Untytled: The Jasmine Matheney Interview
The Jasmine Matheney Interview — Volume 02.
This interview was released in March 2023.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Tell me about your upbringing around family members who were serial entrepreneurs. How did this influence your eventual path as a business owner?
Everyone, from the men to the women in my family has been an entrepreneur. I first realized my family was entrepreneurs when I didn’t see them going to traditional jobs. My father is a contractor, and my mother was a hair braider who worked from home. The women in my family inspired me the most to become an entrepreneur because of the financial freedom it allowed them to have. My maternal grandmother had a barbershop on E. State Fair back in the day that employed most of her sisters until she went on to work from home as a barber. My paternal grandmother ran a daycare facility out of her home in which she employed me at the age of 8. My lineage is full of entrepreneurship which has inspired me to do the same with my life.
What started as a product to help your daughter Brooklyn overcome eczema in 2017 has now transformed into a six-figure company. When did you realize that you had to leave corporate America to completely dedicate yourself to Brooklyn Body Butter?
One of my co-workers who saw that drive and ambition in me said get out while you can, you’re young, go! So, I registered for nursing school. I always wanted to be a nurse. Growing up, I had plans of being a pediatrician because I loved children and helping them. I put my two weeks’ notice in and started nursing school shortly after that. I was hoping for BBB to sustain me through nursing school and once I was done with school, BBB would start back as my side hustle. However, once I completed nursing school, I passed the NCLEX on the first try, and never had a nursing job. During the time of me being both in school and running BBB, I realized that my business was my calling and I had to give it my all. I’d given all these companies over the years all I had to give by showing up to work, being a team player, and always picking up overtime, so I started putting the same energy into my own business, Now, I’m writing history every day because of it.
Every year, you continue to raise the marketing bar with each unveiling of a new scent, sale, or holiday release. Where are some places you look when you’re trying to conceptualize your ideas?
I like nostalgia. I like to capture and connect with people to give them a feel-good memory. You know how you see something, and you’ll say “Oh!” I love that feeling. It’s an internal feeling that is very hard to explain, but in your soul, it feels good. That’s what I like to do with my product.
At this point, you’ve prepared hundreds of thousands of jars of Brooklyn Body Butter for your loyal customer base. With most companies looking toward utilizing AI (Artificial Intelligence) on a larger scale, do you ever think about outsourcing your workload or will it always be a two-woman team with you and your mother?
Honestly, no. I don’t ever think about outsourcing. I like being able to be hands-on with my product and giving it my all, though it can be overwhelming and tiring. I never want the integrity of BBB to change. I like being able to scale at my own pace. For me, it’s about making the same product every time. Being consistent with BBB is the most important thing to me.
How does your daughter inspire you both as a parent and business owner considering that Brooklyn Body Butter bears her namesake?
As any other parent would probably say, she’s my everything. Everything that I do and have now is because of her. A mother that was in need found a solution. Because BBB does bear her name, it’s important for me to be patient, understanding, respectful, and everything that I would want my daughter to present to the world.
If anyone follows you on social media, they know you have an affinity for all things Chanel, and you love to travel to different places around the world. What is one bucket-list item you wish to tackle that you haven’t done yet?
I want to go back to school and become a nurse practitioner and specialize in OB/pediatrics. That’s one of my lifelong goals and I’m going to accomplish it.
