Katonya Breaux, the mastermind behind Unsun Cosmetics, shares her remarkable journey about how she transitioned from a 20-year career in construction to becoming a trailblazer in the beauty industry?
Today you will learn how she shattered misconceptions about sunscreen for people of color and developed a groundbreaking mineral-based SPF formula that works for all skin tones. Katonya opens up about the hurdles she faced as a black female entrepreneur in securing funding and the importance of building relationships over shelling out for expensive services.
But that's not all! We dig into the power of spiritual practices and mindfulness for personal resilience. Discover how self-awareness, meditation, and empathy can help you manage stress and maintain inner peace, even in tough situations. Katonya also offers practical skincare and self-care tips, including how to properly store your sunscreen to ensure it remains effective.
Her journey and advice remind us of the importance of prioritizing self-care and making informed choices about the products we use. Tune in to uncover inspiring insights and actionable advice from a pioneering entrepreneur whose products are now featured in major retailers like Target and CVS.
Fun fact about Katonya: She is the mother of megastar Frank Ocean!
Thank you for tuning in to The Female Founder Show with host and entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick. If you like what you heard, please give us a review and let us know what you think?
Want to hear and see more great content to help you run your business more profitably? Go to ASBN.com.
If you want to watch the full video version of The Female Founder show, go to TheFemaleFounder.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Female Founder
Show.
I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick.
Today's guest is Katanya Brough, founder of Los Angeles based
Sun Protection brand with astrong commitment to delivering
beauty and skin protectionsolutions for women of all skin
tones.
Katanya's unique talent forrecognizing distinct skincare
needs, coupled with herentrepreneurial drive, spurred
(00:40):
her to develop a mineral-basedSPF formula that avoids the
common issue of leaving behind awhite residue, which is often
encountered with other mineralbrand-based formulas used by
women of color.
Over time, catania has expandedUnsun Cosmetics to encompass a
range of hand, facial and bodyproducts, while also
establishing a platform foreducating people about the
(01:02):
importance of sunscreen.
Thank you so much for joiningus, catania.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Thank you for having me.
Let's have some fun here today.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Absolutely.
This is going to be great.
Now I'd love to jump right inand if you could talk to us a
little bit about your backgroundand what inspired you to start
your company.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Oh wow, it was totally unplanned.
I spent 20 years inconstruction.
I started out at historicalrestoration, went on to custom
home building, went in NewOrleans after Hurricane Katrina
so was swamped and becamecompletely burned out, moved
home to LA and wasn't reallysure what the next chapter of my
(01:41):
life was going to be.
But back when I was in NewOrleans, I started coming up
with these little black moles onmy face, which wasn't a
surprise, because all of theolder women in my family have
them.
But I felt like I was earlyforties.
They were coming a little toosoon.
So a trip to the dermatologistmade me aware that this was not
(02:01):
genetic, but sun damage, and ithonestly it floored me.
I was like but wait, I'm black.
Like black people don't get sundamage.
That's crazy, right, wrong.
And so now I'm armed with thisnew information.
I don't have to end up with aface full of mold.
So I became obsessed aboutsunscreen.
(02:22):
I tried every one.
The first things I realizedwere that the ones I tried early
on would burn my eyes.
I hated the smell, it was justvery annoying.
So then I found one that didn'tdo any of that, but then it
left this thick white residue.
So, as you know, I'm on alearning curve because sunscreen
is new to me and I realizedthat the mineral was what I
(02:45):
really wanted.
I just had to deal with thatresidue.
Fast forward to 2013,.
I'm home in LA.
I have no idea what I'm goingto do with this next phase of my
life, but a friend of mine hada hair care line and I just
asked if he could introduce meto his chemist.
Literally, sunscreen just forme, not even thinking about a
(03:07):
brand, but because I'm from alarge family I have 10 siblings
the sunscreen we have a range ofshades in our family and what I
noticed?
