We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ceara Rae a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ceara, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
Most times I am the youngest one in the room. It’s not a common sight to see a 16 year old business owner, but I don’t mind. I am usually surrounded by others who have been at this longer, are more experienced, and are not in highschool. Although I definitely wouldn’t say this is a bad thing, because I get to learn from other amazing small business owners. Like my dad always says, “you want to be the average of the five people who you surround yourself with.” So I am happy to be surrounded by successful people in markets, networking events, and local groups. I have learned to be successful by listening and learning to what the other people around me have to say. By asking questions, brainstorming, and collaberating with other women, I have learned a lot. It’s inspiring and motivating to be around outstanding entreprenuers and community leaders. At the beginning of starting Sunset Henna, I was worried that my clients would find out that I was just 15, and wouldn’t want to do business with me. I was worried people would see me as just a kid with a henna cone, who was not professional, mature, or educated about henna. Although people would be surprised by my age, they wouldn’t be very skeptical about my henna work. So my confidence grew along with my business skills. I feel like it doesn’t matter about your age, if your really good at what you do. I pride myself in having clean and beautiful henna work that is natural and that my clients love. I know of only a few other young entrepreneurs, but am really wanting to see more. If your wanting to become one, don’t worry if your the youngest one there. You will learn a lot and be supported more, by fellow business owners, and clients. Once you realize that you can work for yourself, and do what you love, it changes everything. Instead of hostessing at a restuarant or fast food place, I get to learn business skills and practice art! So yes, I am usually the only one in the room who looks like me; a teenage entreprenuer. Although I hope to see more kids and teens following the sometimes hard but rewarding entrepreneur journey!! Don’t be discouraged, go for it!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Ceara Rae and I am a self-taught henna artist in the Dunedin, Florida area. My business, Sunset Henna, is focused on creating henna designs that make you feel confident and beautiful in your own skin! One thing that is really important to me, is only using plant-based and natural henna paste. You never have to worry about my henna not being safe for your body, so that you can have a relaxing, and carefree experience. I do all of my designs free hand, and some of my best work is when I let my creativity flow and do a unique design just for you. I first started trying my hand at henna work over 6 years ago when my mom began mixing henna paste at home. I would practice my skills on my mom, little sisters, and family for special occasions, but I really began focusing on it when I started my business over 1 year ago. One of my favorite things about doing henna for other women is how it makes them feel. Henna has natural cooling properties which make you feel relaxed, but most importantly it makes you feel confident and beautiful! Many people have told me how they feel so pretty with this body art on and how excited they are to wear it. I love getting to create designs on them and it’s especially rewarding when they want a personal significant symbol in henna. Henna is worn for many different reasons, for weddings, special occasions, religious holidays, pregnancies, and for self-care and love! I specialize in private henna sessions, but also do henna at markets and parties. I am a mobile service and do my henna sessions at different places in Dunedin and surrounding areas, I like to do them at local cafe’s, parks, and sometimes the beach! I am hoping to start doing large, and intricate bridal henna work to challenge myself and my henna skills! I find henna’s history and cultural traditions so fascinating and try to tell more people about it while doing their mehndi. You might not have known that henna has been around for over 5,000 years and was practiced in many different countries. There is so much to learn about henna, therfore I have recently started teaching beginner henna classes! I want to give teens and adults the opportunity to learn this ancient art and have the resources that I wish I had at the beginning of my practice. I hope to do a few more this summer so make sure to email me if your interested in one! Along with henna I also do henna style custom canvases, and murals! I am a lover of all kinds of art and am proud to call myself an artist! If you have questions about henna, I have answers and love to talk about this amazing plant and body art. If you would like to book some henna for yourself or for a party, you can just email me!
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?
The first quality that was most impactful was my determination for practicing henna and not giving up. When I first started doing henna my work was nowhere near perfect. Looking back, if I didn’t commit myself to practicing every other day and keep going, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today. There were times I might have given up, I would compare my henna designs to artists who have been doing it for over 10 years, now I know that practice makes progress. My advice would be to keep practicing whatever it is you want to get better at because eventually your persistence and practice will pay off. I don’t like some of my early work when I started my business, however I feel like I have grown so much since then. Another thing that helped me was the knowledge I had about my specialty. I don’t think I would be as confident if I didn’t understand and know the information, history, designs, and science behind henna art. Now I can talk easily about it because I know a lot of information, although there is always room to learn. Try to learn everything you can about what you do so you are educted and can educate others. This last one I feel like I am still working on. It’s communication skills. Communication is so important as a business owner, you have to talk with market managers, collaberaters, clients, and fellow enreprenuers. As a henna artist a big part of it is effectitively talking with your clients so they understand the aftercare and infomation, and so you can get to know them. Before my business journey I was very shy (and still am sometimes), and probably wouldn’t talk with many people passing by my henna booth. Now I am a little more social and communicative which helps me form relationships. All in all, my determination to practice, my knowledge about henna, and my sufficient communication skills, all play a role in helping me and my business become successful.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I absolutely love doing collaborations with other small business owners! It’s a lot of fun to be working with others and creating something unique that combines both of our talents. My most recent partnership was with Moon and Mantras, a natural candle business. We made special edition candles with my henna designs using acrylic paint, and they looked beautiful with her crystal work. I hope to create some really cool projects with people whos brands allign with mine. Local businesses that focus on natural products, being organic, self love, connecting women, and making you feel beautiful. I want to meet and work with people with great energy that believe in uplifting fellow business owners. If you are a small business owner and you think that we can be partners for a new product or service, let me know! You can reach out to me via email and we can talk more about showcasing both of our business to make someting amazing. My email is sunsethenna@pm.me I hope to be connected with you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bio.site/sunsethenna
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunset_henna/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082196735512
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ceararaeart
Image Credits
Ceara Rae
