Meet Saraijah Barnes

We were lucky to catch up with Saraijah Barnes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Saraijah, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I absolutely love this question. I don’t think that you “find” your purpose in fact, I believe that your purpose finds you. I grew up in a middle class household in Lakewood CA in the early 2000’s. My great-grandparents played a large role in raising me, One of which was drafted into the military and the other sacrificing her aspirations to raise a family. It was always instilled in us, by them, to always give, be humble, learn, work hard and most importantly speak up. I was involved in Girl Scouts, attended NASA summer camps, involved in performing arts and most frequently in the kitchen preparing food with my great grandmother for the neighbors to eat. Education was important, but what was groundbreaking was being a good person. Those values became part of my identity for if I detoured I had influential people in my life such as my mother to bring me back “home”.

For many, life’s turbulent moments births passion which then becomes their lives purpose – I had a similar experience or so I thought. I believed that my mission was to “speak for those that couldn’t speak for themself”. I pursued a major in Sociology with a minor in Pre-law and soon realized that was not the avenue I wanted to pursue. I also realized that the reason I felt so disconnected from pursuing an education in that field was because I had attributed my life’s purpose to the little girl that was really struggling. Years passed and I found that I had no longer related to the traumatic experiences the same way and that I chose this path of education in relation to my struggle. If I may add, another key factor that I was not aligned with my purpose is because I stopped feeling passionate. I was experiencing symptoms such as worthlessness, frustration, a difficult time focusing, extreme sadness, feeling like there was a glass ceiling.

One day, I was in a therapy session and explaining to my therapist at the time that I was struggling pinpointing my purpose. My mental health was declining, I was not performing well in school and how I thought I could take up space in the world looked minimal. I found myself working as a mental health counselor at a residential treatment facility where I experienced several traumatic incidences. I needed access to something that made me feel alive, where I could help people but also it not be met with the severity of life. I proposed to him, “I think I am going to begin a market that focuses on wellness.” He replies, “dont you think that may be too big?”, I replied, “maybe so!”.

So I organized my first market that focused on wellness. It had 3 instructors, 10 small business vendors, a speaker panel, 3 attendees and lots of rain. It was the most beautiful disaster I had ever created, but it was mine. I was overwhelmed, but it was mine. I then thought to myself, it is not how many people who come, its who comes and how we can impact THEIR life and in this moment, March 10th of 2023 did I realize, I may be on to something. Fastforward to July of 2024, 30+ small business who chose to partner with me in vending, 4 amazing instructors, a panel of clinicians, a team of 3 and a newly established non-profit we have impacted more than 2,000 lives. Remaining free and accessible to the community. I am still navigating my purpose, but along the way, the lives I have the opportunity to touch in this capacity is tremendously aligned with my definition of being purposeful. I have learned to measure my fulfillment by the symptoms I once experienced and I have found that I have consistently lived without those feelings of worthlessness and instead feel empowered, creative, open to opportunity, and a newfound momentum to propel my community forward. For the culture, all in the name of wellness.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Saraijah Barnes and I am the founder and CEO of Brown Sugar N’ Coffee Inc. We are a newly established 501(c)3 organization focusing on mental and holistic wellness. I would define myself as a multi-hyphenate individual targeting many facets of health. I organize wellness-based events: Body Paint N’ Sip Coffee, Herbs and Hikes and The Wellness Market. We are launching our Coffee business’ mobile Cafe in Fall of 2024. Each of the events all focus on a dimension of wellness as well as a cultural component. When addressing Body Painting, the dimension of wellness we are focusing on is emotional, social and intellectual. We put our phones away, establish platonic intimacy through a creative medium whilst connecting over coffee. We also acknowledge many indigenous tribes around the world who use body painting as a form of ritualistic practices (coming of age; hunting; stories; and more). With our hikes, we touch on emotional, environmental, physical, intellectual and spiritual wellness. We have the opportunity to forage and learn about the herbs, challenge our emotional fortitude to endure the obstacles on the trail, engage in socio-emotional activities that enhance awareness, and the opportunity to connect with nature in the most organic/ simplest of forms. And with our markets, we have an opportunity to host with some of the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) service providers and businesses that meet a dimension of wellness, learn from clinicians or practitioners that represent our communities and intersectionalities within our region in Southern California, engage in physical activities and socialize. Our expansion is looking pretty bright and we cannot wait to disclose in the near future!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three most important qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey was 1. to strategize. We all have ideas, but only few execute those ideas sustainably. Similarly to the biblical verse: “Faith without Works in dead”, ideas without strategy is prone to fail so be patient, my friend! Do your research, sit down for as long as you need to, to focus on logistics and then BOOM, execute! 2. Embrace the fact that entrepreneurship is a lonely process. You can have a team of 10, but no one will be as excited or disappointed as you will be especially if you are the founder or CEO. Minimize expectations from family and friends, learn to celebrate your own wins and invest in a life coach, therapist or faith based mentor to process the emotions you may face when developing something of your own. 3. Trust yourself! As rational other peoples feedback may be, sometimes you have to be intuitive and use discernment. Everything takes risk, you have to choose which risk you’re willing to take. Listen to how your body feels when making decisions especially when you are the one that has to live with the outcome!

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

The. types of people/organizations/agencies I would love to partner and/or collaborate with are those who possess the foundational values of philanthropy, integrity and innovation. If you desire to partner or collaborate or simply connect, please visit our website at brownsugarcoffee.com/contact. I am looking forward to connecting with you!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brownsugarcoffee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brownsugarncoffee/

Image Credits

Photography credits: Creatively Rae; Fotos by David Perez; Genevieve Alemañ