Hello, My Name Is Shantae Pelt. I am CEO and Founder of Coco’Pie Clothing. I am also a Certified Pharmacy Technician at a Mail Order Pharmacy . I am a mother of two beautifully brilliant girls named Mikayla 10 and Kennedy 5. My daughters are also KidPrenuers. They own Ken and Kate’s Closet, which is a super cute snow cone cart here in Arizona.

I am a true Phoenician, born and raised in Sunny Phoenix, Arizona. Where I attended Phoenix College and Arizona State University . Outside of my love for Sociology, my studies and experiences would drive me towards Entrepreneurship . Yet it was as a young child, that my entrepreneurial spirit would be nurtured. The oldest girl of 6 children I’d often find clever ways to make money, always aiming to minimize any hardship to my mother. It would start with a pretty successful Summer babysitting business. Making $5hr around age 13 or so. I was quickly making $100-200 weekly ! In addition I opened a Candy Store . Selling chips, pickles, penny candy and freeze cups . Unfortunately I’d be shut down do to the mess my buddies would leave throughout the neighborhood . Yet the entrepreneur seeds had been planted . Those roots would forever remain. Throughout high school I had many different jobs . From Guest service at Target, Answering Service Operator, Office Clerk at a small Cheesecake Business, Clerical assistance at a justice institute and many others . My experience was vast and I would easily acquire any job I applied for . Yet soon enough the most important one would follow .

I would become a first time Mom at 23 yrs old to a beautiful little girl I named Mikayla. My next blessing, Kennedy would arrive 4 years later . Now of course being a Mother is not a job, yet a lifetime commitment and transition. I would learn more about myself love itself, and my position in the world .

My pregnancies were very difficult. Already suffering from Fibromyalgia, a medical condition characterised by chronic widespread pain and a heightened pain response to pressure. Work became increasingly difficult and bed rest would increase my financial burdens . This hardship would truly be the spark to my desire to be an entrepreneur full time. Yet my daughters, they would become the fuel.

One day when my daughter Mikayla and I  went shopping at our local mall. She, maybe just 2 or 3 at the time. Anyhow she spotted a tshirt that she fell in love with instantly . See this tshirt had a little brown girl, with rosy cheeks and two little buns, resembling her Afro puffs atop her head. Mikayla said “that’s me mommy” ! Her smile was priceless . So of course mommy purchased. She wore this tshirt to no end . It was a struggle to get her to take it off lol. I finally went back hoping to find more only to be told by a clerk that the design was “seasonal”. That perhaps there would be more during the holiday seasons.

We left disappointed . I especially because that term “seasonal” bothered me so. I thought to myself how could my daughters essence and likeness be “seasonal”. After looking high and low for anything similar, I quickly realized how near obsolete diverse apparel was. I was puzzled as to how I didn’t see this prior . How the absence was so extreme yet not visible to me.

In my daughters image . Coco’Pie Clothing is a vibrant new tshirt inspired by children of color, my own to be exact. Featuring culture rich design, slogans, and imagery reflective of the beauty within ethnicity . Our aim is to encourage black girls to embrace their natural hair and to be proud of who they are . In essence wearing their black girl magic unapologetically . Our orders include stickers and hand written notes that serve as a reminder to their black girl magic. We have shipped all across the United States, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico and most recently Germany . Empowering little black girls one tshirt at a time . That’s the beauty of entrepreneurship . If you see a gap, bridge it. Be the change you wish to see . Create your own legacy . Whatever you want to do, start today. Not tomorrow but today .