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Speaker 1: The views, information, or opinions express during this podcast are

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Speaker 1: solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent

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Speaker 1: those of intuitt, QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone brands

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Speaker 1: or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal, or

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Speaker 1: other professional advice or services. No assurance is given that

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Speaker 1: the info is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors, and

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Speaker 1: the information presented is for general information purposes only. Into

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Speaker 1: It QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating or

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Speaker 1: revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before relying

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Speaker 1: on them. QuickBooks Money is a standalone into It offering

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Speaker 1: banking services provided by Green Dot Bank member FDIC.

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Speaker 2: Hey everyone, I'm Austin Hankwitz.

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Speaker 1: And I'm Jennise Torres. Welcome to Mind the Business Small

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Speaker 1: Business Success Stories, a podcast brought to you by Intowit,

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Speaker 1: QuickBooks and iHeartRadio's Ruby Studio. In each episode, Austin and

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Speaker 1: I chat with small business owners as they share their

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Speaker 1: stories about the ups and downs of owning a small business.

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Speaker 2: That's right, Jenise, and I'm really excited to talk to

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Speaker 2: this episode's guests. But before we do that, let me

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Speaker 2: ask you. We've both traveled a lot. I know you

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Speaker 2: just got back from New York, which was really exciting,

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Speaker 2: and being an entrepreneur, we both have a little bit

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Speaker 2: of freedom as it relates to scheduling our trips. So

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Speaker 2: do you prefer to go on vacation and travel with

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Speaker 2: a group or by yourself?

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Speaker 1: I think there's a time and place for both. I

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Speaker 1: like the group travel. I like traveling with my family

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Speaker 1: and friends. But I also have been very intentional about

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Speaker 1: doing quarterly retreats as a solopreneur, and these are solo retreats,

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Speaker 1: so it's kind of my time to reset, plan for

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Speaker 1: the next quarter and just really give myself a break

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Speaker 1: from all the responsibilities that come with owning a business.

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Speaker 2: Mmm. I like that a lot, kind of giving yourself

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Speaker 2: the opportunity to reflect upon the last couple months here

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Speaker 2: and build the business that you know you're doing a

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Speaker 2: really good job of building. So you mentioned traveling solo

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Speaker 2: and doing that on a quarterly basis here, but it's

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Speaker 2: important to remember you're not ever really alone, right. You

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Speaker 2: still need that Uber driver, you still need the airplane pilot,

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Speaker 2: the hotel employees, or even just the random people you

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Speaker 2: meet at the coffee shops that are helping you out

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Speaker 2: and allowing you to have a good time, which is

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Speaker 2: just like when you're a solopreneur. No matter what industry

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Speaker 2: your enterprise falls into, you still need to have some

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Speaker 2: people in your corner, whether they're other founders with more experience,

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Speaker 2: or mentors that can help you out with business, or

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Speaker 2: even people that can guide you through the intricate paperwork

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Speaker 2: side of things. I've personally had a lot of intricate

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Speaker 2: paperwork come my way now that we are navigating tax season,

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Speaker 2: which is why I think QuickBooks Live is such an

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Speaker 2: instrumental tool in helping people build their businesses. Now with

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Speaker 2: QuickBooks Live, you'll have access to expert bookkeepers who will

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Speaker 2: help you keep your books organized and balanced.

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Speaker 1: And who doesn't need that, honestly, because when you're a

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Speaker 1: solopreneur with a good team, you basically get the best

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Speaker 1: of both worlds. You run your own show, but you

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Speaker 1: still get live experts helping you achieve success.

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Speaker 2: Lloyd knows I need that same.

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Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, you know. It's just you got to

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Speaker 1: be able to not always try to be the smartest

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Speaker 1: person in the room. And I think as a solopreneur,

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Speaker 1: I've gotten really good at just knowing where my limitations lie,

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Speaker 1: not trying to DII why my way to success in

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Speaker 1: areas where I just don't have the expertise, and really

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Speaker 1: knowing and getting good at relying on my community to

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Speaker 1: source potential, you know, connections or new ideas that I

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Speaker 1: didn't even think.

