A Heritage of Self Care

On this episode of She's Crafted to Thrive, our guest is Anna Cabo. She is a skincare advocate and just a really great person. I had so much fun recording this episode. I kind of lost myself in our conversation here with her, just hearing her journey of her heritage, of having seen her mom and her, her grandmother and her great-grandmother when it comes to self-care. And I really think this is a piece of a lot of women's lives that we really need to take note of, um, how to take care of ourselves even in small ways. And along this conversation, Anna shares her personal autoimmune journey and kind of how it led her to remembering that heritage really and creating a business out of it. It's such an inspirational conversation. We have so much fun. We talk about Tom Hanks and giving yourself grace and women that Lifting You Up. So many interesting stories from her, from her journey. So I can't wait for you guys to hear it. So stay tuned.

Welcome to She's Crafted to Thrive. I'm your host, Nikita Williams, and this show is for all the ladies who are making and creating things that they love. You will hear conversations about the real everyday struggles of juggling life and business while trying to maintain passion and harmony. As women, we have the skill of getting things done, but sometimes we get in our own way. It's here where you'll see that you're not alone. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection. Fear and negative thoughts and challenges are all a part of the journey. And on this podcast, you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to have a life and business that thrives. I am so excited to have Miss Anna on, you guys. She— we've met through Instagram, like it's It's crazy. I meet all these amazing women on Instagram. And I just kind of fell in love with some of the products she's made and kind of her personality.

And I just wanted her on the show.

So welcome, Miss Ana.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, it is crazy how we met because I remember watching you and Miss Jasmine Starr live. And I was just so impressed by what you do. And I found so many things in common. And I reached out. And here we are today. So I'm really excited. Thank you for inviting me. Thank you so much.

Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for saying yes. You know, I say this all the time, I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm always just thankful when a woman that I'm impressed with says, "Yeah, sure, I'll be on your show." I'm like, "Yes!" It's my pleasure.

Oh my God, no, I'm humbled. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure. I'm honored to be here.

Tell me a little bit about you and what you're doing right now.

I was born in the Dominican Republic and I've been— I moved here about 20-something years ago. So growing up, I learned so much from natural things from my great-grandmother. And funny enough, all these years later, this is where my industry is now, creating skincare products for women that are natural. And that's where I'm at right now in my life. I'm 40.

Doesn't matter. Don't whisper it. Be proud, girl.

Doesn't matter. I just say it because I know age doesn't matter, but I I think that sometimes we feel like, oh, that's what you're doing now, and you're 40, so you feel like you're starting all over. But it's a good thing because I feel that this is the time for me to do this. Yes, I love that. Yeah, all the experience of the different things that I have gone through, this is where it has led me to. But then you feel like, I'm 40. It's just a number.

It is just a number. You know, I was thinking about this the other day myself. I was thinking like, I feel like women in general are like Nikita Williams, like we go through different phases. We're butterflies. We're like all the animals that like metamorphose into something else, right? Because we have these different phases of our life that leads us to the next, that leads us to the next. And then it's this beautiful thing that we are. And it's like, it doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter where you're coming from. It doesn't matter. I mean, all those things have led you to where you are today. And I think it's beautiful. I think it's beautiful. So thinking about all where you are today, what led you to where you are? Like, how did you start into the skincare line? Have you always been interested in it? Tell us a little bit about like what path led you to where you are today.

I was always— I've always tried to take care of my skin because my mom, that's how my mom raised me. She'd be like, there's always 3 things that you have to do no matter what. Wash your face, use a toner, and a moisturizer. Pretty easy. Yeah. So those 3 rules, it almost kind of like, I need therapy now because I cannot go to bed without at least those 3 steps. And I'm trying to teach my daughter that. It's like, it's constantly every day in my head. So I always like taking care of my skin. And I would be one of those that would go and spend money and buy whatever. Then I was diagnosed with different autoimmune problems. And I figured, man, I need to start taking care of myself. One day I went to a natural doctor. I think it's a homeopathic doctor, what it's called. And I have issues with my thyroid where I still have a nodule, but where it is right now, they can't really remove it because they would have to remove the whole thyroid. And I don't want that because it's still functional. So he was doing a test on my arm to see if I needed iodine, and he put this tincture on my arm, like orange, and he said, "Don't wash it, don't get it wet. Let's see how long it absorbs into your body." And I've always known about the skin being the biggest organ, but you never see it as an organ that actually breathes and it takes in what you put on, just like we eat, just like the way we eat. I never saw it that way. So I went and when he put the tincture on my arm, 3 hours later without wetting my arm, it was just the same color as my other arm. I was able to physically see how the iodine was being absorbed into my body. And that for me, that's a big wake-up call, because when I realized that a lot of the products out there do have ingredients that are not good for you, fragrances that they just disrupt your whole system, system, I said, I need to do something different. So at that point, I started making my own things at home and just kind of like Google and Pinterest was awesome and mixing things together. And then suddenly I'm spending like more money probably than I am in buying my skincare products because now I gotta mix everything. But I realized that what I was putting into my body was actually creating more harm and that beauty shouldn't be compromised by the products we use. And we need to see beauty in aging as something that happens natural. Can we slow it down? Can we age gracefully? Definitely yes. Definitely yes. Do we need all the chemicals to do that?

