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Speaker 1: Flash, what's up? It's Way Up with Angela Yee and

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Speaker 1: I mean way up.

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Speaker 2: And I'm excited for this because this is somebody who

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Speaker 2: is for real, way up Shana Rain for this here.

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Speaker 2: She is the CEO of basket Lather. These are the products.

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Speaker 2: I actually took these products with me when I went

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Speaker 2: on vacation with my friends and we were in Saint Martin,

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Speaker 2: and so everybody had to borrow like a you know,

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Speaker 2: shampoo and conditioner from me because nobody else brought theirs,

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Speaker 2: but you know, I had to and they loved it.

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Speaker 2: I was like, y'all can't be using all my products up,

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Speaker 2: But welcome.

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Speaker 1: To the show.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.

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Speaker 2: And I also, before we even get started, want to

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Speaker 2: thank you for your partnership with Way Up with Angela Yee.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

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Speaker 2: You know, I appreciate that Angela y Day is coming

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Speaker 2: up and we were just talking behind the scenes on

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Speaker 2: what basket Lather will be doing at Angela Ye Day.

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Speaker 3: Yes, we're super excited. Am I allowed to share?

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Speaker 1: Yes? Please?

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, let's break the news.

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Speaker 4: I mean, so, Angela You Day is all about the community,

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Speaker 4: and basket Latter is also all about the community. So

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Speaker 4: we will be on site giving away haircare products and

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Speaker 4: book bags, getting the kids ready for back to school.

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Speaker 1: Okay and listen, and what's in the in the book bags.

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Speaker 4: And the book bags will have the edge control that

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Speaker 4: the kids need that way they go to school and

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Speaker 4: come home look in the same way. We'll have conditioner

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Speaker 4: deep conditioner, and we have book bags for boys, for girls,

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Speaker 4: different colors. So we're excited every year. We're always looking

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Speaker 4: for great ways to partner and do back to school initiatives.

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Speaker 3: We're also happy that you're gonna have.

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Speaker 4: Braiders and barbers involved, so we're definitely looking forward to

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Speaker 4: being being able to have as many kids as possible

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Speaker 4: get their hair back to school ready.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, listen, I want to say this too. Last year

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Speaker 2: was a lot of adults as well. Let's let the

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Speaker 2: kids go first. Okay, Okay, but let's talk about your

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Speaker 2: history and your background and how you even got to

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Speaker 2: where you are, because I think people need to also

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Speaker 2: understand that this whole company basket lather was something that

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Speaker 2: happened organically for you.

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Speaker 1: So just talk about a.

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Speaker 2: Little bit about what shape, what Young Shana when through

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Speaker 2: to even lead you to come up with this product.

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Speaker 2: Because a lot of times there's home remedies that we

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Speaker 2: have coming up, and that is actually something that later

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Speaker 2: in life feels like this could be a business.

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Speaker 4: Yes, so our original product, our scalp stimulator oil, far

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Speaker 4: precedes the company actually becoming a company. So a few

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Speaker 4: years ago, my younger sister Leo lost all of her hair.

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Speaker 4: She had a really bad ring worm that spread all

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Speaker 4: across her scalp and initially it looked just like dandriffs,

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Speaker 4: so that's what she was diagnosed with. And by the

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Speaker 4: time she got a proper diagnosis, she lost so much

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Speaker 4: hair that she had a big crop circle.

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Speaker 3: She only had hair around the circumference of her hair dang. Yep.

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Speaker 4: And then my mom finally found a black dermatologist who

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Speaker 4: was able to properly diagnose her, and the anti funcals

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Speaker 4: that she took cleared off the rest of their hair

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Speaker 4: lost so our scush yep.

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Speaker 3: It was shiny.

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Speaker 1: That's devastating.

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Speaker 3: Yep.

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Speaker 4: It was shiny and smooth at baby skin. And my

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Speaker 4: mom was really desperate to regrow her hair. She was

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Speaker 4: devastated and she took her to all different types of

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Speaker 4: specialists and they did scalp analysis and they said, we

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Speaker 4: don't know that her hair is ever going to grow

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Speaker 4: back right, Like the follicles could be scartle, and she

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Speaker 4: was too young to use anything pharmaceutical. So my mom

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Speaker 4: did research about natural afficacious ingredients for hair growth, whipped

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Speaker 4: up a concoction in the kitchen which is our scalp

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Speaker 4: stimulator oil, and then her hair started.

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Speaker 3: To grow back.

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Speaker 4: That's amazing, but it was growing fine and thin. So

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Speaker 4: she did more research, like, okay, what can I use

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Speaker 4: to thicken her hair? And she came across she making

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Speaker 4: black castor oil, and so she created our hair alixir

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Speaker 4: and that helped her hair to grow in faster and thicker.

