This Week We Feature Young Professional Sarai O. Smith
As a full-time career, Young Professional Ms Sarai O. Smith is the passionate Executive Assistant to the President of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) in the Virgin Islands. Like most entrepreneurial youths; however, she is also a small business owner.
Setting Goals
Through her self funded business, 'Product Junkie', Ms Smith said the primary goal is to provide more accessibility to a wider assortment of products in the hair care and beauty industry to persons in the Virgin Islands.
Product Junkie was launched in September 2018 with just two hair care brands; Mielle Organics and The Mane Choice and has grown to over 15 brands and now includes hair tools as well.
She said Product Junkie has several competitive advantages, “but a differentiation factor in the arena of beauty supply I wish to highlight is the fact that our product offerings are driven by the integrity of ingredients.”
According to our Young Professional, the quality of the ingredients or ingredient formulations in products is what the company values the most, “Our key focus is on nutrient-rich, non-toxic ingredients which we found to be a top priority by smaller hair care business owners.”
She said her brands stand out because their product formulas are mostly free of sulphates, mineral oil, parabens, petrolatum, drying alcohols, formaldehyde, phthalates, and other carcinogens to name a few, but include botanical, food-grade ingredients and some products are even 100% vegan/plant-based.
Early Beginnings
For Ms Smith, currently residing at Ballast Bay, Tortola, growing up in the VI meant having a range of diverse interests and a love for nature, adventure, travel and food.
She attended the Althea Scatliffe Primary School, class of 1998, and Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) where she graduated in 2002 before heading to H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) to study Marketing (2005), then to the University of the Virgin Islands where she graduated magna cum laude - 3.8 GPA.
Our young Professional said she is also heavily interested in wellness whether physical, mental or spiritual. She is also very keen on giving back to her community via charity work.
Smith has been a member of the 2nd Virgin Islands Company of the Girls Brigade, a non-profit organisation, her whole life. "I would say this organisation has laid the foundation to my life-long commitment to helping youths, vulnerable groups and others and my environment."
She said her love for helping others also led her into the world of disaster relief with the BVI Red Cross. "Furthermore, I’m interested in financial literacy,” she added.
Executive Assitant
Currently employed as an Executive Assistant, Ms Smith said that in a nutshell, “I work in partnership with the President. My role is to ensure the President’s office is organised as I support from a high-level administrative approach and contribute to the productivity of the President.”
“As a product of HLSCC, I’ve always understood the importance of community colleges. As an employee and no longer a student, seeing how the college impacts lives through education from the administrative side and no longer the consumer/student side and also contributing to this process is quite a blessing.“
She said her business has also created an outlet for her to help persons, including to have access to more nutrient-rich, non-toxic hair products and tool options.
“Also, I’m proud to be part of a movement that aids in persons successfully tackling various hair and scalp issues through educating persons on the importance of ingredients and techniques on their hair care journey and empowering customers to their beautiful natural curls with confidence."
Challenges & Life Lesson
Turning attention to challenges, Smith said the most challenging thing about being a small business owner, with no brick and mortar component, “is the fact that many people still prefer the in-store experience where they can see the products or what I call showrooming. This notion is underscored especially when I host pop-up shop experiences once a quarter.”
She said one of her biggest life lessons is missing out of life experiences for not being gutsy and willing to be open to something different.
“I’ve always been interested in several things at the same time, but as I mentioned before, I never imagined myself owning a beauty supply business; however, I will share this, I grew up with parents that both had their own small businesses and I understood at an early age the importance of having multiple streams of income.”
She said having those early financial principals in the home, “it was ingrained in me that these would be part of my life’s journey as well. So, from that perspective, I can say yes, I’m on a path that I have always been desirous to traverse.”
Life during Pandemic
When asked about how COVID-19 has affected life, our Young Professional said the pandemic has taught her to trust the use of technology.
It “emphasised the importance of coordination; communication and teamwork more in the workplace and underscores a phrase that I wish to incorporate into my lifestyle, which is 'work from wherever'.”
She said it has undoubtedly assisted in sharpening those soft skills that employers’ value most, such as adaptability and good work ethic.
“It has affected my personal and family life positively. I’ve rekindled relationships with family and friends and even created new friendships due to the pandemic.”
According to Ms Smith, she remains proud of the hard work that the government has done so far to safeguard the Territory, “I would just like to encourage them to continue with this momentum even after COVID-19 has subsided and continue to keep the best interest of the Territory at the forefront when making decisions that will impact the Territory.”
She called for the government ministries to engage the youths in meaningful ways, “They need representation and a seat at the table as well so that the generational gap that is brewing in the midst of this new regular can shrink and we as a country can capitalise on the opportunities that have now been created and will be created due to the pandemic.”
Parting Advice
As parting advice to youths looking to pursue and achieve their dreams, she said persons should operate from the mind state of gratitude and compassion towards others and to live good with others, with the following 5 tips:
1. It’s good to have dreams. Be a dreamer but set goals for your life and have a plan of action to achieve those goals.
2. Be open-minded to something different, you never know how that can completely change your reality in a powerful and positive way.
3. Find what moves you. Find whatever it is that puts you in that mood where you’re feeling magnificent and you operate at a level of excellence. For me that thing is music. If I put on some Hip-hop or Soca or some Reggaeton, I’m hyped and at this point, I’m intentional and deliberate with my actions. Once you find that thing, incorporate that thing into your daily ritual so that you can be your best and give 100% E-V-E-R-Y DAY.
4. Never operate as if you know it all. Be open to learning from others and continue to sharpen the saw.
5. Don’t get complacent. Work hard. Hard work outshines talent that isn’t put to work. Lastly, surround yourself with friends that add value to your life who will Fight for you, Respect you, Include you, Encourage you, Need you, Delight you and Stand by you.
"These FRIENDS become family," Young Professional Sarai O. Smith said.
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