AJ CRIMSON - Broke but Boujee Spaghetti

so um, one feed me. I'm definitely going to. Yeah, I'm definitely going to. So it's gonna be great. So I mean yeah, and I guess when what I heard about it and you're like, hey, like, what's the dish that you were that you ate while you were broke? And I was like, Okay, I had to think about it for a little while because it was either going to be like rice, you know, because I kind of getting like eggs and rice. But then also too, I eat a lot of noodles and need a lot of

spaghetti noodles. So um, so this is gonna be my version of that. So yeah, night, I mean we have we have the water boiling over here, which is really great. You just rest that right over there. We'll do that right here. So take something, should just do the whole thing, do the whole thing. Let's just do it. Why not live a large exactly and actually can eat all of these but myself like in one sitting, So I really love spaghetti. I do. Actually I did a little switch

up that A J does not know about today. Um, I just found out that they have protein noodles. Really, what is that what we're about to eat today? Protein noodles? Because I wanted to watch the carbs. What that's a lot of salt. It's for the water, so it's really for the water. You really won't taste it than the noodles. But also this is Himalayan sea salt, so you don't want to use too much because Himalayan sea salt tends to be a lot saltier than regular table salt, and

but it's also healthier too. So oh was that one? I was? I was actually wondering what the difference between the Himalayan and that's when I start did a question your brokeness right there? So I'm definitely a little bougie. I'm I'm bougie broke for sure. Um, I think that. Uh. My dad used to tell me, I can tell this that was a great story. Actually. So I had to be about maybe twelve or thirteen, and we were picking out um silverware for the house and I just was

thumbing through. It's like, oh, what do you think? And whatever I picked, I guess it was like super expensive. And he said, boy, you've got rich taste in poor pockets. And I just I've always remembered that, but I was like, oh, like I have to I love that I have rich taste, but now I can't have poor pockets, you know, so I have to I have to catch up to myself. So I think it's just kind of always been in me too, like nice things. Yeah, and you know what

I like about. My mom used to always say, uh, and I'm gonna sit because because you're doing all the cookie, you don't want to help. Uh uh, I'll help with the party. This is good. This is just how you do it at home too, like when everything is like bubbling over, messing up the stove. Um. But but yeah, my mom used to always say that, uh, poor is

more long term and broke is temporary. So even when we were doing Eating Well Broke, It's awesome to have entrepreneurs like yourself, self made individuals like yourself on the show, because, honestly, I think sometimes when you're in the situation of being brokeer you don't have enough money to get whatever project off the ground. It's like you can sometimes think it's a forever plan, but you and other self made individuals

are living proof that it's possible. So with that being said, I'm curious, how did you get a J. Crimson Beauty off the ground. So Crimson Beauty was actually founded in two thousand and thirteen. This is my second brand. My first brand was called Kisspical Tour, which I launched in two thousand and seven. But I learned a lot when I was building that brand, so that by the time Agan Crimson Beauty came along. Um I knew that I wasn't gonna spend as much money, you know, as I

did with the first brand. I knew that I was gonna utilize social media a little bit more. Um So I started this brand with about five thousand dollars and it was but to basically level that out, I had already started some of the formulation in the old brand. You know, while doing the old brand, I was just like I knew what I wanted to do. So by the time this idea and this concept had come along, it was just more of a about implementation and I

started really small. I started really small. I think that people often think that they have to go big and you know, have forty five colors. I started with eight shades that I had already kind of developed, and I needed to get a concept around. I took it to a trade show. People seem to resonate with it, and uh and I sold out that first day, which was really amaz zing. I'll use this And you said, two thousand, two thousand twelve is kind of when I started like

actually developing. But two it came out in two thousand and thirteen year, so this is all before the fancies of the world all that came out. So we've been inclusive. We were inclusive before inclusive became like a buzzword. Oh can you for the people like myself, what does that mean? Inclusive? So right now you know, everybody's like, oh, diversity, and everybody wants to get in diversity training and making sure

that everybody is included in their voice matters. When I started Age of Crimson Beauty, it was really I've been traveling and touring with like Hillary Duff and Fergie and Estelle and the Stell for like three years. So Christina, Million,

