Black History Month was created to honor the investments of African-American people to this country.

Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month.

It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada and more recently has been observed in Ireland and the UK.

Despite 250 years of slavery, the most brutal and treacherous treatment known to mankind, which included people being sold as property, families being ripped apart, sexual abuse and mistreatment, denial of education and wages, black folks have found a way to arise over these circumstances and create inventions, serve in the military, build businesses and become a part of the American fabric.

Today, we will speak with two African-American women who are business owners with a cause.

Joining me today on the show are Kristy Alexander... She's the founder and Chief Big Heart at Apple Rose Beauty.

Angela Nicki Knox, cookbook author, creator of Saucey sauce line and food truck, creator of XtraSugar brand and food truck.

Listen, don't go anywhere.

I'll make sure you stay right there.

We'll be right back with Courageous Conversations.

Well, welcome back.

So glad that you stayed with us.

Let's bring our guests in.

We're going to have a chance to talk to these two amazing, phenomenal black women who are doing tremendous, tremendous work, and entrepreneurs and trailblazers.

It's so exciting.

Thank you, Kristy, thank you, Nikki, for being on the show today.

Thank you both for taking the time to hang out with me this morning.

- Thank you for having us.

- Awesome.

So, Kristy, I want to jump right in.

Your business is called Apple Rose.

Tell us what your company does and why.

- Well, Apple Rose Beauty, it's luxurious organic skincare line formulated with sensitive skin beauty in mind, so our products tackle tough skin issues like oily skin, dry skin, acne, signs of aging, all of that.

We also have a Big Heart mission to end human trafficking, so our mission is to employ survivors and donate to organizations involved in their rescue and rehabilitation.

- Wow, that's amazing.

That's a large vision that you have.

And, Nikki, you're an entrepreneur as well.

Can you tell us a little bit about your business and what you do?

- Yes.

So one chef, two brands, so we have Saucey Chick sauces, which was created during the pandemic.

Then I'm also a personal chef.

And then we branched out and we started two food trucks, which in turn we do use our services and our trucks to do so many different things within the community as well.

I always say there's anything that I can do is I can always feed people.

So, of course, you know, being a culinary, and that's one thing that we do is try to feed our communities.

And again, like I said, Saucey Chick was birthed during the pandemic.

Things changed in the... ..you know, within our scope of catering.

And so therefore, we had to do something different.

- Yeah, yeah.

So many people had to remake themselves during the pandemic.

All right.

So you've got to give me this.

We just in the living room, we're chilling, we're talking.

Where did the name Saucey Chick comes from?

I mean, that's an eye-catcher, right?

It's a quick brand.

Tell me about Saucey Chick.

- So, my sister actually gave me that name.

- OK. - I love creating sauces.

And so after I did the cookbook, she came to me one day and was like, You know, you should do a cookbook with sauces, with sauce recipes.

And I said, Oh, OK. And I said, Well, no, let's create the sauces and bottle them.

And so she was like, OK, Saucey see Chick.

And I said, Ah, there you go!

Saucey Chick.

- It's how the magic happens.

Just sometimes talking to people you love, right, and things happen, man.

That's amazing.

Congratulations on that.

So, Kristy, your background is in engineering, management and business.

How did you go from that line of business to breaking into the skincare industry?

- You know, I always say chemistry is my first love.

So I'm actually from the Caribbean, and in Trinidad and Tobago growing up, you know, chemistry was my favorite class, and I remember in chemistry class analyzing face powder one day and I said, This is what I want to do.

I want to start a cosmetics company.

And I was one of those planner kids.

I wrote a life plan then that I was going to work in business for a while and then start my company.

Of course, life happens, as it does when you're 15 years old, and I ended up coming to the US.

I did physics and engineering in college and then went into engineering and business and management.

I did that for about ten and a half years.

It was going really well.

I was on the fast track, being promoted every couple of years.

I was up for another promotion and that's when I decided, you know, I don't think I want to retire here.

I think I want to do something else.

So I left my job, sold my home, all that great stuff, and left on a world trip.

I went to 11 countries in 11 months.

While I was in Thailand, I ended up volunteering with women who were rescued from human trafficking.

And so the dream I had when I was 15 years old kind of came back to me.

But after being faced with this, I decided to create opportunities for them, and so that dream got a much bigger purpose.

- That's amazing.

And there's a whole, I'm sure, back story behind that.

And, you know, visiting the 11 countries and the experiences that you had.

You know, we always say the Lord works in mysterious ways, right?

And for you, Nikki, the pandemic really caused you to remake yourself and really cause you to branch out into a different space.

It is said that you create experiences through your food.

What do you mean by that?

Can you talk a little bit about the power of food and how you create that experience and what you do?