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Speaker 4: Now her hair is all the way down to her

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Speaker 4: bottom and she has four seat hair.

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Speaker 1: I know that's right.

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Speaker 2: And you know, as much as we could feel like,

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Speaker 2: oh is this something that's just the idea of like

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Speaker 2: your hair. I remember I had a patch of hair

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Speaker 2: that was missing because somebody did my butN so tight

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Speaker 2: on the top of my head and it really like

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Speaker 2: ripped it out and then it grows back slow.

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Speaker 1: It's like a little.

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Speaker 2: Patch like right here that's super short. But it's things

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Speaker 2: like that our edges. We know how hard that is

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Speaker 2: when it's like look getting braided. Sometimes not these though,

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Speaker 2: shout out to Shot and my girl Destiny. But you

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Speaker 2: know there's times that things we do to our hair

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Speaker 2: and really affect that. And sometimes it could be one

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Speaker 2: style or something like you said with ringworm that didn't

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Speaker 2: get diagnosed and that she took the medication and it

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Speaker 2: really affected her hair. That can just cause like damage

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Speaker 2: that could potentially be permanent. But to also know that

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Speaker 2: there are holistic ways to approach growing your hair back

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Speaker 2: is important.

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Speaker 4: Yes, but that's not even the reason we started the company.

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Speaker 4: So now fast forward to the pandemic. I'm working as

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Speaker 4: a nurse practitioner. I acquired COVID.

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Speaker 2: Can I say thank you for that first and foremost,

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Speaker 2: because no matter what, we always got to give praise

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Speaker 2: to all of the essential workers and nurse practitioners.

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Speaker 1: And I want to talk about that before, but go ahead.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: So I was working as a nurse practitioner, I acquired COVID,

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Speaker 4: became so sick. I was twenty seven on the back

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Speaker 4: of an ambulance on a nai breather, asking God to

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Speaker 4: let me live to raise my children. I recovered and

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Speaker 4: then a few weeks later my hair started to shed

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Speaker 4: and break It was horrible, and I was devastated about

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Speaker 4: my hair. And I'm like, okay, Well, for someone that

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Speaker 4: was literally just begging to live a few weeks ago

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Speaker 4: to be devastated over their hair, you would think that

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Speaker 4: would be the least of my concerns. But it was

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Speaker 4: really embarrassing. And I was like, mah, can you make

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Speaker 4: me some oils? Like, I don't know what else to do.

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Speaker 4: I tried emergency treatments. I said, do I need protein,

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Speaker 4: do I need moisture? Like what can I do? And

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Speaker 4: nothing was helping. So my mom made me the oils

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Speaker 4: and I started using them, and my hair reverted back

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Speaker 4: to normal. Texture, change back to normal, my hair started growing,

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Speaker 4: the breakage stop and I said, we have to share

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Speaker 4: these products with the world, and that's what we did.

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Speaker 2: Can we talk about your time though during COVID working

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Speaker 2: as a nurse practitioner. What were some of the things

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Speaker 2: that you experienced and so and then you really literally

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Speaker 2: put your life on the line.

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Speaker 3: It was like living in the twilight zone.

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Speaker 4: Like honestly, even thinking back to it, it doesn't feel

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Speaker 4: like a real lived experience. I went from working in

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Speaker 4: the office my specialty was GI and liver diseases too,

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Speaker 4: going into the hospital and seeing yes, older adults, you know,

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Speaker 4: critically ill, but even younger people whose lives were just

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Speaker 4: turned upside down overnight couldn't interact with their families. Imagine

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Speaker 4: being sick in the hospital and your closest relatives can't

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Speaker 4: even come touch you or see you, you know, on

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Speaker 4: your life days. Literally it was I can't describe it

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Speaker 4: as anything other than the toilight zone.

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Speaker 1: Right. I'm sure some of those things stick with you

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Speaker 1: like to this day.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 2: We just always got to give it up for that

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Speaker 2: because that's such a difficult.

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Speaker 1: Time to have been through.

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Speaker 2: And what you said and what I said earlier is

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Speaker 2: so too that you feel like, is this just vain

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Speaker 2: that I care so much about my hair? But society

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Speaker 2: has so much to say and even for ourselves, like

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Speaker 2: the value on making sure we take care of our

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Speaker 2: hair and keep it healthy. It's such a you know,

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Speaker 2: it's such a big deal.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely so your hair is literally the crown that you

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Speaker 3: never take.

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Speaker 1: So my grandfather always used to say, I don't.

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Speaker 3: Care what you're wearing. If your hair is done, you

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Speaker 3: look good. You don't even need makeup, just have your

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Speaker 3: hair done, Okay.

