88. Elevating Beyond Your Environment with Aisha Ceballos-Crump

Aisha Ceballos-Crump is a first-generation Hispanic American who is the founder of two beauty brands, Botanika Beauty and Honey Baby Naturals, both multi-million dollar brands that are sold in Walmart, Target, and Sally. She is also a member of The Global Beauty Alliance and Target's Business Partner Council, serving as the only minority woman focusing on diversity and inclusion in Target's stores.

Aisha was born and raised in Indiana. Both of her grandparents immigrated to Gary, Indiana during the steel industry boom to create a better life for their families, but when the steel industry crashed, so did the city. The entire city changed nearly overnight, and Aisha grew up determined that she would not stay in that place.

At 28, and with a kid, she realized that she wanted to start her own business. She heard a casting call for Richard Branson’s TV show Rebel Billionaire. She went for it, and, out of 250,000 applicants, she was selected to be on the show. This became the turning point where she decided she would do anything she wanted to do, and find a way to make it happen.

Determined to show everyone what she was capable of, Aisha flew out to London to be on the show… only to be eliminated in the first episode. Devastated, she went back home, feeling like a failure, but the producers called her back for the finale and she had an amazing time. She felt like she belonged. She decided then and there that she was going to put her all into making her business dreams come true. She quit her high-paying job, put her entire life’s savings on the line, and, eventually, Honey Baby Naturals was born.

Aisha later founded Botanika Beauty to embrace her heritage, and, in her first year, got into 300 Target and 1,200 Walmart locations. In her place on the Small Business Council at Target, she fights for diversity, inclusion, and representation.

What Brett asks:

• [01:01] Can you tell us about the beginning? Where you grew up, the family dynamic, all of it?
• [03:19] What do you remember about being in this environment and seeing it “go away?”
• [07:33] How did you learn to embrace your gifts instead of dumbing them down?
• [14:30] Can you tell me about your performing arts school experience?
• [18:09] Tell me about how your college life and early career emerge?
• [24:24] What happened when you realized that you didn’t want to become an engineer?
• [30:28] When did you realize how everything in your life started coming together?
• [41:54] Can you tell us a little about Honey Baby and what you’re up to now?

To learn more about intentional living, and for the complete show notes, visit: gravityproject.com

Resources:

honeybabynaturals.com

botanikabeauty.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aisha-ceballos-crump-3154676

Instagram: @aisharc

Gravity is a production of Crate Media.