Dixie Lincoln-Nichols is a biological science educator and certified health & wellness practitioner. She is also the founder and CEO of Inside Outer Beauty. Market, an inclusive and diverse e-commerce and brick & mortar retailer, curating toxicant-free products to support the body inside and out. Using 6 pillars of self-care and Qigong, Dixie supports clients to optimize their wellness. They learn to reclaim their body’s homeostasis and live more healthy and fulfilling lives. Scroll down to read our interview with this boss lady.
Who is “Dixie Lincoln-Nichols”
My name is Dixie Lincoln-Nichols. I was born on the island of Trinidad & Tobago. I’m fondly referred to the “self-care connoisseur” by some of my clients. I’m the founder of Inside Outer Beauty market, a beauty/wellness company. I’m also a biological science educator, wellness coach, Qigong practitioner and instructor.
Background story and Inspiration to Founding “I. O. Beauty Market”, what inspired the name and what It’s all about?
IOBM came to fruition after I left my biological science teaching job for a self-care sabbatical. Taking a step back was just what I needed, but it wasn’t without two major challenges—the resurgence of acne – cystic acne at that – and the diagnosis of uterine fibroids. Visits to the dermatologists and healthcare providers always ended up with a band aid solution rather than a solution of the root cause. So, I decided to take a holistic approach to manage the root cause and began to re-examine both my inner and outer beauty needs. The result? Clean skin, disintegrating fibroids and the discovery of my true entrepreneurial goals. Inside Outer Beauty Market was born.
Beauty is deeper and much more than the outer appearance. It lies within. Beauty runs deep. In addition, how we care for our inner body directly affects the health of our outer body. The name began with a style blog I created and named Inside Outer Style. From that I created a spinoff to address beauty/wellness, which I aptly named Inside Outer Beauty. I see beauty as an inner essence that when nourished and cultivated, diffuses from the inside to the outside. The name Inside Outer Beauty Market is synonymous with beauty being an inside, outer process.
In addition to my personal impetuses, there is also the fact that black women spend upwards of 7 Billion dollars annually on beauty products and are being marketed the most toxicant ingredients. So, I saw this as an opportunity to bring real diversity, inclusivity, equity and equality to the retail beauty and wellness space and also utilize my health and wellness skills to educate people, especially black people about the potential effects of toxicants. Everyone deserves to be in the know, to be educated so they can make informed purchasing decisions.
What has been the Highlight for you since you founded Inside. Outer. Beauty Market?
We’ve had many highlights. However, the most important has been the ability to sustain and grow our business for the past two years, which is due to commitment, resilience and an optimistic attitude that it can be done.
How do you handle running your business successfully in this social clime and what Is your mission?
Set long and short-term goals. Managing a successful business requires commitment, and consistency. We show up day in and day out with a supportive and learning mindset, and we do the work that’s necessary to connect with existing and new customers. We are consistently learning about the ever changing social media landscape, and experimenting with ways to improve, and leverage our presence, expertise and influence on the platform. Another extremely important component to success is self-care. Take time for self, it is a source of empowerment. That includes managing individual health and wellness by setting boundaries, resting, delegating, outsourcing, etc. is key. The goal is to show up fully equipped and functional so we can do the work.
Our mission is to educate and curate safe, effective beauty/wellness products in a retail environment that’s built on diversity, inclusivity, and equality and to support the wellness needs of consumers inside and out.
How do you stay innovative?
The beauty/wellness industry is constantly changing. So, we pay attention to customers wants and needs. We interact, ask questions and listen to what they are saying. We experiment with different ideas and concepts because we understand that this is not an instantaneous process. If ideas work, we keep them. If they don’t work, we scrap them and move on.
Challenges on your journey and Lessons that you wish you had known before?
June 2020 made it two years since the store opened. We’ve bootstrapped this business. But that won’t work for the long run. It’s been challenging growing and scaling faster due to limited financial resources. Retail requires inventory. As a result, we’ve had to be very strategic and patient, which is paying off. A big lesson has been learning to focus on my strengths over my weaknesses. Early on I spent way too much time trying to improve my weaknesses rather than amplify my strengths. I was trying to learn this and that, and in the process wasted a lot of valuable time.
Upcoming projects and what you hope to achieve?
I’m currently working on a book, which is an extension of the education we provide on Inside Outer Beauty Market. I hope that women can utilize it as a resource for their own self-care practices so they can amplify and optimize their own health and wellness, and continue to support themselves and others with love, goodness and grace.
Tips on how you handle when the going gets tough?
- When the going gets rough, like it is right now with the COVID 19 crisis, it’s the perfect opportunity to assess what’s working and what’s not working in your business.
- Focus on facts rather than fiction, what is not rather than what may be. Get clear, be realistic, and be ready to make difficult but necessary decisions that will positively impact your business and move it to new and higher heights.
Can you share some entrepreneurship secrets to those who are reading this right now?
- Fail fast and forge forward. Failure is inevitable so don’t waste your time trying to avoid them. No one can. Rather, adapt as quickly as possible and keep going.
- Have a plan but don’t be married to the plan. Like life, the entrepreneurial road is not linear. Things will not always go the way you’d like them to. So be open to switching and pivoting.
- Be ready to do the work. There is no such thing as an overnight success and there’s no way around the hard work it takes to start and sustain a business. So, buckle up and arm up, it’s a rollercoaster ride.
- Let go of the ego. There is no room for ego in entrepreneurship. Be willing to listen to others and gain new perspectives, share ideas and receive feedback.
The Lady Boss Series is a weekly interview series that highlights the achievements and entrepreneurial journeys of African female entrepreneurs. The idea is to showcase the Leading Ladies who are transforming Africa and the African narrative through enterprise and business.
It is an off shoot of Leading Ladies Africa, a non-profit that promotes leadership, inclusion and diversity for women of African descent.
If you know any kick-ass women of African Descent doing phenomenal things in enterprise, email lead@leadingladiesafrica.org, and she could possibly be featured.