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Speaker 2: About one hundred percent, right, is like, wait a second,

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Speaker 2: I need to start caring about bookkeeping. I need to

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Speaker 2: start caring about taxes and payroll and things like that.

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Speaker 2: So what did I do. I've reached out to my

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Speaker 2: community of other solopreneurs and content creators to see what

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Speaker 2: they were doing right. And being able to lean on

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Speaker 2: your community when you have these types of problems, as

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Speaker 2: well as provide feedback to other people when they have

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Speaker 2: problems is probably one of the most rewarding things that

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Speaker 2: comes from being a solopreneur.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely. I think it's also really important as someone who

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Speaker 1: is hyper independent, right, And I'd like to say it's

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Speaker 1: the trauma response of being an eldest daughter and just

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Speaker 1: not wanting to ask for help. But one of the

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Speaker 1: things that I've learned in entrepreneurship is how critical it

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Speaker 1: is to have a sounding board that community. I think

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Speaker 1: about it a specific example where I got my first,

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Speaker 1: like multiple five figure influencer marketing brand deal, and I

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Speaker 1: was just like, I don't feel qualified to read these

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Speaker 1: legal contracts and I don't feel comfortable signing my life

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Speaker 1: away potentially, And so I called my mentor and I'm like,

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Speaker 1: do you have anybody who can help me with this?

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Speaker 1: And she actually introduced me to her agent, who now

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Speaker 1: manages my own partnerships too. And so it's just the

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Speaker 1: power of community is something that I don't think we

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Speaker 1: can emphasize enough because unless you're in this world of entrepreneurship,

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Speaker 1: most people around you are not even going to know how.

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Speaker 2: To help you one hundred percent. And I just want

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Speaker 2: to also hammer home the idea that at least this

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Speaker 2: has been my experience and I'm sure it's been yours

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Speaker 2: as well, Janie, but like people are really excited to

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Speaker 2: meet other people who are solopreneurs or building small businesses. Right,

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Speaker 2: everyone believes that it's not a zero sum game. We

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Speaker 2: can all win together. And by me sharing with you

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Speaker 2: a tool or a resource, right, your mentor introducing you

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Speaker 2: to her agent didn't mean that you're taking anything from her.

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Speaker 2: I mean, we're all here to help each other. And

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Speaker 2: I think that's such a big, big, big thing for

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Speaker 2: solopreneurs to understand as they build their business. Right, It's

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Speaker 2: not a zero sum game and we can all win together.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely. With that being said, let's meet our next guest.

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Speaker 1: Sierra Monti May is an entrepreneur based out of New

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Speaker 1: York City. After suffering from one too many itchy scalps

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Speaker 1: while wearing her favorite protective styles, Sierra realized she deserved

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Speaker 1: better and set out on a mission to find it

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Speaker 1: for all of us. And when she couldn't find any

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Speaker 1: quality sustainable hair extension products, she decided to make her own.

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Speaker 1: Siara founded the first ever plant based faux hair brand, Rebundle.

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Speaker 1: In twenty twenty. She left her fintech job to pursue

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Speaker 1: Rebundle full time. She launched her first product, bread Better,

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one, and has since relaunched as a

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Speaker 1: direct to consumer brand and raised two point five million

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Speaker 1: dollars in seed money. Siera is passionate about providing quality products,

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Speaker 1: building a better Earth, and about the importance of black

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Speaker 1: women being cared for. Siera, Welcome to the show.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: I first of all, love the name Rebundle. Can you

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Speaker 1: tell us the story behind it.

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Speaker 3: Yes, it's a short one because I didn't come up

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Speaker 3: with the name myself, and I actually wasn't sold on

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Speaker 3: it at first. I didn't think it made sense for

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Speaker 3: what I thought we were going to be doing at

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Speaker 3: the time, but it was really catchy, so we stuck

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Speaker 3: with it and we've grown into the name.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. I love that that it's not necessarily the first

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Speaker 1: idea that would come to your head. But when did

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Speaker 1: you know that this was the name that you wanted

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Speaker 1: to continue with, Like, what was that sign? Well?

