By DEVYN LANSDEN, Editorial Editor
BEAVER — While many small businesses across the United States have shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, some women from rural Beaver County have started new businesses and kept them open despite economic challenges in the region.
Two businesses were formed and run by three women from the Panhandle. Beck’s Body Care, a company that makes hand lotions, body scrubs and other skincare products, is run by Yadira Castillo. Klei Bella, a handmade jewelry company, is run by Bentleigh Albert, Kayla Ratliff and Tori Hale.
Albert and Ratliff are from Forgan, with their business located in Oklahoma City.
In the year 2020, 55 announcements were made for new and expanding businesses, according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
The agency said it expected 8,000 new jobs to be created as a result.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25% of new businesses last 15 years or more, and 20% fail in the first two years.
Inexperience is the No. 1 reason small businesses fail, the organization said. This is because of poor planning. There are many steps when starting a business, and planning is the most important. A business has to be able to know whom to reach out to and what its competition is. The business must also have a steady and consistent revenue stream, the organization said.
Klei Bella’s owners said they used the pandemic to their advantage.
Ratliff and Albert said they started making jewelry for fun because other people were doing it. In January 2020, they set off to Hobby Lobby to get clay and see what they could create. What started off as a fun, creative outlet from their jobs turned into a business idea.
Then they had to pick a name.
Albert and Ratliff said they had to select a name that would make them different from other companies. Ratliff said they looked up the word “clay” and the way to pronounce the word. “Klei” was how they would spell it in their business name. The word “bella” means beautiful. They wanted this word in their name because they took clay and made it into something beautiful, Ratliff said.
‘A BLESSING IN DISGUISE’
The owners started making jewelry in January 2020. April 1 was the original day they planned to announce their new business. When the pandemic started, however, they decided to postpone it, Albert said.
“It was a big blessing in disguise,” Albert said.
They used the extra time to plan more, they said. They said the business would not have survived if they had released their products in April. Using that time, they improved on their skills and learned more so they were better prepared for their new business to open, they said.
Since many people work together in the business, brainstorming ideas is easier and more fun, they said. The roles in their business are equal, and they know their strengths and weaknesses. The spare bedroom in Ratliff’s apartment is where the creative work happens, she said.
It started in Albert’s kitchen, Albert said. But she had two roommates at the time, and the room got too cluttered, so they relocated, she said.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE AT HOME
Having a workspace in her house is how Castillo makes products and raises her baby, Beckham. Castillo started Beck’s Body Care, named after her daughter, when she was eight months pregnant with Beckham. Castillo wanted to provide for her baby without being away because of work, she said.
Castillo said she reached out to a mentor for help on making body butter. Castillo’s company worked well locally, she said. It eventually picked up the pace. Now, she ships products to 27 states. She has created multiple scents with her products, she said. Castillo makes body butter, body scrub, chapstick and hand cream. She also makes candles.
Castillo makes her own all-natural, preservative-free products. She also makes handmade accessories that people can customize, and she has her own merchandise line of shirts and sweatshirts.
SPREADING THE MESSAGE
Castillo uses Instagram and Facebook to advertise her company. She is working on a website. For now, she continues to stay swamped, she said. Her direct messages are filled with people wanting to order more Beck’s products, she said.
Castillo said she believes supporting other small businesses is important. She likes collaborating with other businesses around the area, she said. She has worked with a few companies and used her scents to make car fresheners.
She displayed her products at a hair salon in Beaver and a new business that recently opened in Beaver.
She posts about other businesses she works with on her social media and some businesses she may not work with. Castillo said she enjoys supporting people and their ideas.
Castillo is a licensed esthetician and said she makes sure her products are clean and natural. Her body scrubs exfoliate the skin and work with the body butter to better penetrate and hydrate the skin. Castillo is a massage therapist, and self-care is her main priority for her customers, she said.