Today we’d like to introduce you to Eldonna Fernandez. She shares her story with us below:
From Mud Huts to Stories of Hope
Our story started very unexpectedly. Eldonna went to Kenya on a mission trip in February of 2018 with an organization called Reaching Beyond Ourselves to be of service to the suffering and displaced people in Kitale, Kenya. She raised funds to go and do whatever she could to be of service. They took supplies including food, blankets and clothing to schools, churches and clinics and prisons, slums and kids on the streets. One of the last places visited was the Kipsongo slum. The homes are mud huts with a tin roof and dirt or rough concrete floor. There is no running water, no kitchen, and no bathrooms. They shared supplies and stories of hope.
As they were preparing to leave Eldonna noticed some of the women had hand-made items for sale. They didn’t have any money so they couldn’t buy anything.
One Gift that Ignited an Idea
One of the women gifted Eldonna with a beaded necklace… made of magazines. The mother was hoping for someone to sponsor her son for school. Eldonna discovered someone on a previous mission had provided a microloan for the women to get materials to make the beads and sell them in the local market. Eldonna woke up in the middle of the night with a God-inspired idea to buy some beads and sell them with her Think Like A Negotiator book when she would speak. People could get a book and a bead instead of only a book. Baskets and Beads was born that night in the middle of the night.
Suitcases of Success
They started with five women and half a suitcase full of beads made of magazines. Slowly Eldonna doubled her order… and then it was an entire suitcase… then seven suitcases, 11 suitcases… and now is receiving regular shipments from Kenya. Today, over 30 Kenyan women entrepreneurs are making the hand-crafted products which are sold in a retail space in a Southern California location, in the online store and wholesale to several stores and boutique shops. Recently Baskets and Beads expanded to engage another 30-40 men and women making products of Kisii soapstone from Kisii county in Kenya. Soapstone is one of the softest known minerals, making it easy to carve for bowls, decorative small dishes, ornaments and various animals.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I was speaking full-time before the lockdown on negotiation. I wrote a book called Think Like A Negotiator and was training and speaking on that and other leadership topics while I was working on building the baskets and beads business.
The Lockdown caused the speaking to come to a full stop and I was required to take a corporate job to make ends meet and keep Baskets and Beads alive. I did have some online speaking but not enough to make ends meet. The lockdown caused all but one of our wholesalers to go out of business and sales dried up. I had rented space in 3 retail spaces and was forced to pull out of 2 of them because I couldn’t make rent. I have had a space in Fair Trade Long Beach since it opened in 2019 and we managed to make it through the lockdown.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a retired Air Force veteran who spent 23 years in the Air Force as a contract specialist managing major defense contracts. It’s what enabled me to have the foundational knowledge to write the Think Like A Negotiator book and teach on negotiation and contracts management. I love to share my knowledge with people on how to get a better deal for yourself through negotiating in a win-win result type of format.
I was a high school dropout that grew up with two alcoholic parents. My mother died of alcoholism when I was only 12 and my father was basically non-existent as a parent after that. When I was 18, I came home to an empty house and a note of eviction on the door. He moved from Texas to Florida with no forwarding address or way to contact him. I joined the Air Force when I was 19 and got a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and an associate’s degree in Contracts Management. I’m most proud of overcoming the adversity I grew up with to have a successful Air Force career followed by a career in the civilian sector and an entrepreneur.
How do you define success?
Success to me is a state of mind. It’s not about how much money, status or things you have. It’s about being happy no matter the circumstances and the ability to have gratitude for something each and every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://basketsandbeadskenya.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basketsandbeadskenya/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkLikeANegotiator
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eldonna/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EldonnaF
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAITIvg0hPC-VIE9x1eewg
- Other: https://eldonnalewisfernandez.com/
Image Credits
Pictures of Ladies in Kenya – Dennis Keyombe
