Dr. Nanayaa Bates
While Dr. Nanayaa Bates sits comfortably on a brightly colored African print couch in her office in Sakumono, a suburb of Accra, she is simmering with controlled energy. "It didn't turn into a business immediately, right?" she says about Dr. Bates Solutions, the cosmetics brand she started in her London garage while pregnant with her first son. Back in 2014, she was contending with pregnancy acne and her mother, in Ghana, sent her neem oil. A biomedical engineer who develops medical materials and devices, Nanayaa is familiar with laboratory concocted products and wanted to ensure that anything she used would be safe for her and her baby. She took the neem, mollified it with other oils and extracts and birthed Dr. Bates Solutions. "It became a business while I was on maternity leave and I was thinking about returning to work and what that looks like." With Dr. Bates Solutions, she could balance a family while making products that works and that she believes in. "With Dr. Bates Solutions it has always been, does it work or not for the function that we want? And it just does."
JUST THE STATS PLEASE
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Accra & London
WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Takoradi, Ghana
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Okra with all the meat in the world in it!
INSTAGRAM: drbatessolutions
MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
WHEN DID YOU START YOUR BUSINESS?
In 2014.
WHY DID YOU START?
In 2014, I was pregnant with my firstborn and I had really horrible acne and my mom brought me this ingredient called neem. I really did not like the smell of it. It does work for the use of acne but then I decided to formulate it into a product so that I wouldn't have to deal with just the pure neem oil. I combined it with other oils, other extracts, other soothers to actually develop a full product that is good for acne. Because it's natural I didn't have to worry about pregnancy effects and was able to make sure it was safe for me and my baby.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO KEEP GOING?
Just the functionality of the products and what it is now. With Dr. Bates Solutions it has always been, does it work or not for the function that we want? And it just does. So the fact that sales can be low or we're not hitting our targets, why would we want to discontinue this? The product works.
WHAT DO YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?
That everything that they see on social media or on our website is authentic. That we don't enhance anything, we just want people to see the effects knowing that it's true. Because now, everything can be changed, everything can be AI generated and it's something that I really feel strongly about. Our product works. I wish people knew that.
SELF-CARE IS SELF-LOVE
WHAT MAKES YOU AWESOME?
I'm very direct. In the world that I work in, people like the fact that I don't hide things. I'm very forefront with information, so they are not hidden.
WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKE UP?
Check emails, it's horrible! And coffee.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DETOXING REGIMEN?
I don't have one. I don't detox. I just try to live a good life, a healthy life, I have a routine so I don't have to detox.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST GRATEFUL FOR?
My children.
WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU DO BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP?
I reflect on the day, what I've been able to do, I picture my list in my head of what I need to do. I just thank God for what I've been able to do in the day. And before I go to bed, I check my email!
RANDOM NOTES AND GOODNESS
HOW DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE FUN?
Sports and eating out!
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE OR CORE BELIEF?
I believe in the NOW. Making the most of it.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
Just start. Start and do it. Start whatever idea you have. It doesn't need to be a business, just writing down your thoughts or starting a book. Just start.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT AFRICA?
Opportunities! Opportunities are so much that's it's even hard to pick from. Opportunities lead to something that is exciting and open.
WHAT FRUSTRATES YOU MOST ABOUT AFRICA?
I can't speak on Africa, it's a big continent. I can speak on my environment that I've created with work and family. For me it's about doing things to completion. Whether it's the roads in Ghana being made or someone starting a project and stopping halfway because they hit a little block. Just doing something to completion.