That when everyone tried it, itdidn't have that white residue
and it worked on everybody'sskin tone.
And I was like, hmm,interesting, maybe I can build a
brand around the sunscreen,that one SKU we started with,
(03:31):
and a big part of that would bein informing other women of
color and people of color that,yes, we do need some protection.
The melanin does not exclude usand that's kind of the quick
story.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
There are so many pieces to that story that I love
One you had.
There was a problem that yousaw a need for and you went for
it, and the other thing was thatyou asked somebody for help.
Somebody else that was in thebeauty industry helped you to
get kind of get going.
So those are two key importantfactors for for people to hear.
So thanks for sharing that.
(04:04):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, Now can you share with us some of the key
lessons?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
that you've learned on your journey as a female
entrepreneur.
Oh wow, well, just you wouldthink that construction was
totally different.
That was a whole thing, reallyreally challenging, but, pushed
through, found all the programsthat helped women in that
industry and there were a lotand there were so few of us, so
I really benefited from a lot ofthe programs In beauty.
(04:35):
My greatest challenge thebeauty is that there's so many
other female founders that youget to interact with and learn
from the problem.
The biggest problem I'vediscovered in this area is
funding Women-owned businesses.
Just don't get the funding andforget about it.
If you're a Black woman-ownedbusiness, it has been.
(04:56):
I mean, initially, when westarted, we were told, well, we
only invest in companies with amillion dollars in revenue.
When we got to a milliondollars in revenue, well, we
really it's a little early forus, we only invest in series A
the same companies.
Who told me and so and I'm likewe have distribution and all of
these retailers, we have allthis stuff going on and it's
(05:17):
really frustrating that it'ssuch an oversight for, and that
has been a real challenge for me.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Now, do you have any advice for women of color,
specifically as far as gettingfunding?
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Well, you just keep trying.
You know it's easy.
You can get caught up in payinga lot of monies to these apps
and people to make decks for you.
Don't do it, because they justreally don't work.
It's built on relationships.
It's built on finding there areso many ways that don't cost
you money to reach out toinvestors or find out who they
(05:55):
are.
Out to investors or find outwho they are.
But don't get caught in thetrap when these people tell you
that I had one company that was$80,000 over a 10, nine month
period that would help me getfunding, and then another
company I actually paid $12,000for my deck and then I paid
another 3000 for this app tohelp me.
None of them worked.
(06:16):
So you really want the fundingand you really want to trust and
believe that these differentthings but it's really about
relationships Find people whoknow investors, find people
who've been invested in andreach out to them and just do
that work.
You really don't need to spendthousands of dollars getting
these connections.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's very, very good to know.
Thousands of dollars gettingthese connections.
That's very, very good to know.
Thank you for sharing that.
Now, how do you balance thedemands of entrepreneurship with
other aspects of your life,such as family and personal
well-being?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
That is huge for me.
Huge for me.
And I learned that even when Ihave my construction company, my
office was on a busy streetwith shops and so I would walk
three days a week down to theyoga studio, about six blocks
down, faithfully.
And now I'm here in LA and whatI do now, at this phase in my
(07:09):
life, as soon as I wake up, I amthankful for whatever pops into
my mind.
I do a meditation every morningbefore I get my day started.
I, you know, I get massages.
I go to a lot of meditationretreats because when we're
cloudy and it's so easy to feelcloudy and to feel alone if you
(07:31):
don't have anyone whounderstands the stresses of
businesses that it's easy toreally get burned out and to
mentally fatigued and you haveto take the time.
The business is going to run.
If you take three days away tokind of regroup, the business is
going to be fine, but it's socritical to really focus on
(07:52):
self-care.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
It really is.
I've heard people say beforethat it's like the oxygen mask
in the airplane, where you haveto take care of yourself first
before you can help anyone else,especially a growing company
like yours right, absolutely100%.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
You do, there's no harm in it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Right, right, of course.
