From hopes and dreams to retail expansion onto Target.com and Walmart.com, Bella Rose has undeniably created a major lane for herself in the beauty industry. With a driven and determined spirit rooted by humble beginnings, Bella Rose Passion Cosmetics have been featured on many celebrity faces and in shows such as R&B Divas Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Starz Original “POWER” and various music artists.
After the birth of the Bella Rose Artistry Agency in 2014, the brand quickly gained notoriety and now employs about a dozen professional cosmetic artists. Her success landed her a small supporting role on the Bravo series, “The New Atlanta,” in 2013 and motivated various organizations to award her for her contributions to the beauty industry.
If you give up because you don’t have any sales. If you give up because things are not going the right way. It wasn’t meant for you to do it.
Bella Rose
Been Worthy sat down with the Beauty Mogul to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey and the magic behind her melanin:
You’re a wife and a mom. What role does your family play in the business?
Bella Rose: You get so drained in becoming an entrepreneur that you don’t incorporate anybody in your brand because it’s your dream. I had to learn how to make it ours. My husband went to school for business and accounting. He started helping with the finances and marketing effortlessly. We have three children. My oldest is 22 and she is pretty much like our brand ambassador. She’s all over social media showing the products off and telling her coworkers and friends about the products.
Our oldest son is 16. He is like our product manager. He handles all the packaging, shipping and labeling. And then our youngest son is 11. Right now he’s learning how to adapt the role of an employee. He makes boxes and does small things right now. But everybody is on payroll.
You’re a black woman building a beauty empire. At what point did you realize you could do this and deserved a seat at the beauty table?
Bella Rose: My moment was after I was on the Steve Harvey show. I made the same boss moves as any other business woman, and did it by myself. I got myself there. I didn’t have anyone book me on the show. I reached out to them and pitched a show and did everything on my own. So after that I figured I can do anything. And I continue to move that way.
What are some challenges you’ve had to overcome that people wouldn’t expect?
Bella Rose: A lot! When I started Bella Rose Passion, I started broke. All the money went into it and I didn’t see a profit until maybe about three years ago. So I will tell anybody that jumping into being an entrepreneur so that you could get rich quick is not realistic. It’s not a get rich quick situation. You have to sacrifice a lot of family time, stay up late at night and sacrifice a lot of your freedom. And in my case, sacrifice your health.
Recently I had to have spinal surgery and the day after my spinal surgery I signed my target contract. At that moment I realized I had to focus on my health. I always put it on the back burner because I felt like I got to take care of my family. I got to take care of my business. I got to make sure everything is flourishing. But if I’m not doing well, how can I do that?
Your products can be found at places like Macys and Walmart. Recently you landed a deal with Target. How did you manifest that?
Bella Rose: When I started my skincare line I wanted to go a totally different direction than I did with my makeup line. I wanted to get into stores…big box retail. Target has been a 3 year journey. They continuously said no every time I would pitch, but I was just determined. I knew we could do it. But looking back, I’m happy that it didn’t happen at the time I thought it was supposed to. I would have failed. The labels were not as pretty; the product wasn’t even as pretty. It wasn’t like it is right now. Now we have the right formula.
We had to continuously level up the product and the buyers were excited about that. They helped a lot. If it wasn’t for the team that I was working with at Target I would have given up. I was told that if I had a collection instead of just one product I could get a better deal. With the help of their ideas and direction we were able to make it happen.
Who are your products for? Describe the Bella Rose Passion Queen.
Bella Rose: I want to say our products are for everybody. My husband, my brother, my dad, they love my products. My little cousins and all little girls love the products. A lot of women that work in healthcare contact me and may say they have to wash their hands a lot and use the products on their hands. They’re hands stay moisturized all day. And that’s one of the biggest compliments.
We have a variety of customers. Anyone can purchase from Bella Rose Passion.
What’s the dream for your brand?
Bella Rose: To be in all retails stores. All major retail stores.
Connect with Bella Rose Passion by visiting www.bellarosepassion.com