No.

And it's never too late to start. You know, I always tell people, if you go in the natural route, you need to think that you're not trying to, you're not trying to reverse. You can reverse a little bit, but you're trying to stop where you are so you can continue with a healthy life. Healthy skin and a healthier life. And as you get healthier, then your skin will show that health. So I'm just big about what we put on is just as important.

Wow, yeah, wow. Yeah, that's so true. Like, that's an interesting test. I don't think I've ever done a test like that where you can actually see. I know I grew up the same way as you did. Like, I have my grandmother and my great-grandmother and my mom used to tell me all the time, you need to take care of your skin 'cause when you get older, You know, the biggest, the funny thing about, you know, Black women, they're like, we do age relatively better because of the type of skin we have. You know, you can't usually tell how our skin just ages. In my opinion, it just ages differently. It ages more lovely. But, you know, I'm partial here. I'm not gonna lie. So, but my grandmother and my mom used to be like, yep, you need to wash your face. You need to put moisturizer. You need to put toner, the same thing. I don't know if that's a cultural thing, but I think it also was kind of like, and I could be wrong, I could be completely wrong, but like for myself personally, I feel like maybe it was their personal way of saying, have some self-care for yourself. Like, because as women and women of minorities like you and I, you don't get a lot of those opportunities to like go to the spa and do all these extra things, right? We have to take the time to do it at home. And so That was their way of saying, like, first, take care of yourself so you can, you know, continue to love your skin. But also, hey, this is some self-care. And I think what we put on our skin is just important, right?

Yeah, I really think so. I really think definitely that it was a way for them to take care of themselves. Because when you think about it, I come from the Dominican Republic. My mom was raising us as a single mom. Of 4, she had her own business. She was waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning, not going to bed until 12. And I think that those 5 minutes of doing that was, was a self-care routine. And it's almost like all she had. I don't remember my mom going to lunch with a friend or dinner with a friend or to the spa. This was her time to do that, to put oatmeal on her face. That was her spa time. That's what she had and that was self-care and I'm glad she taught me that.

Yeah. Wow. So would you say that kind of that history— well, before I say that, have you always, like I said earlier, have you always been in the skincare industry? Were you doing something before this? Before you decided to like kind of like branch out and doing your own line?

I was not. I was not. I used to— it's funny because I worked for a while as a salesperson for Chevrolet for medium duty trucks.

Okay. That's different.

Yeah, one of the few, really one of the few women that are certified for medium duties with Chevy. And then I decided to go to culinary school because I always liked cooking, and that provided an amazing job that I love teaching because of my autoimmune problems. I really couldn't work the hours of, and I'll say it, I was diagnosed with lupus at 15 and then that developed into fibromyalgia. So I wasn't able to work at the restaurant business. So I was teaching for a government program called Job Corps, which was super rewarding. But my fibromyalgia kicked in really, really bad, put me in bed and I had to quit. I could no longer work in that industry. Then I was home and I would start, I had moved to Texas with my husband and my family. And that's when I couldn't get, it's a funny story, 'cause I couldn't get my hair done straight like we do in the Dominican Republic. We do like some crazy blow drying that's amazing, like relaxer by hand in a way. And I couldn't get it done here where I was living. And I decided I'm gonna start letting my hair natural, less chemicals. I never really liked using chemicals, but letting my hair natural. That led me to meet my business partner, which is in the hair care industry for curly hair. Her company is Bounce Curl, and she was looking for skincare products to help her skin. Since I was already making it at home, I decided to call her. Well, I sent her a message on Instagram, another Instagram person that I met that changed my life too. And I say, hey, listen, you don't have to. I know you can afford buying your own stuff, but I'm about to mix and match to mix a batch of stuff in my kitchen. Can I send you some? And she's like, sure, and if it works for me, we'll sell it. And I'm like, yeah, right. Why would you want to do business with me? Like, you have your own business, right? But it actually helped her with her skin issue that she was having at the moment. And here we are today, we ended up becoming great friends. We still work together in projects for her company, and she's a partner in my company. And that's what led me to skincare because she liked it. And I was already doing it at home. I wasn't working. But before then, being in the culinary field, it actually gave me an understanding for formula. Because when you bake, everything has to do with formula and weight and measurement that are exact. So I think that has helped me. And then growing up in the Dominican Republic, being influenced greatly by my great-grandmother, that gives me a background on natural medicine. Because I'm talking about a lady that used to make her own high blood pressure medication. Oh wow. I learned a lot from there. So I kind of bring that together with culinary.

