Celebrating Women of Color Business Owners: Insights from Smell’N Bomb Founder, Sheon Paige

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios, it’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Women in Motion. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we wouldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women in Motion, we have Sheon Paige with Smell’N Bomb luxury bath bombs. Welcome.

Sheon Paige: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn about what you got going on. Tell us about Smell’N Bomb. How are you serving folks?

Sheon Paige: Yes. So, Smell’N Bomb luxury bath bombs, we create different self-care bath bombs, shower steamers. And we have bath teas and bath salts coming soon as well. And basically, we serve customers by giving them an excuse to take time out for themselves, because we really need that. In this day and age, people are really stressed out, a lot of things happening. And so, my main goal is to promote mental health awareness, and that people need to just take time out for themselves. I think that when you prioritize yourself a little bit, you can be your best self for everything else in your life. And so, by taking time out to have some aromatherapy with the shower steamer or take a bath with a bath bomb, it just helps you to de-stress and relax, calm your mind and just get back some me time.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you talk a little bit about your back story? How did this idea come about?

Sheon Paige: Yeah. So, I started this business in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. And basically, it came about as I was in prayer. It was just praying like, “God, okay, I want to help people. I want to be able to create a business that will bring people joy, but I just don’t know what to do.” And we’re all at home. And when I went to sleep, I had a dream. And it was a very, like, realistic. I didn’t know it was even a dream until I woke up, and it was me making bath bombs and running a bath bomb company. And I woke up and said, “That’s it.” That’s a perfect thing to do right now because we’re all at home and this is something we can all use, not only now in this climate, but even when this pass, to just be able to de-stress, and it brings joy to people, and I can scale it. And so that’s honestly how it came about. I was in prayer, and I asked Jesus to show me… you know, to give me a business that I could really bring into people’s lives as something positive and joyful. And he blessed me with this.

Lee Kantor: So, were you in… Had you made these before or how did you even know how to begin?

Sheon Paige: No, I had never made a bath bomb before in my life. I had only actually used a bath bomb one time prior to even starting this business. So, when I had that dream and I woke up, I just went straight into research mode. Because that was my first question, I’m like, “What is a bath? How do you make it?” And so, I watched a ton of videos. I started just experimenting. And, really, I’m a creative person. Like I’m very artistic. Like I love to create, I love to make things, I’ve always been into DIY, I’ve always been into like art and creating sculptures and things like that. So, I just took it from my artistic perspective and just said, “Okay, I want to make my bath bombs more artistic and elevated. I don’t want them to just be round and one color. Like I want them to, like, look like art kinda, you know?

And so, as I started Just diving into researching on the foundation of a bath bomb and looking at different recipes, I created my own recipe. And then, from there, once you understand how a bath bomb is even formed in the recipe, that’s when you can start putting your own creative creativeness on top of that. And so, that led me to creating my signature bath bomb. This is my geode design. Bath bombs. They look like amethyst geode rocks. And so yeah, just research and learning. And then, just using the gifts that are in me, my creativeness.

Lee Kantor: So, you have a concept in your head, and then you just start playing around to get, I guess, a product that you like. How did it get out of your head and into, actually, your hand, and then actually into the hands of a customer? Like, were you just handing them out to your friends and family and say, “Hey, I made this. You want to try it?” Like, how did you know that you could sell it?

Sheon Paige: Right. So, when I first started doing research and I started watching YouTube videos, I realized that this market was actually… it was a big market basically. I realized, I’m like, “Wow, bath bombs are actually very popular, and there’s already an audience that wants this.” And so, I just need to figure out how I can serve that audience and make them want to come to and buy my products because there’s already so many out there.” And when I was doing my research, I was coming across different videos on Lush and Da Bomb bath bombs, and their story really inspired me to bring it to market. They started out doing like different vendor and farmer’s market. And so, that sparked into me. I’m like, “Okay, that’s how I’ll start to start testing my bath bombs.”