- Yes.

So from the first phone call to the email to, you know, being in front of our clients, it's one thing to have good food and then it's one thing to have a good experience, but sometimes you don't get both of them at the same time.

So I want to create an culinary experience that goes from the beginning to the end, and I want my client to walk out and just know that this was the best food experience that they've ever had.

- Yeah.

- And so, again, it's developing the relationships with them, just not coming to them like, Oh, I'm a chef.

This is what you're going to have.

This is what you're going to do.

But just really cultivating the conversation, the relationship, again, between the client and really listening to their needs.

And for me, because even though I've been doing this for 24 years, I get nervous every time I get ready to create an experience for my client, because I want it to be the best.

And so therefore it, you know, just continues to get better and better as we go and as we continue to create those experiences, - That's amazing.

Thank you for that.

And so back to Kristy.

Your line has some specifics to it as it relates to your market and as it relates to how it's created.

Can you talk a little bit about that and who is your target audience?

- Yeah, so our products are formulated with sensitive skin beauty in mind.

I had a history of acne through adulthood, so I have a history of adult acne.

I also have sensitive skin and I'm also sensitive to strong fragrances in products.

And so I decided to create a line that would tackle all of those issues.

And also the ingredients in my products kind of hearken back to my upbringing in the Caribbean.

So a lot of ingredients are ingredients that I grew up with, like cayenne and coconut and turmeric.

And then also through my world travels, I also frequented local stalls and looked at their local beauty regimens as well.

And so I tried to incorporate some of those ingredients as well to really create a luxurious product where people can feel pampered.

It's natural and organic.

It's still earthy, but it doesn't have those really strong fragrances that are usually associated with organic products.

- That's exciting.

I mean, when you think about being an African-American woman, both of you stepping out and starting a business and really being captain of your own ship, if you will, what have been some of the challenges?

I'll go over the Nikki and I'll come back to you.

What have been some of the challenges you have faced as a minority business owner, and was the funding there to be able to help you get started to being able to build your brand?

- Funding was one of my biggest challenges.

Being in a male dominated career, you know, sometimes as a woman, you know, you have to push a little harder, you have to show that a female chef can do just as well as, you know, as a male chef.

- Mm-hmm.

So that has also has been one of my challenges in the industry itself, is proving that, you know, girls do rock, you know, and saying we can do this just as well as our counterparts.

So, yeah, so definitely funding was an issue.

I did get to tap into some of the SBA things during the pandemic, which helped a lot.

- Excellent.

So, Kristy, as you were getting ready to launch your brand, did you find challenges being a minority business owner in regards to funding and being able to break into the market?

- Yeah, definitely there were challenges with regards to funding.

You know, I bootstrapped for most of my business.

Still do quite a bit of bootstrapping, but, you know, it was kind of pulling from savings.

Some family and friends kind of believed in the vision.

And so they invested as well.

But definitely funding was a challenge.

I think a big challenge also was kind of you don't know what you don't know.

A lot of times, as African-Americans we're first generation entrepreneurs.

And so we don't have that uncle or grandad to kind of lean on for the do's and don'ts about business.

So it's kind of one of those things you're kind of flying by the seat of your pants and getting information wherever you can and kind of figuring out as you go.

But that's definitely been a challenge as well.

- Yeah, you know, we did a show recently where it talked about traditional banks and how many times African-Americans, minorities, Latinx community are, you know, discriminated against, right?

They'll fund you to buy a car and charge you more interest, fund you to buy a house and interest rate will be higher.

But when it comes to funding a business, they don't want to get behind funding a business, because then you become liberated to the point where you are in control of your destiny.

And you know, the statistics are there and very clear, even with the PPP funds - that a large portion of those funds were not given to minority businesses.

So on the second round, you know, here we go, being second in line again, right, they had to ensure that those dollars did make it to our community.

So, you know, kudos to you all for pressing through those financial challenges.

Nikki, you mentioned that you have food trucks.

So now not only are you personal chef, not only do you got Saucey Girl, but you got two food trucks.

Can you talk about kind of what was the inspiration to just kind of branch out and do the food trucks as well?

- Well, because of the sauces I wanted to...

I was like, How can I get people to taste the sauces besides just coming, you know, to vending events and things like that?

So I said... Get the truck, do the truck and fix the food.

So our menu items are, you know, simple, they're basic.

They're hamburgers, hot dogs, cheesesteaks, but what makes them different are the sauces because, you know, the food is created with the sauces, and so it gives it that pop.

- That's amazing.

I mean, when you think about rebranding yourself, remaking yourself, you know, the pandemic really caused you to do some deep-dive thinking, envisioning, recreating yourself.