Faith Evans, all these girls. I have been working with Amory and there are a myriad of shades, and I always had to kind of come to the table and figure out like how I was going to match their foundation or matt do the things that I needed to do for them, you know, so they look and feel their best as a compartist, right And there weren't a lot of colors on the market. There weren't a lot of It just wasn't a lot of everything, you know, in a in a way that spoke black women or

women of color directly. And I think that's what we're dealing with now. That's what we're seeing more of. Now Black women are standing up and saying, hey, you know, I have a voice. I would like to see myself in the ad campaigns that kind of thing. So Adrian comes in beauty from the start was always about not

leaving that girl out. You know. We started with the darkest color first and worked our way, worked our way backwards, um to make sure that you know she was seeing Yeah, you know, And it sounds like you had a lot of experience because you were working with it sounds like you were working with white girls and black girls. Sure. When I was a kid, and I joke about this, it's not really a jokematic, but I came from a little bit of child abuse. And I remember when you

try to cover up bruises and I'm mixed. You know, you couldn't find a palette that would cover And this sounds completely ridiculous, but you couldn't find a color to cover my face because at that time, there was no like, you know, the sixth grades in between of shades. It was just either white or black. And it was like, oh,

you know, so many things are like that. You're right, and I think that was that was what I was up against, you know, it really was again, like I started with, I felt like the lighter shades were easier to make. Um. It was the deeper colors that you just didn't see. Like I started with a girl who's South Sudanese, and I was like, hey, if I can match her on my first round was terrible. It was horrible. Like I literally I thought I had the darkest color. I was testing it a trade show. I put it on.

This girl was like, hey, I got the perfect color for you. She came up. I was like, give me your hand and I went to swatch it and uh. We literally looked at it. All I can see was green in it. She looked at it, she looked at me, and I was just like, okay, it was no way to spin it, spin it to make it feel better work. And I was like, all right, I gotta go back to the drawing board. But that's how it happens, you

know what I mean. I didn't stress out about it, but I knew it had to happen there first because no one talks to her, you know. And once we got it right, then I was able to really mix and blend all the other colors backwards nice. So that was cool. So now you do have a shade that can work for you in my brand, so I would definitely make sure you get that. Thank you. And I love this of color. By the way, I'm superde so

good this col um actually made that for Cassie. I'm really okay, Well, I'm wearing Okay, okay, I feel even more special. Custom how does someone from Detroit and I and I say that with endearment? Detroit? I feel like is uh has been the underdog for a long time. When I hear you say names like Hillary Duff or or a Stell, I'm just like, how do you how? How do you make your way from Detroit to Hollywood? UM,

I was very ambitious. I've always been very ambitious. I think that, UM, since I was a little kid, I've never I didn't know how it was going to be successful. I just knew I was going to be successful. And there weren't a lot of people that necessarily believed in that dream or maybe even I wouldn't say but didn't believe in it. They just didn't know how to believe in it. And UM, but I knew I had to Uh, I had to figure that out. And uh, I just had made connections. So I used to work at a

radio station called w j LB. UM. It was the number one station in the city, and I produced the music the six to ten show from with Bushman at the time. And UM, I end up meeting a woman named Peggy Body, who was the arts development coordinator for Bilten Records and Michael Bivns decided to do an album project with a couple of kids in Detroit. So I helped to kind of find those groups. I went to intern for her. Then it turned into me actually styling

one of the groups. And I was like, oh, this is dope, and you know, like, okay, so I'm starting to put the words together for the things that I had interest in, but I didn't know what they were, you know, so find like, oh, fashion stylist, okay, cool, like makeup artist, how you like maybe seventeen or eighteen around this time, and uh, and it was it was just a good It was just a good time, you know what I mean, like just figuring all of that

stuff out. So um, having worked on that, I styled my first video and all that stuff, and fast forward. I had a friend who was a director, a local director. She ended up getting a job as an art department coordinator on UM on eight Mile, a movie eight Mile with eminem and Brittany Murphy. And she was an age you don't even need to show and you don't know a mile? Then what are you doing? I don't know? But yeah, so so she was like a j like I'm working on this movie. You need to give me

