Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Best, Periodt. is a mission-driven omni-channel menstrual care company that is making menstrual cycles sustainable, comfortable and cool, for the first time. We are transforming experiences for people with periods, helping them to have more freedom and less pain so that they can forget that they’re even on “that time of the month.”
With our 1-of-a-kind, high-quality, gender-neutral products, refreshing approach and next-level service Best, Periodt. is quickly making a name for itself as a game-changer in the industry and has been featured by Forbes, Shape Magazine, Black Enterprise and many others.
Here at Best, Periodt. we are dedicated to educating customers, as well as raising awareness and breaking the stigmas around periods and the products associated with them. We understand that Black people on average have heavier periods and are 2-3x more likely to have fibroids, and have taken this into account while creating our products, ensuring that they have higher capacity than most on the market today. We also get that not everyone who bleeds, identifies as a woman. As such our language and branding is gender-neutral.
We ship internationally from our website BestPeriodt.com and currently operate out of both the USA as well as Bermuda (where I was born), and have retail locations in both countries, looking to expand even further in the near future.
Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
I’m a Millennial island girl obsessed with the color yellow, chunky babies and shaking this world for the better!
I also happen to be the Founder & CEO of Best, Periodt., a keynote speaker, a best-selling author and podcaster. With Best, Periodt. I have made it my mission to create real, meaningful change for period havers around the world.
As a result of this full entrepreneurial life of mine, I’ve been spotted in some pretty cool places like Forbes, MSN Money, Shape Magazine, Yahoo!, Huffington Post, Refinery29, Black Enterprise, Sheen Magazine and Success to name a few. In addition to all of that, I’m also a former model, Miss Teen Bermuda Islands 2002, a United Nations Youth Leader Nominee, a wife and a mom.
What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
I was interviewing someone by the name of Ranay Orton on my Freedom Slay Podcast who has a product-based business (hair care accessories). The conversation sparked something in me. Up until that point I only ran a service-based business. I thought it would be cool to create a product that solves a real problem. At the time, however, I didn’t really know what that would be or look like.
I thought about it over the next couple of weeks. Over that time I was introduced to Ranay’s sister who also has a product-based business. The next morning when I woke up, my cycle had started. I reached for my menstrual cup that I was unsatisfied with for a host of reasons, and then I knew from there what I had to create. A better menstrual cup that fixed all the problems I had with others I had tried in the past.
What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
1) Nike strategy it and ‘Just Do It’. Often times people allow fear to stop them from pursuing dreams. People you see achieving aren’t lacking fear, they’re simply working through it. The journey will get uncomfortable but that’s how you know you’re growing.
2) Do your research – learn all that you can about the industry, competing ideas and your audience. We live in an information age with everything at our finger tips. When we’re new to something the information around the ‘how’ to get something done can seem cloudy, but it’s important to push through it and keep searching. Keep asking questions. Keep going.
3) Lastly, enjoy the journey. Many of us create these goal posts but truly it’s journey to get to them that are the most fulfilling. You just may not see that at the time or right away. Any trials and challenges that we may encounter along the way teach us lessons and help us grow into wiser entrepreneurs. We also need to sit in our wins. Celebrate the small and large victories alike. They all help get you closer to your ultimate goal.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Tenacity is key – you have to be able to pick yourself up when down and try again. You must be willing to keep going when things get challenging, because they will. The thing that separates the wantrepreneurs from successful entrepreneurs is their willingness not to give up. As such, having a positive mindset is super helpful. This is the second thing needed. It doesn’t mean that you don’t feel your feelings at the time or are naïve. The third thing needed is a really great product or service that actually solves a real problem for your audience. That is who it is all about to begin with.
How many hours do you work a day on average?
This is tough to say as it varies on what I’m working on at the moment. One thing I will say about time though is that it’s helpful to know when your peak time of productivity is. When your brain is the sharpest, you can get the most done in the shortest amount of time. For me, that’s super early in the morning. I do my most difficult and most time-consuming tasks then and it makes the rest of the day much easier as I am fresh, sharp and feel as if I can handle anything.
To what do you most attribute your success?
There is never one thing we can attribute to success. Rather, it’s a combination of things (usually over decades) that bring it all together. A mix of a solid mindset and skillset built over years, a solid support system and many, many hours studying / researching / working.
How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
This varies on what it is that you are marketing and to whom. I think the best marketing is when you keep your customer’s needs at the forefront. Always bring it back to them, why they need what you have and how you can best communicate it with them. You cannot go wrong when you do this. Too often many lose sight of this and try to implement the latest strategy they heard someone else speak about, forgetting that person’s audience isn’t theirs and that their offering may require a different approach. The best marketing comes from a place of authenticity. And that can only happen if you know who your audience is (both their psychographics and demographics) and can properly articulate your offering’s value to that said audience.
With Best, Periodt. we have both traditional and guerilla marketing strategies that we’ve found work well, however, they only work well because we truly understand and care about our customer’s needs and keep those needs at the forefront of our every move.
What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Everyone’s definition of success looks different. There is no one best way to achieve anything in life. In all scenarios, however, I believe keeping health and happiness at the forefront make the journey more enjoyable and worthwhile.
Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
We have many plans for Best, Periodt. Many of which aren’t able to be shared at the moment. Ultimately though, we want to be a household name. This isn’t just the launch of a menstrual cup, this is the genesis of a mega brand. There are more products to come, more store doors to reach, more people with periods to assist. We want to be synonymous with comfortable periods.
Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
I love what Rihanna is doing with her Fenty lines and what Jaime Schmidts did with Schmidt’s Naturals.
How important have good employees been to your success?
Having a solid team is critical to the health of a business. I used to think I had to do everything myself, I’ve since learned that delegating to people who are experts at what they do is the best thing you can do for the health of your business and having support is best for your sanity.
How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
I don’t give up on ideas that truly spark change for the end user.
What motivates you?
I’m a self-motivated individual and I have been for as long as I can remember. That said, motivation isn’t dependable and we must be willing to move even when we don’t always feel like it. Understanding that, like exercise, even if you don’t feel motivated on a particular day, the results will still come if you get up and work out anyway. Of course things do flow better when you’re motivated, so I love to listen to podcasts or specially crafted playlists to get me back in the groove if I’m having an off day.
How do you generate new ideas?
Entrepreneurial-minded individuals usually do not lack ideas. Too many ideas can be the gift and the curse of the entrepreneur. The important thing is to know which one is worth pursuing, which needs to be parked and which needs to be forgotten about.
How do you build a successful customer base?
I think the most successful customer bases are the ones built before the offer is even available. With Best, Periodt. the customer was in mind from the onset – we wanted to create a product that truly helped them to have better periods. The product was built with them in mind. I asked them questions along the way. I educated them on the process. I included them in every step of developing the product. I shared information with them about best practices, how to use the product and periods in general. I did this through email and social media long before I ever had anything to sell to them. We still do this to this day. As such, we have been able to ensure that our products are a perfect fit for them.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Reading reviews from customers whose lives have changed for the better as a result of using a Best Periodt product is really the best feeling ever. I grin so widely every time I read a message – and we get daily messages on Instagram so that’s a lot of grinning!
What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
I believe both are important. Businesses will not be successful without great people helping them make it happen, so both entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs alike are very necessary to make business function smoothly. The main difference is the heart and soul an entrepreneur puts into all that they – because the reality is that no one will love your business as much as you do, and that’s to be expected. There are really great, motivated employees though and they’re really appreciated.
In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Exciting.