check. Must haves!

~Join Be Naturally Jazzy in celebrating the beauty of natural authentic women/men who desire to be naturally free. We create with love, a large array of natural handmade organic hair & skin care products that embrace your unique beauty as you were intended.......naturally~


For more information on all of our products check us out at out http://www.benaturallyjazzy.com. Also find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube!


Thanks Be Naturally Jazzy for taking the time to talk with us and share your tips! I know, I wrote some notes and will be applying the advice to my own business!




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