your resume. And at that time I had got a job at a max store to just kind of learn makeup and everything. I was just trying to learn everything I could, you know, And um, I gave him my resume for a wardrobe and for makeup, and the wardrobe department actually got back to me first. Um. So with eight Mile, I was actually walking into my job, my

part time job at mac and uh. And I only took this job because I really wanted to just learn skin and foundation, because I, you know, I worked with an artist prior to that, and the makeup partis that we had hired could not get the references. And I'm really big on reference, Like I just you know, that's what I was taught, you know. So when the makeup artists did her own thing outside of the book of reference that we had created, I was like what. I was like, can you show me this in the book?

And she was like, oh, I just decided to do this, and I was like, I was like, no, I'm pretty literal about my references. I wish I had your stuff because I would do it myself, you know. And I think it sounded kind of rude when it came out, but there's a lot of money on the line, right and we're doing an album cover shoot, so um, I took the girl to a Mac, to that Mac store and I was like, hey, like, can you guys recreate

one of these looks? And because I thought about what I said, I was I'm gonna learn how to do the makeup that I want to see, um, just to see if I could do it. They end up hiring me because I went back for a job on this particular day that that's costume supervisor called. I was walking into that job and they're like, hey, like, we'd love to interview you. We have your resume, like what can

you know? Can you come down and meet us? And I was like, oh, like, you know, I'm getting ready to walk into work, like can we you know, can we do it like another day? And uh, I feel like I'm talking. We have a I've never been on this side of the table. Feel sure. I'm sure I'm piste off all the video guys in the room, but oh no, I'm so sorry. It looks great, So go on continue with this. You and I can talk for days, just so you know, I feel like we can future.

Let's do it, let's do that, let's let's not stop this. So um so John Casey called me. He was like, hey, like can you come down for an interview? And I was just like uh. I was like, I'm walking into work right now. Can we do it like another day? Like no, Like we're actually trying to look for this right now, so you know, if something else comes up,

we'll give you a call back. And in that moment, like I was devastated, like my heart literally dropped because it was just like hold on, like what just happened here? Like I'm walking into a job that is not my career at all, to not go an interview for the job that absolutely my career go you know what I mean? And I was like no. I just couldn't believe it was happening to me. And I was heartbroken, you know, to be honest, So you you actually showed up to work, Well,

I was right there. I was in front of it. I was in front of the door. I couldn't I couldn't have. I didn't, you know. But I'm very loyal and I'm also committed. Like when I make commitments like I you know, it's like you keep your commitments, right, You don't just you don't just bail on people like they were depending. Um, I don't think I did, Like

I literally thought. That's when I was like, I'll never let I'll never let something like that happened to me again, you know, like this is my this is my life on the line. You know. So I was actually on eight Mile with a photographer looking at the photographs that we had worked on and I'm gonna turn this up just a little bit. And what was he doing here? We were looking at the pictures and I got another phone call and I was like, yeah, like where are you guys at, Like I'll come and meet you. I'm

actually on eight Mile, like right now. And they were like okay, cool, like come down and meet us. I did have to work that day at the Max door um, and when I got down there, they were like hey, like you know, so this is the job. It is doing laundry overnight. And I was like okay, sounds good and they were like are you concerned? I was like no, Like can you do laundry? Was like yeah, like I can. I can figure it out. If you show me what

you need, I'll do. And it's like it was like, well, you're probably thinking like why do we need you to do laundry? And I was like, yeah, like why do you need me to do laundry? And they're like, well because in Hollywood, like we have you know, overnight laundry services that send the costumes out and they come back the next morning fresh for the actors. Are cool like, obviously we're in Detroit, we don't have that cleaners, so you're going to be the twenty four cleaner. I was like,

all right, sounds good. Like this job doesn't pay very well, it's not. I was hoping you're going to stay it paid well. They're like, it doesn't pay a lot, doesn't pay a lot, Like, well, how much does it pay? It's like, well it pays. Um it pays a hundred dollars a day. Is it's the right one? Yeah? Um, since it pays a hundred dollars a day. And I was like, okay, well that sounds good. I'll take that and um like you're sure? I was like yeah, And then I was like when do you need me to start?

