Meet Loresa Daniel

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Loresa Daniel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Loresa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I feel that I found my purpose late in life. I was happy in my career as a trainer and also as an operations manager. Around 2018, I was passed the baton of carrying on the passion project of one of my mentors. My daughters and I enjoyed expanding the vision of the black children’s lifestyle brand Brown Babycakes created by Nicole Harding. It is truly a joy to see the bright happy faces of young children whenever they saw our products. The brand features the faces of happy black and brown children. Having those powerful reactions when reflecting their beauty back to them is so heart filling, and very much needed.

One day a close friend of mine asked me, “now what?” She was really the first person to point out that Brown Babycakes was “someone else’s baby”. She challenged me to find out what set my heart on fire. What sparked my passion? For the first time I was able to express my.dream, I went on to describe to her how I wanted to encourage women to take their health, both mental and physical more seriously. I wanted to provide a way for women to experience self care, without having to leave their home or pay an exorbitant amount of money.

It was that night when I sat at my dining room table with my sister. I spoke to her of my we earlier discussion. She asked me, why not start by selling your oils? For years I had been been making my own body and hair oils. I shared them with friends and family over the years, but I never thought about making it a business until I expressed my dreams of healing and self care earlier in the day.

I wanted to use my knowledge of herbal medicine. I dreamt of infusing my oils with medicinal herbs and flowers. That dream grew into creating bath salts and facial toners. Before I knew it, I was fielding business names with my sister and making my dream come true.

When I vend at events and meet new people, I get the same joy of their reactions to my products. To grow relationships with my customers who come back and share with me their experiences with my products is so fulfilling. I know I have found my purpose in life.

I am so sure and clear on that vision to provide pathways to self care. I am now a 200 hour certified yoga instructor. I’ve attained a level 2 Kemetic Reiki practitioner certification. I will soon be certified in somatic release therapy. I am happy to provide workshops on various women centered healing modalities. As I grow in learning new ways to share my own healing journey, I get so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude that I was able to find the true calling on my life through helping others.

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?

In my career I’ve worn may hats. I grew up in *America’s Playground”, Atlantic City, New Jersey. I was surrounded by beaches and casinos. My very first job was at a souvenir shop on The Boardwalk.

I eventually went on to attend Stockton University in Pomona, NJ. I remember ariving to campus in The Pine Barrens, was a whole new world for me. Pomoma was a 20 minute drive from my home in Atlantic City. At Stockton I was exposed to exploring sustainability, recycling, local natural wildlife, and my own independence on campus.

I eventually moved to New York and began a career in civil service, training & development. I returned to New Jersey some years later. I shared in the excitement of watching my Brown Babycakes come to life, life and was inspired.

Eventually she would ask me to continue the brand, when she re-located out of state. I agreed only if I could share the experience with my two daughters as my business partners. She agreed and we were determined to grow and expand the product line of Brown Babycakes. Which we did and still do to this day.

I eventually gathered the courage to pursue my own passion project of LD Creates Beauty. I started by offering my handmade hair and body oils, bath salts, and facial toners all infused with different herbs and flowers. I was seeking to introduce all natural, holistic, eco-friendly products for at home self care for busy mothers. Women who may not be able to indulge in these activities on a regular basis.

Our brand eventually grew to include shea butters, custom incense resins, shower gels / shampoos and soap bars. I continue to be inspired as we grew into making hair growth elixirs, hair butters, face masks and body sscrubs. All of our products are handmade. They are also micro-batched, meaning they are purposefully made in small batches, for best quality.

I know that I have found my calling through LD Creates Beauty because the feeling of the elation, joy and purpose that I feel each time I get a new idea or sit down to create my products is so fulfilling.

Our brand is constantly growing and expanding. It’s amazing to look back at our growth from our first vending event to now. I see us continuing to grow our product line and also sponsoring wellness focused events in the future.

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?

I feel that my early career in retail operations instilled in me a strong work ethic and the confidence to lead others. I had to earn more hours in order to increase my pay check. Earning hours meant showing up to work on time, staying later when necessary, coming into work if someone called out. It also meant attaining my daily sales goals, taking initiative on projects and building a strong customer base.

I also grew my confidence when I began to teach others on the job. Learning techniques to increase productivity, sharing ideas with my managemrnt team and becoming a resource for my co-workers helped me know that I was doing something right. Becoming a supervisor of others required me to value those I worked with and to develop my communication skills.

Managing others requires me to be clear and concise in my communication. Whether through written or verbal formats, I always have clearness and clarity at the for front of my approach. Positions I’ve held oft times require me to make compkex matters, more simplified and understandable to staff, colleagues and communities at large.

The building blocks of my management style became that of a humble servant leader. I am a forever student of people and life. I am uniquely able to be confident in what I know, while always learning from others.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

As a student, business owner, single parent and full time employee my days can be very hectic. One of the skills that I use daily is prioritizing. When I become overwhelmed by my to do list or the amount of tasks that need to get done. I simply force my self to prioritize. Prioritizing allows me to identify the most important tasks, that most get done because of importance. Then I prioritize the tasks that are time sensitive or have pending deadlines. I usually list out, what tasks must get done now, Which tasks can wait until tomorrow? What tasks can I delegate to others? Which tasks can I re-schedule for a later date?

Prioritizing helps me order my steps, it offers me the opportunity to partner with others. It helps me get clear on what’s important. It also allows me to be more mindful of my time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.ldcreatesbeauty.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ldcreatesbeauty?igsh=MWZ1YXN4ejVsa3Ftdw==

Image Credits

All photos taken and provided by Loresa Daniel