As a student at Lincoln University and a mother, Chelsea Robinson wears many hats, and she's adding one more as the owner of a new holistic and organic product shop location in Jefferson City.
Her business, Thaa Sistas, has gone through several changes since it first began in Kansas City. Initially focused as a modeling venture designed to motivate women to be comfortable in their own skin, it grew to include several services including cleaning, merchandise and eventually holistic products. When Robinson moved to Jefferson City for school a year later with her eye on a degree in business administration, she began selling products at vendor events and saw an enthusiastic response from the community.
She has operated other businesses during her time on campus, including a soul food business that took off when many businesses closed down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, though she's keeping her primary focus on Thaa Sistas for now.
"I can see that it's intriguing to the community," Robinson said. "I get a few people here, and they're like, 'Do you sell this?' or 'I'm interested in this.' So I know that if I just continue to promote and push it out there have more vendor events and pop-up shops, hopefully I can reach out and educate more people and expand my area too."
Robinson's shop -- which has an office in Lincoln University's Small Business Development Center as well as an online sales platform -- offers body oils, scrubs, bath salts, lip balms, beard oil and other products made from organic materials such as sage and tea tree oil.
Robinson said working with the SBDC opened opportunities for funding and mentorship as well as registration and other administrative parts of owning a business. With a little more than a year of school left, she said her experience with the program would continue to inform her future as a businesswoman.
"It means a lot having this shop; it's given me a step forward on what it will be like running my own business," she said. "Actually having a commercial space where individuals are coming in, it's teaching me how to be professional. After leaving SBDC, I'll already have the experience and training to get to that goal if I want to open up my own storefront here in Jefferson City."
LU's Small Business Development Center is located at 917 Leslie Blvd. You can shop at thaasistas.com or schedule an appointment by reaching out via email at [email protected].
Know of any business happenings around Jefferson City? Let us know at [email protected] or 573-761-0243.