Meet Rochelle Smith | Co-Founder, Beauty Braids & Beyond

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rochelle Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rochelle, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
It started off as wanting to provide premium braiding hair for people in the same way that people sell bundles. and then, after consulting my business partners, we decided just to open an entire beauty supply store. This was at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement following the tragic incident with George Floyd. We noticed that beauty supply stores that catered primarily to the Black demographic did not have a stance on this atrocity and displayed no alliance with our community during this time. it was a little bit of a wake-up call- how do you support a business that takes your money but shows no no support when it’s needed? So we broke down what is missing from these establishments and created a platform and space where support our community and embrace Black beauty.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The dynamic partnership between my partners and I was born out of the abundance of self-love, support and empowerment amongst all 3 of us. Our collective experiences fueled our passions to consistently advocate and amplify the voices of Black women in any capacity personal to us – including hair care. and as I mentioned earlier, that gap we identified within the market (lack of Black-Owned beauty supply stores) brought us to where we are today.

Beauty, Braids & Beyond (BBB) is an e-commerce beauty supply retailer that aims to revolutionize the beauty supply industry. We created this business to address this disparity in this industry, through education to ensure our clients can make informed decisions when purchasing products to address their needs. We use our platform to not only educate our clients, but to also show diverse representation of beauty to instill confidence and self-love amongst our clientele. Using innovation and education, BBB’s mission is to make accessible the tools customers need to achieve their hair, skin, and beauty goals. Our Vision is to become a cutting-edge beauty supply retailer that works to actively break the barriers and standards of beauty for women with textured hair worldwide.

I’ll speak on behalf of my partners, As a women entrepreneurs, our greatest milestone to date was the conscious decision we made to shift our scarcity mindset to one of abundance, opportunity, and success in entrepreneurship so we could successfully and enthusiastically launch our business. Entrepreneurship is not a mindset taught to women, especially women within the BIPOC community. we are usually encouraged to get an education and obtain a “secure job.” Stepping into this journey of entrepreneurship was intimidating, with the lingering notion that success was a long shot. We had to push through the financial, limited mentorship, and lack of knowledge barriers, which were things required to start a successful business. Not only did we overcome these barriers, but since we’ve launched, we’ve made a point to support and educate aspiring young entrepreneurs and our community. Being able to not only achieve our goals and launch a business but help others achieve their goals is something we are most proud of. We hope to continue to share our story and journey to inspire others to see themselves in places of influence, impact, and success

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If you’re in Toronto this time of year, I would check out Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland; it’s always a fun and spooky time. I would check out some of the restaurants in Yorkville, a few were recently awarded Michelin Stars which is a huge deal for the city! If you’re in the mood for shopping, definitely check out the Eaton Centre or Yorkdale Mall. There is also this really cute art show which takes place overnight with art displayed all over the city called “Nuit Blanche” . And lastly, if you have more time, Niagra Falls is about 1h30 minute drive from downtown Toronto and the view is spectacular.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
S/O to my business partners, Jada White and Tosin During. You ladies inspire me more than you know!

Another S/O to all of our parents who have gone above and beyond and have shown us nothing but love, support and encouragement as we navigated entrepreneurship.

Website: www.beautybraidsandbeyond.com

Instagram: @beautybraidsandbeyond / @rochellemarie.smith