And that is so cool. That is such a cool, like, you know, that's so cool. And that's one, not many people get to like work with their family like that. Not a lot of women get to meet their grand— like their great-grandparents or their grandparents like that. And then to meet them and like to get all that knowledge and understanding of the different things that they do, that one is super cool too. Super cool is that, you know, that natural, like just living on the earth kind of thing and using what's there versus going to the store. We've gotten so far away from that in general. You know, we don't really appreciate it until you see the difference. Between like buying at the store and making yourself. Wow. And what was the name of the company that you were saying? That you—

My partner?

Yeah.

It's called Bounce Curl. Ah, OK. And it's for curly hair.

OK.

So the owner and creator of that line, her name is Miss— well, she's known on Instagram as Miss Mo. So her normal name doesn't even matter at this point.

Forget that name, you know?

Like, we should just probably just She's changing her birth certificate and changing her last name. But she's the one who believed in me first and she saw that I had something to give. And then she learned my story and why I'm creating this natural products because of my health issues. And she's like, we gotta help other women. We gotta help other women get their hands on it that are dealing with autoimmune problems like you and are looking for ways to look beautiful in a natural way. And I'm like, Sure, let's do it. It took me a little while to believe it was true. She literally like flew to Texas to meet me and I'm still like, what if I don't like you? What if I meet you and you're like totally different than what I see on Instagram and then like can't do business with you?

That's so cool.

Crazy, I know. You would think people would jump in the opportunity, but there were other things, that integrity that I wanted in my business, and then I'm like, Do you meet that? And she meets it beyond and above.

That's so cool. I think, you know, it's something about women supporting women that way. Like, you know, just like, you don't have to know-know me. Let's get to know each other. Like, it might work, it might not work, but let's give each other the chance, you know, to support each other. And I think a lot of times— I shouldn't say a lot, I think it's getting better— where women are supporting each other a little bit more than like, oh, you competition. Or, you know, we're looking for ways to— even if we're in the same industry to really support one another because who else is going to support us? You know?

Exactly. And that's what we believe. We believe that there is— we help— she helps other women, I help other women. I have a great support of women and men. Yeah. But our motto, I guess, is that there is customer for everyone. There's someone for your product. You don't have to fight. You can, you don't have to compete. You can collaborate, you can help each other. And by helping each other, we can learn more.

Yeah.

You know, and then you pay it forward. There are other women in my life that I, that I help that I don't mind. I don't, I don't feel like I have to hold back from what I have learned in my experiences because I know how hard it is as a woman minority in many different ways to try to open a company, you know? And I think we are in a great time in history. Where we can actually start a small company that has not been passed down from our parents. Because before, a person needed to inherit or have a business passed down from the family to grow it. Now we can actually take our talents or whatever little bit that we see as a little, when we expand, and that is huge.

Yeah.

So when we— and when we support— but that happens when we support one another too. Because I can know a lot of something, but I might be missing that little thing that you know. And you can bring it in to help me take my idea, my talent to a different level.

And why not?

Why not help each other?

