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On this episode of Mompreneurs, host Nancy Redd has the CEO and founding father of Virgin Hair Depot, Ariaka Stovall, on to debate how she turned an issue she confronted right into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.
After being fired from a day job she despised and feeling uncertain how she’d pay for her life (or her weave), Stovall determined she’d give herself 30 days to get her thought for a luxurious extensions model that will nonetheless be extra reasonably priced than the present choices off the bottom. She began by shopping for hair bundles low, superbly repackaging them, and promoting them excessive on Craigslist.
“I had set a aim. I stated, on daily basis, if I hit this quantity of gross sales, I received’t search for a job,” Stovall dished to Redd.
Earlier than she knew it, the trailblazer had extra orders than her front room might deal with, and he or she opened a kiosk within the mall. With individuals lining up every morning earlier than the mall even opened to snag a few of Stovall’s hair extensions, the businesswoman realized it was time to improve to an precise retailer.
“From there, it’s simply been wheels up…in the present day we’re one of many prime three hair firms in Atlanta,” gushes the CEO. She additionally notes that she at all times feared the trail of an entrepreneur could be troublesome and painful, however as soon as she set her thoughts to it, it was all fairly simple, which is how she knew she was meant for this path. “Take a look at God,” she says.
Stovall’s firm turned so profitable that she acquired a million-dollar provide for it early on, however she denied it, understanding it wasn’t time to step again but. She would take a bumpy trip to attempt to promote the corporate once more later. A deal fell by way of simply months away from finalizing. “God is telling me it’s not time to close the doorways. I’m nonetheless speculated to be in it,” expresses the mompreneur.
The Virgin Hair Depot’s journey is completely different from many different friends Redd has on Mompreneurs in that her entry into motherhood truly got here after the peak of her profession — fairly than earlier than or throughout it. Stovall and her associate had been attempting to get pregnant for a very long time with out success. Simply when she was toying with the concept of scaling her enterprise and opening extra franchises, destiny had one thing else in thoughts within the type of a constructive being pregnant take a look at.
The invention that she was going to be a mom made Stovall determine to decelerate and ease off the franchises. “I outlined what ‘sufficient’ was for me. To be joyful, to do the issues I need to do. To journey the best way I need to journey.”