Like can you start right now? I was like I sure, can. Let me make a phone call. So it sounds like you went from you were doing makeup. You temporarily was the laundry man, which is amazing because I think a lot of people, well some people probably would have taken it, but a lot of people maybe what a half. I think that was a good judgment call on your part,

for sure. I mean it's not always about the money, and I think that's where a lot of people out on opportunities these days, because they're thinking about the money, especially when you don't have experience. Now, yes I had some experience, but I had never worked on a movie, like a major motion picture before, not not enough to

where I could demand anything. And you and again, there was a bigger picture, and the bigger picture was for someone to want to take me out of Detroit, to like take me out of their wing and say, hey, you're coming with us, Like when this when this movie leaves here, I want to go with it. So that week that I ended up in the hospital and not being able to go, I told the doctor I was like, hey, like when do we start, Like how do we get this going? He's like, what are you? Like? Where are

you in such a rush? I was like, I said, I have a flight on Friday. I said, He's like, where are you going? So I'm going to l A. I'm going to start a new life, Like I literally those are my words. I was like, I'm going to start my new life on Friday, I'll be I'm moving to l A. My dad end up telling me that it wasn't gonna happen that way, And it took about

two months from my face to go back down. But I started watching behind the music, and I want to say, on the last day of my appointment, where everything was clear and I was good to go, my car blew up up, Like the engine in my car had blown up. It's like car like one of my my home girls like given me, you know. So um, I was just like I just started laughing because I was like, what am I gonna do? Like what like I don't have I don't have ship else, you know what I mean?

Like my I had burnt my hand. I had a third degree burn on my hand, you know, which had happened like a couple of weeks before that. I was just like, what is happening with this city? Like why

is it trying to hold me back like this? And did you feel like it was holding you back or do you feel like and I and I sometimes feel this way, like sometimes when you're so focused, I feel like, for lack of better words, I'm not trying to object to anyone spiritually, but I always feel like the devil comes to mess with you right when you're either like so close to the goal. It's like I'm gonna distract

you with a whole bunch of drift. Brath, do you feel like it was that or do you feel like it was just Detroit was like I'm determined to keep you here. I don't think it was. I think it was the people, Like I mean, you know, I felt like my brother was like, really, you know, sad that I was gonna leave because he felt like maybe I was leaving him behind. Um. And I think that it was just a lot of I think it was a

lot of sad energy more than anything. UM. Moreover, I was like, I don't want us to go out of business over here. Um. I think it was a lot of that. So this next round, it was really just more or less keeping it to myself and like keeping it locked inside, but also not allowing whatever that energy

was too overpower my dream. You know, like I knew I still had to accomplish the stream and um, and I just found myself like watching behind the music, and and uh I watched one on Ditty and he was going back and forth from like d C to UH, from DC to UH New York and is this one for this one? Yes? And he use our sauce. This is our sauce. So this is this is store bought sauce. Just so you know, stot sauce progress with the meat, well the meat flavor flavor. Yeah, there's an interesting meat flavor,

but it's really good. So uh, I was watching behind the music. So I watched Jlo, I watched Diddy, and I watched Left Eye and each of them had like seven hundred and fifty bucks or like one was on the bus, like Diddy was on the bus back and forth from DC to New York. J Loo had got kicked out of her house. You know, I was living in the basement of our dance studio, and uh, you know, she basically caught the bus uh to l A to be a fly girl and you know, ended up dance

for Janet Jackson and became Jennifer Lopez. And then Left Eye she took a bus to Philly with seven hundred bucks and got into TLC and became one of the biggest selling groups of all time. So it's like, all right, cool, So how much money you got left? I got about seven hundred bucks left for my savings and uh, and I was like, I'm just gonna get on the bus. I think that's what it is. And I got on the bus. I don't let that heat up a little bit more. Um. I bought a bus ticket on a Greyhound.

