Life & Work with Zylah King of Greenville NC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zylah King

Hi Zylah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi! My name is Zylah King and I am that owner of Queens Destiny! As a little girl, I always had a love for making body products. I loved making sugar scrubs with my mom’s sugar and coconut oil, and I always begged for the soap bar kits at the craft store! As I got older and began thinking about what I wanted my career to be, I was sure that psychology would be the perfect choice, as I had found a new love and passion for it!
After graduating highschool, and building my relationship with God, I decided to attend community college to study psychology and save money to eventually transfer to a four year college. I went to Pitt Community College with a scholarship I earned through the VISIONS program, and began my college journey! I started off pretty strong, with a few rough patches here and there, but all was well. As I kept pushing through school, I kept growing in God, and it helped me to grow as a person. School was feeling kind of good after all. That is until I reached the halfway point in my college journey.
My passion for psychology suddenly began to dwindle, and I couldn’t understand why. I still found the subject very interesting, and I absolutely loved learning about it, but it seemed as if the willingness to pursue psychology as a career has disappeared completely. I had this feeling, deep down that psychology wasn’t my entire purpose. That if I went on to major in psychology at a four year college, my time would be waisted and my purpose would go unfulfilled. I sat with this feeling for quite some time, unsure of which direction to go. Until one day, I brought this issue to God. Asked Him what to do so I didn’t mess it up.
He brought me back; back to an old but familiar part of my life. I came across this YouTuber who makes soap for a living. But not the melt and pour soap that I used to make as a kid, the real deal, from scratch type of soap making. At the time, I didn’t even know you could make soap like this; this was a brand new discovery for me! The idea of making soap from scratch was absolutely thrilling to me! I would think about it all day and all night, eager to buy all the ingredients and go for it. It wouldn’t leave my mind. Finally one day, after saying to my mom, “Mom, I really wanna try to make cold processed soap” for the 100th time, she said back to me, “Well then do it!”. Those four words were just what I needed to hear!
I decided to buy all the ingredients and equipment to make a simple, beginner cold processed soap recipe! I feel in love instantly! Soap making was now my favorite hobby, and would soon be more than that!
One day I sat down and began to think, and I realized just how much peace and joy I got from making soap. I talked to God about it, and He connected the dots for me. “You feel this way because this IS your purpose. This is what I created you to do and this is why pursuing this thing brings you such joy” God said. “OOHHHHH, THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!” I said as I began to see the path that was paved for me become clearer and clearer.
Now, I can’t lie… at first I did NOT want to sell my soaps. I was stuck in the mindset that this was just something I was supposed to be doing, but building a business wasn’t really part of the picture. Still, I began to perfect my craft, gaining knowledge on the science behind soap making, skin behavior, and venturing into the making of other products. On the flip side, I decided to treat learning psychology as a hobby rather that an obligation.
This continued for about a semester or so, until one day, something just clicked. God shifted my perspective once again. “Now, I know you said you didn’t want to sell your products” God said, “But, what if I told you that That was the plan?” Me: 🧍🏾‍♀️. Now mind you, I already had a feeling in my spirit that this was how things were going to go, but I still wasn’t ready to accept this fact; at least not yet. “Hear me out,” God said, “the reason why you feel as if you shouldn’t sell your products is because 1: The enemy doesn’t want you to because he knows that if you do, you’re fulfilling my will, which he can’t stand; so obviously, he’s trying to get you off your path. But more importantly, 2: I’m allowing you to feel this way so that you can expand your knowledge without the pressure of starting your business, so you can perfect your recipes to your liking, and to give Me time to prepare you for your next step, which is actually starting your business. I’m using this time to upgrade you so that you will be best prepared for what’s next, and once you start, it’s only up from there!”. When God told me this, it’s almost as if He clothed me in armor.
From that point on, I was finally ready to start my business. I decided to dedicate a majority of my free time into starting my business, and I began to take whatever classes I wanted since I was now sure that psychology wasn’t where my destiny was. I took business classes to grow my knowledge in business, and a few art classes to bring out my creative side once again!
While I was in school, one of my teachers mentioned a competition that was taking place at Pitt. The first ever PITTch Competition; a competition where students can pitch their business ideas for a chance to win funding. I knew immediately that I needed to be a part of this competition, and God definitely gave me the thumbs up on it!
I went on to win second runner-up in the competition, and won $500 worth of funding for my business! But this wasn’t the best part of the competition. As a requirement, we had to meet with a member of the Small Business center at Pitt community college at least once during the competition. I ended up being the only member of the competition that visited the Small Business center more than once during the competition, and I am so glad I did.
I was able to get so much started with my business! I even set up my LLC and did so many other important things! When getting my LLC set up, I ran into a dilemma.
The original name I wanted my business to be was taken in the state of NC and I could no longer use it. Although I was disappointed, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace about it. I knew God would give me the perfect name for my business. One night before I went to bed, I talked to God about it. “Lord,” I said, “I have no idea what to name my business now. I thought Queens Palace was definitely the one. I mean, I don’t mind changing it but I don’t know what to change it to. I want to keep Queen in it but I just can’t think of anyt-” “Queens Destiny” God said, abruptly cutting me off. “Huh? Queens Destiny?” “Yes, Queens Destiny. That is the name you will use. That name isn’t taken and it has Queen is it.” “Queens Destiny, eh?” I say to myself. “I- I…. LOVE IT! Bet, if you say it isn’t taken, that’s what it’ll be!”.
I woke up the next morning and the first thing I did was grab my laptop and go to the NC Secretary of State website to see if Queens Destiny was available. And sure enough, it was available! From that point on I began building my business up, attending vendor events, creating my website, and now featuring my products in local boutiques and salons! It’s been quite the journey, but it’s just getting started!
I’ve found strength within myself that I didn’t know I had, and I found faith in God when I needed it most. I let Him lead me this far, so why stop now! Life’s too short to keep your purpose deep down. Share it with the world because someone needs to hear your story! Find yourself and take care of yourself, and never let the dark things in life dictate your future. Let your light shine brighter than every dark thing in your life, and let it shine on the ones who can’t find the strength to do it themselves. We’re all on this earth together for a reason, so let’s share our stories and find ourselves together!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life isn’t easy, so we’re all going to have some rough times. I definitely had rough times while trying to start my business. From personal issues to recipe issues to technical issues; they always pop up eventually. But no matter what struggles I was going through, I never gave up. Even if it felt like my grip was loosening I’d never let go. I’d always find strength within myself and in God. I never lost faith, I never stopped fighting, and that’s what keeps me standing!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a professional soap maker! I specialize in making Cold Processed Soap Bars, but I also make body creams, body butters, lip gloss, and wax melts! All of my products are handmade and carefully crafted with love! I love making fun, colorful soap designs with unique fragrances. I like for each of my soaps to have a “theme”, so matching the fragrance with the design and the name is very important! In the future I would love to make body lotion, body scrubs, perfume oils, and candles!

What are your plans for the future?
My end goal is to own my own brick and mortar store where I can sell my products in person and online! I hope to have a warehouse, multiple locations, and maybe even a YouTube channel! But for now, I plan on getting my business out into the world so it can grow and flourish into what it was meant to be!

Pricing:

• Soap Bars- $9
• Body Cream (8oz)- $10
• Body Butter (8oz)- $12
• Lip Gloss- $2
• Wax Melts- $4.50

Contact Info:

• Website: https://queensdestiny-nc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queensdestiny.nc?igsh=YmpjM25iOTY4eDY=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A4TQnZAXa/