33 | BWIB: Kayleigh Medeiros on Supporting Black Charities
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Black Women In Business: Kayleigh Medeiros
Welcome to the Black Women in Business series. Each week, I’m handing the mic over to some incredibly talented entrepreneurs and giving them the space to share their stories and what they've learned throughout their business journey.
Through this series, our intention is to highlight and amplify more Black voices and celebrate the powerful female CEOs, leaders and innovators we have in this space.
Meet Kayley Medeiros
I’m Kayleigh, and I own Heritage Baby Designs. In short, we’re a carrier baby carrier brand. I make ring slings and straps, and I have tried my best to make them as accessible as possible.
One of the ethos is just being accessible in all facets of the term. The sizing, as well as accessibility to the education for the babywearing and how to use the carrier are all part of what we offer, as well as a community. I like to try and make sure that everyone that has access to my carriers also has access to the community that comes along with it and troubleshooting so that they’re always supported as new parents.
How being a Black Woman has impacted Kayleigh’s business.
I would when I first started Heritage, being a Black Woman in business did not have as much of an impact as it did years later. I started my business in 2018, Spring 2019 was my first collection. Fast forward to 2020, and you have the Black Lives Matter movement, and COVID all at the same time.
That had a massive impact on my business. I would say that I rode that wave for a couple of years, it really only started to slow down in the middle of 2022 - Not to say that it's back down to what it was when I started. But it definitely was something that I put at the forefront of the business.
I wanted people to see my face and know that I am the owner in the face of this brand. It's also a big part of the communication with the brand that babywearing, for me, is more than just the product. It's more than just how it can positively affect the caregiver and the baby. If you potentially suffer postpartum anxiety or depression, that babywear can really help you get over that hurdle, in combination with other factors of course.
But it is also a way for me to reconnect with my heritage. And I think babywearing is just such an interesting, fascinating way for me to reconnect with the things I'm interested in. But also, what my people did.
And so I definitely still lead with it a lot. And it has had a major impact on my business, I definitely still to this day have people who say “Oh my god, I'm so excited to find a babywearing brand that's owned by a non-white person.” and that's really exciting to hear, because I was just born this way, you know. So I think it matters what we do with what we're born with.
I could have just swept it under the rug and put other people as the face of the business, but it's really important for me that Heritage is known as a Black-owned business.
Why & how to support Black charities.
I think it's important to support Black charities, specifically, because there are so many charities that are broad, whereas the Black community are still having trouble accessing certain things. So having access to a specifically black charity or community is really beneficial.
If you want to support Black charities, I think it’s important that you listen to that charity and listen to the community that's benefiting from the charity. What is it that they need most?
A great example of a charity you could donate to is Food Bank, potentially. Or, I once donated to Black Mama's Matter. And when you do so, just listen to what they say they need in that moment. Sometimes it's diapers, sometimes it's money, sometimes it's period care… listen to what it is that they need, and provide those things, as opposed to the thing that's going to make you feel like you've done your due diligence and in giving back to that community.
Connect with Kayleigh
If you would like to connect with Tatiana, you’ll find her over on Instagram @heritagebabydesigns, or visit her website heritagebaby.ca
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Hey! I’m Tish!
I'm a marketing mentor for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to create more time, freedom & profit in their online business, in a way that feels good to them!
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