"You can do anything you want as long as you believe in yourself at any age."
Joani DiCampli Tweet
Joani DiCampli is the creator and founder of Boobalicious an organic and vegan body hygiene products for those embarrassing areas we sweat in. Joani created this due to being laid off from her corporate job and obtained a part time job working at a boutique. One hot summer night Joani was sweating under and between her breast and was mortified in the moment. Joani knew right there and then that there should be an all natural breast deodorant and that is how Boobalicious became.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Joani DiCampli: Hi, my name is Joani DiCampli and I am 56 years young and live in Rehoboth Beach, DE with my family.
I became an entrepreneur by accident due to being laid off from my corporate job. It was a hot summer night and at the age of 47 going thought menopause I noticed I was sweating under and between my breast, I was mortified in the moment and turned to my co-worker and said that there should be an all natural breast deodorant and I am going to create one and call it Boobalicious.
My stepmom sent me $75.00 and said if you don’t try you will never know. So I tried and with that $75.00 an Google I created Boobalicious. I put Boobalicious up on Etsy and started to sell right away and a year later had online articles written by Allure Beauty, Refinery 29, Cosmo and blogs. At this time I was working full time, taking care of a family. I have 3 children one has mental illness/addiction and one is an alcoholic. Little did I know that Boobalicious would become a purpose as it helped pay for my children’s recovery at the time. I knew in that moment I wanted to pay it forward so a percentage of sales go to Miracles Do Happen in Delray, FL to help pay for one month rent. This is a women’s recovery home where my daughter went.
I continue to develop more products and on a mission to help others in their recovery.
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your view point, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Joani DiCampli: I want to say made as I believe it is all in the mindset. I was a single mom years back and I set goals to help give my children a better life. I was in my 20’s when I divorced their father and lost everything. I moved in with my parent with at the time my two children. I said to myself buy a car, get yourself a job and then get your own place. Within a year I did all three goals. The reason I tell this story as I put my mind to it and being an entrepreneur I do the same thing. I set goals and do those goals with intention. You can do anything you want as long as you believe in yourself at any age.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Joani DiCampli: I am persistent, resilient and I do not give up. Being an entrepreneur is a journey and success does not happen over night, so to have all these qualities as I just described is to tell you 100 percent keep going and you can make it!!
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Joani DiCampli: Boobalicious helps women feel confident and fresh all day in their own skin. I developed this product due to me going through menopause and sweating so much as our body changes as we get older. Over the years I developed more products as we sweat in areas we do not like to talk about and even me. I created Boobalicious For Your Lady Parts as I did not want to share my breast deodorant with my private parts for one thing and another is I only have unscented with one essential oil to help with odor as I wanted it to be safe for us to use, Angry Balls for men as I am renaming to No More Angry Balls as men get uncomfortable sweating down below as well.
The last product just came out which is a Fart Spray (also embarrassing), I had this idea for over 25 years when I was dating this fellow I tooted and again mortified at the moment and told him there should be a fart spray when you are in a stinky situation so you can spray and walk away. I decided why not let me do it!!! So we have In a Stinky Situation? Spray and Walk Away. I still have ideas that I know will be part of the Boobalicious line in the near future.
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Joani DiCampli: First thing don’t assume it is going to be a success overnight. It is hard work and you are always working the business 24/7 until you become successful. Don’t wait for people to help you as you need to find the resources, information and go out and take the action. You will only become successful if you do the work at first.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Joani DiCampli: Of course I made a lot. I assume I would be a success right away because I have the best idea and a couple years later their were more breast deodorant options out there. Now I am competing against the other brand. I also treated my business like I was dealing with friends and trusted everyone and that has caused me time and money. Need to go in business knowing that not everyone is your friend.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain.
Joani DiCampli: I would not trust people and the reason is why I did not do my research on anyone. Like I said earlier I trusted everyone and thought everybody was my friend. Now I would research, do my homework, and have a lawyer look over any contract or document. I did everything with a blind eye and trust. I hope you read this so you can avoid these mistakes – Not everyone is your friend.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Joani DiCampli: First thing I can think of is when I had a partner I was going around to boutiques in my community to sell my products and he told me to hold off on that. Not know a lot about business I listened at first. But, my gut was telling me the more exposure you have the better. I revisited with him and told him my concerns and he agreed. Now I was the owner and again trusting everyone I listened and what I should of done was sell to the boutiques that wanted my product in their store.
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Joani DiCampli: They should assume that an online business is the way to go, be it a service or product. You have so many platforms to sell your product like Etsy, Amazon, Ebay, Shopify, etc. The online business has to change in my opinion.
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Joani DiCampli: For me, it was once I started my business I could quit my 9 to 5 job. That is not the case as it is seven years later and I just quit my 9 to 5 job. We think we are going to start a business and it is going to be easy. It is not easy – it is a lot of hard work and if you are ready for the rollercoaster ride then welcome 🙂
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Joani DiCampli: It is important to have thick skin (which I did not), don’t take things personally, it’s business, grit, resilience, persistence, belief, and keep going!
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Joani DiCampli: How I learned was reading: a few of the books I read were Power of Broke by Daymond John and The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. Reading is always a great thing to do to learn. I googled everything to learn about how to start a business and did just that. Also, networking and going to events to be around like-minded people. I learned all this from the very beginning of my Journey by being on Social Media and that is where I found Grant Cardone and listened to all his free advice and took action on it.
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Joani DiCampli: I would like to be a consultant on helping single mothers, women going through midlife and not sure what they want to do as they are afraid to start over as I experienced both. I would love to teach all of them what potential they have and how they to can succeed.
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Joani DiCampli: I had to copy as I can’t say it better my self – Madame J Walker who was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for black women through the business she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She became known also for her philanthropy and activism. She made financial donations to numerous organizations and became a patron of the arts. Villa Lewaro, Walker’s lavish estate in Irvington, New York, served as a social gathering place for the African-American community. At the time of her death, she was considered the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and the wealthiest self-made black woman in America.[4] Her name was a version of “Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker,” after her third husband and she also helped raise funds to establish a branch of YMCA in Indianapolis’s black community, pledging $1,000 to the building fund for Senate Avenue YMCA. Walker also contributed scholarship funds to the Tuskegee Institute. Other beneficiaries included Indianapolis’s Flanner House and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church; This says it all – I am so amazed at all of her accomplishments and deserves to be on Mount Rushmore.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Joani DiCampli for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Joani DiCampli or her company, you can do it through her – Facebook
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