We all want our little girls to feel special, beautiful, radiant, celebrated, and proud, but in todays society, it can be quite difficult to keep our little princess fulfilled with self confidence and self love. However, with J.Blossom, a fun and natural bath and body line for young girls created by Jamila White, we can surround our girls with products that not only will make her skin soft and healthy, but will affirm their natural beauty with every use. Each product has a different affirmation printed on them that celebrates the skin that their in and comes in some super yummy flavors that she is sure to love, such as "Strawberry & Banana Smoothie" & "Great Big Grape"! Jamila takes a moment to share with us the inspiration behind her company, some future goodies that we might expect from her line, as well as some great tips on marketing and business start-up, so take notes!

ymib: What other products would you like to see developed in the future of J.Blossom & do you think you would ever develop a line for little boys?

Jamila: I'd definitely like to expand to include additional bath and body productsand also more scents. I have a great all-natural insect repellent I'll beintroducing this summer. It smells fantastic, keeps the mosquitoes away, andeven relieves itches from previous bug bites. I have some other products inthe works, but I'd like to keep those a surprise! I've been getting a few requests for boy's products, so it's something I mayconsider.

ymib: What was the inspiration behind the name J.Blossom?

Jamila: Our products are natural and also contain flower essences, so I wanted thename to reflect that. But I also wanted it to be fun and sound catchy.

My name starts with J, so I liked the way it sounded.But more important than the inspiration for the name is the inspiration forthe product line itself. It seems like it's harder than ever to simply be alittle girl these days, without the negative media messages (music videos and Don Imus come to mind) and the pressure to be too grown up too soon. It seemed like everywhere I turned, little girls were getting the message thatthere was something wrong with them, that they weren't "sexy" enough, or that there was something wrong with their skin tone, nose, lips, hair, orbody. Or that they were only worthy of being a "sidekick" to the blondeprincess.

I wanted to create something that made girls - all girls -- feelgood about who they are on the inside and the outside, and to let them know that they are perfect just the way they are. The products have only been outfor about four months now, but the feedback from the parents and especiallyfrom the girls themselves has been so rewarding! A couple of little girls actually think it's their own face on the bottle. I love it!

ymib: Could you share with us more info about your "Kitchen Studio"?

Jamila: I have a commercial kitchen facility in Baltimore where we "cook" up all thej.blossom products. Things had gotten to the point where the business hadoutgrown my own kitchen at home. It's generally open to the public onSaturday afternoons, so people do come by and shop and also watch theproducts being made. Let me tell you, there's nothing better than a superfresh batch of lotion, still warm from the pot.

ymib: What has been the biggest challenge with having and developing your lineand what are some of your favorite marketing strategies for promoting J.Blossom?

Jamila: When I first started making products a little over three years ago it wasjust as a kitchen hobby, me making stuff for myself and my friends andfamily members. I wasn't even thinking about a business. I already had onefull-time business since 1997, which was e-commerce marketing and strategic consulting (www.ecommercediva.com). But it caught on and I saw a marketing opportunity, and being a serial entrepreneur I just couldn't resist it.I actually wrote a full business plan with detailed financial projectionsand entered into two different business plan contests. I ended up winning $4,000 in grant money from that.

The biggest challenge has been putting the plan in place for larger-scale production. It's a totally different ball game than just making a fewbottles here and there for fun. So I'm learning about more efficientproduction techniques and tools.The j.blossom web site (www.jblossom.com) is my biggest marketing strategy. I'm having fun with it and I love getting the emails and the photos from my customers. The ongoing "photo of the week" feature has been a big hit. It'snot a beauty contest; our philosophy is that every girl is beautiful. What we're looking for more than anything is photos where the girl's personalityreally just jumps out of the picture.

My customers have been really great -- they love the products and the concept of celebrating our young girls, so a lot of them really go out of their way to spread the word. It's amazing. There's even a six-year-old j.blossom fan in Philly who is referring a lot of business my way,recruiting her friends and neighbors. (Shout out to Tori L.!) That younglady has a huge career in sales and marketing ahead of her! I am having so much fun with this. At the end of the day, I feel really good about what I am creating and selling, and all of the incredible people thisbusiness has allowed me to meet.

ymib: Favorite affirmation/inspirational quote?

Jamila: Oh, there are so many. I'm big on affirmations and inspiration, and attracting and manifesting love and abundance into my life. One quote that I'm really feeling right now is: "My true religion is kindness" by the Dalai Lama.

Visit J.Blossom.com to read more about Jamila's products and to purchase some fantastic bath & body products for your favorite little girl!