In August, I had the pleasure of interviewing my good friend, Nicole Moore, owner of N’kd Essentials. The aromatherapy line is all about promoting self-love and building confidence in yourself. Nikki and I used to work together and would have many conversations about following your dreams and passions and, in essence, finding what is meant for you. Nikki is inspiring and encouraging; read on to learn more about her business and what inspired her to get started.
To purchase: N'KD Essentials
N’KD Essential Oil Products
Inspirational
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Writing has always been in my DNA. When I was younger, I wanted to be a writer. I was drawn to poetry. I enjoyed it because most of my poems in elementary schools were for building up little girls. As a girl of color, I struggled with different insecurities, and I saw my friends going through the same. A lot of my poetry was to “build yourself up and feel good about yourself.”
So, you were practicing self-love at an early age?
I learned that If I didn’t, others might not. It was important for me to feel good about myself.
Do you think what you experienced as a child influenced your brand?
Yes, it did. I can remember and recite some of my earlier poetry: “I feel pretty even if you don’t think I am.” Another was on “what’s the definition of makeup; is it rouge, is it about lipstick? It’s about feeling good in your natural skin.”
What is your day job?
Nikki: Talent Manager professional by day and sometimes into the night. You know what I’m talking about.
Tosha: Yes! (Nikki and I previously worked together, and we are in the same field of Talent Acquisition Management)
What was your driving force for becoming an entrepreneur?
Me! And my daughters! Because I am naturally a dreamer, over the years, I’ve watched my dreams come, my dreams imagined. Dreams are fleeting. I was only imagining and not acting out in faith. As I’m getting older and as my girls are getting older, I found myself using more words of encouragement. I want them to know words can inspire. Actions must motivate from a place within and show faith. As they get older, it’s for me to show them “faith in action.”
88 Degrees Refreshing Beach Day
How long have you had this passion for being a dreamer? Not just to be an entrepreneur, but working on your dreams and goals?
Forever! It goes back to my writing, and I think the passion behind my writing comes from my wanting to encourage people to feel good about themselves. That’s what all my poetry is about, although different subjects, that’s the main idea behind my poetry overall. I think that passion is the recurrent theme in my imagined dreams and ideas over the years. However, I never acted on them in a deliberate way.
And what changed with this? What made you act?
The pandemic. The first inclination to act was after my father passed, he passed away unexpectedly at work. And that changed my perspective on life. I saw that time was fleeting. And that was my first real true self-examination: Where am I at in life? Where do I want to be in a couple of years? In a few months? Do I want to be stagnant? That was 15 years ago. That started my journey in working on myself and my growth mentally and emotionally. Without me doing the work on myself, I wouldn’t be at this point to undertake being an entrepreneur. And with the pandemic, it was a matter of time; I saw time ticking away. Yes, I’m working, and I have a full-time job and other responsibilities, but I also saw the passing of time again. I was revisited with this whole journey since my father passing and our relationship with time. Instead of binge-watching tv and watching time go by, there’s nothing wrong with that; by the way, I wanted to refocus on my time.
How do you define success (not just in financial terms)? Making sure you grow healthy mentally and emotionally?
Yes, definitely not in financial terms. My success is when I feel good mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. When I feel good, I can help others feel good. That is a success to me. Over the years, listening to people close to me grapple with their own growth and letting me be a part of their journey has helped my growth. Being there for others helps me personally. I can be happy for my growth and their growth as well. Fortunately, I have been able to witness that with people in my life. The premise is to learn to take care of yourself, not just for your benefit exclusively but also for others. There is value in that. The first post on my Instagram was, “The healthier the tree, the better the fruit.” Care for others by caring for you! Just a fact of life. The better you feel about yourself, the better you should be in positions to help others feel great about themselves.
And with that, who do you admire?
