In honor of International Women’s Day, we sat down for some raw honesty and wisdom with our fearless female Co-Founder of Raw Sugar Living, Donda Mullis. Donda is a force and an inspiration to women everywhere; that when you fully embrace who you are, get clear on your purpose, live authentically, show up, understand your worth and relentlessly pursue your dreams, magic can happen.
Enjoy our Q+A with Donda below. We hope her words and mission will inspire you to lead with love and know that anything is possible.
Why did you start Raw Sugar Living?
We created the Raw Sugar brand to not only make clean, healthy living more accessible to everybody, but to also inspire people to love the skin they’re in. I wanted to create a brand that opened the gate to making clean and premium products more affordable — that has become our Clean For All mission. Ultimately, I wanted to create a brand that empowers people to feel their best and love themselves — because I think love and self worth really is the ripple that has the power to create waves of change in our world. Its been my personal message to the world — when you love yourself, think positively and show up for yourself, you can overcome any challenge.
What, so far, has been your proudest accomplishment
Making the Forbes 50 over 50 list is up there because it really is a testament to the fact that success truly has no age. It shows that a woman can create her own success no matter where she is in life. Being awarded this honor, was even more meaningful because it showcases women who have challenged the status quo and overcame the odds — women who have built platforms and have empowered other women to break barriers — age and otherwise. I truly believe that many of us were forged in fire, and that our hard lessons and experiences over several decades can turn into wisdom, empathy, compassion, resilience and personal power. That was true in my case. And I would offer that anyone starting out from a place of hard challenges can use me an example of not only overcoming, but turning painful experiences into purpose.
While Forbes was my greatest honor, my greatest accomplishment has been creating a clean beauty brand that hugs people — reminds them they are beautiful and gives back daily through our philanthropic initiative. To date, we've donated over 16 million bars of soap and other clean essentials to families around the world… and to me, that’s 16 million opportunities for someone to feel clean and beautiful. We’ve even expanded our commitment to give back through partnerships with Water For People who make clean water available for underserved communities and Eco-Soap Bank, an organization that works to save, sanitize and supply soap to those in need while helping to provide women with jobs.
In one sentence, what’s do you want the women reading this to know?
Be curious, show up authentically with your unique gifts, be your fabulous self and LOVE YOURSELF in your thoughts and your actions, and, remember, it’s never too late to start!
