“I wanted to buy a house and didn’t realize that I didn’t have knowledge about credit scores and how to manage money,” Sheppard recalled. “Although I had a really good job making decent money, my credit score wasn’t where it needed to be. So when I started learning about what I needed to do to get my credit right. My parents didn’t teach me how to manage money. And so I wanted to be able to teach people, especially black people, about money management and financial planning. So I decided to go to school to get my degree.”
Sheppard worked as a business office manager, then got a job as a manager of an assisted living facility. She loved it, and wanted to advance to the position of executive director. She got certified in healthcare administration and eventually ran three family care home facilities.
During this time, Sheppard began to wear her hair naturally. “I decided I was going to go natural with my hair,” she recalled. “A lady braided it so tight that the back of my hair fell out. So I went online to research ways to naturally stimulate the growth of my hair. And I learned about oils and the benefits of different types of oils and different types of essential oils. And I put together what I call my edge growth treatment. After about four months of using it, my hair grew back. It was longer than it was before I lost the hair.”
That experience sparked her interest in a variety of homemade natural personal care products.
“I continued to learn, research and study different oils and taught myself how to make soap, lotions and deodorant,” she recalled. “And I discovered I had a passion for making soap.”
Sheppard and her husband began selling soap at vending events. Their products were a hit.
“It got to a point where people were calling and saying, ‘Hey, I ran out of soap I need more’,” Sheppard recalled. “I’d be meeting people after work, on the side of the road and at different places. I told my husband that I was tired of meeting people on the side of the road and we needed to get a store. By this time, we had moved to Rock Hill, so I put in my two weeks’ notice and opened our first store.”
Sheppard and her husband opened her first natural soap and natural personal products in 2016.
“We sold soaps, lotions, toothpaste, deodorant, bath balms, oils, African Black soap, and raw shea butter,” Sheppard said. “Our location in Rock Hill wasn’t the best location, but we did really good. We just didn’t have foot traffic. We had a lot of repeat customers, but no customers just walking in saying ‘Hey, let me check this stuff out’.”
Sheppard began searching for a new location, and posted her intentions on Facebook.
“An investor saw that I was looking for a new place and came out and saw the store,” Sheppard said. “He decided that he wanted to invest in the company. Part of the agreement was that we had to relocate to Columbia.”
Sheppard closed the Rock Hill store in October 2018. She found a location in Columbia and opened Raw Essence Natural Soaps & Bath on Two Notch Road in June 2019.
Raw Essence specializes in handcrafted soaps and body care products which are created with natural ingredients and produced here in Columbia, SC. Raw Essence creates products that are 100 percent handmade and free of harmful chemicals and preservatives. Their products consist of unique luxury soaps, deodorants, lotions, sugar scrubs, body butters, candles, and other spa and natural skin care items.
Raw Essence Natural Soaps & Bath moved from Two Notch Road and is now located at 1332 Main Street, Suite 110 (in the historic Arcade building). The store is open on Monday – Friday 10:00AM – 4:00PM and Saturdays from 10:00AM – 2:00PM.
To learn more, visit https://www.rawessencesoaps.com
