By Jacqueline Carrington, Founder of People of Color Beauty
The Dream Opportunity
Have you ever landed a big opportunity, pictured exactly how it would play out, and imagined all the ways it would change your life — only to have it turn out nothing like you expected?
That was me when my nail polish brand, People of Color, was featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2024. It was the kind of recognition most small businesses dream about. Oprah’s team had actually reached out a few years earlier, but the timing didn’t work out. This time, I felt certain it was God’s plan.
After two difficult years when sales slowed to a crawl, I believed this was the moment that would bring the brand back to life. I eagerly began the onboarding process with Amazon, knowing that brands set their own inventory levels for the holiday season. I spoke with a friend who had been featured before, weighed her advice, and factored in the risk of selling out too fast and missing sales.
Our manufacturer believed in the opportunity too, agreeing to front the inventory with no upfront payment. The plan was simple — sell out quickly, pay the manufacturer in full, restock our website, relaunch our Desi Vibes collection, and finally clear the debts that had been weighing on me for years.
It was a leap of faith, and in my mind, there was no scenario where it didn’t work.
Reality Hits
Launch day was November 1, 2024. I woke up with excitement and kept my phone within reach all day, refreshing the Amazon Seller dashboard every few minutes.
We sold 25 gift sets.
It wasn’t the sellout I had imagined, but it was only day one. I told myself the list needed time to circulate, that the sales would build as the holiday shopping season ramped up.
They didn’t.
The first week’s numbers looked like this: 14, 14, 11, 7, 6, 9. Some days, we sold nothing at all. The momentum I’d envisioned never came.
My holiday-season survival plan crumbled. The manufacturer still needed to be paid, our website was nearly out of other products, and the relaunch of our Desi Vibes collection was on indefinite hold. I had overextended on inventory and was left without the sales to cover it.
What I Learned
When the initial panic subsided, I began to see the deeper lessons in what had happened.
I had made the opportunity into an idol. I placed all my hope in one event to “save” my business instead of seeking God’s guidance at each step. When it didn’t work out the way I had envisioned, I was left feeling spiritually unmoored.
Big PR doesn’t guarantee big sales. Oprah’s Favorite Things is a powerful platform, but even the most high-profile feature doesn’t guarantee conversions. Without a detailed sales plan, clear targeting, and realistic expectations, exposure is just exposure.
Your numbers can make or break you. I based my inventory choice partly on advice from another founder and partly on fear — fear of selling out too quickly and missing the “big wave.” In hindsight, a more conservative approach would have saved us from being buried under unsold product.
For any founder, these lessons are worth remembering:
- Ask detailed questions about sales potential before committing to large inventory orders.
- When in doubt, order less. It’s easier to recover from selling out early than from holding excess stock you can’t move.
- Don’t tie your survival to a single opportunity; diversify revenue streams and prepare for different scenarios.
Suffering in Silence
After the campaign’s slow performance, I went quiet.
I stopped posting as often, avoided talking about sales, and smiled politely when people congratulated me on “all the success” they assumed was happening. Behind the scenes, I faced an unpaid balance with our manufacturer, a website that couldn’t restock bestsellers, and a gnawing sense of failure.
The silence came from more than embarrassment. I didn’t want to burden anyone. I didn’t feel there were spaces to openly share the harder, less glamorous parts of entrepreneurship.
But conversations with other founders showed me I wasn’t alone. Many small businesses suffer quietly, trying to fix things on their own until there’s nothing left to give. And when they “suddenly” close, it’s rarely sudden at all — it’s the final chapter in a long struggle no one saw.
Breaking the Silence
In July 2025, with encouragement from my husband and close friends, I decided to be open about what had happened. That’s when I launched our 1,200 Gift Set Campaign.
This wasn’t just about raising money; it was about telling the truth. I shared exactly what went wrong, what I learned, and how much we needed to move forward.
It’s uncomfortable to admit when a big opportunity doesn’t pan out. But silence doesn’t rally a community. Truth does.
How to Help People of Color Stay Alive
- Purchase a gift set at our website or Amazon (Prime members get free delivery)
- Share our story with friends or on social media
- Encourage other small business owners to speak openly about their challenges
The Road Ahead
So far, we’ve sold 156 gift sets. I’m grateful for every single one, but we still have a long way to go to pay our manufacturer, restock our core colors, and bring back the Desi Vibes collection.
If you believe in our mission — celebrating and representing people of color from all over the world through nail polish collections that tell our stories, our way — please support our campaign.
And to my fellow founders: stop suffering in silence.
Your story, even in the most difficult seasons, could be the lifeline that saves your business or someone else’s.
This story is part of Shoppe Black’s commitment to amplifying the voices of Black entrepreneurs.
