Meet Kara Brown

We recently connected with Kara Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kara, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is skill and a mindset that’s forged through the influence of people you admire and the choices you make when you experience life’s trials and triumphs. For me, I began learning resilience at a very early age and today it is a core value and strength in all areas of my life.

My formative years
My story begins with a diagnosis of hip dysplasia at birth. The doctors said that I would never walk. My mother was the first to demonstrate resilience to me. – She committed to defy the odds and empower me to walk normally. The moment my cast was removed, she embarked on a relentless mission of physical therapy with me. Even though we were poor, I never felt that our family lacked resources. It wasn’t until years later that I understood the sacrifices my family made to provide me with a strong body and good health. In years of physical therapy with complete success, I learned that hard work was my ticket to anywhere. That experience, complete with setbacks, gave me the courage and confidence to rise each time life knocks me down.

Influential People
In addition to my devoted mother, I learned resilience from my grandfather who was an inventor and a dreamer; he showed me that failures are stepping-stones to success. His gift to me was the power of perseverance. My father, too, was a pillar of hard work and determination. My family modeled and lived resilience, and I worked to be just as strong.

Challenges Overcome
People often think resilience is how you come back from a turn of events outside your control. In my case, I initiated a complete change of my business name and market presence because we had outgrown our original name and identity. It was a huge choice to set aside a decade of establishing Waxing Kara online, with both wholesale and retail customers. Changing our brand meant losing our hard-earned place in search engine rankings and essentially re-starting our marketing from scratch. I was able to make this choice because I believed we would bounce back much stronger and with more growth opportunities than we had before. I changed our business name from Waxing Kara to Bee Inspired. This past year, marked by economic uncertainties, has tested my resilience deeply. The results of the re-launch started very slowly, and I had some sleepless nights. However, the belief that a new name would open more doors kept me going. And it paid off—our wholesale business has doubled this year, and our customers remained loyal and shared us with their friends and families. In this case, my choice, was not a single act but a mosaic of market understanding, courage, perseverance, and belief in your own resilience.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

The story begins with the spirited and audacious Kara Brook, a young girl from a modest family in Baltimore. At the tender age of four, Kara declared herself a painter. Her artistic inclinations were nurtured by a gifted and talented program led by the Maryland Center for the Arts, where a structured annual art camp was hosted at a nearby college to benefit gifted youth in the state of Maryland.—a formative experience that would shape her destiny.

By 16, Kara had started a graphic arts business to help fund her college education, alongside scholarships from a supportive community. Her relentless determination and persistence took her through the doors of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), one of the U.S.’s most prestigious art schools.

Later in life, Kara’s artistic exploration led her to encaustic painting, a medium composed of beeswax, tree resin, and pigment, with an online studio and blog, Waxing Kara. Here’s is where the story takes a dramatic turn. Boiling over an entire pot of wax in her studio one day caused despair, a search for alternative access to wax for her painting, and sparked an epiphany: she needed to raise honeybees to source her own wax. This fateful moment birthed her remarkable journey with honeybees and the wisdom of seasonal living.

In the years that followed, her encaustic painting became overshadowed by her embrace of the world of bees and all the products that derive from their hives. Today, Kara’s entrepreneurial mission is to create handcrafted, health-oriented seasonal products derived from the work and world of honeybees.

More recently, she boldly chose to evolve her brand Waxing Kara into Bee Inspired. This move expanded opportunities for collections infused with eco-sustainability, living seasonally, and entrepreneurial advocacy.

Our Core Values
While creating handcrafted, health-oriented seasonal products derived from the work and world of honeybees and supporting healthy bee colonies, we aspire to give back to the community and foster sustainability. We’ve donated over $340,000 to causes devoted to underserved youth and environmental preservation, continuously raising the bar for ourselves and inspiring others to do the same.

For a Brighter Future
Honeybee populations in the U.S. have drastically declined, and we’re committed to doing our part. We converted over 40 acres of conventionally farmed land on our Kent Island farm to native wildflower fields, regenerating soil and stabilizing the landscape. This has attracted and sustains a healthy population of native birds, pollinators, and waterfowl. Community ties are essential to us. That’s why Kara dedicates a portion of our annual profits to community organizations focused on elevating children and young adults in underserved areas.

