THIS YEAR the focus on black owned businesses has been bigger than ever, so it’s no surprise that entrepreneurs have decided to launch their ventures during a pandemic. One of these new entrepreneurs is Joy Millani, who after years of mulling over the idea of starting her own business finally took a leap of faith and launched lingerie brand Crown & Code.

The 21-year-old, who was inspired to design her own lingerie after attending a tantric workshop, says her brand is all about reconnecting with your body and realigning.

Explaining the meaning of the brand’s name, Millani said: “The crown represents sovereignty, the crown represents sitting on your throne, this goddess on her throne who is empowered who is sovereign in her energy. And the code represents a woman’s code, the code of living your authentic self, every single day, loving yourself unapologetically, being expressive in who you are, being uninhibited with that.”

“I initially had the idea for this brand, for this company, a long time ago, let’s say like six years ago, it was like a seed that was planted. I didn’t know it was going to be this but I knew I definitely wanted to empower women in some way and I wanted it to be around their sensuality and femininity and just helping them have that sovereignty in that area of their lives,” Millani said.

Empowered

Now Crown & Code is fully-fledged but it’s been a long time coming.

She added: “As I got older, as I started understanding more about womanhood and developing my own womanhood, and understanding all of these different things and also trying to be an inspiration to others – that’s when the idea for this brand became very clear.”

One of the women Millani was determined to empower and uplift was herself. 

She said: “Last year I was actually going through this dark period in my life and i felt like I didn’t have a sense of purpose, I felt quite depressed.

“I just really felt quite sad and I felt like I needed to do something about this, I needed to figure out what my purpose is.”

The circumstances Millani found herself in during the pandemic, prompted her to take her to hone in on her purpose and make her dream a reality.

“Once lockdown came, the job that I was supposed to have told me…‘we’ve closed, we’re not hiring anyone’ and so I thought, OK I still want to do this. There’s so much time now because we’re in a lockdown,” she said.

Raising capital

While Millani had a lot of time on her hands, she still needed to raise the capital her business needed so she turned to crowdfunding to do so. The process is something she admits she was nervous about. 

Following a successful crowdfunding campaign with Natwest’s Back Her Business, Millani raised £1,000 for her lingerie line in just four days. She used the money to get sample stock, packaging and get her website up and running.

While Millani is just starting out, she hopes her journey will inspire others.

“I want to be that beacon of hope. I want to be that example to other black women whatever age they are that you can live a very blissful life, you can be in tune with your feminine energy, this isn’t just for white women or for upper class people, this is for everyone, this is for you.”