Yeah, exactly. I love that. Yeah. So I want to ask you a little bit about your autoimmune journey, just a little bit. Because I know I share this a lot with— you know my story. I have endometriosis. I also have fibromyalgia. I have a couple other things that, you know, We could make a list. So like, so how— and I feel like that, that part of the story is so common with the women that I talk to and even the women that I work with in my business is that because of that change in your health and your circumstances, it changes the way you look at everything. It changes the way you deal with everything. So How, how now that you have, I guess, more flexibility and freedom to kind of do your own thing, was that created because you were like, did you go into doing this business because working for someone else was just too difficult? And the next question is, how have you found freedom in that? It's one of those weird things, if that's making any sense.

Your question definitely makes sense. Because when I left, for me, working for Job Corps, being a culinary instructor and just being able to touch lives was really important. So when I left that job, I felt like, now what? And I realized that the other jobs that I had, because at this point, like, I was really in bed, like, for 3 months. I thought I wasn't going to be able to have a normal life again because the fibromyalgia I had lupus first, which is in remission, but in remission pretty much means you don't need the medication, but it's still there. And then that developed into the fibromyalgia and now the nodule on my thyroid, because apparently my thyroid has worked so hard to keep me alive.

Right.

It created almost like a— the nodule is made of skin scar tissues, and that's why they can't remove it.

Wow.

So at that point, I'm thinking, I can't really have a normal 9-to-5 job. Because there are days that I don't sleep. There are days that my body hurts and my body burns. There are days that, you know how it is, we deal with the autoimmune issues, also comes anxiety, also comes to me mild depression.

Yes.

Medical depression, but mild depression because you feel like this is my life. There's nothing that I cannot work a normal job. You feel like you're not normal. So, and we are, we are capable of doing so much. And I think that people with autoimmune system, we work, not that regular people don't work hard, but we work beyond our pain. We still got to get up and we still got to get it done. My husband has been very supportive because he knows that I would go take a position, take a job and go and do my best and give it my all. But that's only going to go, that energy is going to last me and the strength for a year or two. Before I have to quit. Because when I look at my job history, has been 2 to 4 years depending how stressful, because you know how it is. The stress is the worst. And if you can't sleep at night and you still got to get up and do a 9 to 5, it's hard.

It is so hard.

Yeah. So I'm glad—

and it causes more harm. It causes more harm than good. Like, straight up.

It got to a point that my kids couldn't hug me. My husband couldn't hug me because the pain was so so bad that before they would hug me, they were like, "Is it okay to hug you?" And that's sad.

Yeah.

You know, that's really, really sad. It's just, thinking about it, it's like, wow. And, but to your other question, does having my own business help? I love working, but on days that I can't get out of bed, I can choose what I need to do for that day and get the rest that I need. Because you know how it is. There are days that if you don't, when your body is telling you to slow down, if you don't, you will be in bed for a few days and you will be in pain and you will have anxiety and you will have depression. So you have to slow down.

Yeah.

Going back to work is really not much of an option.

Yeah, I feel you on that. I'm with you on that. I feel the same way. I feel like, yeah, I mean, that's the That's the best thing, right? To be able to work for yourself and to have that freedom to make the choice. And then it's a beautiful life to be able to work for yourself, right? And it— and also being able to support your family in some kind of way without all of that extra pressure of being on 9 to 5 or however long you're, you know, wherever you're working. So it is something that's really nice to be able to do. Um, I also find that a lot of women who are dealing with autoimmune diseases that are— I mean, there are so— I mean, there's lots of women who are working for somebody and they are working every day to go to work and take care of their families. And they're working 9 to 5 and straight up props to them. And then working a side hustle like, whoa, you know, it's like That's crazy.

I don't know if— yeah, I hear and I have met so many women and they share the same thing that is so painful, but they still have to do it. You know, that a lot of them might be single moms or they just have to help their husband support me. My husband works really, really hard too. And I'm so thankful for him because he makes it possible. Yeah. He understands my illness and he doesn't need to know everything about it. Read a medical book about it. He just needs to understand it. And he supports me in everything that I do. But not everybody has that opportunity. Yeah. And it's really hard. And my heart really goes out when I hear other people that— because it's reality. They don't have the opportunity and they still have to— they the real warriors out there.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I say the same thing all the time, that having my husband like He's super supportive. He's like one of those guys that never gets sick, which thankfully, because, you know, we would be looking pitiful trying to take care of each other. But, you know, I'm just really thankful that he supports me and he understands and he's completely there. So I can, like, to your point, there are a lot of women that don't have that type of support and they're just going it alone. They're single moms who are dealing with this and all those kind of things. So it's really encouraging to see that. And that's part of what inspired inspired me to share my story. So to show that, okay, my circumstances are different than yours, but I want to hear their stories, right? I want to hear their stories and be able to support them in whatever ways that I can. So what inspires you to do what you're doing?

