DreamChaser | Yelitsa Jean-Charles
Name: Yelitsa Jean-Charles
Pronouns: She/her
Job Title/Company: Founder & Creative Director of Healthy Roots Dolls
Educational Background: Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration and concentration in Gender, Race & Sexuality
1. Tell us a little about who you are.
I am a first-generation Haitian American born in Canada, raised in New York, living in Detroit, lover of matcha. I try to be in bed by 10:00 PM - doesn't happen - and I’m very passionate about helping people be the best versions of themselves.
2. What sparked your interest in starting your business?
That's a question I often get, and for me, it's irrelevant because I didn't set out to start this Healthy Roots Dolls. I had an interest in empowering the next generation, which ultimately ended up being this business.
I was doing social justice work while I was an undergrad, participating in the Black Lives Matter movement and having conversations about police brutality and racism. I realized that I wanted that to be a part of my work. So, I started thinking, “How can I bring the work that I'm doing around social justice into my work as an artist when I graduate so that I can continue long-term and impact the next generation?”
For me, that meant going into children's media. I didn't necessarily know what that looked like, but I knew that I wanted to work in children's entertainment or products of some kind. I didn't know that meant that I would be creating my own.
3. Who are you most influenced by?
I think the one thing that I like about myself is that there's no one individual person or thing that influences me. I draw inspiration from everything. One example is that I always look at the people who have successfully done what I want to do. Whether it's female founders like Deborah Sterling from GoldieBlox or Maxine Clark from Build-A-Bear, I'm always drawing inspiration from those who did the work before me.
4. What was your first job and how long did you hold that position?
My first job ever was serving yogurt, ice cream, and making pretzels at TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt). I worked there every summer of high school up until my sophomore year of college. Then I told them, “This is my last year, I'm going on to do creative work related to my major. Thank you so much for having me.”
““How do I not only build this great company and build great products but build great team members and leaders?””
5. Can you share one of your proudest achievements with us?
Only doing the things I want to do.
6. What were your initial goals with your work? How have they evolved?
My initial goal with Healthy Roots Dolls was just to make it work: Making sure the product was great and making sure people loved it. Within that, my first objective was to make sure I was working on something people need. I don't believe in creating things that don't create value for people. It's a waste of my time, a waste of resources, and it's not meaningful to me. If it's not having an impact in some way, I don't want to do it.
My goals have evolved because my company has grown. I'm not only having an impact on the people that our products are reaching, but also on the team that we're building. Now, seeing people who come and want to work with us, who remind me of myself or are future leaders - I know they're not going to work here forever. They could if they wanted to, but I want to see those people go on to do great things. I now ask myself, “How do I not only build this great company and build great products but build great team members and leaders?”
7. What do you think is the most important life skill you learned through your work?
You're asking an impossible question because they're all important to me. I'm learning to break up with perfection. Lots of people say it, it's a common thing, but it's because it impacts other people. We think that if we don't make it perfect the first time we can't do it at all. And while I love how it has forced me to do good work, it can also be incredibly crippling for me and I'm working on releasing it more.
8. Where do you hope to be in five years?
In five years, I hope to have built a large, great team, as well as all the products that I wanted to create.
9. What is a typical day like for you?
This is how my typical day goes: I wake up sometime around seven. Eat something, drink some water, think about doing yoga, and probably not end up doing it. I brush my teeth, then look at my hair and realize it's going to take me too much time to do, put it in a ponytail, and hop on my first call of the day. Then I finally look at my emails - there are a lot of emails.
After that, I’ll talk to my team and discuss things that they're working on. At this time, I’m usually taking any phone calls that I have scheduled, probably moving some events around, then sometime in-between calls, I’m getting lunch, which is always a struggle for me. Then I'm checking my team's work before 3:00 PM so they can move forward; I don't want to be the bottleneck in the projects. During this time, I’m also wrapping up any loose ends on high-priority, time-sensitive projects.
Ideally, I like to be off the computer or off the clock by 7:00 PM. However, if anything pops up that I think I can finish or want to work on after hours to prepare for the next day, I'll do it.
10. What was the biggest obstacle you’ve faced so far in the process of pursuing your goals?
It's always going to be bandwidth; there are only so many hours in a day, and I’m only one person, so there's only so much I can do. I want to do everything, but I can't.
11. What is the best piece of advice you have received?
The best piece of advice that I have received is to think about where I am putting my energy.
As I've gotten older, I recognize that I don't care as much; it's less about what isn’t important and more about how much energy I’m giving out. I’m learning to respond to situations while conserving my energy, doing what's best for me mentally, and not allowing things to consume me. I don’t care as much, meaning, I'm not going to dispel more energy than this requires of me.
12. When do you get your best ideas?
My best ideas come when I'm listening to or watching someone else make mistakes. It’s then when I think to myself, “This is what I would’ve done differently.”
13. Can you share with us one time that you failed and what you learned from that failure?
One time I failed when I first managed my team. I struggled with trusting them to make decisions, and needing the best decisions to be made. Learning how to communicate properly, and structure your team so that they can move forward and make decisions is important. They're talented, creative, and smart - I wouldn't have hired them if they weren't. So, I have to let them do that, and give them everything they need to be successful. It's not just about handing people responsibilities; it's about being involved along the way because you’re part of the team.
14. How do you unwind?
I watch Netflix and eat Flaming hot Cheetos - the black bag. If it's not the black bag, it’ll do nothing for me; I have to feel pain.
15. What would you tell someone else who is interested in entering your field?
I went to art school, where people constantly compared themselves to others. But, if you're constantly comparing your canvas to somebody else's, you're not painting your own - and that's what you need to be focused on. So, while you're going into new industries that you might not be as experienced in, you should be looking at everyone around you as a peer or as inspiration; a source for you to learn from, not to compete with or compare yourself to. We should be thinking, “Wow, that's really awesome. I want to do that one day. Let me figure out how I can do it.”
16. What do you hope people take away from your story, and anything else you would like to share?
I really do want more people to be in control of their lives or the things that they can control. Learning when to recognize when you can control something, really holding onto that, and making the best possible decisions for yourself - especially a lot of black women. We're not often taught by our culture to prioritize ourselves. It might feel selfish but push against that feeling. You're not being selfish, you're just taking care of yourself.
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