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Speaker 2: So now as a nurse practitioner. But now you have

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Speaker 2: this product, right because after COVID you sell how much

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Speaker 2: it helped you, What was the next step that you took.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, so this was summer twenty twenty that I was

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Speaker 4: able to regrow my hair using the product. So I

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Speaker 4: just started sharing my testimonies, my before and afters and

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Speaker 4: my sisters on my personal social media.

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Speaker 3: And everyone's like, what are you using? What are you using?

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Speaker 3: I was like, oh, just my mom's making and they're like,

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Speaker 3: can I buy some?

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Speaker 4: And I got bottles from Amazon and we were filling

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Speaker 4: the bottles and they didn't even have labels.

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Speaker 3: People even asked me what was in it. They didn't care.

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Speaker 3: They just wanted it.

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Speaker 4: People were like, don't tell I arrest. They're like cash

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Speaker 4: apping me. They were doing drop balls, pickups. I was like,

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Speaker 4: this almost feel is illegal. And then I said, you

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Speaker 4: know what, we need to make this a real legitimate business.

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Speaker 4: So come around October November of the year, I was like, Okay,

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Speaker 4: I'm sitting on the rug with my son and I

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Speaker 4: was like, we need to come up with a name.

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Speaker 4: I was like, I didn't want it to directly include

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Speaker 4: hair or anything relating cosmetics. I wanted it to be

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Speaker 4: kind of ambiguous. It's like, Okay, what exudes luxury for

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Speaker 4: the everyday black women that makes people will make people

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Speaker 4: feel good. So I was looking on up synonyms for

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Speaker 4: the word relaxation and I came up with the word

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Speaker 4: bask and then my son, who was fourteen at the time,

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Speaker 4: came up with He's like, what about in lather?

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Speaker 3: And then we're like yes, yeah, so we came up

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Speaker 3: with a basket ladder.

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Speaker 4: And then I remember after work one day, I was

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Speaker 4: going to the post office with a huge bag of

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Speaker 4: orders ready to ship, and the guy at.

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Speaker 3: The post I was like, oh, basket in law, this

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Speaker 3: is a really nice name.

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Speaker 4: And I was like, I go trademarket before the postman does.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so we trademarket trademarked it.

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Speaker 4: Within three months of starting the business, the one month

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Speaker 4: revenue from the business was replacing my one year salary

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Speaker 4: as a nurse practitioner. Yeah, and then within seven months

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Speaker 4: we became a seven figure business. And now we've grown significantly.

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Speaker 4: This year alone, we grew from grew to twenty two

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Speaker 4: employees and still hiring.

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Speaker 1: Yay, that's amazing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, just think about from tragedy something like this grew yep,

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Speaker 2: you know. And I want to ask you the process too,

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Speaker 2: because obviously as it goes from being like a at

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Speaker 2: home remedy that you can make yourself, but then it

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Speaker 2: just grew so fast it wasn't possible to do it

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Speaker 2: that way. And so how did things change when you realize, Okay,

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Speaker 2: now I got to ship out, like you know, I

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Speaker 2: got to get this mass produced, because that's something that

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Speaker 2: people consumers think about too, right, is it gonna be

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Speaker 2: different now?

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Speaker 1: Is the formula changing?

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Speaker 2: Like?

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Speaker 1: What are the things that you had to do?

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Speaker 2: Because then obviously you have to also make sure that

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Speaker 2: you know you can actually keep up with these orders.

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Speaker 2: It's one thing to have a bunch of orders, it's

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Speaker 2: another thing to be able to fulfill them exactly.

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Speaker 4: So for the first seven months, we operated the business

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Speaker 4: out of my kitchen and living room, so we used

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Speaker 4: to have I was always blessed to have friends and

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Speaker 4: family and they would all come over every week and

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Speaker 4: I paid everyone from day one. They would come over

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Speaker 4: on the week, we would fill oils all week and

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Speaker 4: my stall hat a full time job, and on week

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Speaker 4: and on week dons we would both ship all of

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Speaker 4: the orders and Monday morning, trucks would back up back

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Speaker 4: and back to my house, like back up the driveway

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Speaker 4: and pick up truckloads for my house. I know the

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Speaker 4: neighbors were like, what was going on? I guess out,

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Speaker 4: but its face a haircare exactly. And then as we grew,

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Speaker 4: I said, Okay, it's no longer sustainable for us to

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Speaker 4: continue to fulfill the product market and also fulfill the orders.

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Speaker 4: So we got a contract manufacturer and they have to

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Speaker 4: we own all of our formulas, so they have to

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Speaker 4: benchmark and match all of our products exactly as they're formulated,

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Speaker 4: and then they mass produce them.

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Speaker 1: Okay.

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Speaker 4: And then as the business continued to grow, I remember

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Speaker 4: one Labor Day, our Labor Day sale went so crazy.

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Speaker 3: You would think I would be happy, but no.