Advocacy Born of Gratitude
“I wanted to create a product line so good for you, so beautiful, so practical, so affordable that if you wanted it, there would be no reason not to have it. And I wanted it to be a catalyst for the next stage of growth, which is advocacy for bees.” – Kara Brook Brown

At Bee Inspired, we believe that gratitude and giving back are essential components of a fulfilling life. We strive to inspire others to do the same through our products, partnerships, and philanthropic efforts.

Buzzing with Joy
We take great pride in crafting each product with care, using natural ingredients sourced from our farm or trusted partners. Our hand-poured candles and artisanal honey are just a few examples of our indulgent offerings. We aim to bring joy into people’s lives through our high-quality, sustainable products that not only benefit the consumer but also support the greater community and environment. Follow our journey.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back on my unique path, three qualities stand out as the most impactful in my professional and personal growth. These qualities might inspire those at the beginning of their journeys, painting a picture of the vibrant and fulfilling road ahead.

Curiosity and Continuous Learning
Curiosity is my compass, leading me to new horizons and a deeper understanding of myself, my community, and the world. Every question I asked and every new skill I pursued opened doors to unexpected opportunities. This relentless quest for knowledge and understanding has enriched my perspective and armed me with a versatile toolkit to tackle diverse challenges.

Advice for Beginners
Nurture Your Curiosity: Always ask why and how. Seek out answers in books, online courses, and through conversations with experts in your field. The landscape of knowledge is vast and waiting to be explored.

Stay Updated: In our rapidly evolving world, staying current is crucial. Subscribe to industry newsletters, join relevant forums, and attend workshops. This ensures you remain adaptable and prepared for future trends.

Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Building
Understanding and managing emotions, both my own and others, was a game-changer. It has helped me forge meaningful connections and build a supportive network. Emotional intelligence enabled me to navigate conflicts gracefully and collaborate more effectively within teams.

Advice for Beginners
Listen quietly without judgement:
Listen actively and try to understand the perspectives of those around you. Empathy fosters trust and collaboration.

Cultivate Relationships:
Networking isn’t just about swapping business cards. It’s about building genuine relationships. People with whom I have built relationships have come to my rescue, supported me, and encouraged me—and I have done the same for them. It is such a blessing to have a community of people around the world with whom you share ambition, dedication, and knowledge. Attend industry events, engage on social media, and always follow up with a personal note.

Resilience and Adaptability
The path to success is rarely a straight line. Resilience has allowed me to bounce back from setbacks, while adaptability ensures I can pivot when faced with unexpected changes. Together, they keep me moving forward, turning obstacles into stepping stones.

Advice for Beginners
Build a Growth Mindset:
View challenges as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks. Celebrate small wins and learn from every experience.

Stay Flexible:
The ability to adapt is invaluable. Be open to change and ready to pivot your strategies as needed. This flexibility will make you more resilient in the face of adversity. Starting your journey with these qualities in mind will set a strong foundation for your future endeavors.

Remember to stay curious, build meaningful connections, and remain resilient. The road may be winding, but it’s filled with joy, discovery, and endless possibilities.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

There are too many to list, but I have a library filled with books.

A more relevant question is, “Where do I find inspiration and guidance for my business?”
I am a voracious consumer of other product websites, and blogs by experts in marketing, merchandising, packaging, and production. I assess any experience that feeds my soul and think about how to grab a nugget that would enhance my customers’ enjoyment of my products. That includes restaurants, spas, art galleries, fashion stores. I experiment (often with friends) to create all-natural recipes from my friends and share them on our website, BeeInspiredGoods.com. I follow experts working to rescue bees and create new ways of minimizing footprint in commerce. I see opportunity everywhere and seek to harvest and infuse fresh ways of thinking and doing into what I offer to my clients and customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beeinspiredgoods.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeinspiredgoods
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beeinspiredgoods/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/waxingkara

Image Credits

All images Bee Inspired® Goods 2022-2024 all rites reserved.