So now I read a lot of booksand listen to a lot of coaches
like Brene Brown, brendanBurchard and, more recently, dr
Joe Dispenza.
Now, where these aren't directmentors, they are really helpful
to me as I navigate this crazyworld of entrepreneurship.
How important is mentorship forfemale founders, and have you
had any mentors that have madean impact on where you are right
(08:29):
now?
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Yeah, I have very, not so much anymore.
I, I'm a huge.
My mentors are much like yours,not so much in the space like
and unfortunately, I feel likewomen really need to band
together more, because itsometimes it begins to feel like
there's this competitive airwhere I don't want to tell you
(08:52):
that because maybe you'll takesome of my customers or I don't
want to give you, I don't wantto share, and so there's this,
this closing in.
I I love Joe Dispenza.
I've gone to several of hisworkshops, I love Brene Brown
and so there.
So I I look at people like that.
Michael Beckwith I'm doing acourse with him now and so I
(09:13):
just look, because it's aboutmanifesting, it's about
self-care, it's about ourconnection to the world and the
people around us, and thosethings are critically important
because when we can balance ourinner selves, everything from
the outer world just comesnaturally and the things that we
attract are the things that weneed.
So you have a great group ofmentors.
(09:34):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
We share some of those.
I think that's so important too, because I feel like when I'm
trying to practice what thesepeople are saying it's
definitely a practice right, itdoesn't happen overnight I do
feel more grateful and I thinkwhen I'm grateful, I kind of
exude it a little bit andhopefully uplift people rather
(09:55):
than, like you were saying aboutso many women you know are a
little bit catty about thingsand they really just if you're
uplifting, you're going to beuplifted as well.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
That's right.
That's right.
You attract this light and itreflects, and it comes and it
reflects and it's.
It can be a really beautifulthing.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
It really can.
It really can Now.
There are a lot of womenwatching right now that are
thinking about starting theirown company.
What advice would you have forthem?
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Don't quit your job.
Quit your job initially.
It's beautiful to keep your job, have an income coming in to
really balance things out,because women just aren't being
funded in the way that men arebeing funded, and so find
something that brings you joy,find something that the world
needs, that's really good forthe world, that really makes a
difference in the world, andit'll make you feel so much
(10:58):
better about working hard whenyou have long days and you have
long nights and you'refrustrated because that core
belief that I'm doing somethinggood is really going to propel
you to continue.
When things get tough andthings do get tough it's
challenging.
So hold on to the things thatsupport you and keep the money
coming in.
(11:18):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
There you go and, speaking of that, you have
overcome some unthinkablechallenges in your life that
some people would have had ahard time bouncing back from.
Can you talk to us about whatgives you the strength to keep
going even during the mostdifficult times?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah, the thing that keeps me going are my spiritual
practices, and I've learned somuch in these last three years
that you know, and even in myprayer this morning, there's so
much that our finite minds arecapable of understanding.
(11:54):
And I accept that and I'm sograteful for the things that my
mind has been able to understandand embrace.
And so, if I don't do mypractices, if I don't take those
moments of reflection and Ihave this, this need to be in
nature, when I'm in a forest, Ifeel like I was once a fairy,
(12:15):
because I feel so at home.
And so I, you know, I'm notdifferent, I'm not special, I'm
just aware.
And that awareness is whatgives me the strength to move
forward, not being stuck inthinking I know everything when
(12:37):
I don't really know anything.
And I'm so open, I've become soopen to learn and embrace all
of life's possibilities, and itreally, really does give me the
strength and I don't always havethe strength and when the day
has come, I know, when I wake upin the morning, I say, okay,
it's this day, this is what I'mfeeling, and I listen to those
(12:59):
emotions and I listen to myphysical body, and if I need to
stay in bed and think about myson and talk to him and feel his
presence.
That's what I do.
