Daisy Betance
Daisy Betance is the owner and founder of Little Buddha, an all-natural handmade skincare company that specializes in creating clean, ethically sourced small batch products with eco-friendly packaging. She has found her new home in Chattanooga, after uprooting her home and business from Chicago this autumn. Ms. Betance moved to Tennessee in October and is hoping to expand her company with the help of her newfound community of small business supporters in Chattanooga.
“When we are supporting small businesses we are also supporting the people in our communities," said Ms. Betance. "When you are supporting Little Buddha, you are supporting clean products, the environment, and the ability to continue to grow and bring on more team members. You are
supporting people’s dreams."
According to a recent publication from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an average of two-thirds of every dollar ($0.67) spent at small businesses in our country actually stays in the local community. American Express explains that for that same dollar spent there is an additional 50 cents from employee spending and sourcing for businesses that contribute to the local community.
After working in finance for 14 years, Ms. Betance took a chance and left the comfort of the corporate world in 2018. She entered the uncharted territory of clean skincare products and self-employment and applied to her first market after being inspired by attending a local soap and candle-making class. Despite not having a company name, logo, or product yet, Ms. Betance created her business from scratch for that first show. Many artisan markets later, a home studio for making, a billboard campaign, special collaborations with other small business creators, and speaking at her alma mater on entrepreneurship, Ms. Betance is ready for more. A firm believer in positively creating her future, she continues to dream big and recently followed her desire to be among the mountains and call Tennessee home. She fell in love with the land and the people of Chattanooga and has found it to be a supportive community for their makers.
When asked why Ms. Betance left her home state to pursue entrepreneurship in Tennessee, Ms. Betance said, "I started to get comfortable. When you start to get comfortable you become complacent. I needed to take myself out of my comfort zone to come here to take things to a whole new level and start from scratch again. It’s learning how to pivot, learn, and grow in the hardest of times.”
Little Buddha is a one woman-owned company that is committed to creating safe products for customers as Ms. Betance handpicks all of the natural ingredients that are used and carefully chooses sources that are ethically sound and provide high-quality ingredients. Driven by her passion for a healthy lifestyle, Ms. Betance supports companies that are sustainable, organic, animal cruelty-free, and made in the USA. You will never find fragrance oils, artificial coloring, and due to making many water-free products, there is no need for chemical-based preservatives.
Asta Malciute, a team member of Little Buddha, said, “I am very passionate about seeing other women succeed. When I saw the behind-the-scenes of Daisy’s work, I knew I wanted to help her.”
Holiday gift sets are available online at littlebuddhabydaisy.com and in various shops in the Chicagoland area. Ms. Betance is hopeful to make her products into shops in Tennessee soon and is looking forward to applying to The INCubator in the Hamilton County Business Development Center for a growth and coaching program this upcoming spring. You can follow Little Buddha on Facebook and Instagram under @littlebuddhabydaisy and email questions or comments to littlebuddhabydaisy@gmail.com.