And it takes significant intestinal fortitude and wherewithal to press through all of the negative thoughts that say, Oh, well, you're not going to be able to make it.

You know, in the lineage and in the line of all of our ancestors who have found strength to arise over less than optimal circumstances.

Congratulations on that.

Now, now, Kristy, you have, you know, a wonderful extension of your business where you support ending human trafficking.

And your title is the Chief Big Heart.

Can you talk about that and also your fight against human trafficking?

- Yeah, yeah, so the Chief Big Heart is an ode to that Big Heart mission of our business, which is to support the fight to end human trafficking and, you know, I kind of mentioned that that came about when I came face-to-face with human trafficking.

I actually lived with survivors of human trafficking.

I held their babies, you know, in Thailand.

I taught them English.

They taught me Thai.

And that's when I realized that this could have been me had I face different circumstances, or it even happens here in the US.

It happens all over the world.

It was also around the time of the Bring Back Our Girls movement with the situation in Nigeria when the girls were abducted by the Boko Haram, the terrorist organization, and they were threatening to sell them into human trafficking at the time.

And those girls were taken from physics class.

My undergraduate degree was in physics.

And so it just all kind of hit home for me, and I realized that this was a worldwide situation and that I can bring change to it by creating options and opportunities for women coming out of human trafficking.

And so that's why I decided to make that a mission of my business.

- What type of options and opportunities do you provide for those that are coming out of trafficking?

I know some of it has to be very secretive, but what type of things that you can reveal that you do?

- Yeah, well, one of the gaps I noticed was that human trafficking survivors, they weren't given a lot of options in terms of ways to provide for themselves.

And so we create opportunities in terms of employment.

And then we also support non-profit organizations that are on the forefront of helping to rescue them and also providing those kind of social services, you know, coaching and counseling, all of that that they need as they're coming out of a trauma based, you know, business.

- You know, I read of a story where there's a young lady who is being charged.

She was charged with murder because she ended up killing a guy who was, you know, sexually abusing her and had her involved in human trafficking.

Many times, you know, they are not treated as victims.

They are, you know, they're mistreated actually by the judicial system.

And so that is tremendous, tremendous work that you are doing, and thank you for caring.

Because the scripture reminds us that we should treat people the way we would like to be treated.

And I think it's important for the work that reaches those who are who are less fortunate than us.

And so I'm sure it's very rewarding work for you.

Back to you, Nikki.

Now, are you manufacturing your sauces here in the States?

Are you partnering?

Are you in any stores?

Are you looking to expand your brand into other spaces?

- Absolutely.

I want Saucey Chick to be a household name nationwide.

Right now, we actually produce the sauces ourselves.

I bottle them, label them ship them, everything, but I am looking to partner with a co-packaging company.

Part of our goal is...

I have a son that has dealt with mental illness.

And so we're hoping that with the funds that come from Saucey Chick that we'll be able to get a house, a home, for mental illness for men that are suffering with mental illness.

- Yeah.

- And so that's definitely... Because he was actually a part of helping me get Saucey Chick going.

He's labeled the bottles and all of that.

And so definitely want to launch into that community with mental illness as well.

- You know, thinking about that, there is such a need for support, mental health, especially after the pandemic.

You know, we did a show navigating the pandemic and just all of the numbers are up - divorce is up and, you know, mental illnesses up.

People who are suffering with addictions.

You know, relapses are up.

It's just been a very difficult time for so many people, and to be able to do work in that space, and within our community, because we know the minority community many times does not participate in counseling, therapy, that type of stuff.

You know, it's usually the pastors that are doing the work, and many of them are not qualified to be counselors.

So it's important the type of work that that you're doing, specifically in reaching into the community, of those who struggle with intellectual disabilities or mental health.

So, Kristy, let me ask you the same question.

Are you manufacturing your products here and how is the distribution going for you?

- Yeah, we're manufacturing in the US.

We still do some in-house as well, but we also have a third party manufacturer that helps us with some of the faster moving products.

We kind of have a foot in each side right now, transitioning.

Yeah, we distribute primarily right now D2C, direct to customer online.

We also are in a couple boutique stores and then we're also on Macy's online as well.

- Did you say Macy's online?

- Yes.

- Oh, that's wonderful.

OK, good.

Good.

Good.

And the reception has been good for you?

You know, Macy's did a partnership with some African-American designers, and I like to shop for clothes... Not really!

My wife really likes to shop for me for clothes, but I have to go with her.

And the African-American designers' clothes are just flying off of the shelves.

Are you finding that people are receptive to your product on the Macy's site?

- Yeah, definitely, and I partnered with them through their supplier diversity program called the Workshop at Macy's.

And so they have an annual program.

It's pretty competitive, but they pretty much ask for applications from diverse suppliers, black owned businesses, women owned businesses, BIPOC minority owned businesses, to apply to their program.