I packed one bag of makeup like a carry on, and one bag of clothes and I didn't tell anybody. My brother was actually supposed to drop me off, and he out there late and the day I planned to leave, and I was already in a cab and when he finally showed up, and I just threw my keys out the window and I was like, hey, I'll call you

when I get there. And and because I just couldn't be I couldn't miss it, you know what I mean, Like, And that was like another one of those things where the universe was just gonna try to step in and stop me because I would if I had been waiting on him, then I would have gotten there late and I would have missed my bus. So I got down there. I called my mother as the bus was backing out, and uh, and I was like, Hey, I think I'm

gonna try to go to l A again. And she was like, okay, like when do you think you're gonna go? And I was like actually right now. She's like where are you? I was like, I am on a Greyhound and she was like okay, uh, when you come back? And I was like I don't know. And she's like how long is it gonna take you to get there? I was like three days. And she was like, when you call me when you get there. And I was like, yeah,

I'll call you when I get there. And I got off the phone and I actually I just started to cry a little bit, you know what I mean. Think it was like I'm even feeling like I want to cry now, but like because at that moment just always like that's the first time that I ever was like getting ready to like just do something as big on my own, you know, and uh, and I've been I felt like I've been fighting hard for that moment and

it was finally here. So backed out. Now halfway through the trip, maybe I got to Vegas, so I called Mark Bridges and this reminds you this two months later. No, so we backed out. We backed out of the out of the depot. But we're like two days in the trip now and I'm in Vegas. And this is also two months later from when I had originally spoke to Mark about staying at his place when he offered, and Uh, I was like, hey, Marcus AJ like. He was like, hey,

what's up? A J Like, how you doing? I was like, I'm doing good. He said, you're feeling better. I was like, yeah, I'm feeling much better. Like how are you? He's like I'm doing great. Um, I know how I want to do this. So then I said, hey, is it still okay if I come and stay at your place? And he was like yeah, Like when do you think you want to come? I was like, I'll be there tomorrow. It was like where are you? I was like, I'm on a greyhound. I said, I know it's like short notice,

but I didn't. I didn't have a I just couldn't think about it. I had a window of opportunity. It Oh, the door opened and I had to go with it. And uh, he was like, you know what, just tell me where to pick you up and I'll be there

and like, can you turn it down for me? And uh, and he was there and to pick me up and literally that was that was the first day to the rest of my life, like you know, like it just it just went from there, Like I mean, the awesomeness that was that I got to experience just even living with him, you know, like at least a Silverstone was like in our kitchen like one morning and I walked out. It was crazy. I have to ask now, and only because we're cutting short and it sucks because I have

so many questions. But I talked to when it comes to know you don't um, when it comes to A J. Crimson Beauty, Yeah, what was like some of the biggest hurdles getting the brand off the ground. And I have to know, like insider SCOOPO wearing too many hats too, Okay, I can see that. So I actually, luckily, like at the time I did Agan terms of you, I was also running another business, so um, I didn't have to uh,

So I wasn't struggling. I wasn't on my knuckles, you know what I mean, like I was when I first got to l A. But um, I think the biggest thing I think. I want to say that one of the biggest challenges was, like in our growth process was dealing with um would be would be investors think or even thinking that I needed an investor, you know what I mean, because everybody will have you thinking like, oh, you you know, you should be doing this, you should

be selling this much product. You could do this, Like when I when I first launched it, I did UM I did about sixty thousand in in two months, like and that was at launch, you know what I mean. And that was just no funding, that was no fundy, that was me funding it and uh and we're still so funded. Actually, I was like, I'm gonna build this business and it's gonna fund itself, you know. And uh and we'll just grow that way. And so I did

that sixty thousand just offer Instagram, you know. And that was when when you really could do it off Instagram. And I love our meal. This meal looks so good. I wants to go home and make it for my mate so he can think I'm a gourmet chef because this is the best looking eating want broken you don't I've ever seen Listen, you know, Like I said in the beginning, I think broke as a mind broke as a mindset, you know what I mean? And I've never my god dad said I had rich taste but poor pockets.