Well, I draw inspiration from, from my family, number one, because I want to feel like I provide something to my family. I draw inspiration from other strong women around me, my mom, my grandmother, best friends, um, the women that are helping me in my business. They are inspirational to me. And I'm also inspired by the fact that I can create something. I've always liked to create and I want to create, and I am trying to create products that is not only about, oh, how much you're paying or making money, but I'm inspired every time somebody writes to me and they say, hey, I have sensitive skin and this didn't hurt my skin. Or hey, I had this issue and it's helping me. For me, that's a big inspiration to just continue to create products that are clean. It is tempting to add the nice fragrance, you know, or to add these other things that you read that are going to do this and that for your skin. But at that point, it would totally go against myself. And I don't want to do that. So I draw inspiration from so many people. When I least expect it, I get it from someone that sends me a review or a message, how it's helping their kids. That's important to me. And then eventually to be able to do more for the community, that also inspires me because I don't want it to stop here. I wanted to do, get more involved in other things that are in our community, not only with autoimmune problems, but also autism is another area that is really like close to my heart and an area that I want to be able to help. Obviously skincare doesn't help with autism, but money does.

Yeah, you can give back.

I'm not saying thousands of dollars, but there are parents out there that cannot afford that one session that month for their children, right? And they need it. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Now being able to give back, I mean, being able to give back, that's, that's important too.

So yeah, I love that. Why is autism so special? Like, why is that a special place in your heart?

I have friends, I have family that have been— their children are either close to getting diagnosed or they looking for answers. And I have friends whose children have been diagnosed, and I can see how it has changed their lives. Some are in the very low spectrum. So they have a normal life, but I have seen how hard it has been to diagnose. Others have been, it's not until they teenagers that you see the signs, especially with girls. You see them struggling, but you don't know they're struggling, you know? And as parents not being educated, it really— this touches me more, I think, even than my own immune problem, because my own immune problem, I I'm fighting for it.

Right.

I see these other children and family trying to, trying to get the help they need, you know, and it's so hard to get a diagnosis because it costs a lot of money. And it's funny that insurance doesn't really help them and it costs a lot of money. So they have to wait until they raise the money. Like right now I'm trying to partner up with a small local organization nonprofit that what they do is, I think there's like a special 5 sessions that this family member, they need at the beginning. And each session is $100. And yes, it's $500, but after family has spent thousands of dollars trying to diagnose their children, to then spend $500 for the sessions, sometimes they can't and they have to do those 5 sessions through the year as they save the money. So to see them struggling and to see not having the help and struggling financially, that touches me.

Yeah, yeah.

I don't know, it makes me even more emotional. Like, I know about my immune system and I'm like, oh yeah, that's fine because I'm dealing with it. I'm handling it. But when I see others, I have a friend that her son has severe autism. It's her only child and That's her life. You know, that's— she lives for him. And I see it and it's like, wow. And thank God now she gets help because of the way he's been diagnosed. But then all the ones that are diagnosed in the lower spectrum, they don't really— not that much. So yeah. So yeah, that's one area that I would like to make a difference. To your question, I think I draw inspiration from many sources because I can't put life in a box.

Yeah.

There's so much more than what inspires me and what's in my life. There's so much more out there that if we are in a box, we can't see it. So I don't know, that's like from many areas.

You know, that's a good point. I love that analogy too, because if we put ourselves in the box, we could never see a different perspective. Like we could never see anything outside of that box. So when we reach out and we look for other people for inspiration and other things for inspiration, it changes our perspective. It changes maybe how we pursue our goals or the things that inspire us, for sure.

I think when we're just doing it for us, we become— I mean, obviously, I really believe about self-care, taking care of yourself first. That's important. I always tell my friends You got to think of the airplane when they give you instructions and they say, "Put your mask on." You think it's being selfish. And I was just on a plane last night, about to get on another one later on tomorrow in the middle of the night. And there is a reason. And you think— and I remember having this conversation with a friend that it's like, "Well, that's easy to say, but when you see your children, your son or your daughter next to you, you want to put the mask on them first." And then I'm like, "Yeah, as a mother, the instinct kicks in and that's what you want to do." However, when you know the reason why you're doing it, you actually need to take care of yourself first, because you're able to provide the help that the child next to you needs, or the person next to you needs. So you do have to look at yourself and take care of yourself. And when you're able to take care of yourself, then I think that allows it to also be open-minded, if you do it with a heart of humbleness and not selfish. Where you can say, I'm taking care of myself and I'm able to now help others. What can I do to help? Even in helping, you need to know your limitations too.

