You’re never too young to get swept up by the fresh spirit of entrepreneurship! Layla + Mya Parish are two sisters who run a sweet business called Suga Babes which consists of scrumptious sugar scrubs, lotions and great smelling soaps.  Layla, 15, and Mya, 10, always had an urge to dig into their mother’s sweet bath gifts and was often told to stay out of her stuff. So they took their passion into their own hands and launched their beauty company!

Suga Babes is both all natural and gluten free. They use only premium ingredients in their sugar scrubs, body creams, soaps, and bath teas.  Their scrubs and lotions aid in eczema as well. Not only do they create a fantastic product line but also offers mobile spa parties!

These amazing sisters have  been fortunate to use their business as a platform to give back to the community and inspire other young girls to conquer their dreams.

Let’s get to know the Layla + Mya a little better…

Going into the beauty biz with your sister is awesome! What first motivated you to launch Suga Babes product line + mobile  spa services?
We launched Suga Babes initially because we would use our mom’s bath and body products and she would always run us out. So we thought why not create our own product line of sugar scrubs, lotions, and soaps! We told our mom our idea and she helped us to make it a reality. We started our business April 2012. Shortly after getting our product line up and running we thought how cool would it be to include mobile spa parties. We launched our mobile spa service July 2012, and it was a hit! Moms love us! We offer mini services which would include mani’s, pedi’s and facials. And at the end of each party we give a inspirational message to our clients.

It’s beautiful that as you’re building your business as young, female entrepreneurs & giving back to the community! Why is that important to you both and what changes do you want to see in your generation?
Our mom has always taught us the importance of giving back and serving others. As we were putting the plan in place for our mobile spa parties we thought it would be awesome to use this service as a platform to motivate and inspire other young girls that there is no limit in what they can do in life when they put God first and believe. Then they take it a step further by putting their plans into action. That’s exactly what we did!

We would love to see our generation be more involved in their communities; and to remember those who came before us and what they had to endure for us to be able to enjoy the things we enjoy. We are our communities and we can make a difference. We all are a part of the puzzle and we fit perfectly.

Being young and having responsibilities can sometimes get to be a bit overwhelming, how do you regroup and motivate yourself when you’re feeling a little defeated?
We have balance. Our mom makes sure of that part. We have time where we work Suga Babes and a time where we let our hair down from being young entrepreneurs to young girls. Our mom is our motivator. She constantly tells us we can do this! She does a lot and supports us 100%. She makes sure we are not burned out or overwhelmed by having checks and balances in place. We also watch our peers who are entrepreneurs and that motivates us to keep going because if they can do it we can too.

We tend to pull characteristics from others in our lives or from people we admire, who inspires you and why?
Our mother. She is our inspiration and biggest cheerleader! Our mom is a strong woman who has experienced a lot. She is organized, smart and very pretty. She is full of wisdom and strength. When we came to her with our idea she didn’t hesitate to help us. She was a single mom at the time with one income.  Every extra cent she had went into our business. We are so grateful for her and all of her sacrifices that she has made just for us! She is our “first lady”, “celebrity” and “rock star!” Our mom totally ROCKS!

What are 3 pieces of advice you would give girls to be confident in themselves?
To believe in yourself and your abilities. To step out of your comfort zone. Take risks and never give up.

We are all about empowerment, What does EMPOWERMENT mean to you?
Empowerment means to have the power and will to achieve your goals. To never stop. To never quit. To make it happen.

Time for the Faves! Celeb Crush? Artist? Food? Movie?
Mya: Jace Norman. Ariana Grande. Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. Home.
Layla: Jacob Latimore. Solange.  Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Stomp the Yard

Check out more here!

Suga Babes

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Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of young ladies about the importance of establishing healthy financial behaviors as young women. Here’s the rundown of my presentation:

• I advised the group to mimic the professional behaviors of women like Beyonce, Michelle Obama and Oprah who have all excelled in their respective careers while maintaining admirable public images.

• We discussed the consequences of debt and emphasized the importance of saving money.

• The most impactful advice I gave the girls was to “Ball on a Budget.”

As you all know by now, budgeting is a topic that I am super passionate about. Too often people stretch themselves thin to meet an irrelevant standard or impress people that do not matter.  It is extremely important to stay in your lane when managing your personal finances. I thought my “Ballin on a Budget” explanation was pretty thorough until I received a question at the end of my presentation. A young lady asked, “How do I ball on a budget with no job?”  It was a very good question considering all the girls participating in the workshop were younger than the legal working age. Plus, you must have income in order to budget and ball. My answer was simple, I told the girls to change their perception of what “working” means.

Most people think about working as being an employee. An employee is hired by a company to perform certain duties, during specified hours of the day and in return, the employee is paid a set amount of money at the end of their pay period. There is a less common approach to working referred to as entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is when person organizes and operates a business that they started. They become their own boss and assume all responsibilities related to running their company. Instead of being hired by a company, an entrepreneur does the hiring. They are the BAWSE!! Entrepreneurs make their own work schedules and they have the potential to earn more money than an “employee” who works for someone else.  Although the potential rewards of being an entrepreneur exceed those of being a traditional employee, there are some risks to consider when pursuing an entrepreneurial career. In the early stages of your business, income (if any) can fluctuate. Entrepreneurs encounter a lot of rejection and they work long hours. It is the individual’s responsibility to determine if the risks are worth the reward. If you are a high risk, high reward type of individual, keep in mind that entrepreneurs make up the biggest segment of millionaires in the U.S., whereas entertainers account for less than 1% of all millionaires.

So back to the question, how can you ball on a budget without a job? Make a job! Ok, ok. I can hear your grumbling questions over the internet, “Well how do I make a job?” Here are 8 tips to pursuing your first entrepreneurial venture:

1. Write down your talents.

2. Write down your strengths.

3. Write down your hobbies.

4. Write down the things that other people like about you.

5. Review your list.

6. Circle the things on the list that people are willing to pay for.

7. Put a box around the item that has the most potential.

8. Develop a strategy to launch your business around the item in #7.

Once you put #8 into action, you will have become an entrepreneur. And don’t think you are too young. There are thousands of youth across the world that have already started businesses who are younger than you. Here are a few:

This is Zoe Damacela, she is the CEO of Zoe Damacela Apparel. She started her first
business at 8 years old.

This is Thomas Suarez, a 14 year old app developer and founder of CarrotCorp, a
company that designs games for mobile devices.

This is Leanna Archer. She started her company, Leanna’s Inc at 9 years old.
Leanna’s Inc makes all natural hair care products.

There is an old saying,”If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.” I want our
readers to never work a day in their lives. Working for other people is so 1990. Develop your strengths
and talents early while you don’t have anything to loose. The older you get, the harder it gets to
become an entrepreneur. So get started now. You do not have to be a businesswoman, you can BE the
BUSINESS!!

…then you can really Ball on a Budget

-Courtney Hale