So many! I can tell you this candidly and wholeheartedly; my admiration is going to revolve around women. I don’t want to use the term “jilted” in that respect, but women. On both my mom’s and father’s sides, I come from very strong women. My grandmothers were the backbone of the family. I think historically, being black, a woman of color, and African American, that’s just a part of our generational story, and it has shaped us. It shaped me. Women overall inspire me—my mother. More currently, my daughters. My daughters inspire me. I admire them. All are different, and they have qualities in them that I didn’t have when I was their age. And to watch them feel free in their skin, feel free in their physical appearance, in their shapes as they grow. It’s heartwarming to see their securities and for them work through their insecurities. I admire them as well.
And do you think when you were younger promoting self-love, do you think it transpired to them and how they feel about themselves today?
Nikki: It is funny you should ask that; I thought that I never expected to have children. And with each pregnancy, I thought I would have a son, but I have three daughters. To answer your question, I think it’s been instilled in them, or I try to in so many ways, and that’s why I’m blessed to have daughters. To teach them to be secure and confident in themselves. That’s something I struggled with as a young girl.
Tosha: I came of age during the video vixen era; you did too, as you’re not much older than me; I experienced some insecurities as I wasn’t shaped or looked like them. As I got older, now I don’t care.
Nikki: Right! I had a rash of insecurities; I was teased about my nose. That was when people wanted to get at me: “you have a big black nose.” Or I could have been teased because I was smarter; I was an honor student. Playing on that aspect of it too, socially. Then when we go through adolescence and puberty, that’s just another aspect of development for young girls to be teased and looked at in different sexual ways. It’s a lot. It’s a lot. It’s important for me to have those conversations with my daughters as they go through different ages. To help them know things are normal and how to cope with any insecurities and harassment and anything that could negatively impact them.
N’KD Essential Oil Packaging
About Business
Now I want to get into your business. Not our business, but the business (laughs). Tell us about your business. Could you give us an overview?
Simplest basic overview: N’kd Essentials is about feeling good about yourself through aromatherapy. Through other means as well, positive messaging. Offering support and positivity to others.
How did you come up with the name of your business? I thought it was your daughters’ initials.
It is the initials of my daughters’ names, but that’s how I pronounce it. This is what happened, multiple brainstorming sessions on what do I call this business. Of course, it went back to my daughters’ initials. So, I played around with the arrangement of their initials. I played around with KND Essentials, and then it was down to N’KD Essentials. Then it struck me that without the vowels, it can be the acronym for naked. That struck a chord with me. In essence, I like to feel comfortable in my skin. And it aligned with where I wanted to go with the brand. Definitely a focus on natural resources. I call it Simplistic Luxuries, whether it is a green t-shirt, aromatherapy, or organic and natural ingredients. That, to me, is synonymous with naked. That’s the way I pronounce the brand name.
As a newer entrepreneur, what do you find hard about starting and maintaining?
I feel it goes back to time. Being self-disciplined with time. As stated earlier, I’m working full time, and I have other responsibilities: I’m a mom, wife, and a little bit of everything. I’m a daughter. I am a friend to many in my congregation. I’m a service-oriented individual; if someone is in need, whether they ask for it or not, I’m attentive to people. I find that my time is limited. It does take a careful balance. It’s a struggle in knowing how to prioritize what I need to.
With all of that, how do you generate new ideas for your line? Are you set on your current products, or will you develop new ideas later down the line?
I think I am inspired by a number of things and people. It goes back to writing; I’ve had various journals and notebooks for years. I believe creatives do that. You’re a creative, LaTosha. We’re both creatives overall, with different focuses on these sub-areas. My mind moves rampantly, so I write in my notebooks. I have a collection of different ideas from years ago. So now, as I’m launching this year, I went back through those old notebooks. It’s funny; it’s as if I was building this brand unbeknownst to myself. And so, I started a new journal and consolidated the ideas. But it is interesting to see how these ideas relate to one another. Little pieces of the puzzles that I didn’t realize were already there. I recently heard this expression of how we have our own dreams; we can go after them to act in faith, but why not let God dream for you. When I heard that, I thought, “wow,” not that this is a part of God’s plan, so to speak, but I do think that those little building blocks in my journal and my personal growth brought me to this place.