Right.

You need to know your limits and your boundaries, what to say no, what to say yes. Sometimes you have to say no to others and yes to yourself. Right. And sometimes you have to say no to yourself and yes to others. So I think that knowing the balance It's important too.

Yeah, no, I totally—

yeah, and draw your inspiration from not only from one source, because when you draw from one source and something happens and that source is removed, then there goes your inspiration, right? Then you feel like, oh, that's it, I was doing it for that, I was doing it for my children, my husband, my friend, whoever, you know. And it— for some reason that's taken away, in whichever way it could be. Breakup or somebody move, whatever, then your inspiration is gone. So you need to have inspiration from different sources. At least I do.

Yeah. Yeah. No, I agree with that. I think, yeah, I totally agree with that. So what are some fears that you've had to overcome during this process of like starting your own business and doing your own thing?

Oh, fears. Oh my gosh.

Many.

The panic of feeling like, really? I'm going to start a new career now? Do you think I have had all this figured out? But obviously having an immune problem kind of put a damper on my—

Yeah, it does.

My previous career, I couldn't do that. So I'm like, okay, Ana, it's not your fault. You know, it's okay. Then I see other women that have like at age 50, start a new company and they do it amazing. And I'm like, Yeah, it's not like my life is ending because my age. And so the fear of not being able to complete it because I started it and it's been— I've had many different obstacles getting to this point. And I said, I have to complete this. And sometimes, you know, you're excited and you start a new project and something happens and you don't complete it. The fear of not completing it. The fear of not— when I first launched, the fear of sitting in front of my computer and not have any sales.

Yeah, that's a real thing.

It's like, oh, I'm going to sit here maybe 3 days or a week. And no, it didn't happen like that, thankfully. But that's a fear. A fear of finances. Am I going to be able to afford this? Paralyzed about all the stuff that I needed to learn. I could have been paralyzed, you know, the fear of, am I going to be able to learn all this to implement it? Because, you know, when you're starting a business, you're on your own. You are your accountant, technical person, website developer, digital artist, everything. You're everything. So there were, there were many fears for sure. But not being able to see it through, I think that was my biggest fear. And because it was my biggest fear, it was my bigger push to see it through.

Yeah.

So how would you say you overcame them? Like you said, you pushed through them, but what were some of the things that you did to kind of get you to move past those things?

Knowing that there were people counting on me or supporting me and cheering me on.

Yeah.

And I didn't want to let them down. So they believed in me, like my partner believed in me first, and I had so many people invested in this. I mean, not even— I'm not talking financially, but emotionally I felt I can't. I mean, there were days that I'm like, I'm so tired and feeling sick. And we had to move in the middle of planning this company. We moved back to Florida, and that brought a lot of changes in my family, a lot of stress, not only financially but even as a family when you go through different moves and different things that bring stress. And I'm just being honest because I'm sure there's someone that would identify out there with this.

Yeah.

And you feel like, how am I going to open a company while dealing with this? But those were the things that kind of like pushed me through, knowing that I still have people that believe in me. And if they saw something, there were— there was something they were seeing that I wasn't seeing and I needed to find it. So when I found it and I said, I am a determined person, I can do this. It was pretty much like, what is it that you see in me? That's what you see? Okay, so let me find it. You know, you see me as a determined person, let me find that determined person, bring it out, and let me get to work.

Right.

And getting it done, I tell myself it needs to get done. And there's this movie, I can't remember the name of the movie, but if I say the line, some of you might remember. It's a baseball movie and it's all girls with Tom Hanks. Oh, yeah.

Field Dreams?

No, it's not Field Dreams.

No, no, no, no, no. I know what you're— it's something leagues. I know exactly what you're talking about.

But it's all the ladies, and it's a baseball team. And he tells— oh my God, I can't remember the name of the actress. Sorry, guys. But she's crying and whining and complaining, and this is so hard, this is not easy, or whatever. And Tom Hanks says, "it's not supposed to be easy, because if it's easy, everybody will do it." Mm-hmm. So I've always— it's funny because I have like a ton of lines from Tom Hanks. If you come across this podcast, Tom Hanks, you're a big inspiration too. And Forrest Gump.