So, as I started playing around with different formulas and designs, once I started creating my geodesign, I realized this is very beautiful, I want to see people… this will attract people. And so, what I started doing was posting them online on social media. But then I started attending different vendor events like farmers markets and just local events and putting the bath bombs out there. And I realized people really like them. I would sell out, people would come to tables and say, “These are so beautiful. These look like geode rocks.” So, they immediately got my concept, what I was going for, and then they started asking, “Where can we buy more online?” So, that’s when I started selling on Etsy, and then creating my website, and just started growing from there with social media. But yeah, I initially tested it at different farmers markets and vineyard events.

Lee Kantor: And then, how did you kind of land on the price point? You wanted it to be different. Did you want it to be luxury, or did you want it to be for everybody? Like how did you decide on the positioning of where it was going to be in the marketplace?

Sheon Paige: So, I wanted it to be a luxury bath bomb. And I tested my prices. I started testing different prices. I started comparing it to other luxury products, basically what I was offering in terms of ingredients and design. And so, that’s how I landed on my price point. But also, just mainly testing with my customers, asking them feedback like, “Do you think the prices are too high? Do you think they’re too low? What do you think about this pricing?” And so, that gave me a lot of feedback, just asking my customers that were buying it that helped me to narrow down my price point.

But I wanted to position it as a luxury product just because of the way that I was not only designing it, but the quality ingredients that I was putting in them. I use only premium ingredients. So, because I knew I was offering that and it was formulated to work for all skin types, I’m like, “Okay, I want this to go to customer.” There’s already so many. When I look at the bath bomb market, most bath bombs, they target either children or teens. And I wanted my bath bombs to target adults, adult women particularly. And so, I knew if I wanted to target adult women, they needed to be more elevated. They needed to be more luxury because that’s what women were into. And so, that is how I started with my design. I started thinking, what design can I create that would attract me, you know? Because I am part of my customer demographic. What would attract me? But what would attract adult women to buy this over the luxury product, other’s luxury self-care products that’s right next to it.

Lee Kantor: Now was it… I don’t want to say mentally challenging, but was it a mindset shift that you had to make or was it not when it comes to pricing? Because a lot of times, people’s first instinct is to not make it expensive, that they make it inexpensive. And some of that, to me, is because of maybe lack of confidence or belief in their product. But it sounds like you had the belief, and you knew you were using quality ingredients. So, you earned that kind of price point. Was that any kind of mental challenge for you to say, “Okay, we’re going to be expensive. And there’s no shame in that”?

Sheon Paige: Yeah. Honestly, when I first started out, like you pointed out, I was scared to charge my full price. So, I would charge under. And then, I realized when I would get feedback from customers and they were like, “This is all you’re charging for this?” like their feedback kind of was… it felt like they were saying, “What’s wrong with this? Because it looks nice, but this is your price. So, what’s going on?” The price and the way it looks don’t match. And it made me feel like, “You know what? Yeah, I need to just be confident and charge my price because customers are giving me that feedback.” Like they were being very honest and saying, “Honestly, I would pay more for this. Why are you charging this price?” You know, like, “I’m not going to argue with you, I’m going to pay this price, but why are you charging this?” I would have customers who really be honest with me about that, which I’m very appreciative. But at the beginning, yeah, I was a little afraid to charge my price. But I got over it very quickly because I realized, you know what? I know what I’m putting into my product. I know how much effort and the creative and the premium products are going behind it. So, the price is justified.

And when I just started charging my actual price and customers, they got it. Nobody questioned it. They didn’t say, “This is too expensive.” They didn’t walk away. Like they just paid it without even questioning it. So, I’m like, “Okay.” So, that would be my advice to anybody is just charge your pricing right from the beginning because having to shift my prices, especially like on Etsy, having to take them from the low price that I was selling them at, and then raise the price, I had to… it’s basically like the customers, I had to wait until new customers came because the customers that are paying that price, when I rose the price online, they didn’t pay that new price. So, I had to wait for new customers to come in. And they did, but I should have charged it right from the beginning, so that my online customers as well… Because my in-person customers, they got it, but my online customers on Etsy, especially that platform, I saw a dip when I took my prices from when I first started out to where they are now.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, that’s a great lesson for entrepreneurs out there on a couple fronts. One is if you’re going to sell a luxury item, it’s got to look the part of a luxury item, right? Like, you can’t just charge a high price and then give them something that looks like a low-price thing. You got to kind of up your game and raise the quality of the ingredients, the look and feel, the feel, the packaging, all that stuff has to match if you really want to sell it at that price, which it sounds like you’re doing and did. And then, you got to believe. Like when I coach entrepreneurs when it comes to their pricing, I say charge the highest price you can charge and say with a straight face like without stuttering. The number that comes off out of your mouth, you should believe it and you can’t kind of hesitate because it is what it is, and your value is there.