But so's it's about taste, you know what I mean. I think you just have to kind of go into you don't have to just because you don't have a lot of money doesn't mean it looks so lovely. Everyone to live like it today. We don't have overhead cameras, so well I wouln't have over and I don't hopefully can see it. But okay, I want you to look so good, so hopefully if you need salt, I don't think I'll need salt or pepper. Good sit down with you, yes please, you slaved in the kitchen for me and

I got my burners. Yeah, we have the Verdi classic Verness gingerrele mm hmm delicious, so you can't taste the difference. I haven't had that so long. So good, So I'm gonna try and take a bite. Well, I'm gonna let you take a bite, hopefully, because I didn't taste any of this, but I think it's this looks so delicious. So this is green onions? Um, no, no onions, green pepper, vegan butter meat, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, and polish sausage. And

it looks amazing. I was surprised you didn't add cheese to this dish. No, no day. M hmm. This is so good. Totally finishing this. I'm definitely gonna put it. But I'm surprised that you're not taking fun because I see a lot of venture capitalists now all of a sudden, to say all of a sudden, but it's true, all of a sudden's stepping up, and you see brands also all of a sudden, not only you know, taking in brands, but they're also giving decent shelving space, which is yeah,

a big deal. I felt like for me, the conversations I was having they weren't lining up with my values. They didn't. They said they saw the vision, but I didn't feel like they were there. They were really there to try to take over the business. And for me, it was never. I didn't put my name on this company to be an employee of my own company, you

know what I mean, Like, I didn't do that. And I even called Bobby Brown, like, you know, twenty five years in the business, you know, billion dollar brand, sold it to Estate Lauder. I looked at her in the d M because I was I was like, who can I talk to that has been where I've where I'm trying to go, that can offer me some guidance because when I looked to the people to my left and to my right, people weren't really actively looking to share,

you know. And it was also like, who can you who can you be vulnerable with, you know, without people looking down on you, you know, or feeling like or making you feel you're not successful or at what you're trying to do. And you know, so I just took a chance on contacting her and uh and we had a really great conversation and you know, and one of the things I said, Hey, I need like two million dollars like one will you give it to me? Because you know, because you got it? She did. She responded.

She was like, I was like, hey, can we can we jump on a call? You know, I don't know if you remember me. I met you backstage and a fashion show like with a Stelle like years ago. It would be you know, I have some questions about my beauty business. I don't even know if you know about it, but you know, here's my page. Check it out. Let me know. I was literally sleeping. And I have been going through one of the hardest times of my business. You know. I was trying to open I had a

l a location. I was trying to open a New York location. I had hired these people to like paint, They painted it all wrong, so I had to fly to you know, New York to paint it myself because I wasn't gonna pay to do it again. I had a girl who would quit on me, you know, just abruptly, like during a holiday weekend. It was just so many things, and I had one employee that was often We're a very small team, so it's just like this is too much. And I literally found myself in Times Square like what

am I doing? And I was like what am I doing? I was like, this is not how it's supposed to be, Like, this is not how it's supposed to feel like, you know, I can't go back to my friend's house because it's four o'clock in the morning because I just got I don't want to wake them up, you know what I mean. And I feel like I don't I can't go but check into a hotel, right now because the timing is all I was like, this is this is not how

it's supposed to work, you know. So when I hit her up, it was really out of It was a bit of iolt say, desperation. I was just needed the right guidance. I needed somebody to care and somebody just to tell me like that I'm on the right path. I needed a sign that I was on the right path. So when I asked, I was like, hey, like, you know, this is what I'm trying to do. This is the conversations that I'm having. Uh, you know, this is the kind of money I need, you know. She said, why

did you get you open the Stars? Because every every retailer that I went to told me that black women don't shop here and they didn't want to take my brand. And it wasn't that my brand wasn't good or good enough because it rivals. My brand is the blue blue for a lot of brands that are out there now, you know, it's the benchmark. So it's just like I was like, I had to open I had to make my own way. I've always had to make my own way,