And when I wake up and I feelgood, and then I'm charged and
I'm ready to go, and I embracethose days so much because I
(13:19):
know that I still have thosedays where it's a bit of a
challenge.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I love that you really take thetime to listen to how you're
feeling and adjust how you needto.
I know that there are many daysthat I wake up and I feel
annoyed and I try to think whyam I being annoyed?
There's some reason and Iusually can pinpoint what it is,
as long as I catch that feelingpretty early.
(13:44):
So I think that's so importantto really pay attention to what
you're feeling and try to figureout why, if it's a negative
feeling, and try to quickly turnit into something more positive
.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yes, yes, and I think meditation really helps with
that, because when you're ableto be silent and you're able to
see that there's me that'smeditating and there's something
greater that's watching memeditate, and so then you could
separate your being from thoseemotions.
(14:15):
I used to have the worst roadrage.
Now I'm just like, oh, I don'tyou do that, because the reality
is that tomorrow you're notgoing to remember that, it's not
even going to be a visceralfeeling, and the next week that
guy cutting you off is going tobe so why allow yourself to get
so worked up in that moment?
And it's a beautiful thing tosee the shift right.
(14:39):
It's really incredible.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
It is, I heard.
When I was doing my research.
I saw where you mentionedsomething about you know
somebody in a car might cut youoff or something, and if you
think about it differently andyou think about, maybe there's
something they're going throughright now that you don't know
about.
So you know, give them a littlebit of patience, give them a
little bit of grace, and thatyou'll feel better about it too.
So I thought that was that wasreally important to share.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, it's, it's yeah Just to see people in the world
differently and their journeyand their journey could be.
I had an aha moment recentlyand about a certain individual
and I was just like huh, okay,and I let it go because I said,
I said I said why am I judgingthat person based on their
(15:25):
beliefs?
And I caught it in the moment.
I had first blocked them when Ilearned of certain beliefs that
they had, and then later it waslike boom and I unblocked them
and I was like I can't live lifelike that, because even people
who believe differently and itmay be deemed good or bad who
are we to judge?
We can all learn something fromall of those behaviors.
(15:50):
And again and it was really andI loved it later I couldn't
believe it.
A few years ago I would havewrote that person off instantly,
and so we just need to seepeople meet them where they are.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
That's right.
It's a journey, for sure.
I know that I try to be morecurious when I'm feeling
judgmental now and think why.
You know why, why, yeah, justbe more curious.
All right, I'd like to switchgears for a second and talk
about Unsun Cosmetics again.
Can you share with us what yourvision for Unsun Cosmetics is
(16:24):
in the future?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
that are really wonderful that we are not
allowed to use here and justmake using sunscreen just a
regular part of your routine.
We have this hashtag that weuse in the fall and the winter,
called it's not summer screen,and you know, and it's so
frustrating that there'sconsidered, even with all my
retailers, a season forsunscreen, and but the reality
is that the sun is always withus and skin cancer and sun
(17:04):
damage, hyperpigmentation,premature aging is always at the
waiting, and so we just want tomake it easy, we want to
simplify everyone's life, and sowe're just continuing to make
products that are good, clean,reef friendly, cruelty free,
mineral based, that are easy andinnovative.
(17:27):
We make a highlighter that isjust so beautiful that I use all
the time, and so things likethat.
That's a mineral clean, not thecrazy glitter that's harmful,
but really beautiful products,and so we want to add a lip line
, finally, and just continue tohave some fun with it.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Well, good for you.
Congratulations on all yoursuccess.
Any final thoughts or advicethat you'd like to share with
our audience before we go?
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Yeah.
So two things.
The first is do not leavesunscreen in your cars,
especially when it's hot.
First is do not leave sunscreenin your cars, especially when
it's hot.
The sun, the heat, especiallyfrom a closed car, really
reduces the benefits ofsunscreen.
So it breaks it down.
So you don't want to do that.
Keep it in your purse, justtake it to the beach or wherever
with you.
Okay, yeah, it's reallyimportant.
