Female Disruptors: How Beatrice Dixon of The Honey Pot Company Is Shaking Up Feminine Care
…I’d like to inspire a movement for humans to be that, humans! Let’s lose the labels — black, woman, gay, Catholic etc… We are all humans trying to find our way and live lives that we can be proud of. We all want respect and happiness and to be comfortable in our skin. Live life outside the box and create your own narrative and be free!
As a part of our series about strong women leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beatrice Dixon, CEO and Founder of The Honey Pot Company.
When she was younger, Beatrice Dixon suffered from bacterial vaginosis for eight months. One night, an ancestor gave her the ingredients to heal herself in a dream. From that insightful dream, she created the formula for a healthy, clean feminine wash. In 2014, Dixon launched The Honey Pot Company, a plant-based feminine hygiene line created with a goal to provide women with a healthy alternative to feminine care that is free of chemicals, parabens, carcinogens and sulfates. The rest is history.
Thank you so much for doing this with us Beatrice! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My backstory is a bit unconventional in that I didn’t study business in college or work in corporate America before launching The Honey Pot. I worked in the pharmacy world as well as retail before launching my brand. I was working at Whole Foods when I began The Honey Pot Company in my kitchen. I really feel my unorthodox path was ideal because I learned the ins and outs of retail and eventually became a natural foods broker which gave me valuable knowledge and insight into what it takes to get a product on the shelf. As for what caused me to create The Honey Pot Company, it was necessity. I wasn’t looking for a business to launch — I was searching for a solution to my vaginal and health issues which were beyond frustrating! When I created the wash from the formula my ancestor gave me in a dream and it worked, I knew that there was a chance to turn this into something women everywhere could use, and that’s how The Honey Pot Company was born.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Well there’s a few angles to what makes The Honey Pot Company a disruptive brand. For starters, we are all-natural and free from parabens, sulfates, dioxins, dyes and artificial fragrances. Many conventional brands are not transparent about the ingredients in their formulas, so it’s been a major change for feminine care companies to give the consumer 100% insight into what’s in their feminine care products. Another angle is that we offer everything for feminine hygiene and feminine care under one umbrella. Traditionally, consumers had to shop their feminine hygiene from one brand and their feminine care from another company. We wanted to make it simple and easy from a consumer shopping experience that they can purchase clean, healthy feminine products from a brand they trust. Also, in addition to being clean and natural we are also effective.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
A funny mistake we made was during the first time we went to Essence Festival as vendors back in July 2017. We didn’t realize that our booth was outside and trust me, being outside in New Orleans in July is not something you ever want to experience for longer than a few minutes. We spent four days outside in the sweltering heat and to make matters worse we had to move our booth every single day. To round out the weekend — there was a horrible thunderstorm that swept through the area and nearly knocked our entire booth and inventory down the street. Needless to say, it was a mess but thankfully we all can laugh about it now!
What I learned is if something sounds too good to be true — it probably is!
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
My mentors are family, friends and some fellow entrepreneurs. I have been so blessed to have some amazing people in my life and on this journey with me to help provide guidance, advice and assistance when I need it.
They’ve all made an impact on me. My mother constantly keeps me focused on what matters most which is being my best self and staying disciplined.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Being disruptive causes people to take a closer look at what the status quo was or is. It’s important to shake things up especially if the result is giving customers and consumers access to healthier, cleaner and more effective products. As for being disruptive as a negative — I haven’t seen an example of that. I’ve seen countless industries be disrupted and have to change course due to new brands and companies changing the narrative and the consumer has benefitted from that every single time. I see change as healthy and necessary so it’s hard for me to ever say that change is bad or negative.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
1. “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. I’ve learned not to get too bent out of shape over small issues or things that aren’t worth my time getting riled up over. I look for solutions and move on. There’s no need to get bent out of shape as that just takes you away from doing your job and slows you down.
2. “Do what you can and that’s all.” You can’t do it all. You have to give what you’ve got for the day and leave the rest for tomorrow.
3. “Breathe.” Before the important call, that big meeting or that crucial interview, just remember to breathe.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
There are more product offerings coming in 2021 and more retail rollouts. I plan on making The Honey Pot Company a household name!
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
As women we tend not to get the same respect or appreciation for our ideas, strategies, tenacity and hard work. We have to push harder, speak louder and stand up for our ideas and companies in a way men typically don’t have to do.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
I love “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz. It’s a book that changed my life in so many ways. I learned so many things about how to live my truth and be a good human being!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson” quote? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Ask and you shall receive.” What that taught me is that I am responsible for my happiness, my success and my life. I cannot place that ginormous responsibility on anyone else but myself. It’s as simple as asking God and the Universe for what I desire in life and letting things flow and come together. I don’t believe my destiny is determined by another human being — it’s my decision.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
For humans to be that, humans! Let’s lose the labels — black, woman, gay, Catholic etc… We are all humans trying to find our way and live lives that we can be proud of. We all want respect and happiness and to be comfortable in our skin. Live life outside the box and create your own narrative and be free!
How can our readers follow you online?
You can follow me at @iambeadixon on Instagram
You can follow me at @queenbea_101 on Twitter
You can follow me at @thehoneypotco on Instagram
You can follow me at @thehoneypotcomp on Twitter
