Kayla Marie, a 13-year-old entrepreneur, figured out that she could channel grief and anxiety into something positive for others.
That's why she opened her own business: Bubbly Bliss Bar, on Dec. 12 at 2110 Bardstown Road. The business operates on Saturdays only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. selling bath, beauty and wellness products.
After her father, a U.S. army veteran, passed away suddenly from a heart attack in 2015, she found herself dealing with incredible grief. But she said she knew of one thing that always made her happy: mixing and making things. From crafting slime to baking brownies, she knew her happy place was in creating things.
When Covid-19 hit, she said it stirred up a lot of new anxieties for her. Her mother, LaShonda Threets, suggested she start a business as a way of channeling her focus into something else in order to relieve her anxieties.
Threets said she herself has had an entrepreneurial spirit for a long time and she’s worked in all facets of business – from decorating to early childhood education to consulting, including a background of 15 years in the corporate sector as well. With her children growing up around her entrepreneurial energy, she said that drive for Kayla Marie to start her own business was natural.
“When (my husband) passed I thought the kids were fine, they’re resilient so they move on. But I had no idea once Covid-19 came, how it would greatly impact our family,” Threets said in an interview. “Kayla had a tremendous fear that she would lose another parent or family member, and so for me, I needed her to drive that energy somewhere else. I’m like, okay, a business with a lot of facets to it; I’ll give her a project, she’ll work on it and we’ll kind of see where it goes from there.
“I had no idea she would truly develop a business.”
Kayla Marie said the physical location of Bubbly Bliss Bar came to be after a wildly successful garage sale on Oct. 18 where she sold her handcrafted bath and beauty products. She makes scrubs, bath bombs and bar soaps. For the products she buys from wholesalers, she said she does extensive research on which brands she wants to support. Some of her signature products are now being manufactured to keep pace with demand.
Bubbly Bliss Bar also carries other self-care-oriented items like whipped soaps, flat irons, candles, teas, spa products and even a men’s self-care collection.
“I research different retailers and what they stand for, what they use, so I know that I’m choosing products that are really good and are organic and very natural so it won’t hurt customers that use them,” Kayla Marie said. “Ninety percent of the retailers in here are women-owned, family-based, and so that’s a really detailed thing I look out for when I research retailers and companies.”
Threets said her daughter knew exactly how she wanted the retail space to look, and with the help of a cousin, Kayla Marie painted fixtures while her cousin took care of electrical and plumbing needs, including for a hand washing sink for customers to try out products in-store. She did not disclose how much she spent getting the store ready for opening.
Kayla Marie said she goes to school during the week and works at Bubbly Bliss Bar on Saturdays, and in the future, she looks to expand her business with more locations and marketing.
She said for others looking to start their own businesses, she follows a guiding acronym called “MAP,” which stands for motivation, authenticity and patience.
“I wanted to do this because in my way of helping myself, this would also be helping other people,” Kayla Marie said. “I knew other people were also experiencing grief this past year and so I knew this would be a great thing to open, so that people can cope and channel their grief in a different way too.”