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Speaker 4: I literally sat in my conference from and cried because

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Speaker 4: we have piles and piles and piles and piles of

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Speaker 4: orders just from everywhere, like we just could not keep up.

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Speaker 4: And it was it was at that moment I said, Okay,

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Speaker 4: we need to find a fulfillment partner who can fulfill

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Speaker 4: and ship all of our orders. And they do that

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Speaker 4: within one business day. Where they were shipping, we went

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Speaker 4: from shipping two years ago ten thousand orders a month

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Speaker 4: to not over one hundred and fifty thousand or yah.

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Speaker 3: You can't do that alone exactly crazy family yep.

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Speaker 4: So they handle that for us because I know that's

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Speaker 4: a great product customer experiences making.

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Speaker 3: Everyone wants their things.

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Speaker 2: U Yes, they don't want to be like, it's two weeks,

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Speaker 2: where's my stuff? And that's also hard as a business

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Speaker 2: owner when you're trying to understand the balance of like,

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Speaker 2: we want to get these orders in, but we also

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Speaker 2: want to make sure that we have enough time time

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Speaker 2: to actually fulfill and have enough Also, I think during

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Speaker 2: the pandemic some things were hard to get, like supplies

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Speaker 2: also exactly.

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Speaker 4: So we started the tail end of the pandemic, so

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Speaker 4: December twenty twenty, so that's when supply chain and things

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Speaker 4: were easying up. But even so, it wasn't until twenty

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Speaker 4: twenty three that I actually got a fulfillment partner to

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Speaker 4: fulfill and ship. They're called third party logistics centers, and

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Speaker 4: there they have half a million square feet where our

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Speaker 4: products are shipped from and they fulfill and ship and

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Speaker 4: they handle the fulfillment portion of us.

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Speaker 3: That way we could focus on other parts of the business.

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Speaker 2: Speaking of other parts of the business, you said you

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Speaker 2: have friends and family over helping you.

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Speaker 1: You paid them.

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Speaker 2: What is that like, Because some people would say family

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Speaker 2: and business and friends in business don't always mix.

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Speaker 4: So I would say, I think that so they always

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Speaker 4: showed up, right. I think it's no different right than

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Speaker 4: at the end of the day they were being paid.

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Speaker 3: Right, they showed up.

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Speaker 4: I think the difference is is that we have friends

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Speaker 4: and family that are not doing a good job. It's

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Speaker 4: easier when it's an employee that you don't have any

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Speaker 4: outside ties to right to kind of go your ways.

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Speaker 4: But now when it's your friend's family, a loved one,

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Speaker 4: that's where the issues arise. I've never particularly had an

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Speaker 4: issue with a friend or family member trying to get

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Speaker 4: paid and just not do anything because of our relationship.

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Speaker 4: But you have to hold everyone to the same standard,

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Speaker 4: and that's where the issue lies.

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Speaker 2: Oh so you did have like some growing pains because

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Speaker 2: that is a high balance.

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Speaker 1: It's one thing.

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Speaker 2: Where you're like, I want to put my people in position,

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Speaker 2: we're going to do this together, and we have these

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Speaker 2: great lofty ideas of how it's gonna happen.

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Speaker 1: But a lot of times it doesn't happen that way.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I definitely have my breaking point with the friends

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Speaker 4: and family and I said, no, I have to hire

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Speaker 4: real employees. I still remember the Sunday I saw that

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Speaker 4: on my computer and I went on the job posting

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Speaker 4: sites and I posted, we need warehouse associates, we need

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Speaker 4: fulfillment associates, because I just say, you know, I have

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Speaker 4: to if I want to continue to grow this business,

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Speaker 4: I have to do things the formal way, right because

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Speaker 4: we're friends and family too. They have their own jobs

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Speaker 4: and I'm having to work around their schedules and we

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Speaker 4: can only fulfill on the week. So I remember that

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Speaker 4: turning point where actually said okay, no, now I need actual,

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Speaker 4: real employees.

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Speaker 2: How are you able to maintain those relationships or where

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Speaker 2: are you after that? Because sometimes those are hard conversations.

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Speaker 4: I actually did lose my best friend yeah during this process,

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Speaker 4: because I remember it was one Sunday and she knew

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Speaker 4: I really relied on her, and she told me like

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Speaker 4: two hours before she knew everyone was coming over the packword.

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Speaker 3: Its like, oh, I'm not gonna be able to make

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Speaker 3: it today.

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Speaker 4: And I personally feel like it was done purposeful to

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Speaker 4: let me know very last minute. Know this ex happened,

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Speaker 4: why happened, whatever it was, and then I said, okay,

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Speaker 4: don't worry about it. But then she never followed back

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Speaker 4: up after that, and I had literally have to this

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Speaker 4: day have not spoken to her.

