Meet Amber Bolden | Founder Havilah Bath and Body & Embolden Consulting LLC.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amber Bolden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amber, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Risk-tasking is fundamental to living a full life. For a recovering perfectionist, like me, I’m excited that I can say this with confidence. In my past, I made decisions based on what I felt I could do well or accomplish in excellence. I was conditioned, like most of us to think that accomplishments, accolades, money, recognition, etc. somehow validated my space on this planet. What I’ve learned is that life begins with risk. From the time you take your first breath, there is risk in this world. What one might see as “risk” can actually be an opportunity – the question is ‘how will you respond?’
I am a proponent for calculated risk. I think Gary Zukav said ‘A wise decision is one that you are willing to accept the consequences for.’ When I started to adopt this thinking pattern I became more aligned with my inherit ability and identity. Accountability has never been my issue, so I trust myself to make wise decisions, whether they are outside of the normalized pre-set pattern, because I know I’ll take responsibility for those actions.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m very much on my journey. One of the earlier questions talked about risk and developing Havilah Bath and Body required taking a certain amount of risk. Starting a company does not typically yield profit from the beginning. I had to invest time and money in developing the concepts and then packaging, branding, website development – shout out to StudioMars. There were so many things that came up on the learning journey and those things cost money. Now, I’m deeply committed to this brand and its success because it is my spiritual offering. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a recovering perfectionist. Perfectionism breeds anxiety. I lived with anxiety for many years. The sensorium (smell, taste, touch, see, hear) helps provide grounding when things like anxiety start to take effect. Havilah is designed as an ode to meditation. The first collection is an ode to meditation. Each of the scents is intentionally designed by a specific chakra. I designed the products to be nourishing to the body but also to be an invitation to stillness and meditation to call out or call in whatever the wearer needs.
All this in mind, products don’t always sell in the beginning and a lot of the success of a small business is based on access to capital and the ability to just continue going. I’ve benefitted from the communities that have embraced me, sisters, and other vendors who have been forthcoming with information – places to apply for grants, experiences, good markets to attend and more. I’ve also found it to be really helpful to participate in farmer’s markets so I can find out who my customers is. My goal is to do more online selling but I think farmer’s markets really help introduce the product in real life. I look at bath and body products as skin intimates – so it makes sense that people want to experience it because it can be a very personal purchase.
One piece of advice I would give right now it to keep another source of income, if at all possible while building your brand. Like I shared earlier, I’m a calculated risk-taker. Some people may say “commit all your time and go all in.” I’ve considered this but I know how selling can go – there are ebbs and flows – but bills are always due. So I have my consultancy work, which I love, and I’m able to continue to build out my bath and body brand so that it is independently sustained through profits. I don’t actually think I would just to one thing anyway. It’s important to have multiple streams of income for many reasons. The real risk, to me, is relying on one stream of income forever. As we continue to learn things can change on a dime, being able to pivot and identify new ways to operate is critical in every arena.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would check to see if there are any concerts – there is always something fun to do in LA so I would see who is performing and if we could get tickets to the show. Hollywood Bowl never disappoints.

There is also a speakeasy-type spot in Koreatown (I can’t remember the name of it now but I can get it if needed) and singers of every kind are there just sharing their art.

I would check out a farmer’s market, Black on the Block, Black Market Flea, Black Prosperity Market and others are cool. We might check one of those out. I also support Black Girl Art Show

The Playhouse in West Hollywood for sure – definitely a show to see!

Maybe the K-spa (depends on the friend)

Maybe a trip to Joshua Tree – again depends on the friend but I’m always down to prioritize rest

Food – most anything vegan, personally

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife deserves so much credit and recognition. My family, and especially my sister have always been at my back and encouraging me but my wife really made me feel safe as I began to step out on faith and bet on myself. I remember we had just moved in together and I was coming to the end of my job and consulting was calling me. I really didn’t know much about it but I knew I had skills and I knew I wanted to choose my own projects because I felt like I knew what I could offer – but I was scared, real talk.
I told my now wife that I was thinking of leaving my job, and my bi-weekly paycheck, to do my own thing. She looked at me as if this made sense. She said, “ok, you’re really freaking smart and I know you can do this.” She reminded me that her work was somewhat similar and simultaneously reminded me that I don’t need to be scared of not having a timecard and that my skills would be enough. Having someone who was supportive and who had been down this path was paramount.
It was the same thing with my bath and body company – Havilah Bath and Body. My wife loves selling things – she was the kid in school selling candy and pencils – anything to make a profit. I’ve always loved making and mixing things but the business side of it was new. My wife is very enterprising and she’s great at seeing spaces of opportunity. She has shown me so much and she is the best partner – she is outside at every farmer’s market, we sell things together now, we work really well together with my consultancy work as well – she changed the trajectory of this story for the better – for sure.

Website: https://www.havilahbathandbody.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havilahbathandbody/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-bolden-7b0a4021/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amber.bolden/

Image Credits
Terrisha Kearse, Sai Lockett, Keiona Williamson