Like a lot of us, Crystal and Jeffrey Brown found themselves with some time on their hands in early 2020. Unable to leave their home for weeks due to the pandemic, the two turned to their home's heartbeat: the kitchen.
Crystal, who has years of experience in hospitality, wasn't able to return to her job at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Instead, she dove into her favorite hobby, making all-natural hair and skin products for her family and friends, something she had taken up four or five years prior. She and her husband began to look at the hobby in a new light, and they realized that it might be possible for them to achieve the dream: to run a business together, making a product that is good and good for you, all while raising their babies and working from home.
And thus, SosoCoco was born.
Ask anyone who has ever even tried to start their own business and they'll tell you one thing: It isn't for the faint of heart. Taking that inspiration and turning it into a full-fledged machine is tough, and there are a million roadblocks on the way that will try to stop you dead in your tracks.
But ask anyone who has persevered and actually launched that business — and then had the unique joy of watching it take off — and they'll tell you another thing: It's all worth it.
In a world where it's easy to hide behind a social media account and seem like you're doing more than you really are, or where the 9-to-5 grind is taken as a given, a la "that's just what we have to do," it can feel radical to take your own future into your hands and rebuild it, piece by piece. Doing so within the context of a marriage, with the person who is your person, is an empowering thing.
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Crystal and Jeffrey know these truths because they live them each day. Jeffrey admits that building SosoCoco together has had its challenging moments, but seeing their shared vision come to life has been incredible.
As he puts it, when it comes to working with your partner, "As a man, I had to learn that you can't take [disagreements] personal … I had to learn it's just business. Her way is almost always the way things should be."
The rewards that come with working together are tenfold for Crystal and Jeffrey. For starters, they don't have to miss each other like they would if they were each at an office all day. "We feed off each other," Jeffrey says. "We balance each other out."
This harmony was on display in our interview, as the pair's young children wove in and out of the camera's view, and Crystal and Jeffrey bounced questions and answers off one another. Building a successful company together takes teamwork and respect more than anything else, and these two have both in spades.
It's good that they do, because 2023 is slated to be SosoCoco's biggest year yet. The brand has two exciting developments in the works: They're working hard on getting their products onto shelves at a store near you, and they've secured their workshop in West Dallas, something that is especially important to both of them.
Having their own shop allows Crystal and Jeffrey to bring their children to work with them, which is exactly the kind of positive experience they've dreamed of giving their kids. Jeffrey added that because West Dallas has become heavily gentrified over recent years, it's empowering as a Black couple to have their own shop, selling products that are for everyone.
The pair originally sold SosoCoco in several ways: directly to family and friends who knew about what Crystal was cooking up in the kitchen, through Instagram, and, back in the day, at corner stores and on street corners. In a lot of ways, running their own store was unexpected and also inevitable at the same time.
Crystal also emphasizes the power of family and friends for SosoCoco, and the couple's hope that they can inspire others to start their own brands and businesses. Crystal says, "Our family has been soooo supportive, whether it be helping with the boys, bringing us lunch, helping us move — you name it! You always hear people say that family and friends don't support business, but ours do. We couldn't be where we are today without them."
The two also hope others will be able to realize their own dreams. Crystal adds that when it comes to following your own dream, it's important to "be creative. Take something out of your mind and put it out there … keep throwing it at the wall until it sticks."
Everything SosoCoco makes is for everyone. Crystal says it's important to her that, as a Black- and female-owned brand and a family business, the brand reflects as many people as possible. She adds, "We want our brand to represent all different aspects of life in our culture. Black comes in every shade. From the whitest to the Blackest, we want to represent their diversity. We want everyone to experience the 'Glow From Fro to Toe.'"
Every product in the SosoCoco line is natural and free of harsh chemicals, dyes, preservatives, and perfumes. The ingredient and product list includes lavender and lemongrass, and the brand will soon offer scalp oil, body oil, and gliders. SosoCoco will soon add sun bathing oil and butters, sugar scrubs, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and more.
