Meet Kameko Wild Beckner | Founder & Owner of So Good General Store

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kameko Wild Beckner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kameko Wild, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking seems to have been an innate part of who I am, since as long as I can remember. I was constantly questioning the rules and ethos of the cult I was raised in as young as 7 years old. By 17 I had left my family to live and try to make it on my own. I’ve made complete pivots when it comes to my career more than once, quitting a great job as a fashion designer to become a private chef with zero culinary training and then another pivot to being an entrepreneur and small business owner.

I think taking risks is necessary and invaluable. We all know getting out of your comfort zone is a must in order to grow both as a person and in your chosen career path. It’s scary as hell most of the time but it’s hard for me to think of a time when I took a huge leap that it didn’t pay off. You have to look at the ‘pay-off; in broader terms than just monetary, too. When I quit Ralph Lauren to be a private chef, was I broke and working long hours? Yup. But did I get to choose my own schedule, take time off between clients, travel and ultimately end up working for Jay-Z and Beyoncé as their chef? Yup.

What should our readers know about your business?
So Good General Store started while pregnant with my third baby I realized how toxic basically everything I had been cleaning with was. Being an unregulated industry these companies are under no pressure to list all of their ingredients no matter how dangerous to the planet and to us humans. I quickly delved into the chemistry of plant-based surfactants and ionic particles cause I am a nerd who likes to know the how and why. Then, I started making my own formulas. I decided to go plant based, plastic free and completely safe for the people in your life and Mother Earth. Everything is scented with essential oils that are beneficial to the cleaning process as well as have aromatherapeutic properties that improve health.

I also wanted to support BIPOC owned business but was having a very hard time finding ones that made eco-friendly cleaning products that weren’t packaged in plastic. So there I was and the next thing I know I had a business not only crafting, packaging and selling my own cleaning products but I started working with other Black owned businesses to sell their products through So Good. Now, any vendor we carry must be a BIPOC owned business, it’s a very important pillar of the company.

Besides an online presence I decided I wanted our customers to have a retail experience as well, a personal touch is so important I feel to building a customer base. Online can feel so cold after a while. I decided to have a mobile boutique instead of brick and mortar so I could reach a diverse dearth of consumers and bring toxic free living into neighborhoods that might not otherwise have access. The trailer just got finished and we will be posting up all around LA stat!

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?
It’s hard to think about what my favorite bars and restaurants are after 18 months of being in a pandemic! Let’s see, I love the beach and I am partial to the ones by my house in Venice for the local color and diversity. There is an amazing empanada stand off of Venice Blvd right on the boardwalk. Gran Blanco is a great new bar that is gorgeous inside with delicious food that opened recently. I used to be obsessed with going dancing on Sunday nights at Short Stop in Echo Park. They have a Sunday Soul dance party where they only play old school soul music.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I couldn’t have made So Good General Store happen if I didn’t have so, so many people in my corner. It’s been an amazing experience to hear my friends and family all voice how cool they think the concept it, how amazing they think the actual product is and how much they support and get behind the ethos. I’ve had major risks and pivots in my life before where I’ve definitely been on my own on the path and it’s been so refreshing that my partner Thomas has had my back through having 2 kids while starting a business, basically being my unpaid intern, helping me run pop ups on no sleep and being my gratis in-house photographer and videographer. He basically is my right hand when I need one, filling and labeling bottles even. Love you boo!

My sister Amber has not only had my back in a million different ways but has been there to explain Instagram and social media to me on a daily basis. It’s just not my natural habitat!

Natalja Kent and Nico Nelson two LA based photographers did me a huge solid and shot all my products and some portraits that I am obsessed with.My website wouldn’t be what it is at all without their help from Object

I’ve had friends offer to help me come up with the design and logo, give e valuable feedback on exposure and constantly putting me in touch with ‘someone who is a friend of someone’ who wants to support So Good. I had a pop up market in our backyard last winter and I think literally every friend I’ve made since moving to LA showed up and bought something! They all have been putting their money where their mouth is.

There’s so many others out there who’ve helped on this journey, Too many to list.

I wish I could say I have a mentor but I don’t. I am currently taking applications, Tracee Ellis Ross I’m looking at you!

Website: www.sogoodgeneralstore.com

Instagram: @sogoodgeneralstore

Image Credits
Nico Nelson Natalja Kent