Interview with DeAnna Allen: Founder of The Brown Sugar Collab

Written by Sonia Pacheco Mejia on Saturday, 22 April 2023. Posted in Interviews

DeAnna Allen is from Columbus, Ohio. As an elementary school teacher for several years, she has a strong background in education. In addition, she has had many career paths such as a flight attendant, real estate, and an entrepreneur. So far, she has had four businesses, including The Brown Sugar Collab. Her bridge between business and entrepreneurship began with her real estate business committing herself to four years. In 2009, she moved to Charlotte, NC where she successfully created a fitness boutique which started out as a mobile party fitness focusing on bachelorette parties. Eventually, it expanded into a fitness boutique that specializes in providing classes to women in an intimate setting including workshops in yoga, zumba, and pole dancing. She was also founder of My Chic Party Boutique which was a kids’ party business—as a parent herself, she wanted to create an environment where it was easy for parents to be stress free from planning their kids' party. Afterwards, she took a break and became a flight attendant for Delta. As COVID hit, she hit a road rethinking if she was going to continue as a flight attendant. Fortunately, at that time Delta offered a buyout where she realized it was the chance to start a new business, The Brown Sugar Collab. 

One of the best career advice she has ever received as an entrepreneur is to have tough skin. The reason is because as an entrepreneur, you will have your highs and your lows. One has to learn to be flexible, navigate the rough waters, and stay the course. As she shared, entrepreneurs are married to their business and should be passionate about their business. If you are only doing it for the money it will not work out, but if you are doing it because you are passionate you will be able to stay committed. DeAnna says it is important to define yourself and be able to find one's own voice. She shares that when she was a young child she was very shy and unable to express herself, but once she found her own voice she realized the importance of being yourself and living your life according to your goals. 

The Brown Sugar Collab is the first business where she reveals her face as the owner as she has experienced some backlash from her previous businesses and because of the lack of resources for minority business owners. As she explained, nepotism exists within the business field in terms of marketing strategies. Knowing herself she realized she would be able to attract more customers if people believed it was a white-owned business. However, seeing the social unrest the country was in with the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd she realized how society was in a racial divide. So for her, revealing herself as the owner—a black female— was her way to show her support for women of color and standing with the POC community. 

After a brief introduction, we went right into speaking about her life as a business owner and creating The Brown Sugar Collab. 

What inspired you to create The Brown Sugar Collab?

After beginning The Brown Sugar Collab during the COVID pandemic, another reason why she started her business was because of her love for boutiques. She has traveled extensively and during her travels she would boutiques for the quiet and intimate environment. The uniqueness, character, and charms of boutiques inspired her to create her own that would feel welcoming, comfortable, and an oasis for her and her customers. 

What sets The Brown Sugar Collab apart from other businesses in this field?

The main differences with The Brown Sugar Collab is that many may assume that her products are consigned, but in reality the products are being purchased from the supplier. For many business models one can see that small businesses are paying a monthly shelf fee. However, Brown Sugar Collab invests on black-own products in other words they focus on buying products wholesale and retailing them. In this way, small businesses owners can get their share of profit up front without worrying about losing a percentage of their revenue. This strategy was intentional to be able to introduce diverse suppliers to stock her boutique. 

How were you first introduced to business? What motivated you to pursue a career in business?

DeAnna was first introduced to business at the age of seven. One of her aunts used to work for a cereal company where small prizes were supplied with the cereal box. She would take the extra prizes from her aunt and sell them to the kids in the neighborhood. In addition, she also started her own bake sale by baking in her Easy-Bake-Oven. She loves making her own products and selling them, this was her first introduction to entrepreneurship without knowing it. 

Along the way, people started to guide her and expressed what sort of career she should pursue: doctor, lawyer, or teacher. Without any interest in being a doctor or a lawyer, she became a teacher. Although she was a good teacher she was unsure if she wanted to continue being one. Today, she is thankful for having pursued that career as it has prepared her to continue teaching. Besides being a small business owner, she does business coaching and consulting helping her vendors navigate their business, continuing to be a teacher in a different facade. 

What were some of the struggles you faced as a small business owner? 

Allen points out that one of the biggest struggles small business owners face is financial challenges. People of color face different challenges: when business owners borrow money they tend to borrow when they need it, instead of before they need it. In addition, many financial institutions make it difficult for first-time business owners to be approved for loans without the required documentation.

Secondly, she explained that not having a support system can be challenging. People around small business owners may not understand the hardships of creating and maintaining a business. It is important to find a good group of peers or mentors as it is helpful to understand how to run a business. 

What most surprised you about working in your industry? 

DeAnna has been surprised the most by how quickly her business has grown. She knew that her business could be a trajectory in her community. However, she never expected her boutique to grow so much even after the aftermath of covid pandemic. 

As a female minority in the male-dominated business field, what are some of the biggest challenges that you’ve faced in the industry?

As DeAnna found her voice she became very outspoken about what she wanted and how she would succeed. As a female entrepreneur she has faced challenges and definitely been doubted in her success. Before she launched The Brown Sugar Collab, she sought business locations with her realtor. The lessor of her boutique was one of those people as he expressed she would not be able to lease that location. Simply, the lessor believed that a candle business would be unsuccessful, downplaying DeAnna's efforts to launch a successful brand. Assuming that DeAnna was a first-time business owner he doubted and made the effort to reject her as a lessee. However, DeAnna’s confidence and experience allowed her to speak and stand for her business successfully landing her location. 

What is the most worthwhile lesson you have learned as a business owner?

A worthwhile lesson DeAnna has learned is to follow your dreams. She expresses that life is too short to not pursue your dreams. Of course, there will always be times when you fail but it is important to know that at least you tried. As she explains, it is better to have a million failures than not to try at all. One takeaway she would like to share is that one cannot appreciate success without failure. If you are always successful you will not be able to deal with failure. However, if you have experienced failure then you will appreciate the moments when you are successful. 

DeAnna closes by commenting that as a small business owner there will always be financial challenges. Especially in today's economy as it has seen the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The recession-like economy has been challenging in having access to resources and supply. However, even with minor conflicts like finance DeAnna plans for her business to be global in five years. She wants to continue the same concept of her business, but wants to be a major candle provider servicing multiple tiers of individuals. 

 

About the Author

Sonia Pacheco Mejia

Sonia Pacheco Mejia

Sonia is a Business Education Writer at Girls For Business.

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