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Speaker 2: So she just called out and never spoke to you again. Yep,

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Speaker 2: that is wild that something like that would happen. And

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Speaker 2: that was your best friend.

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Speaker 3: She was in the delivery room with me when I

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Speaker 3: gave birth to my son.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry that happened. Let me tell you something about business.

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Speaker 2: It will really show you. You know, people two colors.

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Speaker 2: I wonder what that was about.

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Speaker 4: I wondered, But you know what men above knows, all right,

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Speaker 4: and that's only for him to know, not me.

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Speaker 2: What do you want to when you think about that.

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Speaker 2: I know you have your son, like you said, it

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Speaker 2: was fortund Do you have other children?

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Speaker 3: Yes, to have a seven year old and a five

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Speaker 3: month old.

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Speaker 2: Oh and in the midst of all this having a baby,

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Speaker 2: I had.

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Speaker 3: One day of maternity leave this year.

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Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.

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Speaker 3: Man.

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Speaker 2: So when you think about how you want this business

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Speaker 2: to grow, I also think about how we've seen things

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Speaker 2: like you know, with Carol's daughter, we saw Lisa Price.

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Speaker 2: People looked at it like, you know, she did give

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Speaker 2: up some control of the company, but now she has

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Speaker 2: it back, right. And when you think about getting to

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Speaker 2: the point where it's like, are you doing this forever?

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Speaker 2: It is, it's going to be handed down from generation

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Speaker 2: to generation. I've always been taught that you build a

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Speaker 2: company in case one day you want to sell it,

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Speaker 2: or like you would sell it, because that's how you

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Speaker 2: want to build it, regardless of what your plan is.

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Speaker 1: Do you have a bigger plan?

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Speaker 4: I do, So I would say that what really people

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Speaker 4: need to understand is that sometimes US founders don't sell

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Speaker 4: because they want to.

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Speaker 3: It's because they're forced when you get into a certain part.

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Speaker 4: So one of the reasons we strategically not going into

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Speaker 4: retail yet. Retailers have been after us right, and we

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Speaker 4: are very e commerce heavy, very profitable and successful online.

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Speaker 4: We purposefully have not gone into retail because when you

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Speaker 4: go into retail right, retailers will order a million dollars

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Speaker 4: worth of product.

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Speaker 3: You don't get your money for two to three months

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Speaker 3: if you're lucky.

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Speaker 1: And then if you don't sell through, they.

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Speaker 3: Will return it back to you.

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Speaker 4: And that's inventory and things that you could have sold

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Speaker 4: online and now you have inventory that's aging at their mercy.

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Speaker 4: They also have significant fees product placement fees to be

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Speaker 4: on the shelf, just to action their promotion fees.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 4: So for us, right, we're like, Okay, we spent our

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Speaker 4: first five years in business accumulating cash and being profitable

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Speaker 4: and understanding our business and our consumer and strengthening our

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Speaker 4: supply chain.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 4: For example, this year, we grew one thousand percent year

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Speaker 4: over year compared to last year, and we had stock issues.

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Speaker 4: We had this marketplace wanted product, and we have number

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Speaker 4: one products on TikTok and we have our own e

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Speaker 4: commerce site.

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Speaker 3: And then I didn't even ever.

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Speaker 4: Realize that wholesale beauty supply stores they want fifty thousand

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Speaker 4: units of this and they want that, and we.

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Speaker 3: Our supply chain got stretched in.

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Speaker 4: We all got stretched in, right, and we've had to

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Speaker 4: find now some of the biggest manufacturers that do taxtured

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Speaker 4: haircare in the US to be able.

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Speaker 3: To keep up with our demand.

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Speaker 4: If you are in retail and you tell them you

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Speaker 4: don't have product, and they're used to selling X amount

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Speaker 4: of product per week in their stores, they will charge

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Speaker 4: you full retail price for every product sale that they lost.

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Speaker 1: Oh, I've never heard of that.

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Speaker 4: So when you go into retail, it looks glamorous, it

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Speaker 4: looks great, but you need to be fully prepared. You

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Speaker 4: need to know what you're doing. You need to make

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Speaker 4: sure that you have cash. Otherwise what happens is right

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Speaker 4: stores can you can go into retail, go into all

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Speaker 4: these stores. It looks great, you need cash and things

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Speaker 4: to support that because what happens also now is that

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Speaker 4: you don't get your money back from them for months

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Speaker 4: and then you'll up in a place where you need

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Speaker 4: investors to sustain your business. And they got to sell

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Speaker 4: up this piece of business and take this loan and

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Speaker 4: this and basket allard that we have zero dollars in

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Speaker 4: debt and we have no investors.