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Speaker 3: I would sometimes feel not connected to the name rebundle

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Speaker 3: in those early days because the word bundle, in as

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Speaker 3: it relates to hair and pertains to hair, is a

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Speaker 3: colloquialism for human hair bundles, and I was squarely focused

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Speaker 3: on creating an alternative to synthetic hair, so I didn't

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Speaker 3: think it made sense in the context. But as the

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Speaker 3: product evolved and the brand evolved, it did make sense

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Speaker 3: because we started calling our products bundles rather than packs,

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Speaker 3: because we're providing a more luxurious experience and elevated experience,

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Speaker 3: and I wanted to disassociate from packs that are, you know,

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Speaker 3: anywhere from a dollar to eight dollars, something more premium,

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Speaker 3: like what we pay for human hair extensions. So it

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Speaker 3: started to make sense to me then, and I was like, oh, okay,

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Speaker 3: well we can we can keep I mean, we had

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Speaker 3: already spent so much on the branding at that point,

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Speaker 3: but I always had a nagging thought in the back

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Speaker 3: of mind, like someone's gonna call out that it doesn't

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Speaker 3: make sense to call it bundles. And then no one

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Speaker 3: ever did because we started moving in that direction.

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Speaker 1: You have to believe it before anybody else does, right,

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Speaker 1: So I think it's part of just the importance of

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Speaker 1: having conviction when you're putting yourself out there as an

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Speaker 1: entrepreneur and as a brand.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exactly what happened.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that. Okay, So have you always been

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Speaker 1: into like sustainability in the environment.

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Speaker 3: In a way, I can say that for as long

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Speaker 3: as I can remember, I've always had an inkling or

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Speaker 3: a desire to learn more about sustainability and what it

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Speaker 3: looks like, and just curious about how my presence on

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Speaker 3: Earth impacts the environment and the well being of the

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Speaker 3: environment in ways that I could mitigate, mitigate my individual contribution.

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Speaker 3: And I've always been very encouraging to other people at

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Speaker 3: the bare minimum, recycle and recycling really is the bare minimum,

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Speaker 3: And that was all that I knew of until I

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Speaker 3: started grad school. I went to USC and studied social entrepreneurship,

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Speaker 3: and I was just exposed to one a totally different

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Speaker 3: lifestyle in Los Angeles compared to the Midwest where I

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Speaker 3: grew up. But the projects that my classmates were working

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Speaker 3: on also exposed me to different types of sustainability and

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Speaker 3: just expanded that definition for me. So I took those

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Speaker 3: learnings and started to apply them to my own life

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Speaker 3: and got more curious about the movement for sustainability and

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Speaker 3: the zero waste lifestyle and content that was being created

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Speaker 3: around environmental justice and intersectional environmentalism. Just all these concepts

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Speaker 3: that I was learning about that really resonated with me

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Speaker 3: and then subsequently translated into the products that I was

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Speaker 3: using and am familiar with. And hair just made the

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Speaker 3: list because it was part of my life and my

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Speaker 3: identity at that time.

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Speaker 1: That's brilliant. It's I think it's a good example of

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Speaker 1: just like how your environment and can influence you as

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Speaker 1: an entrepreneur, and how the community that you surround yourself

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Speaker 1: with can have a direct impact on what that business

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Speaker 1: turns into. So I'm curious for you, when did you

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Speaker 1: realize that there was a market for this that wasn't

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Speaker 1: being fulfilled.

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Speaker 3: The summer of twenty nineteen, so I was working at

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Speaker 3: an HBCU and was wearing braids really often because I

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Speaker 3: was trying to figure out how to be an adult

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Speaker 3: and go to work on time and minimize my morning routine.

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Speaker 3: So at this very same time that I was learning

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Speaker 3: more about sustainability, I was having issues with scalp irritation

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Speaker 3: from the hair and just had this sort of aha

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Speaker 3: moment that maybe there was something more that could be

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Speaker 3: done about the way synthetic hare is disposed of. And

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Speaker 3: then that meant understanding, well what is it made out of?