Oh, yes.

I just have like so many quotes from him that inspire me. But anyway, but that quote of "it's not supposed to be easy." It's supposed to be hard. Yeah. Because if it were easy, then everybody else would do it. So I'm like, OK, I need to overcome this. It's not easy. It's supposed to be hard. And I still have to do it. And I'm still going to do it because others have done it. Yeah.

Yeah, totally. I love that quote. And I love that movie. The name of the movie is A League of Their Own. Yes.

Thank you.

I love that movie. That's one of my favorite movies. I love that movie. I love that movie. That's your favorite movie.

Yeah. And that's like— that's one of my favorite quotes. And then my second favorite quote is, Forrest Gump when he's running and the guy's running next to him and he steps on something and then he said, "Hey, you step on this, beep." And then Tom Hanks says, "It happens. Sometimes you step on things that— and it happens. You just kind of have to keep going." So yeah, that's my second favorite quote in life. Like, hey, it happens.

It happens.

Yeah, exactly. Totally. Yeah. Yeah, well, I love that you just shared all of that with us. I mean, it's just a testament to kind of like the power of having mentors, having people that believe in you, being around positive people. Because, um, I mean, I share this a lot more with, with my story myself. I just— if you try to go this whole entrepreneur Even though it's lonely and yes, a lot of it you're doing it on your own, literally like physically doing it on your own. But if you don't put yourself in a surroundings of women who may not be physically with you, but are there, you know, cheering you on and talking with you and sending you emails or on calls or masterminds or in Facebook groups or whatever. And they're positive and they believe in you. They kind of give you that belief when you feel like this isn't possible. This is not going to work, or I can't do this, this is too hard. They help you to kind of keep going because they see in you what sometimes you don't see in yourself. And so it's so important with like the people that we put in our corners that they are, they are pillars. They are the ones that help lift us up when we don't believe in ourself. And I think it's beautiful. Every single podcast episode that I have done with every single woman has somehow, some way, shape, or form touched on the fact of community and having the right community, like having the right people to—

Yeah, like you say, you keep saying they, because it is a they. It's not only a one-person thing. We cannot expect that one person to meet whoever mentor, you know? Like, I have a group of friends that they are like my prayer warriors. They pray for me. I have another friend that that I talk to her every day about business and we do strategies together. Then I have somebody else that helped me, like I love listening to Jasmine Star. I know you just did a podcast with her.

I can't wait for that. I'm looking forward to that.

I look to her and I draw, even though she's not like my personal mentor, you know, like that, I feel like she is because I constantly go to her to see what she's doing. I listen to your podcast and the ladies that are there, the people that are there, We draw from different places. You know, it's finding inspiration from different places, drawing energy from different sources too, not just one.

Yeah.

You know, how to know where you— and know, go to— if you have a group that what they do is lift you up in prayer or give you an encouraging word, when you need an encouraging word, that's the person that you got to call. Don't go call the strategic person or the logical person because you'll be down by the end of the conversation, like, oh my gosh, you feel worse. Call the one that's gonna inspire you. And if you need something strategic, call the strategic person that helps you with your numbers, that helps you with ideas. Don't call the inspirational one, 'cause she won't know what to do. She's like, "I'm sorry, you can do this, hooray," but she's not gonna give you an idea.

Yeah, no, I totally agree with you.

And I do have guys in my life, guys that are comfortable with women being empowered.

Yes, exactly.

That's important. You know, my husband, Brothers. I have 4 brothers.

I don't have sisters.

Wow.

Whoa.

I have a best friend who's like a sister, and my prayer group ladies, they're like sisters to me. And then my best friend is— we've been best friends for 20-something years, so that's the closest to a sister. But I also have men that empower me to be empowered.

That's awesome. The show is really about women and like women being empowered and all that kind of stuff. And it's not to say that there aren't men, like I said earlier, like you're just saying, there are men that are just as supportive and just as uplifting. And, you know, for me, it's my husband. For you, it's, you know, your guys and your husband. So, but I think it's like, it's kind of like I've said in another episode with another friend of mine, like some things they can try all they want to try to understand where we're coming from, but they can't because they're guys.