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Speaker 2: What a nice That is such a relief to be

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Speaker 2: able to have that. And I want to say people

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Speaker 2: have to understand also because I've seen businesses actually go

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Speaker 2: bust because they got into retail and that was really

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Speaker 2: like the biggest mistake that they've made.

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Speaker 3: Exactly, it looks great, but I'm glad.

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Speaker 2: You got it downlight that thing, because I don't know

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Speaker 2: if a lot of people understand that.

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Speaker 4: They don't and it's because they're other founders, right, great

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Speaker 4: black owned businesses that got themselves into that situation because

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Speaker 4: they thought retail was the end all, be all, and

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Speaker 4: then they end up in really tight spots or they

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Speaker 4: had to sell out significant parts of their business, and

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Speaker 4: sometimes it's not that they wanted to, but they had

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Speaker 4: to sustain. So for example, at Carol's daughter, you see

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Speaker 4: she brought her company back right, right, So that's great

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Speaker 4: when it happens. It even happens outside of you know,

440
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Speaker 4: beauty and things like that. We've seen it with other founders, right.

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Speaker 4: It just something you have to tread likely And I'm

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Speaker 4: a person that I move when God tells me to move,

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Speaker 4: and I'm going to continue to be strategic and make

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Speaker 4: sure that I'm setting the company up for success and

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Speaker 4: my team.

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Speaker 1: You know, Wow, that's amazing.

447
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,280
Speaker 2: I appreciate you for sharing all of that because there's

448
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,639
Speaker 2: people listening that are thinking about how they want to

449
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,640
Speaker 2: structure their business. And that was a lot of great insight.

450
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,400
Speaker 2: Another thing that's been really great for you is TikTok. Yes,

451
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,480
Speaker 2: and you just mentioned that, so can you explain how

452
00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:27,879
Speaker 2: TikTok has been really vital for the growth of basket

453
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:28,960
Speaker 2: lad absolutely.

454
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,280
Speaker 4: So we love TikTok. That's my favorite social media platform.

455
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:34,919
Speaker 4: I feel that TikTok gives everyone a chance. We actually

456
00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:36,080
Speaker 4: just they flew us out.

457
00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:36,440
Speaker 3: This week.

458
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,120
Speaker 4: We were at the US Black Chambers with them representing

459
00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,960
Speaker 4: the company and we actually got to speak at the Capital.

460
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,280
Speaker 3: I let's say politicians name good. So when we were

461
00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:47,600
Speaker 3: speaking with Schumer's.

462
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,359
Speaker 4: Office of all that is done for our business and

463
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,240
Speaker 4: so we were early adopters of TikTok shop and TikTok

464
00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,159
Speaker 4: is a huge acquisition channel. We have video after video

465
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,679
Speaker 4: after video organically with no paid dollars behind it, go viral,

466
00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,360
Speaker 4: blew us up. We have three best sellers on TikTok.

467
00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,520
Speaker 4: Our edge control is the number one styling job in

468
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,160
Speaker 4: the country, now only on TikTok, but all platforms.

469
00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:10,200
Speaker 3: Because of TikTok.

470
00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,240
Speaker 4: We have the number one n hair grow throws sold

471
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,280
Speaker 4: on TikTok and the number one scalping hair bomb. And

472
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:17,879
Speaker 4: I just love TikTok because it's a place where the

473
00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,320
Speaker 4: everyday average person could roll out of bed make a video.

474
00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,359
Speaker 3: We have creators who've.

475
00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,679
Speaker 4: Been able to leave their jobs and they just promote

476
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,440
Speaker 4: products full time right and they get commissioned.

477
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:31,280
Speaker 3: I just love the platform. I love what it's doing

478
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:32,080
Speaker 3: for businesses.

479
00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,760
Speaker 4: For us, it's got us in front of audiences that

480
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,880
Speaker 4: no other platform would allow us to get in front

481
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,600
Speaker 4: of for free. Right everywhere else is heavily off of

482
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,560
Speaker 4: you got it, you pay to play. So we absolutely

483
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,640
Speaker 4: love TikTok. We have a great partnership and relationship with them,

484
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:48,679
Speaker 4: and we really do hope it's around to stay.

485
00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:50,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that now seeing

486
00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:52,600
Speaker 2: all the At first it looked.

487
00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:54,600
Speaker 1: Like remember TikTok went off for who had long?

488
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:55,919
Speaker 3: Was it gone hours?

489
00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,480
Speaker 1: Like a day? People were losing their minds.

490
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,719
Speaker 2: But now we're also figuring out what's gonna happen like

491
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,120
Speaker 2: with TikTok and so. But I also think when things

492
00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 2: like that happen, it also makes you realize I gotta

493
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,560
Speaker 2: have And I know that's that's what twenty five percent.