(18:15):
A lot of people don't know that.
Yeah, I did not know.
Yeah, and just be kind, chooseproducts that are good for you.
There's so few things in theworld that we can control the
air we breathe, sometimes thewater that we drink, but we can
control what we put in ourbodies and on our skin, so take
care of yourself.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Katanya, thank you so much for sharing your story and
your advice with us today.
We appreciate it so much.
And for those of you that wantto check out some of Catania's
fabulous products, you can findthem in Target and CVS, just to
name a few, or simply go tounsuncosmeticscom Catania.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Thanks, again, thank you so much.
Have a beautiful day you too.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur entrepreneurBridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively
on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
(19:18):
from you.
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Female Founder
Show.
I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick.
Today's guest is Katanya Brough, founder of Los Angeles based
Sun Protection brand with astrong commitment to delivering
beauty and skin protectionsolutions for women of all skin
tones.
Katanya's unique talent forrecognizing distinct skincare
needs, coupled with herentrepreneurial drive, spurred
(00:40):
her to develop a mineral-basedSPF formula that avoids the
common issue of leaving behind awhite residue, which is often
encountered with other mineralbrand-based formulas used by
women of color.
Over time, catania has expandedUnsun Cosmetics to encompass a
range of hand, facial and bodyproducts, while also
establishing a platform foreducating people about the
(01:02):
importance of sunscreen.
Thank you so much for joiningus, catania.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Thank you for having me.
Let's have some fun here today.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Absolutely.
This is going to be great.
Now I'd love to jump right inand if you could talk to us a
little bit about your backgroundand what inspired you to start
your company.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Oh wow, it was totally unplanned.
I spent 20 years inconstruction.
I started out at historicalrestoration, went on to custom
home building, went in NewOrleans after Hurricane Katrina
so was swamped and becamecompletely burned out, moved
home to LA and wasn't reallysure what the next chapter of my
(01:41):
life was going to be.
But back when I was in NewOrleans, I started coming up
with these little black moles onmy face, which wasn't a
surprise, because all of theolder women in my family have
them.
But I felt like I was earlyforties.
They were coming a little toosoon.
So a trip to the dermatologistmade me aware that this was not
(02:01):
genetic, but sun damage, and ithonestly it floored me.
I was like but wait, I'm black.
Like black people don't get sundamage.
That's crazy, right, wrong.
And so now I'm armed with thisnew information.
I don't have to end up with aface full of mold.
So I became obsessed aboutsunscreen.
(02:22):
I tried every one.
The first things I realizedwere that the ones I tried early
on would burn my eyes.
I hated the smell, it was justvery annoying.
So then I found one that didn'tdo any of that, but then it
left this thick white residue.
So, as you know, I'm on alearning curve because sunscreen
is new to me and I realizedthat the mineral was what I
(02:45):
really wanted.
I just had to deal with thatresidue.
Fast forward to 2013,.
I'm home in LA.
I have no idea what I'm goingto do with this next phase of my
life, but a friend of mine hada hair care line and I just
asked if he could introduce meto his chemist.
Literally, sunscreen just forme, not even thinking about a
(03:07):
brand, but because I'm from alarge family I have 10 siblings
the sunscreen we have a range ofshades in our family and what I
noticed?
That when everyone tried it, itdidn't have that white residue
and it worked on everybody'sskin tone.
And I was like, hmm,interesting, maybe I can build a
brand around the sunscreen,that one SKU we started with,
(03:31):
and a big part of that would bein informing other women of
color and people of color that,yes, we do need some protection.
The melanin does not exclude usand that's kind of the quick
story.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
There are so many pieces to that story that I love
One you had.
There was a problem that yousaw a need for and you went for
it, and the other thing was thatyou asked somebody for help.
Somebody else that was in thebeauty industry helped you to
get kind of get going.
So those are two key importantfactors for for people to hear.
So thanks for sharing that.
