WASHINGTON, DC – September 10: Rahama Wright, owner of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in a Yeleen Beauty custom lab coat in Washington, DC on September 10,2025. (Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC – September 10: Chavela Garner (left) and Lloytaisa Kingsbury (right) stop by to sample some of the boutique perfume available at Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in Washington, DC on September 10,2025. (Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC – September 10: Rahama Wright, owner of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in a Yeleen Beauty custom lab coat in Washington, DC on September 10,2025. (Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post) Maxine Wallace WASHINGTON, DC – September 10: Chavela Garner (left) and Lloytaisa Kingsbury (right) stop by to sample some of the boutique perfume available at Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in Washington, DC on September 10,2025. (Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post) The buzz of excited voices grew louder as entrepreneur Rahama Wright stood at the center of a bright room with a rose-colored ceiling. She wore a white lab coat adorned with “Yeleen Beauty” in periwinkle blue. The words “Make Good, Look Good” hung on a wall inside the new manufacturing space along Benning Road east of the Anacostia River. The aroma of brown sugar and eucalyptus wafted from one of the demonstration tables covered in paper with the words “Yeleen Beauty Makerspace.” Wright flashed a grin while holding a giant pair of scissors. Next to her, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and D.C. Council member Wendell Felder (Ward 7) held their own pairs, ready to cut the red ribbon. “Three, two, one!” an aide said as all three snipped. “In the beauty industry, there is inequality,” Wright had said in her opening remarks. “This space is sending a message. There is no room for inequality in the beauty space.” Wright envisioned the 3,000-square-foot facility built with a combination of private and public support as a source of economic promise in an underserved part of the nation’s capital. But clouds have been forming. Wright’s brand, Shea Yeleen, relies on a trade relationship forged with Northern Ghana, where she sources shea butter for her products. Tariffs are hurting her 13-year-old business, she says. The shea trees that yield their rich, ivory-colored butter need the dry heat of the West African savannah to thrive. And Wright depends on skilled female laborers there to gather the fruit and render the insides into an oil, ready to mix into the hand cream and body wash she sells in her pop-up shop on the former Walter Reed campus. Wright was a 20-year-old aspiring Foreign Service officer when she saw a disconnect in the shea market. She bet that access to American consumers and a living wage could improve conditions for the female laborers in ways that international aid couldn’t. She went from hauling a suitcase of shea from Ghana in the mid-2000s to shipping one to three tons of it by the mid-2010s. Her products found their way into Whole Foods and Macy’s online stores. She reveled as customers at her shop rubbed their hands with her lavender-honeysuckle body cream. American businesses have seen a cascade of trade letters and stop-and-go tariff announcements since President Donald Trump returned to office. The “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed a 10 percent levy on goods coming from many countries around the globe – including Ghana. The legality of the tariffs will be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court after oral arguments in November. With the holidays coming, Wright is bracing for an import tax on her first shipment since late 2024. She says she expects the costs will force her to increase prices. The pressure of a slowing economy has also pushed Wright to rethink the Makerspace’s services by offering more flexibility to budding entrepreneurs. She’s shifted from yearly to monthly contracts to create friendlier terms for people should the economy continue to get worse. For months, Wright wasn’t sure she could get equipment like a filler and conveyor belt in time for the opening because of shortages and price spikes. As she stood in the empty facility earlier this year, she thought of her mother. “She was always overlooked, always undervalued,” she said, wiping away a tear. “Always worked very hard, but the world never gave her a chance to be her best self because she was a Black woman, immigrant from Africa.” When the Wright family lived in Burkina Faso, Wright said, her mother fed homeless boys porridge and rice in their home every day for years. “If we’re waiting for other people to do it,” Wright said, “it’s not going to get done.” After Bowser and Felder left the ribbon cutting, Wright was surrounded by supporters. She hugged people – sometimes two at a time – while posing for photos with them. A friend slipped a ring in the shape of the African continent onto Wright’s finger as a gift. “Every entrepreneur here is a life that connects to other lives,” Wright said, passing displays of body oil and bar soap as she headed to the back of the room. “If we support them and help them grow, we’re creating an ecosystem of abundance, an ecosystem of prosperity.” Then she found a seat and took a deep breath. “I’m just relieved that we made it here,” Wright said, “and now it’s on to the next milestone.” Stay informed and connected — subscribe to The Philadelphia Tribune NOW! Click Here Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don’t Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don’t knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. 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https://www.phillytrib.com/news/business/a-small-business-owner-just-broke-new-ground-tariffs-are-threatening-to-drag-her-brand/article_a7e35478-2791-4f17-b257-674a865b3537.html
A small business owner just broke new ground. Tariffs are threatening to drag her brand.