494
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,520
Speaker 4: So last year, actually TikTok was about sixty percent of

495
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,600
Speaker 4: our business, Okay, And funny enough, Mi, so I told

496
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,160
Speaker 4: you we grew one thousand percent year over year. So first,

497
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,480
Speaker 4: when we went viral on TikTok back in twenty twenty three,

498
00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:25,840
Speaker 4: that's when I first got to the point in business

499
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:27,800
Speaker 4: where I'm like, Okay, I have to stop trying to

500
00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:29,840
Speaker 4: do everything on my own. I was like, I'm going

501
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,600
Speaker 4: to hire a social media manager. Hire a social media manager.

502
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,240
Speaker 4: My son, Jayden, who was fifteen at the time, he said,

503
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,600
Speaker 4: my your social media manager sucks. I can do your TikTok.

504
00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,240
Speaker 4: I say, you don't know anything about woman or hair.

505
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 4: You cannot do TikTok. He says, it's not about women

506
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,360
Speaker 4: and it's not about hair, it's about content strategy. Sure enough,

507
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,840
Speaker 4: he took off our TikTok viral video after viral video.

508
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,520
Speaker 4: I swear we would post out like seven pm on

509
00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,240
Speaker 4: a Monday and by Tuesday morning have like half a

510
00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:57,879
Speaker 4: million views on the videos and these are a shoppable video.

511
00:20:57,920 --> 00:20:59,960
Speaker 3: To hire him exactly. Well, now he's our head of grow.

512
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:01,720
Speaker 3: So that's why we grew.

513
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:03,080
Speaker 1: And we get him over here.

514
00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:06,040
Speaker 3: We grew one thousand percent year over year he took over.

515
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,359
Speaker 4: Now he leads all paid media strategy across all of

516
00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,200
Speaker 4: our marketing channels, Like we have agencies with cmos and

517
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,080
Speaker 4: people with more experience than he's been alive, and he's

518
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:18,040
Speaker 4: leading the strategy.

519
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,480
Speaker 3: He lives in BREATHS Marketing and he's a straight a student.

520
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:22,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, what's his salary?

521
00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:26,520
Speaker 3: Don't so fast up.

522
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:28,760
Speaker 1: As for a raise?

523
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,720
Speaker 4: Okay, but literally, and not only that, like he's looking

524
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:35,600
Speaker 4: at our profit margins and making sure we're advertising profitably.

525
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,800
Speaker 4: And he's even like, I don't come from a corporate world, right,

526
00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,560
Speaker 4: I come from nursing, and I knew nothing about team structure, right.

527
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,159
Speaker 4: So I remember I promoted my operations manager to director

528
00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,040
Speaker 4: of operations and he's like, Mom, what is she directing

529
00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:47,680
Speaker 4: the circus?

530
00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:49,280
Speaker 3: You have no one under her? You can't have a.

531
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,959
Speaker 1: Director, that's so funny.

532
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,280
Speaker 4: But now we have operations manager and operations coordinator under her.

533
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,000
Speaker 4: So he's always like he loves business and structure, and

534
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,200
Speaker 4: he's always studying and always watching podcasts like he lives

535
00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,040
Speaker 4: and breathes it. And he's grown the company like crazy.

536
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,240
Speaker 4: No one believes he's seventeen. He's been on some podcasts

537
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,200
Speaker 4: with me. Very smart, he like, so great, great kid.

538
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,840
Speaker 4: But again he's the one, right, So I actually do

539
00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,480
Speaker 4: think we're gonna end up in international retail markets before

540
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:21,160
Speaker 4: we're in US retail stores. And that's also a strategic play.

541
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:22,119
Speaker 1: So what's his title?

542
00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:22,960
Speaker 3: Head of growth?

543
00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:24,600
Speaker 1: Okay? And he has a team under him.

544
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,639
Speaker 4: He's the director of well, he leaves our agency, so

545
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:29,159
Speaker 4: he strategized as they.

546
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,240
Speaker 1: Actually got that. Was he always liked that or was

547
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:32,320
Speaker 1: it from watching you?

548
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:34,960
Speaker 3: I think it's innately in him.

549
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,119
Speaker 4: Like when I had Jay and I was seventeen, I

550
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 4: graduated high school, he was one years old on my hip.

551
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,160
Speaker 4: I graduated with honors. He then watched me go through

552
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,399
Speaker 4: my first bachelor's degree. I went to Leman College in

553
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,159
Speaker 4: the Bronx, and then I went back got an accelerated

554
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:48,920
Speaker 4: nursing degree from Patrie University.

555
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:50,080
Speaker 3: So we literally in.

556
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,680
Speaker 4: The summers were in my living room with the blinds closed,

557
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,240
Speaker 4: and nursing is the hardest batcher's degree you can get.

