By: Samantha Rojewski
“I was gasping for breath. So the third time I laid back down, I heard a voice very distinctly say, ‘if you don’t get up from here, you’re going to die.’ And I’m a faith-based person, and now I know that it was God.” – Diedra Williams, CEO & Founder of The Agape Experience
On January 5, 2020, Diedra Williams was put on life support for exploratory surgery after she was experiencing shallow breathing. She assumed it was the COVID-19 virus that began spreading in the U.S. at this time, but her test came back negative. As she endured more tests, uncertain of what was wrong or how serious her condition was, Williams was horrified.
“My life had just changed so drastically…after that, I really started thinking about self-care.” Williams reflected on her busy schedule, which included teaching at Metro Community College, working at the Omaha Housing Authority as a recertification manager, and pursuing her Graduate degree in organizational leadership and executive coaching.
Through her healing process, Williams researched natural ways to care for herself. She discovered the holistic healing effects of essential oils and shea butter. As she gained more knowledge, she made her own shea butter infused with oils to use for her dry skin and to help relieve her daughter’s eczema. She began receiving comments from her church community about her glowy skin while her daughter’s eczema flare-ups were subdued. She took an online business course where peers convinced her to create her own business. This was the genesis of The Agape Experience.
“I always say I turned my pain into purpose,” Williams said.
One of her biggest challenges in developing her business was researching natural ingredients to use in her products. This included consulting dermatologists and estheticians on non-irritants for sensitive skin and pricing. A fellow business owner from an online entrepreneurial group helped Williams form her LLC and navigate startup logistics. Another challenge was her amount of demand!
“When I first put my business online, I started getting so many orders that I shut it down because I couldn’t deal with the volume. I just didn’t have the manpower because I truly am the only one who makes it. And it’s a process, you know? It can take hours,” she said.
Now, still a one-woman band, Williams has the experience to create her soaps and lotions from memory at a faster and more efficient pace. As she works on relaunching her website and business “bigger and better” in the next couple of years, self-care remains the heart of The Agape Experience, not just skin care.
“I don’t think people realize that your body care and what you put on your skin gets into the layers of your skin, and it can seep into your bloodstream. So, holistic ingredients are super important…I think that’s what separates me, is that I care about the person and the woman. And every woman should feel beautiful,” she said.
Williams has been a GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center client since 2023, and she’s a recipient of the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act (NSBAA) grant. Her long-term goals include establishing The Agape Experience stores across the country and traveling to schools to teach holistic self-care practices.