(04:04):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, Now can you share with us some of the key
lessons?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
that you've learned on your journey as a female
entrepreneur.
Oh wow, well, just you wouldthink that construction was
totally different.
That was a whole thing, reallyreally challenging, but, pushed
through, found all the programsthat helped women in that
industry and there were a lotand there were so few of us, so
I really benefited from a lot ofthe programs In beauty.
(04:35):
My greatest challenge thebeauty is that there's so many
other female founders that youget to interact with and learn
from the problem.
The biggest problem I'vediscovered in this area is
funding Women-owned businesses.
Just don't get the funding andforget about it.
If you're a Black woman-ownedbusiness, it has been.
(04:56):
I mean, initially, when westarted, we were told, well, we
only invest in companies with amillion dollars in revenue.
When we got to a milliondollars in revenue, well, we
really it's a little early forus, we only invest in series A
the same companies.
Who told me and so and I'm likewe have distribution and all of
these retailers, we have allthis stuff going on and it's
(05:17):
really frustrating that it'ssuch an oversight for, and that
has been a real challenge for me.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Now, do you have any advice for women of color,
specifically as far as gettingfunding?
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Well, you just keep trying.
You know it's easy.
You can get caught up in payinga lot of monies to these apps
and people to make decks for you.
Don't do it, because they justreally don't work.
It's built on relationships.
It's built on finding there areso many ways that don't cost
you money to reach out toinvestors or find out who they
(05:55):
are.
Out to investors or find outwho they are.
But don't get caught in thetrap when these people tell you
that I had one company that was$80,000 over a 10, nine month
period that would help me getfunding, and then another
company I actually paid $12,000for my deck and then I paid
another 3000 for this app tohelp me.
None of them worked.
(06:16):
So you really want the fundingand you really want to trust and
believe that these differentthings but it's really about
relationships Find people whoknow investors, find people
who've been invested in andreach out to them and just do
that work.
You really don't need to spendthousands of dollars getting
these connections.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's very, very good to know.
Thousands of dollars gettingthese connections.
That's very, very good to know.
Thank you for sharing that.
Now, how do you balance thedemands of entrepreneurship with
other aspects of your life,such as family and personal
well-being?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
That is huge for me.
Huge for me.
And I learned that even when Ihave my construction company, my
office was on a busy streetwith shops and so I would walk
three days a week down to theyoga studio, about six blocks
down, faithfully.
And now I'm here in LA and whatI do now, at this phase in my
(07:09):
life, as soon as I wake up, I amthankful for whatever pops into
my mind.
I do a meditation every morningbefore I get my day started.
I, you know, I get massages.
I go to a lot of meditationretreats because when we're
cloudy and it's so easy to feelcloudy and to feel alone if you
(07:31):
don't have anyone whounderstands the stresses of
businesses that it's easy toreally get burned out and to
mentally fatigued and you haveto take the time.
The business is going to run.
If you take three days away tokind of regroup, the business is
going to be fine, but it's socritical to really focus on
(07:52):
self-care.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
It really is.
I've heard people say beforethat it's like the oxygen mask
in the airplane, where you haveto take care of yourself first
before you can help anyone else,especially a growing company
like yours right, absolutely100%.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
You do, there's no harm in it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Right, right, of course.
So now I read a lot of booksand listen to a lot of coaches
like Brene Brown, brendanBurchard and, more recently, dr
Joe Dispenza.
Now, where these aren't directmentors, they are really helpful
to me as I navigate this crazyworld of entrepreneurship.
How important is mentorship forfemale founders, and have you
had any mentors that have madean impact on where you are right
(08:29):
now?
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Yeah, I have very, not so much anymore.
I, I'm a huge.
My mentors are much like yours,not so much in the space like
and unfortunately, I feel likewomen really need to band
together more, because itsometimes it begins to feel like
there's this competitive airwhere I don't want to tell you
(08:52):
that because maybe you'll takesome of my customers or I don't
want to give you, I don't wantto share, and so there's this,
this closing in.
