As Told To is a recurring segment on xoNecole where real women are given a platform to tell their stories in first-person narrative as told to a writer.
This is Rachel James' story, as told to Charmin Michelle.
A few weeks ago, I was watching Alicia Keys host the 2020 Grammys while wearing my brand.
One of the largest artists in the world was real-life modeling this Chicago girl's wildest dream in front of millions, on one of the country's most historically prominent award shows. What a beautifully major moment for my entire team. I've hustled for so long for that moment, I've worked so hard. I'm still amazed by every milestone.
And my parents were pretty geeked, too.
A Star Is Born
Let me introduce myself: I am Rachel James—a learner, a wanderer, a lover, a fighter and way too blunt at times—a true Sagittarius. I'm a dreamer simply trying my best to teach my sons everything I can, put my life into my work, and have the best time doing both.
My business is Pear Nova, a vegan, cruelty-free lacquer brand based in Chicago. Pear Nova is, in essence, a combination of my experiences—clothes I've worn, art I've admired, music I've danced to, foods I've tasted, countries I've traveled to and women I've wanted to be like all bottled up—full pun intended. We've somehow managed to translate hustle into success, and have now been worn, and mentioned, by some of our industry faves.
Alchemy.
Image Courtesy of Pear Nova
I've always known that I would somehow be working in the fashion industry, and nail polish turned out to be the perfect little accessory that sat between the beauty and fashion world. I remember my last day of fashion merchandising school; I was 7 or 8 months pregnant with my second-born, giving a marketing presentation on a fake brand for my final. My professor was so blown away that all of the feedback literally awakened the entrepreneur in me. That very day, I went home, googled "how to start a nail polish line," and began building my business.
Defining Herstory
I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago with my parents and brothers. From an early age, I witnessed what hard work actually looked like, as my dad went from working as a janitor to becoming a principal, and my mom, assistant to VP. They taught each of us money management, standard practices of business, and going after our passions. I would always run behind my brothers, laughing and trying to keep up. In school, I was loud, outward, and always trying to figure out ways to make money so I could buy lip gloss. It's funny to think about how I was all about my business, even then.
Pear Nova was unfortunately born through tragedy. I named my company after my late sister-in-love, Nova (who we aren't blessed to experience anymore due to domestic violence). I began googling one day and came across a nova pear tree, which is known to withstand extreme temperature. It was so fitting for both Nova, and what I was creating. It was perfect.
From there, what seemed like an overnight success to you, had been a decade in the making for me. Now, we've built our portfolio and have been featured in Essence, Vogue, ALLURE, and more. We bought a full studio space, invited some techs to do nails, and created a full-service beauty lounge.
The Truth About Entrepreneurship
Has the success been trying at times? C'mon guys, of course. Everything you've heard about entrepreneurship is true, ten times over. I'm often asked for advice I would give to women who are pursuing the next step in their career journey, and there's plenty. And I'm forever open to feeding queens.
At Pear Nova, we even make it a point to speak life into our customers through polish names:
B Positive
The time to start is now. I don't know about you but I look for black women-owned businesses to give my money to. So, please do something EVERY SINGLE DAY that will get you closer to entrepreneurship because we need you, ladies. We need your vision.
Cleo F*ckin Patra
You have to strongly believe in your own crazy. Learn to trust and fall into your madness. Welcome your fears. Tell them to get comfortable because they aren't going anywhere. You will just learn to work through them.
Diana Boss
Being a creative that happened to end up an entrepreneur, as someone who likes to sit alone in their own magical bubble with their head up in the sky generating ideas and creating, you have to pop the damn bubble and be open to learning every other aspect about entrepreneurship. I thought, Oh, I'll just make all these dope things! And then it was like, No, girl. Order those books on marketing, branding, and accounting too.
Frida Be Free
I'm speaking to myself and all introverts when I say this: step way out of your comfort zone and connect with more people! You're already going to get where the universe sees fit, but connections will get you there much quicker. And always remember that absolutely nothing is personal in business.
—
The Real Me
When I'm overwhelmed, honestly, I cry. That's just the truth. I actually cried about two hours ago... Afterwards, I take a break from anything that's contributing to that feeling.
But after a 12-hour work day, and an evening with my kids, I'm simply exhausted, but I know I kicked ass that day—
That's when I'm at my most fulfilled.
Image Courtesy of Pear Nova Studio
I love to meditate and I love to write. I'm currently writing a journal for my children to read one day. I'll let them know what is happening and what I learned at that moment. It's killing two birds with one stone because it serves as a release for me, and more wisdom for them.
For 2020, I plan to release new classic lacquers, gel lacquers, and a brand new beauty product for Pear Nova. I'm going to make Pear Nova Studio the top beauty lounge in Chicago. I plan to grow more meaningful business relationships and utilize my social media more (ugh, I low-key hate social media). The fact that manicurists rarely get credited for their work is an industry pet peeve of mine, so I plan to lead the culture in being a part of that change. And personally, I just really want to be better at forgiveness, so I'll be working on projecting a more forgivable energy into the universe.
I have so many ideas and things that I want to do—a lip lacquer collection being next. I actually haven't told anyone that yet but now that I have, it's for real, for real. Thankfully, my team and I, we always figure it out. We always find a way to make it happen.
It's crazy because both my ideas, and the ocean, are what scare me more than anything. It's the unknown that's both terrifying and captivating.
But I always manage to be the first to jump right in.
To keep up with Rachel, you may follow her on Instagram. You may also visit Pear Nova Studio's Chicago location for beauty services, or shop polishes by visiting their website.
If you have a story you'd like to share, but aren't sure about how to put it into words, contact as at submissions@xonecole.com with the subject "As Told To" for a chance for your story to be featured.
Featured image by Charles Andre' Thomas
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak