Monique Hammonds and Maceo Crowder named their company B&E after building an empire.

After constantly buying natural soaps online and waiting for them to arrive, Monique Hammonds decided to try her hand at the process in early September 2025.

Today, just under a year later, she and her husband, Maceo Crowder, run their own small business, B&E Botanicals. Its namesake stands for “building an empire,” and as reminders to “breathe” and “exhale.”

In addition to natural soaps, the couple create body butters and oils, candles, hair serums and beard butters, the intended usages shaped by family experiences.

Her 22-year-old son has dreads, so she developed an aloe hair mist for him to retain moisture without oiling constantly. Hammond’s hand-crafted beard butters and oils were developed for people like her husband. Their products boast natural ingredients designed to help dry skin, acne and eczema without clogging or abrasive chemicals, such as oats, goat milk, shea butter and batana oil.

From block parties in Stoughton to a North Shore appearance at Salem Willows park and conventions in Boston, B&E Botanicals is hitting the vendor circuit strong and building word-of-mouth with the community.

The couple cruised through the trial and error of product development with encouragement.

“I’d just tell her we can melt it back down and figure it out. We went out just sightseeing at different vendor places to pick up [habits]: how people present themselves, as far as their business, how it looks, how they speak and things like that. Just out there picking brains, see how things go,” Crowder said. “The more knowledge we know, the less mistakes we will make.”

Hammond appreciates her husband’s more outgoing nature when it comes to advertising their business everywhere, like at his basketball tournaments.

“He’s a walker and advertisement person. … It took off with him just going up to people, whether it’s a parking lot, helping an old lady to her car; wherever he is, and he has products…the community already knows him, but also they’re very supportive,” she said.

A friend of Crowder’s even approached him in the gym to share thanks for their products after his barber complimented his hair growth.

“He said, ‘Maceo, yo man, I just want to let you know that your product works. It ain’t no fluky, man. That works. It really works. I just want to thank you. Now, I need some more.’”

The mother of one of Hammond’s friends shared a similar testimonial, which encouraged her to take on this business fully.

“Her mom has dementia, and so she was kind of scared to give her mom the soaps because she felt like her mom wasn’t going to clean correctly or be able to do what she needs to do with the soaps due to her mental health, but some of the bumps [on her arms] actually cleared up. She remembered to call her daughter and be like, ‘Can you ask your friend for some more soap?’” Crowder said, recalling that she almost cried when hearing the story.

For entrepreneurs of color who may want to start a business, her husband noted that self-determination and consistency is key.

“Trust in what you’re working on. Trust yourself. Take that leap of faith, and keep it going. There’s always trials and errors,” Crowder said.

His father instilled in him to never change his goals; rather, change the plan to reach them. The advice makes it possible to never lose focus on the bigger picture and stay solutions-oriented when working out the difficulties of growing a small business.

“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan … and have God first,” he said.

Locals can find B&E Botanicals Aug. 1 at Tabernacle Church in Dorchester; Aug. 2 at Jamaica Plain’s Open Streets on Centre Street; or on Sept. 26 at the Roslindale Dumpling Festival at Adams Park and Birch Street Plaza.