Pretti Spotlight: From R&B to Entrepreneurship Unveiling Brandi Williams’ BeiPolished Journey

 

In my recent conversation with Brandi Williams of the renowned R&B group Blaque, we shared a laid-back exchange surrounding Brandi’s entrepreneurial journey. Our chat began with laughter as we reminisced about hip-hop moments and reflected on Brandi's personal journey within the music scene. As the discussion transitioned, the spotlight turned to her company, BeiPolished, a testament to her creative spirit and love of iconic glam. Through our dialogue, Brandi's excitement for her nail polish line and her journey as an entrepreneur was evident. We delved into the motivation behind the brand's unique name, BeiPolished, as well as my gratitude to her commitment to offering a matte finish, a detail that sets her products apart. We also explored the rewarding aspects of her journey and her valuable advice for those considering a bold career pivot. Our dialogue was candid and inspiring, embodying the essence of entrepreneurship, personal growth, and a Pretti Spotlight. 

When I was doing my research for this interview, I learned that you were the female vocals on Nelly’s record Grillz. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of hip-hop do you mind sharing what it was like to be apart of that moment in hip-hop history?

It was great. That song was so dope. Nelly and I have known each other for a longtime and he called me and asked me to get on a record and I was happy to do it. I didn't want to wear a grill though (we both break out in laughter).

Totally understanding of that. (More laughter)

It was great to meet Paul Wall. That whole moment was dope I was happy to be a part of it and happy to be a part of hip hop in that way.

We appreciate it. That “smile for me daddy” will forever be a moment in hip-hop history. And now we’re here to discuss a new moment you’re cultivating as an entrepreneur. Can you tell my audience a little bit about BeiPolished?

Yeah. So it's been, going on almost three years now- which I can't even believe. BeiPolished started during the pandemic. Obviously, the world was shut down. And, you know, as entertainers we’re usually, on the road and on the go all the time. At first it was crazy having all the down time. Then I was like, let me get into my creativity. I've always loved glam- if you know me, you know, I'm a girly girl and I love nails, hair, makeup, all of it! When I was a little girl, my mother used to take me with her to get our nails done. It used to be a thing we would do. And I was like, you know what, let me let me do something that's kind of out of the box, but that speaks to me. So I started a nail polish line that has now turned into our newest baby. The press ons, which are a super trend and it takes me back to my middle school days where I thought I was a nail tech and could put people's nails on. I am super excited about it. We've gotten such a great response for the polish and now the press on it and it's our plan is to turn it into a full cosmetic line. I'm loving what we're doing right now.

What were some of your earliest nail salon memories with your mom?

We’re from Detroit. She had a nail tech in Detroit named Rina and I loved Rina! Rina would hook my mom up and she would sit me up up there next to her and do my nails and put little nail art on it and it would always just be a fun time.

I love it! Where did the name BeiPolished come from?  Why did you decided to spell B, B-E-I?

Well, a lot of people call me B Right? But I wanted it to mean something more than that. So Bei stands for beautiful, elegant icon because I want you to feel iconic when you have on your be polished. So I'm all about you know, feeling good looking, good. Class elegance I'm feeling so I want you to feel that way when you use our product.

That is awesome. I actually love seeing that your press ons all had a matte finish. That detail was really dope to me because it's really hard to find reasonably length press ons with a nice matte finish. So shout out to you and your team for that.

Aww yay! I'm glad. That makes me feel good. I know when we were doing our research, we saw that, of course there's a lot on the market. But there was a lack in the market for the matte as you know, so yes, that's where we wanted to start. And we've been getting a good response. So thank you! I love to hear that!

What's been the most rewarding part of this journey for you?