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Speaker 3: And that brought up all this stuff about synthetic hair

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Speaker 3: being plastic. And I think at this time twenty nineteen,

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Speaker 3: somebody had just passed a law or some regulation change

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Speaker 3: that we couldn't ship our trash to China anymore, and

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Speaker 3: all these things that was coming up about the world

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Speaker 3: changing and responding to climate change, and I'm just sitting

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Speaker 3: here scratching my head and like, well, this is a

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Speaker 3: plastic product that is probably not on anyone's radar and

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Speaker 3: could use innovation like everything else.

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Speaker 2: It's kind of amazing that this all came together the

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Speaker 2: way it did because you built something that falls in

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Speaker 2: line with your values of sustainability and also is providing

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Speaker 2: a solution to scalp irritation when people get synthetic extensions,

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Speaker 2: And just for those listening who may not know, oftentimes,

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Speaker 2: when people get extensions in a form like braids, like

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Speaker 2: you mentioned, you can use human hair, which costs a

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Speaker 2: lot more money, or you can use synthetic hare, which

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Speaker 2: is more popular because the lower costs and higher access,

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Speaker 2: but the quality is not as good as human hair.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I remember being really excited about this question of

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Speaker 3: if it's plastic, can it be recycled, which I then

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Speaker 3: learned that all plastics are technically recyclable, but it's dependent

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Speaker 3: on the municipality and what they want what they don't want.

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Speaker 3: Hair was likely never going to make the list, but

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Speaker 3: I wanted to know for the heart to recycle plastics

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Speaker 3: like synthetic hair, you know, where could you send it

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Speaker 3: for it to be properly disposed of? And there were

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Speaker 3: not any initiatives that were focused on this waststream in

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Speaker 3: particular because it's a product that's predominantly used and worn

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Speaker 3: by black women. So I knew that if I wanted

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Speaker 3: to find a way to sustainably dispose of it, I

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Speaker 3: was probably going to have to create it myself, because

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Speaker 3: nobody was looking at this waste stream as one that

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Speaker 3: needed attention. So the recycling program was developed and has

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Speaker 3: since been maintained as a way for people to choose

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Speaker 3: sustainability no matter where they are in their journeys, and

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Speaker 3: to help mitigate some of the waste that's created by

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Speaker 3: this industry. Overall.

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Speaker 2: I love that. I think it's so powerful, and I

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Speaker 2: really commend you for sort of building that from scratch.

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Speaker 2: You talked about studying entrepreneurship in school, and you know,

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Speaker 2: I studied a little bit of entrepreneurship. I think I

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Speaker 2: took a couple classes in college myself, But I don't

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Speaker 2: think school really prepares you for entrepreneurship, right, So were

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Speaker 2: there maybe challenges that school did prepare you for versus

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Speaker 2: have anything you know blindsided you? You've phraised two point

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Speaker 2: one million dollars. I don't remember learning how to do

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Speaker 2: that in school.

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Speaker 3: I didn't learn how to do that in school either,

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Speaker 3: And I've actually raised two and a half million dollars

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Speaker 3: since twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 2: Two and a half. Okay, I stand corrected.

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Speaker 3: But I think that the only thing that can teach

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Speaker 3: you how to be an entrepreneur is to be one

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Speaker 3: and to like be in the thick of it. But

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Speaker 3: what I was grateful for in both undergrad and grad

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Speaker 3: was to help develop my entrepreneurial mindset and to give

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Speaker 3: me the right community who were also working on challenging

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Speaker 3: problems and starting things from scratch. Also helped with the

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Speaker 3: vocabulary and certain concepts and practices that I didn't know beforehand.

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Speaker 3: And it was interesting and I didn't know I could

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Speaker 3: make a career out of it before I started school,

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Speaker 3: So I feel like I got a lot of that.

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Speaker 3: And I do find that people who are just starting

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Speaker 3: out and didn't study entrepreneurship in school are like starting

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Speaker 3: from scratch.

