On this episode of the Friends in Beauty podcast I welcome Germaine Bolds-Leftridge to the Friends in Beauty guest chair. Germaine is the President of GBL Sales, Inc., & has been in the Health and Beauty industry since 1984. Germaine began her career in 1984 as a merchandiser for Soft Sheen Products in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area. Two years later, she started working as a sales representative in the northeast for one of the most progressive broker organizations prior to becoming the Regional Manager for Worlds of Curls located in Los Angeles, California.   When she was presented with an opportunity to become a broker in 1990, she enthusiastically accepted the challenge and GBL Sales opened its doors for business on March 1, 1990. The company is headquartered in Columbia, MD, and specializes in the sales and marketing of Health and Beauty Aids in the Northeastern and Southeastern markets. She founded GBL Sales, Inc. as a means of serving the diverse needs of her clients and has brokered deals for some of your favorite beauty brands. Germaine is also the Founder of the Ubiquitous Women’s Expo, IKnow Skincare, and just an all around businesswoman.   I had such a wonderful time chatting with Germaine I didn’t want our conversation to end. In this interview Germaine shares:   -How she began working in the beauty industry & ultimately opened her own marketing and sales firm -How brands can bring their brand stories to life in their marketing -The power of the black consumer -Advice on holding your own as a woman in a male dominated industry -All about the upcoming Ubiquitous Expo going down on Aug 27 & 28th 2022 -Her latest venture IKnow Skincare catered to mature women -Redefining the word failure -And so much more   Germaine did not come to play. She dropped so many gems and life lessons from us to learn from and I truly enjoyed my time with her. Let’s go ahead and jump into this amazing chat with Germaine and if you prefer to watch our beautiful faces then tune in on YouTube. Enjoy this episode! Leave us a 5 star review and share this episode with a friend or 2 or 3. info@friendsinbeauty.com   FRIENDS IN BEAUTY FACEBOOK COMMUNITY www.facebook.com/groups/friendsinbeauty   FOLLOW FRIENDS IN BEAUTY ON IG  www.instagram.com/friendsinbeauty   SUBSCRIBE TO YOUTUBE CHANNEL bit.ly/FIBTube   SEND ME A TEXT! (202) 519-4652   JOIN PATREON TO SUPPORT THE FRIENDS IN BEAUTY PODCAST https://www.patreon.com/friendsinbeauty   ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS OF THE PODCAST https://www.friendsinbeauty.com/fibadrequest   ENROLL IN THE FRIENDS WITH BENEFIT$ CLUB https://friends-with-benefits.teachable.com/p/friends-with-benefits-club Resources Mentioned In This Episode: -Oyin Handmade -Book: Who Moved My Cheese -Ubiquitous Women’s Expo -IKnow Skincare -Mielle   Additional Resources:   -https://www.amazon.com/shop/akuarobinson   -Skillshare - Use this link for 2 months free of the premium plan: https://skl.sh/30t352q   -Shop Mented Cosmetics - https://www.mentedcosmetics.com/?rfsn=1290937.f2481  Use Code “AKUAROBINSON” for 10% of your purchase  Announcements:   We’re on Apple Podcasts - www.bit.ly/FIBPodItunes!   Join our Facebook community…   If  you’re looking for a community of like minded, ambitious, and supportive #FriendsinBeauty all working to leave our mark on the beauty industry, join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsinbeauty Join the Friends in Beauty Mailing List: www.bit.ly/FIBTribe Social Media Info: Germaine (Instagram) - @detroitgermaine IKnow Skincare (IG) - @iknowskincare Ubiquitous Expo (IG) -@ubiquitous_expo Friends in Beauty (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) - @friendsinbeauty Friends in Beauty (YouTube) - Friends in Beauty https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYPyO8nAosEmjEE5nza9Zg?view_as=subscriber Akua Robinson (Instagram,Twitter) - @akuarobinson AkuaRobinson (Facebook) - Akua Robinson MUA Akua Robinson (Website) - www.akuarobinson.com