Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sky Britnei, Owner of De La Jipi Apothecary & Botánica, located in Brooklyn, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

De La Jipi Apothecary and Botánica centers on Black and Brown wellness
spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Our mission and goal are to help our community feel like art, magick, beauty, and divinity personified through our community, products, and services while making wellness accessible. We offer spiritual tools, holistic bath and body products, healing crystal jewelry, and more. We honor how our art moves, transforms, and evolves. We honor each stage of the journey.

Tell us about yourself

Hey, I'm Sky Britnei! The founder, one-woman show, bruja, and sacred artist behind De La Jipi Apothecary & Botánica. I am a spiritual/holistic wellness and energy practitioner. I utilize a variety of mediums to help my community lean into their divinity, including art therapy, herbalism/plant medicine, crystal healing, reiki, sound healing, and more. My journey into spirituality and holistic wellness started during a time in my life when I suffered from anxiety and depressive episodes. I found an outlet for all that I was going through by leaning deeper into my spirituality and creating art. As I continued my own personal journey, my community began to resonate deeply with my experiences and how I was able to honor myself enough to begin my healing journey.

Sharing my experiences with my community soon became my guiding force. Sharing the light, the art, and the magick with beautiful beings that understood why and what I was creating filled me with more joy than I could imagine. During these moments, I understood how deeply my passions and purpose were intertwined. I still love being in the community and creating for my community. At the core of the work I do is the belief that we are art, everything we create is art, and through art and its creation, we can heal ourselves and the collective. In addition, my goal is to make art and healing (in all its beautiful modalities) accessible to Black and Brown communities — to provide a safe space for us, by us. My business and career are so much more than just work to me, especially because they are heavily intertwined within my personal life, experiences, and journey. The work I do and the things I create are my life, passion, and purpose. I create for myself and my community. I create because God led me here.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is every moment I choose to show up for my purpose. Every moment that I choose the life that chooses me. Every time I create something new. Every time I connect with someone who I've impacted. Each moment is huge, and I've honestly learned to celebrate it all!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is trusting yourself, your path, your purpose, and knowing that God/the Highest/the Universe/the Divine put you here for a reason. It can be easy to compare yourself to others, doubt yourself, question what you're doing (or how well you're doing it), get in your head, let fear lead the way, and so much more, especially in the age of social media. But by surrounding myself with the right people/community and by leaning deeply into my faith, I am able to overcome these issues whenever they come up for me.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The top three tips I would give to anyone looking to start a business, especially a spiritually based business are:

  1. Just start. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be real, authentic and something you are genuinely interested in and passionate about.
  2. Find your why. Sit with it. Lean into it. And allow that and what feels good to guide you. When we understand WHY we are in business, it helps us not only attract the right consumers, but it keeps us integrous, and this is important for the sustainability and longevity of our business.
  3. Keep a solid community. Surround yourself with people who genuinely want to see you happy and winning. Who respects you, your business, intellectual property, creativity, and process.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Don't dim your light to make others comfortable. Shine bright.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://delajipi.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delajipi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skybritnei
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skybritnei/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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