Meet Shakira and Robert James | Retail and Wholesale Skincare Formulators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shakira and Robert James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shakira and Robert, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind our success is discipline. Having discipline is so important when you are your own boss and you have to manage your own schedule. Discipline has taught us to be consistent and show up each day for our businesses. When you get the first taste of time-freedom as a full time entrepreneur, it is very easy to lose sight of your goal. Discipline also attracts new clientele! When potential clients see our dedication to our work every single day Monday- Sunday, they take us seriously as small business owners and are eager to go into contract with us. Furthermore, these same clients then recommend us to other potential clients due to our discipline and consistency, which also creates organic traffic towards our websites and increases daily inquiries. Self-discipline helps you align all of your efforts towards your goal, manage your time and increase your productivity. Discipline is the bridge between a dream and an accomplished goal.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tropical Organicz is known as the Home of the #1 Herbal Infusions. We use plants and essential oils to create nontoxic natural skincare products to help combat skin concerns worldwide. Many of our products contain herbs that we grow, harvest, and infuse on our own which sets us apart! That extra step is very time consuming but allows us to produce the highest quality of products. We know where our ingredients come from and it doesn’t get more organic than that. We are most proud of the feedback and inquiries we received from our retail store, which encouraged Robert and I to launch our second business, Tropic Wholesale Essentials (TWE). TWE features over one hundred products that other businesses and even families who want to buy in bulk can purchase for wholesale prices. We even offer private labeling as well. Our products have allowed other businesses to launch never before seen products and increase their demand and profit exponentially. Hearing testimonials from our customers and seeing people purchase our products from all over the world is a feeling that we never want to let go of. Our best selling collections include, Sea Moss, Turmeric Takeover and Ultimate Healing. Scaling each of our businesses was not easy. We used our first business to test different strategies, revise our product formulations, learn about marketing and sales, and overcome challenges as new business owners. From there, we duplicated the process again and was able to grow TWE to six figures in four months. We then started Tropic Academy to teach other businesses how to do the same in order to support our community. We plan to implement our methods again for our newest business KayBob Soaps, which we developed for our two children so that they too will be successful before they are adults. One important lesson that I would share with all business owners is to create systems, funnels and automations. This is something we wished we did earlier in our business which would have allowed us to grow faster. Systems are the key to running an organized business. We also believe that having each other was beneficial to our growth. Everyday we get to work together and lean on each other through all the different phases you will encounter as business owners. Having someone who you trust by your side makes the process more enjoyable.

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?
Whenever our friends come and visit, we always recommend they check out Hollywood beach! The boardwalk is such a cool vibe and the food is great. It is a very family oriented beach with loads of activities to do. You can never go wrong with a stroll around Wynwood. Talk about vibes, great drinks, good people and ENERGY. Sawgrass mall is awesome for shopping. There is literally every store you could think of including a designer outlet. Shooters is an awesome waterfront restaurant in Fort Lauderdale with amazing food, great views and a luxury vibe.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We want to highlight Jacqueline Jones of Jacque’s Catering Inc. and my father Norman Jones for the numerous times they have jumped on a plane to come and help us during our busy seasons. With 28 years experience as an entrepreneur with a successful catering company, Jackie has taught us the importance of working hard, working smart, great customer service and how to build an empire with upholding your trust in God. She has taught us so many tricks when it comes to quickly scaling with her knowledge of inventory tracking, commercial equipment and production. Norman Jones has taught us to show up and do the job better than well each day, and the work will speak for itself! Norman will always do what it takes to get the job done and reminds us he is only a phone call away. We also would like to shoutout Robert and Angella James, my parent-in laws who would literally do anything for us and embody the definition of support! Robert and Angella are both very hard working individuals who continue to teach the importance of having faith, dedication and staying focused. They have both come to our rescue numerous times and jumped right in to help us in our headquarters with their experience as entrepreneurs. Robert does not stop until the job is done. He has taught us methods to make different processes more efficient and how to properly manage a staff. With his managerial experience, we have learned how to develop a team that also has the same drive and attention to detail as we share. Angella is one of the most selfless people you could ever meet and she has shown us that you have to love what you do and always put your best foot forward. Even through her retirement, she still works to support her community in many different ways. The unwavering love, support and mentorship of our parents is important to highlight when it comes to the growth of us as business owners and the success of Tropic Enterprise.

Website: www.tropicalorganicz.com

Instagram: instagram.com/tropicalorganicz

Facebook: facebook.com/tropicalorganicz

Other: Wholesale: www.tropicwholesaleessentials.com Instagram: tropicwholesale