#InConversation with Abena Boamah
#InConversation is our spotlight series featuring brands and businesses led by Black women and non-binary people.
We met with Abena Boamah, creative entrepreneur, mental health advocate + founder of Hanahana Beauty a consciously clean beauty + wellness brand that empowers Black women globally.
Abena shares more about how she maintains balance, the importance of her community and her future plans for Hanahana Beauty.
Can you tell us about Hanahana Beauty?
Hanahana Beauty is conscious clean skincare, beauty and wellness brand. Overall what we do is look at how we can create sustainable paths from the producers that we source from, all the way to our community. We often keep in mind how we do this in thinking about Black women intentionally, from our products, through to how we create, how we source, how we create visuals and how we promote.
“Finding a routine and being intentional about taking time for myself is something I’ve really had to cultivate”
How do you maintain balance in your everyday work life?
For me, I really like routine, especially my morning routine. My morning routine has helped me to find balance. I feel like I’ve been working from home for the last four years and now I work and live in my loft space, so balance is always intertwined because I work where I live. Finding a routine and being intentional about taking time for myself is something I’ve really had to cultivate. It’s super easy for me to slip into work mode and I’ve had to tell myself it’s okay to see things and not engage, it’s okay to take time for myself and make good food and generally have a good level of enjoyment.
Also having a therapist has helped. I think with these basic things we talk about with mental health and taking care of yourself I try to be intentional to have those types of support systems around just because I know it’s very difficult in general, not just in being an entrepreneur but also being an intentional Black woman.
“Black women are the reason why I’m still doing this”
Who are some of the Black women in your life who have played an important role in your journey as an entrepreneur and why?
There are so many but I feel like Black women are the reason why I’m still doing this. I definitely need to talk about Deun Ivory and Lauren Ash from when I first started. I think of my team in general, I’m very lucky to be able to work with some of my closest friends like our operations lead Courtney Phillips who before was even a part of the team was just always so supportive and always listened to whatever was going on. My best friend Shiara Robinson has her own lingerie company LaSette and so we were able to go back and forth as we were navigating our businesses.
Also, I feel like my two consultants Shaunie and Danika are who I lean on for support, not just friendship but also work and being able to talk to them about strategizing or problem-solving. That relationship with Shaunie and Danika exceeded my expectations of what it means to grow relationships as entrepreneurs and it just really helped me to see that there is no limit to our level of growth, especially within the beauty industry.
“There is no limit to the amount of abundance that you can receive.”
What advice would you give to your younger self?
The advice that I would give to my younger self is that there is no limit to the amount of abundance that you can receive. I think if I would’ve known that at a younger age, it would have allowed me to look at things on a much bigger scale. When I first heard the concept of there being no limit on abundance, it really changed my perspective of what I can do, the goals I could set and the outlook on how I could operate. It allowed me to reevaluate what I wanted and not be scared of the actual abundance I wanted to receive.
“I want to be able to provide resources and give the tools that can empower others who are building their brand.”
How do you wish to inspire young and aspiring creatives?
I really hope that people see the way I move, how I am myself and multifaceted in different areas. I hope this inspires people to continue to feel like they don’t need to change how they move for themselves to be at a certain level or grow a business or things of that nature. I will also encourage those to really think through their ideas and really think about what they want to do. Take the time to learn and get obsessed with things. I get so excited when I can get obsessed over a certain ingredient or even just like a movement in the industry and see what that looks like for Hanahana or another project. I think we should get excited about getting obsessed with our projects and things like that.
What do you envision for yourself and Hanahana beauty over the next decade?
I would really love to see Hanahana be known globally as a sustainable brand that does what our mission and values stand for. I would like to see Hanahana as a brand that if you’re travelling to Ghana, the UK, the United States, or anywhere the African Diaspora resides, you have access to get our products in those areas. I want Black people globally to continue to learn about our brand and feel like when they see our brand, they see themselves. So yeah I hope in a decade that our values and missions are known at a global scale which means we can grow at that scale too.
Insta: @hanahanabeauty
Website: hanahanabeauty.com