And then they take you through a week long intensive, really teaching you how to partner with a retailer of their size and how to be a supplier for a retailer such as them.

So that was the partnership.

Prior to that, I actually worked with them as well when they had a program called the Market at Macy's, where they actually had our products on shelves in about 12 of their stores around the country.

So they gave us an opportunity to actually sell to customers on the shelf.

- Exciting, exciting stuff.

You know, because this is Black History Month, we wanted to highlight, you know, so many people who are doing tremendous work.

We just had a group called BlackFax.com, which is a website that specializes in black history and supporting the black community.

As African-American women, and I'll start with you, Nikki, what advice would you give a young sister who is desirous to go into business, or someone who's maybe not so young, who has a desire to become an entrepreneur and do their own thing?

What advice would you give them as it relates to starting and launching their business?

- For me, I would say research.

Learn as much as you can about your market, you know, about your business.

Whenever I started catering, my first catering business, I had no idea about catering.

Didn't even ever think I would cook or be a chef, so I would go to the library.

I would pull off all the books that I could about catering, and that's how I began to learn.

And of course, through experience itself.

But definitely research.

Find your mentor in your desired area that could... ..who's either going or has arrived to where you want to be.

Because there are still other women who are willing to pour back into those that are looking to go into the field that they're in.

And so I would definitely say get a mentor, do your research, study as much as you can about your area and then do it and do it.

And if you have to do it, do it scared.

It's always a learning process.

We're not going to always get it right, you know, but just do it and do it scared.

- I like that.

I like that.

Do it and do it scared.

Even if you have to overcome your fear, be willing to step out on faith and do the work.

That's great advice.

What about what about you, Kristy?

What advice would you give to a young lady who may be aspiring to start their own business?

- Yeah, I agree with everything Nikki said.

I'm a big proponent of calculated risk.

So, you know, do the work, you know, connect with your local chamber of commerce.

A lot of them have programs for people who are interested in getting into business.

If you're woman, look for your local women's business centers and just connect and start understanding how to run a business and then be a lifelong learner.

You know, really think of it as not just learning about your craft, but learning about what it means to own a business, because it's a different set of skills, you know.

And like Nikki said, one of my early mantras was, Do it afraid.

You just have to... At some point you have to take the leap and trust that God is going to be there for you and provide for you.

I would also encourage those listening to know your why, Business can be difficult and your why can't only be about money, because that's going to fade as an incentive for being in business.

So there really, truly needs to be a deeper why for why you're in business.

So really connect with that.

And that's really what's going to carry you through the tough times and sometimes the rollercoaster that entrepreneurship can be.

- That's great.

We're running low on time.

So I want to give you both an opportunity to tell us what's next.

What can we expect from you, Chef Nikki, and the trucks and Saucey Chick?

And what can we expect from you, Kristy?

So I'm going to reverse it now.

I'm going to go to you, Kristy, first.

What can we expect next for Apple Rose?

- Yeah, definitely check us out.

We're definitely going to be expanding from face care in the beauty space, so definitely check us out on our website at applerosebeauty.com.

We're also looking to expand more into retail as well, so keep posted for that.

- Awesome.

All right.

So, retail and more expansion coming your way.

Excellent.

What about you, Chef Nikki?

- Definitely want, again, to see the sauces nationwide and a lot of the food chains.

Would love to franchise the Saucey Chick truck so that everyone can get...

I always say, Let's get Sauceyfied, so everybody will get to get Sauceyfied experiences with having trucks nationwide as well.

- Yeah.

And what's your website?

I'm sorry, what's your website?

- And my website is xtrasugar.com.

And that's with the X.

- All right.

You got to tell me what the XtraSugar is about.

What's happening there?

- Just a real quick.

My chefs that work under me, I would always say, Add something a little extra to that.

Did you put any sugar in that?

And so, whenever XtraSugar launched itself, it was because I always got to have extra and I always had to have a little sugar, so XtraSugar.

- I love that.

I truly love that.

Well, I'll tell you what, I have truly enjoyed our time together, and you two are just representative of the creative genius of black girl magic, remaking yourself during the pandemic, having the faith to step out and to do and fulfill your dreams, and then to connect those dreams to a larger vision that is about helping to uplift those who are less fortunate.

And we all hope at some point to hear those wonderful words, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

And you all have exemplified the heart of the gospel, if you will, by doing what you were created to do, but then also looking to help and support other people.

So, on behalf of everyone here at PBS39, I'd like to thank you both for taking the time to join us and to our viewing audience.

I'm Pastor Phil Davis.

May God bless you real good, and keep being courageous.

All right, God bless you.

We'll see you next week.