Meet the teen behind Beluga Bliss, a Baton Rouge aromatherapy brand – Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

Youre never too young to start a business. Take it from Condoleezza Semien, a 16-year-old entrepreneur who started her own business, Beluga Bliss, when she was in the eighth grade.

Semiens mother battles lupus and struggles with aches from the chronic condition. At the age of 13, determined to soothe her mothers pain, Semien started researching which essential oils and herbs had the scientific components to treat her moms symptoms.

Soon, she was blending her own essential oils, naming them based on the blends intentions and sharing them with her family. She now sells her products under the brand name Beluga Bliss on her website and at Zen-Jus, a wellness shop in Zachary.

Since using the brands oils, her mother has been able to take less pain medicine.

My mother introduced me to essential oils, Semien says. I wanted to make certified organic oils with no fragrance or harmful ingredients. My mom needed an alternative medicine that didnt include opioids, so I created three different oil blends.

Semiens brand includes specific blends of aromatic oils designed to have different effects for the user. The oil blend aimed at improving sleep, for example, includes lavender and lemongrass. The oils are sold as roll-ons to apply to the skin or in droppers to add to diffusers, baths or pillows.

Since launching her business, the Baton Rouge native has been recognized around the nation. She pitched her business at the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Investor Panel Presentation in 2019, where she won the Saunders Semifinalist award. She then advanced to the Young Entrepreneur Academys Saunders Scholarship Competition in New York, where she won the Peoples Choice Award.

As the multitalented high school student makes plans for her future, she wants to continue expanding her business, hold pop-up events and eventually open her own storefront. Her next step is to become a certified aromatherapist and licensed herbaliston top of balancing school, dance, theater and community service work as the president of the Outstanding Mature Girlz organization.

My advice to the youth who want to start a business is to start a business with a purpose in mind that is not money, Semien says. Money will come, but the purpose behind your business will bring out ambitions and will remind you why you started (it).

This article was originally published in the April 2022 issue of 225 magazine.

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Meet the teen behind Beluga Bliss, a Baton Rouge aromatherapy brand - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report