Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Natasha Hunter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Natasha, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Up until recently, I would say that my confidence came from not being afraid to participate in a bit of trial and error. Anytime I set out to do something, if I succeed my attitude is basically “Great, now you know you can do that” and if I fail, I kinda look around and say “Ok, that didn’t work but what parts of it did and how can I use that? Did I learn how to execute next time? Is this what I really want?” Every experience is an opportunity to increase your confidence and self-esteem through growth.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My longest-running endeavor has been featured in the Voyage before, Chocolate Chick Apparel. It came to be in September 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas. It consists mostly of t-shirts, but my first run of t-shirts was under a different name in 2007. I was inspired by coming into my own as a black woman and battling the degradation of the self-esteem of young black girls, especially us of a darker complexion. Navigating young adulthood is hard enough, but adding in feelings of inferiority and issues with self-love and worth made me want to do something. This was personal and I wanted to say something, I wanted to do something, so I produced this line.
My fledgling company is Tasha & the Moon, a wellness-focused brand for parents who do the majority of the heavy lifting of parenting solo. We’re still fleshing out exactly what we want this to look like, but we have some products that we’ve been developing and testing.
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?
Research, but don’t retreat- Definitely learn your industry, your niche, and your target audience, but don’t let figuring that out keep you from stepping out there and seeing what you might catch. It can take a while to refine your audience, but during that time remember you’re also refining yourself.
Think relationships over transactions- if you make money together once, good dealings increase the chances of doing it again.
Be careful using other people’s money.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I love books, so this list could almost be infiinite, but the book Im reading now is quite inspiring. Funny enough, I bought it years ago when I was on active duty and hadn’t gotten around to reading it until now. It’s called If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. While he has certainly navigated his share of Googleable trials and tribulations, I find this book to be inspiring and its principles to be relevant for anyone on an entrepreneurial journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chocolatechicktees.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/chocolatechicktees
Image Credits
Izell Bennett, Photographer P Sheffield, Natural State Images, Photographer