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IU senior Suzanna Mitchell was never a fan of

beauty products that use lots of chemicals. Since

most store-bought beauty and hygiene products contain

unpronounceable chemical ingredients, she decided to

make her own versions of these products using all-natural

ingredients.

With the help of her cousin, CIU senior Sarah Bateman,

Mitchell decided to sell her products so that others

could benefit from them, too. Her all-natural lip balm,

“BALMble Bee,” is part of the business she calls

ShoShana Natural. (The name shoshana comes from the

Hebrew word for “lily.”)

“I started getting into natural things and started

making my own makeup, my own shampoos, my own

everything,” Mitchell explained. “[Lip balm] was one of

the things, and I figured, ‘Why not sell it while I’m at it?’”

Their first product, BALMble Bee lip balm, is made

from only seven ingredients, as opposed to more than

20 ingredients found in a comparable mass-produced

lip balm. It comes in three flavors: Lavender/Orange,

Peppermint and Grapefruit.

“I think [natural products] can be just as good as or better

than products that have a lot of chemicals in them,”

Bateman said.

Mitchell and Bateman mix the lip balm, package it, and

ship it to those who order at their online store at

etsy.com,

and sell it in CIU’s new on-campus store, the

Ram Shack.

“We want students to know that we’re promoting other

students and their work,” Ram Shack manager Kathy

Weathersby said. “We’re not in it to profit the store; it’s

just a promotion of the students.”

Fellow students give the lip balm a thumbs-up. Freshman

Seth Hall compares BALMble Bee to well-known brands

and gives it a 7 out of 10 saying, “Most of all I have

enjoyed the unique grapefruit flavor.” Junior Mylea Hardy

called the grapefruit flavor “wonderful” and added, “It

had a refreshing fragrance (and) was smooth.” Seminary

student Rachel Weaver, says of the peppermint flavor,

“The scent was nice, not too overpowering, and I liked

the cooling effect on the lips.”

Though ShoShana Natural is limited to lip balm at the

moment, Mitchell and Bateman hope to expand the

business in the future to include more products. They

have discussed selling headbands and face masks and

they note that there are plenty of other possibilities in the

future.

“The options are endless of things we can make and put

on etsy,” Mitchell said.

As both women prepare for life after graduation and

future ministry, they say ShoShana Natural is valuable

experience for them as they pursue missions and other

creative ministries.

“I feel like it’s preparing me because if I ever work in an

orphanage, I want it to be self-sustainable,” Bateman

said. “It’s helpful to learn how to make your own products

and sell them so that [you] can be self-sustaining.”

Though running ShoShana Natural does take time, both

women say that starting a business wasn’t as complicated

as they thought it would be.

“I think it’s a cool experience, just seeing how a business

can be started,” Bateman said. “It’s kind of cool to see

how anybody can do it. It doesn’t have to be a big

corporation, but anyone can start a business if they want

to.”

C

A Natural Thing

Going into Business “a Cool Experience” for Cousins

By Melissa McCutchan, CIU Student Writer

16

ENTREPRENEURS AMONG US

CIU Today

Summer 2015