Brand: DRK Beauty

Founder: Wilma Mae Basta

Sales: Under $1million (estimated)

Distribution: www.thisisdrkbeauty.com

Launch History/Unique Proposition: DRK Beauty is a digital content and community platform founded by Wilma Mae Basta that provides a space to celebrate women of color in all their diversity. DRK Beauty aims to empower and support women of color by producing curated content that resonates with often-neglected communities, as well as provide mental health resources through their initiative, ​DRK Beauty Healing​. This nationwide initiative ​provides 10,000 free hours of therapy​ to those who identify as women of color and have been affected by COVID-19.

2021 Goals: Wilma groups goals into life chapters rather than years. She said this allows for the ebb and flow of normal life, without the stress and confinement of a 365-day limit. “We already have enough to worry about and I always try and set myself up for success. This has proven successful for me over the years. I also like to keep my goals simple and straightforward – three points are usually the most I have.” Wilma’s goals for her latest chapter, which includes dealing with the challenges that COVID-19 presents, are:

  • Stay afloat – This applies to several areas of life
    • Wellness – rebalancing wellness after the turbulence of 2020.
    • Business – DRK was just launching when COVID-19 hit. She said that although the time was challenging for a self-funded business, the company made the choice to pivot into mental health and wellness and has found its “stride and our true purpose here.”
    • Family – It has been a tough year for Wilma’s family. “It began with death and challenged us in ways that we were not altogether prepared for. However, we are full of love and resilience, and we are finding ways through it that also make us stronger,” she said.
  • Stay true
    • Wilma said façades are crumbling away, and artifice is no longer the order of the day. “And thank God for that! Living my core truth is paramount for me. It is an ever-present goal for me, which I keep as my guiding North Star. When I am off balance, it is usually because I am not living my core truth. I reconnect with my truth through meditation and periods of solitude,” she said.
  • Be Beneficial
    • Wilma said she always strives to create value for herself and others. She added that the most successful and emotionally satisfying moments of her life are when she can positively impact someone else’s life.