Really just seeing my visions come to life you know?! When you dream of something that you can actually see it come to life is amazing. But the response from my fans and people that have known me, throughout my journey of my career, and gaining new fans and new customers just seeing them really enjoy and appreciate the products has been very rewarding. I'm so thankful I have a great team that believes in me and believes in my vision, and I'm just thankful to have them because I could not do this by myself. It's just been it's been a great journey, a lot of trial and error. You know, nothing comes without that. But at the same time, like I said, just being able to realize your dream and see it actually happen. It's been amazing!

Like you said earlier going from entertainer to beauty entrepreneur is a little out of the box, what's some advice you would give to someone trying to pivot in their career to try something totally new and out of the box like you did?

I would definitely just say go for it. Of course there's going to be leaps and hurdles and you're gonna hit roadblocks but if you believe in what you're doing, just stick with it. It is nothing like seeing your dream come true. So if you really believe it, you believe in a product or whatever it is that you want to do. Whether it's the cupcake line or you know, another nail line or whatever, whatever you decide, whatever you're passionate, whatever you believe in, just keep going don't let the roadblocks stop you because that's going to come with anything. And don't let anybody tell you you can't because you definitely can, you just gotta stick with it. That's the number one key because I have I've had moments where I'm like, ooh, are we doing the right thing? You know? Because nothing comes easy. You just have to keep sticking with it. And by me not giving up. We've had some great, great moments and I'm very excited for what's to come for BeiPolished. So I would say stick with it.

Absolutely. Stick with it. If you could go back and talk to middle school Brandi what would you your advice be to her now?

Oh man, I would say to middle school Brandi is really just realize your gift. I didn't really know what I had back then. You know, like, I didn't know that I had the talent that I had even though people would say oh, you can sing. I didn't really start getting it until Blaque started and even then, I was a teenager. I was dealing with confidence issues and all that. So if I could talk to that younger Brandi, I would just tell her to believe it. Believe in yourself and believe in your talent, get the confidence and just know that you have it in there. You know?

Yeah, that's definitely one of those lessons we all have to learn at some point in our personal evolutions. What is something that you didn't know about yourself until you finally decided to bet on yourself?

I think that what I didn't know is that I can actually do something like this. Like you think about it and it’s ‘okay, yeah, let's do’ it but doing it versus it just being an idea. It's two different things. So I think that I surprise myself with coming up with this idea and putting it in motion and making it happen. You know, because it's steps to it. You can have a dream but sometimes you dream and you wake up and you keep it moving. But like really saying, Okay, I'm gonna step into a lane that I really don't know anything about. I just know that I like it. I don't know what it takes to make it happen. I don't know what it takes to do any of it but I'm just gonna dive in. Feet first. And yeah, and it surprised me that I did it. I'm sticking with it. And it’s been a cool journey.

It definitely sounds like it. I think that one of the fun parts of beauty, whether it's nails, whether it's skincare, hair care, makeup, is that even on the business side of it, it’s like we're still little girls having fun. It's still a product that we love. It's still an experience that we love and it takes us back to that memory. So I definitely understand that.

Right. Like before this interview. So our whole thing is, be iconic in 10 minutes. Be iconic and feminine. So I did a research challenge. I was like okay, I'm gonna 10 minutes before this interview. I'm gonna put these nails on, then bam it’s really a 10 minute manicure in a box. Like if you got somewhere to go and you're like, ‘Oh my God, I need to get these nails together’. Now you can just, pull out a box and you're gonna look like you just stepped out of the nail salon. It's pretty crazy that it’s my business now.

That's the beauty of press ons. I have seen some of your personal nails on choices. And those designs are daring and bold. Does that mean that we might get those more elaborate designs in some press ons eventually?

Oh yeah. I have a nail tech, her name is Bree and she is the bomb. I love her. We've been talking about doing some custom press ons together because her nail art is incredible. So, that's definitely the goal for the future for sure.

You can follow Brandi on Instagram @thebrandid. And don’t for get to shop BeiPolished website and follow them on Instagram @beipolished. If press ons aren’t your thing they have a phenomenal line of polishes as well.