so I was not not accustomed to doing that. But in this particular case, I was like, hey, like, you know, you're getting all this these mixed messages of like what business is supposed to be and what your business is supposed to be like and um, and I was just trying to weigh my options. So I was like, I think I need two million dollars to really take this to the next level. Uh. You know, these are the conversations I've been having. I was like, do you have

two million dollars? You want to invest or a million? She was like, well, I can't do it because you know, like my deal with that State Louder upon her departure, but it's very cool, and she said, don't take anybody's money. She's like, don't take anybody. She said, you're not gonna want to hear this, but don't take anybody's money. And I was like why and she said, because do you do that, then the brand is no longer yours. It's no longer yours, it belongs it belongs to the person

that gave you the money. And that you know, because I have seen that happen more times than not. People have gone into these deals prematurely and thinking like, oh, I need this investor, I need to do this as opposed to It wasn't that I need an investor. I just needed more sales. I needed more sales. I needed to hit the ground running and more impact and and

that was what we did. So after having that conversation, I had turned down those bad deals because they really were bad deals, Like somebody was trying to get in my company for zero dollars and I was like, do you I do you realize I can make this in like the short amount of time I would shut the store down. I'll do I'll liquidate before I do you know, before I do this kind of deal. And um, and that was what I did. And you know, I'm proud

of my journey. I'm I'm proud of the way that I stepped my guns and yeah, a hundred percent of it. But I fought from a hundred percent of my business before we close out. Uh, you own a j Crems and Beauty's. When the time comes, If the time comes, then yes, I will be open to have a bigger conversation about you know, investment partners, but only when, only when I'm ready and when when the brand is ready for that and let them beat down your door. I'm

just curious now, um, where are you? Where can people pick up your products? I'm glad you asked, so you can always get it from aj Crimson dot com. But then also we're launching a North Droom. So I think that probably by the time, definitely by the time this comes out, Nordrom everybody. So I guess the black women

do go in North Drom, they do, you know. And I think I think this time everything is shifted, you know, after coming off of you know, the Black Lives Movement, uh, you know, protests and people really doubling down on accountability on the diversity that they say that they have, especially and we have to give our hats off to Sharon Shooter of Oma Beauty because she really kind of kicked that conversation off and really all people down to the carpet.

And I think there was that conversation where it got everybody on board. And this quarantine like really isolated us to a point where we almost kind of when we're going crazy, and we got to see the injustice that was happening around us as opposed to like living in our own little bubbles, right and uh, and a lot of the retailers, uh, you know, we had conversations with

but nors From felt the best. They actually as opposed to meet like pitching to them, they were pitching to us, and they were saying, hey, like, we understand what you what you're doing. We understand that we have this customer here. We love what you've been doing. And what I'm creating is something so different. You know, it's pro luxury, you know, so you know, there isn't a black, black owned brand that is a luxury brand, you know, And that was what I set out to do and and you know,

and you have a professional edge. It's pro solutions for everyday women. So um, I love seeing that translate through. I love that I'm with a retail partner that understands like my goal and are willing to grow with me. They represent that luxury so they're perfect. It's a perfect sweet spot like for my brand for sure. And I think that was something too we had always been thinking about, like where does Ajan Crimson get to live? Where does

Ajia Crimson Beauty get to live? Because we're not drug store, you know, and you know, we're not middle we're not massige, you know, like that middle ground. We really are, you know, a higher end brand. You know, we just happened to speak to black women first and and it's an exciting time. I'm so excited for you, and now it makes all the sense in the world why we're eating a luxury Eating all Broke meal. Thank you so much for coming

on an episode of Eating All Broke. I secretly want you to come back, so hopefully, yes, come back and share more stories, because I don't think there's enough time in the world too. Even you have so much, like even behind the scenes, and just I feel like there's so much knowledge and stuff we could talk about, especially when it comes to building a brand and taking it to other levels. So I hope you come back with a even cooler dish. I'm sure I can think of

okay for sure. So thank you everyone for tuning in too, Eating Wall Broke. I'm here with A J. Crimson from A J. Crimson Beauty The Luxury of Beauty. Thank you so much for coming up. I appreciate you. Thank you for having me for more. Eating While Broke from I Heart Radio and The Black Effect. Visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.