Sheon Paige: Exactly.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s kind of on the roadmap? Like you started with bath bombs, and then I would imagine you’re into other soap products or other bath products?

Sheon Paige: Exactly, yeah. So, we started with bath bombs, and we still have our bath bombs. They’re our signature product. But we also have shower steamers now, soap, candles. And we’re going to continue expanding. Bath teas are coming. Bath salts are also coming. So, yeah, we have a lot of different products coming. But right now, it’s bath bombs, shower steamers, body soap and candles.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you primarily selling to direct to consumer, like through the Etsy’s of the world or are you also selling kind of to businesses like maybe spas or hotels or resorts?

Sheon Paige: Yes. So, both. So, I have… Wholesale has really taken off for me. And that is the primary direction of where I would want my business to focus. But I do sell it on the retail side as well on Etsy and my website. But I also sell wholesale to hotels and spas and different wellness centers and boutique businesses as well. One of my largest accounts is Ambiente, which is a hotel in Sedona, Arizona. But yeah, that’s my main goal for this business is to continue to go in the direction of wholesale. That’s what I really enjoy.

Lee Kantor: Is that part of the reason you decided to get involved with WBEC-West? Was that what you were looking to get out of it?

Sheon Paige: Exactly, yes. So, because I want to go in that direction. especially as, like, this is a whole new territory for me, like, wholesale, and as I started diving deeper into it, I’m like, “Okay, I want to work with bigger companies,” because I have a lot of small boutique customers. And then, as I started getting these bigger clients, you know, really wet my whistle and I’m like, “Okay, I want to continue to grow, but how do I do that?” And when I went to a conference, it was a Madam C.J. Walker conference, WBEC, they had a breakout group that you can go to and learn more about how to become a certified business. And while I went to that breakout group, Dr. Pamela was talking about all the different corporates that they work with. And I’m like, “This is exactly what I need to get my foot in the door with more of these businesses,” because that is really the barrier is that they don’t know me because I’m not a national brand. And so, I’m like, “I need for them to know me and knowing that I can have something that can serve their customers,” but I don’t know how to get my foot in the door. And this is that bridge that helps me get my foot in the door.

Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Sheon Paige: More exposure. Just more exposure for people to know, especially businesses, spas, boutiques, hotels, that I offer wholesale. And they work amazing as a room amenity. They work amazing as a add-on amenity for spas and different retail boutique stores. And all my customers have seen amazing success. And especially at my price point for wholesale, you’re getting 3x profits with my product. And I’ve proven that 100% with all of my customers. I have gotten all their feedback and all of them have made 3x profit off of my products. So, I know that they’re a win-win-win for everybody. And so, just exposure to get my foot in the door to more of these brands to talk about my products, present my products and put them in their locations.

Lee Kantor: So, has your reality matched your dream?

Sheon Paige: It’s getting there. It’s getting there.

Lee Kantor: So, if somebody wants to learn more and connect with you and learn more about Smell ‘N Bomb, what’s the website? What’s the best way to find you?

Sheon Paige: So, they can go to smellnbomb.com, which is S-M-E-L-L, the letter N, B-O-M-B dot com. Or they can email me at sheon@smellnbomb.com if they’re a business.

Lee Kantor: And then on the socials?

Sheon Paige: On the socials, on Instagram, it’s smell_n_bomb. And it’s Smell N’ Bombacross. So, on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and yeah. So, those are the socials.

Lee Kantor: Well, Sheon, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Sheon Paige: Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women in Motion.