Carmella Williams

Entrepreneur cooks up unexpected business in kitchen

Carmella Williams, 2005, BSBA

Working with local businesses and creating natural hair care products in her kitchen may seem like very different activities, but to Carmella Williams, they are not that far apart at all. Both roles allow her to help others, something that she has always felt is important.

Williams graduated from Hubbard High School in 2000, YSU with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 2005 and Cleveland State University with a master's degree in Public Administration in 2008. She spent the first 11 years of her career working at YSU as assistant director of Associate Degree and Tech Prep programs until beginning a position at the Youngstown Business Incubator last year.

At the YBI, Williams serves as director of Diversity & Inclusion. She works with area businesses to educate and encourage them to increase their use of minority suppliers. Some of her clients include Mercy Health, the City of Youngstown and YSU. She also manages the Women in Entrepreneurship program, aimed at aiding women-owned businesses and helping them grow.

Williams is no stranger to this type of work. As a student at YSU, while part of the STARS program that fosters student achievement and research, she worked side by side with professional staff whose goal was to increase YSU's use of minority suppliers. Williams feels her student experience helped open the door to her at YBI.

Kitchen Chemist

Williams had to look no farther than a popular room in the house to find the inspiration to help others in another way. Calling herself a “kitchen chemist,” one day she started pulling items out of the kitchen cabinet and experimenting with different combinations of ingredients, such as honey, bananas, avocado, coconut oil and olive oil, to create a natural shampoo and conditioner. Her goal was to use everyday foods to help women combat dry and brittle hair. Thus, her company, Carmella Marie, was born.

“I rely on the strength of food to build my product,”  Williams explained, adding that everything in her line contains something from the kitchen.

After some fine-tuning, Williams’ hair care line grew to 14 hair and skin care products. NaturallyCurly.com has recognized her deep conditioner as the best of the best with an editor’s choice award.

Currently, Carmella Marie is operating at maximum capacity from her home, and Williams is hoping to expand her space and grow her team later this year.

Let’s Talk Hair

For five years now, Williams has also organized a conference at YSU called “Let’s Talk Hair” that centers around various types of wellness.

“Hair is a metaphor for life. Taking care of our hair is important, and so is taking care of your whole self,” Williams said.

This fall, she welcomed more than a dozen vendors, doctors and other experts who shared knowledge with the 200 women in attendance. Topics included natural products, financial health, nutrition and more.

Overcoming Obstacles

Creating Carmella Marie was about more than hair care and helping others. Williams described it as a way to reconnect with herself. She described it as a realization of her own natural beauty and “that who I am is more than enough.” Williams says she chooses every day to push back fear and focus on the positive.

“Don’t let fear stop you from implementing your dreams. The purpose of dreams is to excite you; the purpose of fear is to stop you. That’s what we call life.”