The Sky’s the Limit

L’Angela Lee is a natural skin therapist, herbalist, and an entrepreneur through and through.

As the founder and CEO of Honeysuckle Moon Self Care + Spa, L’Angela specializes in handcrafted, plant-based apothecary products and spa therapies for skin, hair, and body. She is widely recognized for her knowledge of melanin, hyperpigmentation, and skin condition redirection through traditional plant medicine.

L’Angela also is a founding 100 stakeholder of the Russel Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE) – a business generator and innovation lab whose mission is to inspire and empower Black-owned entrepreneurs like herself.

“There’s a very intentional agenda to give back and stimulate Black businesses,” says L’Angela. “I’ve literally been with RICE since there was still dirt and dust everywhere. We all pulled in our energy and made it the beautiful space it is today.”

An economic mobility engine

With more than 50,000 square feet of meeting and innovation space, RICE offers educational, networking, mentoring, and capital resources to help its community of entrepreneurs and small business owners innovate, grow, create jobs, and build wealth.

According to RICE President and CEO Jay Bailey, RICE expands possibilities for entrepreneurs, ensuring equitable opportunities for Black-owned businesses matters more than ever.

“Black entrepreneurs require more than symbols of hope at this critical time; they need institutions to manufacture it,” says Jay. “We bring them into a family of dynamic people with the curriculum, coaching, co-working, connections, and capital to help ensure they prosper, not just survive.”

 

On-site logistics

UPS and The UPS Foundation are partnering with RICE to provide critical resources to entrepreneurs like L’Angela with a 2,000-square-foot mini logistics hub built exclusively for the RICE community.

Designed by UPS Customer Solutions, the UPS Logistics Launchpad is a stand-alone facility with an on-site The UPS Store and a warehouse and fulfillment operation powered by Ware2Go – a UPS company.

This one-of-a-kind mini logistics hub lets RICE entrepreneurs manage all their small business essentials in one place – like packing and shipping at The UPS Store – while also fulfilling customer orders with fast, one- to two-day delivery using the Ware2Go cloud platform.

What’s more, UPS supply chain and logistics experts are on hand as part of the RICE Supply Chain Accelerator program to teach entrepreneurs about various business topics, including supply chain essentials, logistics management, warehouse and inventory management, and exporting.

L’Angela says the positive alliances, reinforcement, and resources are invaluable to help entrepreneurs dream big. “You find family here at RICE,” she says. “And the fulfillment support through UPS makes such a difference. I can now think about creating efficiency within my products to help scale the business financially. The sky’s literally the limit for me at this stage.”

One of many

RICE is just one of many empowerment programs that UPS supports as part of its commitment to help diverse-owned small and medium businesses (SMBs) launch, grow, and succeed. Other programs include:

• Proudly Unstoppable offers grants to focused groups of SMBs who have traditionally faced greater challenges in growing their businesses, including black-, LatinX-, AAPI- and women-owned businesses.

 UPS Ignite is designed to help diverse SMB founders access knowledge, capital, and networks.

• Sponsored activations with New York Fashion Week, Complex Networks, and The Black List.

For more information on how UPS supports diverse small business owners, visit www.UPS.com.

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