Exactly. And for me, the percentage of guys that are— it's pretty much a handful. I'm going to say that my 95% is women. From my great-grandmother to my mom, to my friend, to my other group of friends and people in business, it's all women. It's all women. I'm going to say 95 to maybe like 97%. That other lower percent is compasses of my husband, pretty much. My brothers.

Well, tell us, so tell us a little bit about the tools that you're using in your business that have helped you kind of get to where you need to go. Some things like that you just can't live without. Okay.

Let's see. Are we talking like educational tools or?

It can be educational tools. It could be, it could be like something that you like for your skincare line, like something that you have found super helpful, even like researching or doing, since it's something that a lot of people don't even know, like what are some of the things that you have used to kind of help you get to where you are in your business as far as like technology or the computer or books?

I'm definitely, well, for tools, I am grateful that we live in an area era where we can find so much information in the internet. I would say that Google and YouTube are your friend. I call YouTube, YouTube University, because you find everything there.

Yes.

Reading books, reading books about health, about ingredients. Like, I have a dictionary on different ingredients so I can know which ingredients are good to use and not to use. Using Certain websites that they have already gone through the work of testing certain ingredients to see how their toxicity level is. That's important to me. Let's see what else. What are the tools? I think definitely, definitely the internet a lot, because that's when I'm able to do courses online that would help me and my industry. Big tool, because that's where I have people like you, my partner. That is the best place to actually be social if you want to be social and the right group of people. And yeah, so.

That's awesome. Well, that's, yeah, Instagram is a tool that I never thought would be the bomb.com like it is, like really.

Yeah, it is.

I just love this conversation. You know, we talked about a lot of things. We talked about, you know, your journey, your story. And I, you know, a lot of this, I don't think I would have found out without having a conversation like this with you. So thank you for being on and sharing it with my audience. And everyone else.

Well, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate your reaching out and inviting me. Honestly, I was really nervous at the beginning, wondering, oh my God, what do we even have to say? But I have so much fun. You make me feel so comfortable. I'm still wondering, like, oh my God, I wonder what that's going to come out like. Oh, no. Like, that even makes sense. But you know what? I've had a wonderful time talking to you. You make me feel— Very comfortable just sharing. Thank you for sharing your story. I know the interview was questions about me, and I've had the opportunity to ask you questions before off the air and getting to know you and just appreciate you. And you're a great inspiration also, just to see you even now sitting with me instead of getting ready for your surgery, which I wish you the best. You're here like making time for for me, because that's who you are. You know how I— you know, as I get to know you and I— through Instagram and the times that we've spoken, it seems that you put things into priority and you give priority to the people that you reach out and create a relationship with. And I, I'm just honored to be part of that. Thank you so much, and thank you for having me. It's a pleasure. Honestly, you're like an inspiration. Sometimes I'm in pain and I go into your page and you posting about yourself and you know how you feel, but you do it with a smile and you keep going. I'm like, okay, now I got to smile like Nikita Williams.

Oh my gosh, please.

No pressure there.

Okay. No pressure. You know, the next picture you might not see a smile. It might be the hospital smile where I'm like, yeah, this is what real, real, real is getting down. But you know, I just try to share a little bit of all aspects of it, of my life. And like you, I know you go through a lot and I know you deal with a lot. So I just I didn't realize that before. So it's even more amazing, your story to me, it just adds more texture to who you are as a person. So thank you once again for being on.

Oh, thank you so much. You're going to get me all emotional again.

Thank you. All right. Tell us where we can find you online. I almost forgot. Okay.

In Instagram, uh, Right now I have my first product out, which is a skincare oil, and I'm working on 3 more. Hopefully by the end of the year we have the full line. But you can find me on Instagram @amour.360. That's A-M-O-U-R dot, the number is 360. And my website is the same, www.amour360.com.

Awesome. Well, you guys got to check her out.

Thank you so much. Thank you. And you guys feel free, anyone listening, any questions, I try to answer pretty quick my DMs and stuff like that. So I'm able, I hope I'm able to help anyone out there that's struggling either with their skincare or balancing or trying to create like a routine that is healthy for them, for their skin and suggestions of products, then hopefully I can help someone out. Not only about my product, it's really about helping other people finding what works for them.

Okay guys, I hope you really enjoyed this episode. Be sure to like and subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. If you would like to check out our show notes and some more information or the details to get in contact with Miss Anna, go to she'scrafted.com and you'll see her episode at the top. Just remember, you guys, you are crafted to thrive.