Eboni was a pleasure to interview. She has a natural warm presence and which was a great balance for me in the conversation and who doesn’t love that yin and yang in a conversation? I have known of her since my tour in Korea and we both talked about how we have been watching each other’s growth over the years. She kills it as an Air Force veteran but I have watched her grow her business too for a while so she’s made it very apparent and is “the epitome” of She Can Do BOTH. I explained to her how I have been so excited to have her on the blog because of her seemingly effortless ability to balance the two. And she looks damn good doing it. Her online boutique is so original and exciting but elevated and I love seeing her kill it….
So lets get into the date…
Talk to me about your business…
Eboni told me that years ago she was torn between what she wanted to sell while sitting down with her boyfriend. One day it “hit her like a bag of bricks”. For her birthday, she had been traveling the world to tropical locations since she was 21 and had received all the compliments about her swimwear so her thought process turned into…why not go with what she knows?! The name came from the idea of something associated with water, Hawaii, and the beach. Thats how Liquid Swim came to fruition.
“I took my time with every little part of the process. We need to see that kind of empowerment. When you follow your passion then the profit will follow you”
Tell me about your morning routine…
When I wake up my alarm tells me what to do. I always snooze before I do anything…I have to work on that. She discussed how her alarm has multiple reminders…
Wake up
Pray
Meditate
I pray, I meditate and just think about what is going to happen that day. I also have a “to do” list for everything. I am a “to do” list advocate! I am also very organized and I plan everything. I always take a look at it first thing and before I leave out of the house, I look at that list to see what I can do to maximize my time…working towards something to have 2 or 3 of those items accomplished.
If I didn’t have….I would go crazy
God. If I didn’t have God I don’t know where I would be to be honest. Everything comes after that. If I didn’t have him covering me and guiding me and blessing me, I would be crazy and I wouldn’t be here right now.
I need God girl I need him! With everything in me.
Aside from that I don’t know….I can manage and deal with everything else
When she said this I kind of got a rush of LOVE…I just became so happy in the moment feeling how grounded she was in her purpose and I could do nothing by smile. It sets the foundation for everything else
What would you tell your 20 year old self?
I would tell her to keep going. No matter what you can do it. I would encourage myself because I think at that age, I didn’t have as much encouragement as I want. Where I am from, you don’t see a lot of successful women. I didn’t have that mentorship from other women and I would have a few people that would say I have potential but I would tell her…keep doing you.
I would have started earlier with business. Especially in the black community that’s something we don’t know if people don’t teach us.
Start investing, go get you a house. Also don’t get caught up with these guys! Don’t do it! They will throw you off track. Stay focused and it’s going to be worth it in the end. She told me that she extends that olive branch to women around her all the time.
What is a day of self care for you?
Girl…I would do a massage. Definitely shopping. I love to eat so I would go to brunch and then go shopping. She proceeded to tell me about her perfect date by herself at Flemings Steakhouse with all the excitement. And she was not playing about Flemings!
If you had to leave earth tomorrow, tell me one thing you would do?
I would tell all my family and friends I love them. I would give. I have a heart that likes to give and I wish I had more money. I would give an encouraging word to everyone and let them know it gets better.
What does women empowerment mean to you?
Yes…women empowerment is so important especially in this day and age. As a whole, we are doing amazing things. So many people told us we can’t do those certain things and we are proving people wrong.
We dove into the conversation about how we as women can naturally be catty and against each other and how important it is to look inward and step away from that. We discussed the benefits of having a healthy exchange of compliments, advice, and love for each other.
If I see you and your outfit is cute, I am going to say GIRL…I like your shoes, I like your hair…you just never know how that can make another woman’s day. I think the media and men have a lot to do with it. Men say we need to look a certain way to get a certain type of guy. With Liquid Swim it was so important to have body positivity. I wanted all sizes of women in swimwear to be beautiful in their own skin and love who they are. I wanted it to be inclusive and for everyone to….have fun.
Challenges in the workplace?
I feel like I run into a lot of challenges.
- Because I am African American
- Because I am young
- Because I am a woman
They have a negative connotation associated with them automatically so I feel like I always have to prove myself in everything I do. Especially in a male dominated work environment.
She went on to say that deals with men and her subordinates in the work environment. She has had to explain how men sexualize how you look.
I want my work to speak for me. I don’t want anything to take away from my work ethic or who I am and what I stand for. We have to set that tone because we have to prove who we are. I’m gonna show you!
What do you tell someone that wants to quit?
So this is something that I do daily. Whenever I see young people, I always try to speak life into them. I am going to tell them don’t ever give up. You are an unrepeatable miracle, you’re here, you’re special, and you’re the solution to somebody’s problem. I would encourage them to dig deep and understand their purpose
It is so easy to get caught up in everything that’s going on. Always remember God will never put more on you than you can bare. Even if you have a bad day, I feel like you don’t have a bad life. Get back up and start over.
I definitely get discouraged sometimes, but even if I take a break I always come back. I will talk to friends…listen to gospel music…whatever I can.
When you are in that place, you have to have a support system. The devil enjoys when you’re in that dark place and that’s when he starts whispering to you. I am a very resilient person. I am going to cry about it and then….keep pressing. The more you walk around and hold it in….its not good for you.
So yes, get back up. Use your time wisely. You have to be very intentional, have direction and drive. It’s your life and you’re in control of it.
We then got into a conversation about organization and its importance in moving forward daily. How you do one thing is how you do everything. She said.
And my favorite question!!
What does LOVE mean to you?
Love is everything. It’s so complex you can’t even break it down into one thing. It’s just everything to me. They always say love wins and love conquers all…I just feel like we have to always have it in our hearts.
It has been amazing seeing her flourish and I know she will continue to make her mark on the world and keep inspiring along the way. As someone who is a veteran, to be able to do both is so much more monumental than can be imagined. And to be doing it while uplifting others is BOSS behavior. So glad to have her on here.
Go follow her on IG @liquidswimcollection
And of course visit the website and get you some swimwear because although 2020 was rough we are all about to be in the sun summer 2021. (speaking it into existence)
