Growing up in a single-parent, low-income household, Sheenee Cotton experienced first-hand the struggles and sacrifices her mother would make to provide for her and her brother. Compelled by the urge to relieve her mother's burden, Sheenee made a snowball stand one summer and used the money raised to buy school supplies and back-to-school clothes.

Fast forward some years, seeing her grandfather struggle with health issues and watching a disturbing documentary about what's in the food we eat set a new mission in Sheenee's path. She couldn't stop thinking of the link between nutrition and the illnesses that run in her family, the Black community, and the ones her grandfather struggled with. She adopted a plant-based diet and decided to make the Black community aware of the food they put in their bodies and help them improve their eating habits.

Sheenee Cotton is the Founder and Ceo of Cotton Creations, a YouTube sensation, Creator of the Vegan Dining Experience, Inventor of the Ponytail Sleeve, and an inspiring omnipreneur. She shares vegan recipes and cooking tutorials, haircare and fashion advice, and DIY projects on her YouTube channel.

We delve into Sheenee's story, her entrepreneurial spirit, her path through college, and the decision of starting a YouTube channel to increase awareness in the Black community about food, which pivoted into a company born to change perceptions about eating habits and Blackness in America. We talk about how the pandemic affected Cotton Creations, her relentless drive to put her ideas out in the world, do extraordinary things like writing her own patents for her products, and sell them to retailers like Walmart and Uplift Us Marketplace.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell me a bit about who you are and where you're from? Then walk us through the period from leaving Maryland to going out there and to California, where you are now. (4:42)
• Tell us some of the main focus and some of your first endeavors on the route to establishing Cotton Creations. (9:55)
• How did you determine veganism was the direction as opposed to "I'm just gonna watch what I eat", or vegetarianism, or pescetarianism? (13:52)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What motivated Sheenee to start thinking seriously about what she was putting in her body (10:03)
• Doing research and writing patents. Sheenee talks about the process of selling her products to retailers (18:56)
• Creating recipes around accessible ingredients for the Black community (27:01)
• Sheenee talks about his dynamic approach to business and her ability to focus on more than one project at a time (42:49)
• Shifting perceptions. Sheenee explains how she uses her business to change perceptions about Black people inside and outside of the Black community (47:18)

Resources:

• Cotton Creations website
• Cotton Creations YouTube channel
• Cotton Creations Instagram

Connect with Sheenee:

• Instagram

Let's connect!

• Website
• Instagram

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