Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: Pictured outside Sen. Slotkin’s office, from left: Erica Pietrzyk, owner of Pietrzyk Pierogi in Detroit; Claresta Williams Ivy, owner of Overstuffed Closet Boutique in Shelby Township, Sen. Slotkin aide Brooke Wood, and La‘Asia Johnson, owner of Elle Jae Essentials in Flint.
La’Asia Johnson, owner and creator of Elle Jae Essentials skincare boutique, told the Courier she started her business “out of a habit” and out of her desire to help her family and community.
“It wasn’t something I was necessarily looking to create,” Johnson said. “I didn’t wake up and say: ‘Oh, I think I want to be an entrepreneur today. It was really something that started as a natural progression of me creating products for myself and my family. I wanted something that was safe, that was healthy, that was effective, that did exactly what it said it would and actually felt nice. I was having a hard time finding that. I knew if I was struggling to find that with the resources I had, my community had to be struggling, as well.”
Johnson’s mother was working in a medical office, where Johnson said “everyone kept some type of lotion or moisturizer on their desks.” Johnson’s mother not only put Johnson’s product on her desk, but she started handing out samples and even selling the product Johnson had given her.
“It blew my mind,” said Johnson of this.
She added. “I said to her” ‘If you’re making sales, this is a business!”
These days, Johnson told the Courier she has had so much demand for her products and has experienced so much growth since she started the business in 2017, she sometimes has a hard time keeping up.
Johnson shared that one of the challenges of now owning a business is learning about business, while trying to implement exactly what she is learning.
“My degree is in social work. So, I had no history of business management or marketing. I had no formal training or understanding of that. It was a lot of trial and error, learning things on my own and learning things on the go.”
Johnson said one of the greatest benefits of having her business has been the opportunities she has had the privilege of being exposed to because she is a business owner.
“I’ve been able to connect with amazing people. I’ve been flown out to different states to do different marketing projects…”
Recently, Johnson and other Michigan small business owners were brought by Facebook to Washington D.C. for Meta Leaders event.
There, she and the other business owners advocated for laws that support small business growth in Michigan, and the protection of digital tools that can help local business owners succeed.
Johnson, Erica Pietrzyk, owner of Pietrzyk Pierogi in Detroit; and Claresta Williams Ivy, owner of Overstuffed Closet Boutique in Shelby Township were all part of an online community for Facebook business owners called the Leaders Network. Being part of the group allows business owners to work hand in hand with the staff at Meta.
Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Johnson stated that being part of the Leaders Network offers her and others “an easier way to have access to the people behind the scenes.”
In Washington D.C., the three small business owners were able to speak about potential policies that some lawmakers have been thinking about putting in place at a federal level.
“They were thinking about restricting access to privacy information and different things that would give us the ability to better target potential customers online. They would limit access to information like demographics. That could be something as simple as someone’s age or online behaviors, which easily helps us to better target our customers. So, information as simple and trivial as that…that could greatly increase my budget for marketing and advertising services.
“They also talked about the availability of AI and us being able to use AI for business services.”
Johnson said although the information created with AI is not necessarily protected, the business owners talked in D.C. about having projects that are created with AI and are still protected and not able to be stolen by others.
One stop the Michigan business owners were able to make on their trip was to the office of U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
“It was an amazing opportunity. We were able to connect with her staff and be able to speak and advocate for the things we want for business owners, as well as the things going on in our communities.”
Johnson stated that for her it was particularly exciting to be able to connect with Slotkin, who she described as “someone who had been in our area and looking to connect with small business owners.” Johnson added Slotkin had been “vocal about wanting to support marginalized communities.”
“I wanted to hear directly from her in her office where they stood on policies I felt affected me and things that were going on specifically in my community. So, it was an amazing opportunity to help bridge that gap between my community and those who represent us.”
Johnson described the overall response to her and the other business owners who participated in the trip as “greatly positive.”
She said” “Everyone had an aligned idea of supporting small business owners and being aware and adaptable to the changes that are coming down.”
Johnson works with the African American Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce. The subcommittee is currently working to coordinate a meeting for small business owners in Sen. Slotkin’s office in this area.
Johnson’s hope is that local business owners remain fully aware of the changes that may occur and that they take an active interest in the welfare of the country.
Readers and community members, including other small business owners, can reach La’Asia Johnson at 810-814-1443, or by email at info@ElleJaeEssentials.com.
