We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caprice Monique a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Caprice, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
One of my favorite things in this life is our ability to literally be whoever we want to be. It sounds cliche but I have built my life around this fact. I have sat with people who made assumptions about who I am, where I am from, and what my origin story probably is based on the way I presented that version of myself. When I say “version of myself” please don’t take that to mean f*ke because it’s not. What I mean is more of a personality code switching to thrive in that particular environment. It is a social/professional tactic that has opened doors for me and allowed me to be successful no matter what I look like in comparison to who’s in the room.
As a society, we should be able to acknowledge and appreciate our individual beginnings while collecting life experiences that shape who we ultimately want to become. In a world still fighting for basic representation and equality, worry less about being the only one who looks like you in the room and instead develop a variety of interests that make you a well-rounded person. Relatability sets common ground and once that’s been established communication will strengthen and opportunity will follow.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
“Welcome to the Creation of a Beauty Community”
909 Collective Beauty is a collaborative, co-working space for creators in beauty, grooming, fashion, and wellness.
We provide beauty &grooming services, consumer & professional education, and events.
Located in the Inland Empire but service the surrounding SoCal areas.
We are a proud Dermalogica partner and continue to develop our skills with their expansive continuing education. We are committed to being our very best no matter the service we are providing.
While we are building individual careers & brands, we as a team know that we are stronger professionals with the support of the collective. We created the environment we were searching for and the feedback from our clients has been incredible.
We are excited to welcome new clients into our space and also to expand our team in the very near future.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three pieces of advice I would give to someone in the early phases of their entrepreneurial journey:
1. Be Kind: to yourself because this shit is HARD! & Be kind to everyone you meet because the world is a lot smaller than we tend to remember. What may not seem like a relevant contact at the time could turn into a valuable connection at a later date. You cannot make a first impression twice!
2. Keep Going: No matter the obstacle, the amount of stress, or how far out of reach your dream seems…DON’T STOP! I have personally had to remind myself of this a lot lately.
3. Find Your People: You need a support system. More than you probably have needed one in the past. Identify what key people make your spirit feel at ease and on those really hard days connect with them. Sometimes we just need to be poured into because we are so busy pouring every ounce of ourselves into our business. On the brink of a tough moment, even a simple FaceTime can feel more grounded and centered.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I talked about being well-rounded earlier and while I do suggest broadening horizons and acquiring knowledge when it comes to professional tasks my advice changes slightly.
I was able to take part in a 2 year workshop that identified my top talents which were:
1. Competition
2. Leadership
3. Business Thinking
4. Delegation
Their advice was to play to your strengthens and find allies to absorb tasks that you either dislike or are not good at (many times those correlated directly). The thought process came from the many tedious employee reviews we have all had where our superiors breeze by our accomplishments to focus on how to improve our weaknesses. But why would we trying to be mediocre at something we aren’t good at when we can excel in the areas we are already strongest.
I integrate this philosophy in my own business and when building a team I make sure that we have enough similarities so we can effectively communicate but that we also have differences that will make us a more complete unit. The vision goes farther when there are different vantage points.
I am so thankful for my girls & I am so proud of what we have created at 909 Collective Beauty.
Contact Info:
- Website: 909collectivebeauty.com
- Instagram: @caprice.909
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/909collectivebeauty/
- Youtube: @909collectivebeauty
