Navjot Kaur Shoyoye
Navjot Kaur Shoyoye is a solo entrepreneur & CEO of Raâng Beauty, a personal care, wellness & beauty company, which is her vision for equitable beauty. By removing the unnecessary barriers that limit access to high quality beauty products she is committed to globally delivering an artisanal luxury beauty experience.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your professional journey/venture/initiative and what inspired you to choose this career.
I was born & raised in NYC to Punjabi immigrant parents & like all children of immigrants in the 80s & 90s we all had to overcome a lot in NYC. I started working at 17 years old. I worked 2 jobs in high school – Starbucks in Chelsea, NY and a catering hall in Corona, Queens. I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice during the 2008 recession. I just took a job wherever I could and I landed in banking/finance. I went to graduate school at John Jay and in 2012 I was recruited by the FBI because I had a skill of speaking Punjabi that they needed. Then there was a government sequester so I just gave up on working for the FBI since I age out at 37 and thought I would rather experience many other things than just wait for the FBI. I received my Masters Degree in Computer Applications in Criminal Justice in 2016 but never pursued a career in that industry. I am grateful for the work ethic & research skills I gained in college that have helped with many things along the way in life. I moved to California in 2017 to work in tech but after a few years of that The Universe decided it was time I make the leap of faith & make Raâng Beauty my only focus in October 2020. I moved to Miami in 2022 & now I am revamping & restrategizing due to changes in the economy after Covid-19 & my heightened focus on luxury that is sustainable & accessible financially for all clients
Was there any turning point in your life that changed your journey? If so, what was it? Please tell us the backstory behind it.
There have been many turning points in my life which have made my journey so fascinating & exciting but I think the biggest turning point was in 2019 when I really learned to love & value myself by my own standards & not what standards society, my Punjabi culture & others were trying to project onto me. Loving myself has been the most life changing endeavor & I think to become a true leader in any industry or anywhere, even in your home, you have to give yourself time to love yourself.
Tell us about your goals, interests, and role models.
I have so many goals, I am true believer in dreaming BIGGER – I keep a growing list of things that come to me like owning my own men’s & women’s soccer teams, buying a Dunkin coffee shop, buying a flower farm, activate & energize all 114 Chakras in my body on my spiritual quest & so many more things but in regards to Raâng Beauty my goal is growing it to a full lifestyle brand comparable to Johnson & Johnson or Arm & Hammer or even Coca-Cola with its variety of product lines across many industries. I am interested in so many things I feel like that list will be infinite! My biggest role models have been inspiring, hardworking & collaborative women who I have met at various jobs in my life – from my first woman boss Tony at Starbucks, to my aunt Manveen Bedi who got me my first job as a bank teller, to my manager Adriana at HSBC, & my branch manager Neda at Wachovia. Honestly, so many women have lifted me up along the way & have seen a light in me that I never saw within myself when I was younger that my list of role models is mostly the women in my life! Another one of my role models is my brother, Rattan, he has taught me to truly dream bigger & to be courageous in anything I do no matter what anyone says or what the outcome will be. He is a true force of leadership, inspiration & motivation!
Everyone has their own set of challenges when starting an entrepreneurial journey. Still, the most essential part for others to learn is how you deal with those. Would you like to share with us your challenges and your coping mechanisms?
My coping mechanisms for challenges may seem unorthodox to many people but I am very spiritual & deeply believe that it is the will of God plus all the Universes, dimensions, galaxies, timelines & matrixes for me to succeed on my entrepreneurial journey in the service of creating luxury products to nourish my clients so whenever I am met with an obstacle I just step back & remind myself that I am meant to succeed, flourish & help others so this moment or challenge is temporary because there is better to come for me. I also remind myself that I haven’t even lived the best days of my life yet so how can I allow myself to be defeated at only 36 years old! So I guess my main coping mechanism is positive thought processes & affirmations. “Thoughts become things, choose the good ones.” One very practical coping mechanism is to journal & write down things to see your thoughts physically on paper. Writing has been such an amazing tool for me, in the past 10 years I have filled up over 15 notebooks of my daily activities & thoughts & ideas & wishes & gratitudes & also my hardships. It is a bit cumbersome to carry all these books when I move cities but it’s always just a relief to clear my head & just know these books will hold my thoughts for me so I don’t have to while building a world changing company like Raâng Beauty.
