Nishan Gugsa shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Nishan, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
My first 90 minutes of the day involve prayer, meditation, journaling, and movement. I start with meditation and then I pray. These two I do not play about, my day will not start without them. I follow up with journaling, which can involve a number of things from setting my intentions for the day, a brain dump, affirmations, or as of late note taking from the chapters I read in the bible. Next is movement, which is usually a combination of weight training, yoga/mat pilates and walking on my treadmill.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Nishan Gugsa, founder and CEO of Good + Plenty Naturals and Stratosphere Solutions. Good + Plenty Naturals is a personal care brand built on the belief that wellness should feel and be good for you. We create safe, effective products made with natural ingredients that honor both the body and the environment. Rooted in ritual, community, and transparency, we are more than a brand. We are a movement to make clean beauty accessible, affirming, and stylish, especially for women who have often been overlooked in the wellness space.
What sets us apart is our focus on women of color, who are too often sold products with hormone-disrupting ingredients linked to premenopausal breast cancer, early onset of puberty, and preterm birth to name a few. Beyond the formulas, Good + Plenty is about redefining beauty and self-care as intentional practices that builds confidence and empowers women to embrace softness, strength, and balance. From our bestselling deodorants to our upcoming body oil launch, each product is both functional and luxurious, designed to deliver results while centering self-love.
My second company, Stratosphere Solutions, provides technology, and consulting services through our subsidiary Monarch Consulting. We support sectors including real estate, non-profits, and events, with a primary focus on behavioral healthcare. Our services range from creating operating procedures and budgets to hiring, onboarding, accreditation, licensure, and compliance. We are now developing technology to automate workflows and reduce compliance risks.
With more than 20 years of experience in behavioral healthcare, 15 years as a project manager, and 10 years in operations leadership, I bring a unique perspective. Having previously owned a healthcare practice, I understand both the executive and clinical sides of operations. This depth allows me to train my team to identify bottlenecks and transform businesses from the ground level into organizations that thrive.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful is rooted in understanding my strengths and knowing how to use them. As a child, I picked up on concepts quickly, had a strong memory, and was naturally organized, assertive, and driven. That combination gave me a quiet confidence. When my mom introduced me to Mrs. Evelyn Beasley, the principal of Roland Park Elementary/Middle, she saw those qualities in me and decided I was ready to skip a grade. That moment affirmed what I already felt—that my abilities could open doors.
At the same time, I always had an entrepreneurial spark. In the fourth grade I started my first business selling jewelry I made, and from then on I continued building other ventures throughout my childhood. Looking back, the power I felt didn’t just come from excelling academically or being enterprising, it came from the confidence my mother instilled in me. She consistently spoke life into everything I did, and that foundation made me believe I could turn my ideas and drive into something real.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
What I have learned from suffering is that’s where you truly encounter God. Success can create the illusion that everything you have is by your own effort, but suffering strips away ego and self-reliance. In the valley, when nothing seems to be going right and the light feels far away, you come face to face with the truth of who your real source is.
Suffering taught me that you cannot know joy without pain and you cannot fully appreciate light without experiencing darkness. It gave birth to faith, and that faith changed how I see every challenge. I began to understand that obstacles are not just roadblocks but pathways to growth, celebration, and testimony. Through suffering, I learned to seek God first, to build a deeper relationship with Him, and to shift my focus away from the size of the battle and onto the greatness of God.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is real, but it is not the whole me. I believe we are all multifaceted, and as an introvert, I do not share every part of myself publicly. I don’t think everyone should have access to the fullness of who you are. That is reserved for the people I am closest to and trust the most. I adapt to my environment. If I feel like I am in a safe space, I will open up more and let more of my personality shine. If I do not, I remain more reserved and observant. What never changes are the foundational parts of me. My morals and ethics are carried into every space I occupy, no matter what.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
If I laid down my name, role, and possessions, what would remain is my love, my compassion, my resilience, my faith, and my humor. I love deeply, and that love, coupled with compassion, shapes how I show up in life, especially for my loved ones. Whether in moments of joy or struggle, I am present on the front line, ready to celebrate, to navigate challenges, and to help solve whatever life brings. My compassion has shown up in service, from feeding the homeless to mentoring inner-city girls to extending a hand to strangers who had no one else to lean on.
My resilience would remain as well. It has carried me through every obstacle I have faced. I may b!tch and complain or even cry, but I will NOT give up! That strength is fueled by my faith, because I know God would never plant a seed in me that was not meant to bloom. And through it all, my humor would remain. No matter what life throws my way, I will always find a reason to laugh, I’m always gonna crack a joke, sometimes at my own expense.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodplusplenty.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodplusplenty/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishan-gugsa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodplusplenty/
Image Credits
Tomtu Media
