Today we’d like to introduce you to Alysia Madison.
Alysia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story started with me simply wanting to make something that worked.
Brown Eyed Babe has been part of my life for about 10 years now. I started making skincare products because I wanted simple products made with ingredients I understood and felt good about using. What began with me learning, experimenting, and making products grew into a business and eventually into something much bigger than I originally imagined.
Over the years, I have learned almost every part or entrepreneurship by doing it. I have made the products, created labels, figured out packaging, set up events, talked to customers, handled orders, marketed myself, made mistakes, changed things, and kept going. I did not start with a perfect business plan or all of the answers. A lot of my journey has been learning what I need to know when I need to know it.
One of the things I am most proud of is that Brown Eyed Babe has allowed me to build genuine relationships with people. Someone may initially meet me because of a jar of body butter or African black soap, but those conversations often become something more. I always enjoyed sharing what I know, learning from other people, and connecting people with resources.
That part of me has grown outside of Brown Eyed Babe as well. My love of gardening has turned into opportunities to teach and share gardening with my community, and in 2026, I took another big step by creating Sundays on Prospect, a monthly community market in South Kansas City, Missouri.
Sundays on Prospect came from understanding firsthand how important opportunities for visibility are to a small businesses. I wanted to create an affordable and welcoming place where entrepreneurs- particularly those within and around the South Prospect community- could bring what they make, meet customers, build relationships, and grow, Watching vendors make sales and people discover businesses in their own community has made me realize that entrepreneurship for me is no longer only about what I can sell.
Today, I still make Brown Eyed Babe products and I am still learning every day. But I also see myself becoming a community builder, educator, and connector. I am learning how to take all of these pieces of myself– the maker, gardener, entrepreneur, teacher, organizer, wife and mother–and allow them all to exist together instead of feeling like I have to choose just one.
I am not at the end of my story. I actually feel like am I entering a new chapter of it I have spent years proving to myself that I can start things and figure things out. Now I am focused on learning how to build them sustainably, create opportunities for other people along the way and make sure that the things I create continue to serve both my family and my community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a completely smooth road, and if I am being truthful, one of my biggest obstacles has been myself. I know how to make a good product. I know how to connect with people, and I have seen firsthand that people enjoy and come back for what I create. The harder part has been consistently believing that i can take what I am doing further and having the discipline to keep showing up even when no one else is holding me accountable.
Consistency has been probably one of my biggest lessons in entrepreneurship. When you work for yourself, nobody is standing over you telling you that you need to make products today, update your website, follow up with a customer, post your business, or prepare for the next opportunity. You have to decide that those things matter and then actually do them.
Social media is a perfect example for me. I am much more comfortable connecting with perople in person. I can talk about my products, explain why I use certain ingredients, answer questions, and build a relationship naturally. Social media requires me to intentionally put myself and my business in front of people over and over again, and that is something I am still working on. I know it is an important tool for reaching customers when I cannot physically be in the room with them, but knowing that and consistently doing it are two different things.
I have also had to learn not to let having multiple interests become a reason to stop moving forward. My brain is always creating, thinking, and connecting one idea to another. That can be one of my greatest strengths, but without structure and discipline, it can also become overwhelming,
The biggest lesson for me has been learning that I do not have to feel motivated every day to keep going. Sometimes growth looks exciting, and sometimes it looks like making the products, sending the email, posting the picture, of finishing the task even when I would rather be doing something else.
I am still working on that. I think that is important to say because entrepreneurship has not magically made me more disciplined or removed my self doubt. It has given me plenty of opportunities to practice moving forward anyway.
We’ve been impressed with Brown Eyed Babe, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My primary business is Brown Eyed Babe, a Kansas City-based skincare and body care brand that I have been building for about 10 years. I create simple products using ingredients that I understand, believe, and feel comfortable using on myself and family.
Brown Eyed Babe is best known for my whipped mango body butter and liquid African black soap. I also offer African cleansing nets and exfoliating gloves, and seasonal body care products. At its core, Brown Eyed Babe is about helping people care for their skin with products that are simple, approachable, and made with intention.
What I want people to know about Brown Eyed Babe is that there is a person behind the product. I genuinely enjoy talking to my customers. I want people to understand what they are buying, what is in it, and how they can use it. If I know the answer to a question, I will share what I know. If I do not know, I am comfortable saying “Let me look that up for you,” Part of growing my business has been growing my own knowledge so that I can educate my customers responsibly and confidently.
I am especially proud of the relationships I have built through Brown Eyed Babe. I am naturally a face-to=face person. At an event, someone may initially stop at my table because they see a jar of body butter or want to see why everyone is washing their hands, but I want them to leave feeling like they actually connected with the person who made the products.
That experience as a vendor and small business owner is also a big part of why I created Sundays on Prospect, a monthly community market in South Kansas City, Missouri. I know firsthand what it feels like to have something you have created and need opportunities to put it in front of people.
Sundays on Prospect is intentionally rooted in South Kansas City and the Prospect community, with a focus on creating opportunities and a safe space for small Black owned and woman owned businesses in and around the area while also welcoming entrepreneurs from across Kansas City. Vendors have an affordable to sell, gain visibility, meet customers, connect with one another, and become part of something that happens consistently rather than just once.
But Sundays on Prospect is also for the people who live in the community. I want someone to walk in and discover a business they did not know they existed. I want people to spend their money with entrepreneurs in their community, meet the people behind the businesses,, eat, talk, connect and come back next month with friends.
What I am most proud of is how these two parts of my work connect. Brown Eyed Babe taught me what it means to build something of my own. Sundays on Prospect allows me to take what I have learned as an entrepreneur and create space for others to build something of theirs.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I don’t necessarily think of myself as a risk-taker. I think of myself more as someone who is willing to figure things out.
For me, taking a risk doesn’t mean jumping into something without thinking ab out what could go wrong It means deciding that something is worth trying even when I can’t guarantee the outcome, I like to know what resources I have, what I can realistically handle, and what Plan B might look like. Once I feel like I can figure out the next step, I am much more willing to take the chance.
Entrepreneurship has required that from me over and over again Even putting something I created in front of someone and saying “I made this, and I believe it’s worth your money,” requires a certain amount of vulnerability.
Creating Sundays on Prospect has probably been one of my biggest recent risks. I decided to create a recurring community market without knowing exactly how many vendors would participate, whether people would come, whether the community would embrace what I was trying to build. Then I realized that starting it wasn’t the only risk –continuing it was one too. Every month means showing up again, listening to feedback, making adjustments, promoting it, and trusting that consistency will help it grow.
I think my relationship with risk has changed as I have gotten older. I don’t need to know exactly how everything is going to turn out before I begin. I need enough information to make a thoughtful decision, a reason that matters to me, and confidence that if something doesn’t go according to plan, I can adjust.
I learned that sometimes the bigger risk for me would be having an idea that matters to me and never finding out what would have happened if I had tried.
Pricing:
- Lavender and Unscented Body Butter $10 -$25
- Liquid African Black Soap $5 – $10
- Small Babe Bundle $15
- Large Babe Bundle $35
- African Cleansing Net $3
Contact Info:
- Website: https://browneyedbabekc.com
- Instagram: @browneyedbabekc