558
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,440
Speaker 4: I was literally studying morning tonight. Thank god he was

559
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,040
Speaker 4: a good kid and he watch me study from morning

560
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 4: to night. Graduated, became a nurse. I was working full

561
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,880
Speaker 4: time nights in the er while getting my master's degree

562
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,960
Speaker 4: to be a nurse practitioner. Then I became a nurse practitioner,

563
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,840
Speaker 4: started the business. He watched me always grind onin NonStop.

564
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:15,639
Speaker 4: So I think it's just really in him right that grinding.

565
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,680
Speaker 4: Now hustle, and he loves marketing.

566
00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,560
Speaker 1: Right and a relationship wise, how is that for you?

567
00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,400
Speaker 1: How do you have time to even he's.

568
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:24,520
Speaker 3: The boss, my son.

569
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:26,200
Speaker 1: No, I'm just talking about outside of it.

570
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:30,040
Speaker 2: I'm talking about like chromatically you like leg we got,

571
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,800
Speaker 2: but how do you have time for that? Just don't

572
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,040
Speaker 2: and what type of what would you tell people who

573
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,200
Speaker 2: are trying to balance like, because it is true being

574
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,920
Speaker 2: an entrepreneur, we're being a founder and wanting to have

575
00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,400
Speaker 2: and having the success that you have, Uh, that does

576
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,800
Speaker 2: cut into your social life.

577
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 3: It cuts into your social life.

578
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,679
Speaker 4: And I also think that when you're at certain levels,

579
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,639
Speaker 4: you're pool of people that you could even entertain.

580
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,879
Speaker 3: Should well, not that it is, but it should be

581
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:56,560
Speaker 3: this long.

582
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,600
Speaker 4: Right, because especially when you're a woman, it's difficult to

583
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:03,359
Speaker 4: a man and like men naturally, right.

584
00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:05,640
Speaker 3: Need to be needed, they need to be the leader, right.

585
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 3: And if you're a.

586
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,920
Speaker 4: Woman and now you're a boss and you're powerful, you

587
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,119
Speaker 4: know you need someone who's like on your level or higher, right,

588
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 4: And I think that creates friction now but right now

589
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,440
Speaker 4: I'm very very focused on okay, business.

590
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,359
Speaker 2: So all right, all right, you know you might have

591
00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,960
Speaker 2: some itches, That's all I'm saying. But no, and I

592
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,680
Speaker 2: do want to say I love this guy. When I

593
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,960
Speaker 2: have braids, This is when is the best time for

594
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 2: me to use the scalpstdent because I come in here

595
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,720
Speaker 2: every day, so I keep this here and I come

596
00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:37,159
Speaker 2: in here every day in front of the mirror, and

597
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,360
Speaker 2: I'm always like putting this in my scalp because I'm

598
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,520
Speaker 2: like perfect. You can see every single part of my

599
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,879
Speaker 2: scalp and it feels so good. Yes, but like I

600
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,880
Speaker 2: told you, you know, your products have been absolutely amazing.

601
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,080
Speaker 2: It's all I use now, thank you, So I appreciate that.

602
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 2: Are there plans for expansion of the line to other

603
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,080
Speaker 2: products that you're going to be introducing, because that's another thing,

604
00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,359
Speaker 2: like how do you know when it's time to, you know,

605
00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,879
Speaker 2: add more products to the line we create.

606
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,399
Speaker 4: So we never just sit around and say, oh, well

607
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,640
Speaker 4: we want to create this. It's always what the customers

608
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,200
Speaker 4: ask for. So every single product in our line now

609
00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:10,360
Speaker 4: is complimentary and customers have asked for it. And now

610
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,120
Speaker 4: next year we have about three products coming out per quarter.

611
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,320
Speaker 4: It's been long overdue and these are all products that

612
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,120
Speaker 4: customers have asked for. They're all about strengthening your hair,

613
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,280
Speaker 4: healthy scalp. Scalp first products and we'll make sure you're

614
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 4: amongst the first to use them.

615
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:27,560
Speaker 1: I know that's right, all right.

616
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,040
Speaker 2: Well, I appreciate you so much, and again, are you

617
00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:31,280
Speaker 2: going to be at Angela You Day?

618
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:31,920
Speaker 1: When people see you?

619
00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,960
Speaker 4: There will be at Angelae You Day, the entire basketball

620
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,440
Speaker 4: of the team, along with myself, very very excited.

621
00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,920
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, I'm excited for it, and I appreciate you

622
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,720
Speaker 2: so much, and thank you and just amazing. Your story

623
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,399
Speaker 2: is just incredible and that's what wigh up is all about,

624
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,160
Speaker 2: to highlighting these incredible stories.

625
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 1: And your success is well deserved and I love to

626
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:50,119
Speaker 1: see it.

627
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,320
Speaker 3: Thank you, Las,