I I love Joe Dispenza.
I've gone to several of hisworkshops, I love Brene Brown
and so there.
So I I look at people like that.
Michael Beckwith I'm doing acourse with him now and so I
(09:13):
just look, because it's aboutmanifesting, it's about
self-care, it's about ourconnection to the world and the
people around us, and thosethings are critically important
because when we can balance ourinner selves, everything from
the outer world just comesnaturally and the things that we
attract are the things that weneed.
So you have a great group ofmentors.
(09:34):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
We share some of those.
I think that's so important too, because I feel like when I'm
trying to practice what thesepeople are saying it's
definitely a practice right, itdoesn't happen overnight I do
feel more grateful and I thinkwhen I'm grateful, I kind of
exude it a little bit andhopefully uplift people rather
(09:55):
than, like you were saying aboutso many women you know are a
little bit catty about thingsand they really just if you're
uplifting, you're going to beuplifted as well.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
That's right.
That's right.
You attract this light and itreflects, and it comes and it
reflects and it's.
It can be a really beautifulthing.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
It really can.
It really can Now.
There are a lot of womenwatching right now that are
thinking about starting theirown company.
What advice would you have forthem?
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Don't quit your job.
Quit your job initially.
It's beautiful to keep your job, have an income coming in to
really balance things out,because women just aren't being
funded in the way that men arebeing funded, and so find
something that brings you joy,find something that the world
needs, that's really good forthe world, that really makes a
difference in the world, andit'll make you feel so much
(10:58):
better about working hard whenyou have long days and you have
long nights and you'refrustrated because that core
belief that I'm doing somethinggood is really going to propel
you to continue.
When things get tough andthings do get tough it's
challenging.
So hold on to the things thatsupport you and keep the money
coming in.
(11:18):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
There you go and, speaking of that, you have
overcome some unthinkablechallenges in your life that
some people would have had ahard time bouncing back from.
Can you talk to us about whatgives you the strength to keep
going even during the mostdifficult times?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah, the thing that keeps me going are my spiritual
practices, and I've learned somuch in these last three years
that you know, and even in myprayer this morning, there's so
much that our finite minds arecapable of understanding.
(11:54):
And I accept that and I'm sograteful for the things that my
mind has been able to understandand embrace.
And so, if I don't do mypractices, if I don't take those
moments of reflection and Ihave this, this need to be in
nature, when I'm in a forest, Ifeel like I was once a fairy,
(12:15):
because I feel so at home.
And so I, you know, I'm notdifferent, I'm not special, I'm
just aware.
And that awareness is whatgives me the strength to move
forward, not being stuck inthinking I know everything when
(12:37):
I don't really know anything.
And I'm so open, I've become soopen to learn and embrace all
of life's possibilities, and itreally, really does give me the
strength and I don't always havethe strength and when the day
has come, I know, when I wake upin the morning, I say, okay,
it's this day, this is what I'mfeeling, and I listen to those
(12:59):
emotions and I listen to myphysical body, and if I need to
stay in bed and think about myson and talk to him and feel his
presence.
That's what I do.
And when I wake up and I feelgood, and then I'm charged and
I'm ready to go, and I embracethose days so much because I
(13:19):
know that I still have thosedays where it's a bit of a
challenge.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I love that you really take thetime to listen to how you're
feeling and adjust how you needto.
I know that there are many daysthat I wake up and I feel
annoyed and I try to think whyam I being annoyed?
There's some reason and Iusually can pinpoint what it is,
as long as I catch that feelingpretty early.
(13:44):
So I think that's so importantto really pay attention to what
you're feeling and try to figureout why, if it's a negative
feeling, and try to quickly turnit into something more positive
.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yes, yes, and I think meditation really helps with
that, because when you're ableto be silent and you're able to
see that there's me that'smeditating and there's something
greater that's watching memeditate, and so then you could
separate your being from thoseemotions.
