Story

Necia Boston was born into a family of entrepreneurs and business owners. She saw firsthand how starting a business takes grit, resilience, and resourcefulness. Necia always had a passion for cosmetics and beauty, but when she developed serious chemical sensitivities in college, she struggled to find clean beauty products that did not trigger unpleasant reactions. Many products that marketed themselves as clean still had harmful ingredients, such as parabens, in small enough quantities that they were not legally required to be listed.

The entrepreneurial spirit in Necia led her to start her own company, Blessed and Anointed Beauty Services (B.A.A.B.S.) Beauty, in 2012 to address needs of other women like herself and solve this industry problem. B.A.A.B.S. Beauty line has evolved from lip products into a full offering of cosmetics, selling only allergen-free products with clearly listed ingredients. Necia opened a retail shop in Greenville, North Carolina, and has started an ecommerce store.

As Necia was researching ways to expand her brand and more efficiently run her business, she discovered Alibaba.com.

Solution

After learning about the B2B marketplace, Necia started using the platform to source bulk packaging and branded items, including makeup bags and shipping supplies. This helped B.A.A.B.S. Beauty reach a new level of 
success by streamlining the product 
development process and keeping her costs 
competitive with larger beauty brands.

When COVID-19 closed B.A.A.B.S. Beauty’s brick and mortar store, Necia pivoted to focus on her ecommerce website. Without a PPP loan, Necia has been working day in and day out to grow her sales. Necia is further diversifying her business with The Beauty Business Lab where she helps other entrepreneurs start their own makeup and beauty product lines.

According to Necia, “there is no ‘can I do it?’ or ‘should I do it?’ It’s a matter of how I can get it done.”

Success

Necia continues to source products on Alibaba.com, and has found a successful niche in the industry as a truly clean cosmetics company. Necia’s hard work and determination resulted in not only sustaining her business, but growing in these uncertain times. As a minority-owned and women-owned business, Necia’s ability to block out negativity and look for a way forward allowed her to ramp up her ecommerce store, plan for future product lines, and prepare for heat moments in the market. Since starting B.A.A.B.S. Beauty, Necia has proudly been able to call herself a successful entrepreneur and a business owner.

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