Frenchaire Gardner

By Terry L. Watson

Photos Provided by Frenchaire Gardner

Dallas, TX resident Frenchaire Gardner is a product of the communities of which raised her. She describes herself as someone who loves all things that are artsy and creative and uses her imagination to share joy and peace. She’s a dancer, teacher, author, entrepreneur, and more. Yet, Frenchaire is genuinely a lover of people and desires to positively impact whomever she encounters.

Frenchaire is the daughter of Virgie and John Gardner. She says her mother raised her as a single parent in South and East Dallas. As a parent herself, she often dotes on her children Joseph Jr., Frenchaire-Two, Sarai, and Melchizedek Malcolm X. “My mama nurtured my artistic and creative energy by enrolling me in dance classes. As a teen, I danced with Erykah Badu, aka Erica Wright, and we performed throughout the Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex,” she says. Additionally, she participated in a dynamic dance performance in St. Louis that featured prominent professional dancers and has acted in the play, “We Scream In Silence” and performed in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago.

Frenchaire graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology in 2002. In 2011, she moved from Dallas to St. Louis, MO, leaving all of her family and found her niche in the insurance and public relations industries. She is licensed in the states of Texas, Missouri, and Ohio for Insurance and she focuses on helping families and businesses protect what’s most important to them.

In the years that followed, Frenchaire worked in various capacities, including public relations for a publishing company, and even acquired a multi-family building and dabbled with property management. The property management experience she shared was challenging. “Hiring productive, trustworthy help to maintain the building was difficult. Many hired people did not finish the job or did a shoddy job. It was tough to manage the tenants while collecting rent on time, and I have too much heart to evict people,” she says. Still encouraged, she decided to move from St. Louis to China and teach English in 2019. Her commitment was for a year, but due to her needing to care for her mother back home, she couldn’t stay.

Today, Frenchaire is the owner and founder of Be And Us LLC. Her company offers original prints, including toddler t-shirts, baby bodysuits, t-shirts, hoodies, duvets, shower curtains, and blankets. She also offers rugs, throw pillows, bath mats, notebooks, stickers, greeting cards, face masks, neck gaiters, phone cases, mugs, and tote bags. Each product is designed with one of four of her original acrylic abstract paintings. Additionally, Frenchaire teams up with other Black businesses to sell products like hoodies, art, and books.

Frenchaire founded Be And Us LLC in St. Louis in 2017. She decided to start a brand after speaking with a good friend regarding t-shirt brands. She told him that her t-shirt brand would be “Be” and he said that his brand would be “Us.” She combined both words to create “Be And Us LLC” when she started her brand. She says, “If you just be your best self, you can fulfill your purposes. Together we can help each other complete each other’s goals because teamwork truly makes the dream work.”

In 2019, she started a podcast called A News You Can Use Podcast that she hosts, which is now a global podcast streaming in all major podcasting platforms. On the podcast, Frenchaire interviews other BIPOC business owners and allows them to share their successes and failures.

Frenchaire has several self-published books that are available in both paperback and e-book format. This collection includes a children’s book titled Mommy & Daddy Do You Still Love Me Anymore? There is also an Amazon Best-Seller titled Finding Joy in the Journey, a 90 day devotional. Volume 2 is an anthology of 90 authors writing on the topic spearheaded by Vernessa Blackwell. The Single Struggle Continues is part of the Confinement Series produced by Angie Bee. Several authors talk about their experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic in this audiobook.

Frenchaire says she truly loves what she does, mainly because it allows her to learn about the interests of diverse people. She also enjoys connecting people with others based on their interests. She is mostly inspired by her children and says, “It is her greatest desire that my four children and I reunite once they are liberated from the adoption system. When that time comes, we will travel the world together; laughing, loving and getting to know each other. We will visit Africa first as I promised them years ago.”

Her advice to those thinking about jumping into the world of entrepreneurship is to research the industry you’re seeking to join. “Confer with and seek mentorship from folks doing the same thing and test the market to see how well your product or service is received. It’s important to create a business plan, obtain a business bank account and an EIN number from the IRS. You must also build relationships with bankers. Also, set up your business structure and get proper licenses, including trademarks. You must obtain business insurance and network, collaborate, and partner with other businesses. Create a standard of operation and hire a team of people you can trust. Also, connect with the SBA and other organizations that provide business resources and networking,” she says.

In the future, Frenchaire plans to continue to grow her brand and business by developing workshops and participating in speaking engagements. She also plans to market and promote herself on various platforms and write more books and journals. For the most part, Frenchaire doesn’t have any plans to slow down. h

“If you just be your best self, you can fulfill your purposes. Together we can help each other complete each other’s goals because teamwork truly makes the dream work.”