What impact do you feel you have been able to create with your work so far and how would you want to grow in the next few years?
I am only getting started so I haven’t seen the full impact of Raâng Beauty yet but my clients always tell me how my products especially the silk pillowcases give them great sleep & that in turn helps them achieve remarkable things in their lives, which is always an honor to hear from clients! In the next few years, I want to focus on creating & delivering sustainable + high quality luxury products such as sunglasses, bedding, gratitude journals, lip balms, mosquito spray, fragrances, hair oils, CBD based products. The list goes on & on of things I want to create to bring better quality products to market at accessible prices. I also would love to in the next few years grow the Raâng Beauty team to motivate people to come on board to take the Raâng Beauty journey with me in creating a full lifestyle brand that is world renowned.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I would love to change antiquated beauty standards that we have all grown up with & the propaganda of beauty that is so prevalent. If Raâng Beauty can make an impact in helping move the needle towards people feeling beautiful & blessed as they are, I will have known I have created a company that was valuable to this world. I also donate to different causes quarterly through Raâng Foundation which is the philanthropy arm of Raâng Beauty & I would love to grow Raâng Beauty to such a caliber that I can really impact organizations helping to solve for issues like Water Solutions for every creature on Earth, HIV, Homelessness, Hunger, Women’s Health Issues, Domestic Violence, Refugee Organizations & so many more.
What’s the most important thing you have learned in your personal life and professional journey? What is your personal motto in life?
The most important thing I have learned personally is to go for it because in life I would have regretted more what I didn’t do, than what I did do! The most important thing I learned from my professional career in Banking & Finance & from years of counting cash as a bank teller is that money isn’t everything – money is one tool out of many to help you have a rich & full life. Never chase the money because you will be running after it forever but instead use money to help accelerate you to the next step. Money is meant to be spent & used so use it to what you value will help you lead a fulfilled, joyful & luxurious life on your terms. I have so many mottos, song lyrics, & affirmations that I carry with me in life, so here are a few to pick from: “Don’t let them taint your soul.” Meaning don’t let anyone else make you feel inferior or less than. “If success looks good to others but doesn’t feel good in your heart, then it isn’t real success.” “Spend money freely, to receive money abundantly. Every dollar shows up right on time.” “Everything meant for me will always find me so never chase, attract abundance because I am abundant.” “Enjoy life’s sweetness every chance you can. Don’t be addicted to just talking about your problems & worries, talk about the sweet stuff of life too.” “Eat cake as often as you can.” “Learn as much as you can about as many different things as you can because the important thing about knowledge is that no one can take it away from you once you have it.” “Hug a tree.” “Say thank you to the sun, moon, ocean, sky any chance you can.” “Keep it sexy, always!” Say “I love you” to yourself at least once a day.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women’s leadership today?
Wow, such an amazing question. I have so many thoughts about women leadership. I love seeing women rise up, from managers at retail stores, to CEOs, to sports athletes, to exquisite actors, producers & directors. Women have touched & grown in so many fields & industries that I am not surprised because I always believed in the power of women BUT I can say the rate at which it is growing is mind blowing! I remember in my almost 20 years of working how few women would be at “leadership” meetings & now on a daily basis I meet with & chat with women running manufacturing facilities for beauty products, car companies, luxury designer brands, & so much more! I love seeing women in power & making important decisions around the world but we must keep going because there is so much more to do! We have so much more opportunity to get ahead & we must stay nourished, rested & supportive of one another!
With your grit and determination, you are making a considerable impact, breaking through, and serving as role models for many budding entrepreneurs. What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
I would like to share three points for young leaders: 1. Remember to rest & recharge yourself. Society will tell you to work 100,000 hours & grind & struggle but not every day needs to be grueling & hard. You are of no benefit to your business, clients & team if you do not take care of & nourish yourself! Create small habits to replenish your creativity, your body, your mind & your soul along with releasing negative thoughts patterns you carry internally. So simply release, rest & recharge! Relax & let the miracles come to you! 2. Your idea/business/career goal is valuable & important. You were given the opportunity/idea/moment in front of you because you are worthy, talented & remarkable don’t let any haters make you second guess yourself. 3. Always ask for more when you need help. Closed mouths do not get fed so always ask, the worst that can happen is that someone says NO & then you move on & ask the next person for help. No matter how amazing you are, we all need some help sometimes!