essence
Chantel Powell, founder of Play Pits, shared her inspiring journey overcoming the challenges of starting a business during Essence Festival’s Soko Mrkt panel “Real Talk – Lessons from the Frontline of Entrepreneurship”, moderated by Ariel Brown. Reflecting on the early days, Powell recalled, “We started in 2018. No one wanted a natural deodorant. A lot of people rejected our product, but we persisted.”
Her perseverance was tested in 2022 when she received a devastating phone call at 3 a.m. that her warehouse was on fire. “Imagine waking up and someone telling you the warehouse is on fire and everything you worked for has burned away,” Powell said. Despite the tragedy, she found solace in her faith. “God spoke to me and said, ‘This is just one part of your story.’ To be on stage like today is confirmation that I’m here today because God put me through that.”
Powell detailed Play Pits’ impressive growth from its founding in the kitchen of its home in 2018 to securing a 2,500 square foot facility by 2020. By 2021, the company was preparing for a national expansion in Target stores, and Play Pits had established itself as the largest Black-owned natural deodorant company in the country.
When asked about lessons she’s learned from entrepreneurship, Powell emphasized the importance of protecting your own business. “When my warehouse caught fire, I suffered a six-figure loss that I couldn’t get reimbursed by my insurance company or anyone else,” she explained. The incident highlighted the vital importance of thorough paperwork and back-end processes as a business grows. “Bad things can happen, so make sure you protect yourself.”
Starting a business also taught Powell the importance of leveraging community. She acknowledged the need to find new friends who understand the unique challenges of starting a business. “If you want to start a business, you need new friends because your old friends aren’t going to understand what we’re going through,” she explained. Powell also suggested joining organizations like New Voices Foundation, Black Ambition, and the Rice Center of Atlanta, which provide valuable resources for business owners. But the biggest lesson for Powell, she says, is to know why you’re starting a business.
“The most important thing for me is to really understand your ‘why’ so that if you get told ‘no’ along the way, you don’t stop going out there every day. I had $0 days. If I had stopped at the $0 days, I never would have achieved the $20,000 days. So if you get told ‘no’ or get rejected at the beginning or along your journey, don’t stop going out there and achieving your goals.”