(14:15):
I used to have the worst roadrage.
Now I'm just like, oh, I don'tyou do that, because the reality
is that tomorrow you're notgoing to remember that, it's not
even going to be a visceralfeeling, and the next week that
guy cutting you off is going tobe so why allow yourself to get
so worked up in that moment?
And it's a beautiful thing tosee the shift right.
(14:39):
It's really incredible.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
It is, I heard.
When I was doing my research.
I saw where you mentionedsomething about you know
somebody in a car might cut youoff or something, and if you
think about it differently andyou think about, maybe there's
something they're going throughright now that you don't know
about.
So you know, give them a littlebit of patience, give them a
little bit of grace, and thatyou'll feel better about it too.
So I thought that was that wasreally important to share.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, it's, it's yeah Just to see people in the world
differently and their journeyand their journey could be.
I had an aha moment recentlyand about a certain individual
and I was just like huh, okay,and I let it go because I said,
I said I said why am I judgingthat person based on their
(15:25):
beliefs?
And I caught it in the moment.
I had first blocked them when Ilearned of certain beliefs that
they had, and then later it waslike boom and I unblocked them
and I was like I can't live lifelike that, because even people
who believe differently and itmay be deemed good or bad who
are we to judge?
We can all learn something fromall of those behaviors.
(15:50):
And again and it was really andI loved it later I couldn't
believe it.
A few years ago I would havewrote that person off instantly,
and so we just need to seepeople meet them where they are.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
That's right.
It's a journey, for sure.
I know that I try to be morecurious when I'm feeling
judgmental now and think why.
You know why, why, yeah, justbe more curious.
All right, I'd like to switchgears for a second and talk
about Unsun Cosmetics again.
Can you share with us what yourvision for Unsun Cosmetics is
(16:24):
in the future?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
that are really wonderful that we are not
allowed to use here and justmake using sunscreen just a
regular part of your routine.
We have this hashtag that weuse in the fall and the winter,
called it's not summer screen,and you know, and it's so
frustrating that there'sconsidered, even with all my
retailers, a season forsunscreen, and but the reality
is that the sun is always withus and skin cancer and sun
(17:04):
damage, hyperpigmentation,premature aging is always at the
waiting, and so we just want tomake it easy, we want to
simplify everyone's life, and sowe're just continuing to make
products that are good, clean,reef friendly, cruelty free,
mineral based, that are easy andinnovative.
(17:27):
We make a highlighter that isjust so beautiful that I use all
the time, and so things likethat.
That's a mineral clean, not thecrazy glitter that's harmful,
but really beautiful products,and so we want to add a lip line
, finally, and just continue tohave some fun with it.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Well, good for you.
Congratulations on all yoursuccess.
Any final thoughts or advicethat you'd like to share with
our audience before we go?
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Yeah.
So two things.
The first is do not leavesunscreen in your cars,
especially when it's hot.
First is do not leave sunscreenin your cars, especially when
it's hot.
The sun, the heat, especiallyfrom a closed car, really
reduces the benefits ofsunscreen.
So it breaks it down.
So you don't want to do that.
Keep it in your purse, justtake it to the beach or wherever
with you.
Okay, yeah, it's reallyimportant.
(18:15):
A lot of people don't know that.
Yeah, I did not know.
Yeah, and just be kind, chooseproducts that are good for you.
There's so few things in theworld that we can control the
air we breathe, sometimes thewater that we drink, but we can
control what we put in ourbodies and on our skin, so take
care of yourself.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Katanya, thank you so much for sharing your story and
your advice with us today.
We appreciate it so much.
And for those of you that wantto check out some of Catania's
fabulous products, you can findthem in Target and CVS, just to
name a few, or simply go tounsuncosmeticscom Catania.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Thanks, again, thank you so much.
Have a beautiful day you too.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur entrepreneurBridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively
on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
(19:18):
from you.
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