With that said, he (God) could have planted that seed when you were a child promoting self-love with your poetry, and it came through today.
We are all uniquely created, and I appreciate whatever I can use to help other people because I received that from so many, including you, LaTosha. I try to stay in a constant state of appreciation. Even on days, I’m feeling down because that appreciation also motivates me.
360 Essential Oil Mist
As a newer entrepreneur, how do you market your business?
Nikki: Currently, it goes back to time. My objective right now is that I want my passion to remain my passion. With that being said, I am limiting my bandwidth. I’m on Instagram, launched my Esty shop, and am taking my time as I continue to scale my business. I’m careful about turning this into a job, and I really don’t want this ever to be a job for me.
Tosha: Speaking of jobs, I made up my blog and posting schedule, and if you look at it, it looks like a lot! I need to do XYZ every week, so I scaled it back to ensure I enjoy it and it does not turn into a “job.” So, it’s going to be a central theme per month and build off that. Everything is planned for the rest of the year. That way, I’m not trying to come up with something new or not giving myself downtime. As a creative and introvert, I need to be alone and lay there to recharge (laughs).
Nikki: Right! Our personality types (introverts) we must recharge to regenerate that energy. We have to go into our little caves.
What are your favorite parts about being your own boss?
The creative side. I am learning to embrace the administrative side. I love creating different formulations and aromatherapy blends. It’s very therapeutic for me. I love playing around with the different oils and being inspired. In making and creating blends, I usually start with blends that remind me of a special occasion and equate that to an aroma or smell. It can start from a memory or start from a mood. I want this blend to be constituted of these types of oils or scents. I think there’s a name for that. I think musicians do that. I think Pharrell was describing how he can visualize music and colors. I almost feel like that is my approach to blending. That’s my favorite part, setting a mood with a scent. The first blend I launched is called 88 Degrees. We’re in a pandemic. We haven’t been on vacation; I miss the beach. What does the beach smell like? I began experimenting with different blends with different recipes. That’s where that concept started. The naming convention of 88 Degrees, its what is the perfect beach day weather? Is that a scientific thing? A lot of different articles were pointing to 88 degrees
Tosha: I saw the name, and I was thinking that’s beach weather.
Nikki: That is the perfect temp to get into the water and not feel that shock or chill from being cold.
If you had a chance to start over again, to hit reset, what would you do differently?
Just do it! (laughs) I would not be so inhibited by time and people's perceptions. For me, I wouldn't even say it was time; it was the fear of failure. But failure is relative and subjective. As I get older, I see that. That is not an excuse to stop someone or me from trying as many things as I want to try. I think that is a success in itself, acting on your passions.
Aromatherapy Essential Oil Roller Blend
Advice For Others
How would you advise someone to follow their passion?
Nikki: I think it has to stem from somewhere first. I know you, and I have had these conversations. I think about those days; those were some good days, Tosha. We spent a lot of time together discussing this. Thinking back to those conversations, it was focusing on identifying what our passions are.
Tosha: Yes!
Nikki: I think there has to be a foundation. Identifying your passions and picking one to start with so you will not get overwhelmed. We did it in our individual ways. We both went about just doing it. To put your focus on one thing at a time.
Closing Question
How can I help you build your business?
I think you’ve already a hand in that, with the blog and interviewing me. I was so honored to receive that invitation. I see a lot of women doing that, and I’m encouraged by it. I think it is supporting one another. I buy earrings from local artists, wear them, take pictures, and post them on my feed. I love having that community support. I appreciate you inviting me to be a part of your journey. And if you want to put the word out there in your network, I would be delighted with that community support.
Written by Tosha
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