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Speaker 1: You mentioned something really important, which was community. When you're

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Speaker 1: in school, you're surrounded by other people who are excited

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Speaker 1: about entrepreneurship. I'm curious how that community has followed you

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Speaker 1: outside of school. Have you leaned on them at all

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Speaker 1: with different problems over the past few years.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say yes to all of the above.

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Speaker 3: There are definitely people that I met in undergrad that

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Speaker 3: I've gone back to, whether that be professors or students alike,

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Speaker 3: that I've been able to go back to for questions

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Speaker 3: or feedback, support, introductions, etc. And then following me from

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Speaker 3: undergrad all the way way through my fellowship with VFA,

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Speaker 3: I'm friends with a lot of those fellows, some that

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Speaker 3: have started businesses and some that work at startups. So

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Speaker 3: I think there are different communities within those communities that

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Speaker 3: I can leverage for different purposes that you know, I've

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Speaker 3: helped in ways that I can't even begin to recall,

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Speaker 3: even if it's an intro or just an ear. Things

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Speaker 3: just come up. Things just happen for you when you

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Speaker 3: when you expand your network with people that are interested

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Speaker 3: in some of the same things that you are, whether

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Speaker 3: you're following the same path or not.

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Speaker 2: Most definitely, and you know, speaking of expanding your network

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Speaker 2: of people interested in the same things, you know you

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Speaker 2: are definitely a part of this environmentalist community as well

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Speaker 2: as now the entrepreneurial community. So maybe can you double

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Speaker 2: click on how you're expanding your network with keeping school

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Speaker 2: in college away for a second, but like post college

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Speaker 2: and post schooling, how have you been able to expand

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Speaker 2: your network of other environmentalists or other just entrepreneurs in

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Speaker 2: your surrounding area.

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Speaker 3: So it's a pretty tight knit community, and many of them,

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Speaker 3: you know, you meet one and then they introduce you

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Speaker 3: to another person in their community, and even if that

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Speaker 3: one on one connection doesn't happen, I also get to

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Speaker 3: see who's a part of their community. So I was

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Speaker 3: finding a lot of people that were involved in the

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Speaker 3: environmentalist movement from creators that I was following and entrepreneurs

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Speaker 3: that I was following, and she exposed me to people

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Speaker 3: who were like minded and were doing, you know, their

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Speaker 3: own thing. I would say. Another good example is I

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Speaker 3: was asked to mentor in the Times of Main incubator program.

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Speaker 3: So there were both mentors like myself who had some

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Speaker 3: level of involvement in environmentalism and then activists who as

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Speaker 3: another layer of people involved in the environmentalism movement. And

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Speaker 3: so one of the other mentors posted about an event

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Speaker 3: happening here in New York tomorrow, So I'm going to

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Speaker 3: go to that, So who knows who all while meet there,

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Speaker 3: But you know, just capping in with people following their

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Speaker 3: work and networking not always vertically, but also be horizontal,

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Speaker 3: like people that are working at different level different stages

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Speaker 3: that you know are still maybe on the ground level

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Speaker 3: one hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: You know, being the founder of such an innovative business

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Speaker 2: means that you have to really use every part of

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Speaker 2: your brand, which means the logistical side of running the

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Speaker 2: business every day as well as the creative side. So, Sierra,

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Speaker 2: do you have any strategies for keeping your books balanced

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Speaker 2: while using community connections and networking to raise money and

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Speaker 2: crew your business at the same time.

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Speaker 3: First, you need a good bookkeeper. I really love the

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Speaker 3: bookkeeping team that we have. What they have really impressed

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Speaker 3: me with is they built us a financial dashboard that

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Speaker 3: lists all of our spending in and out. We have

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Speaker 3: budget templates and all the sales are linked to transactions

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Speaker 3: in quick books, so I can always see in real

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Speaker 3: time time how far or how close we are to

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Speaker 3: being on budget. So I would say that has been

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Speaker 3: a really monumental process that we've implemented. It really gives

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Speaker 3: me peace of mind. And that was a connection that

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Speaker 3: I had made through someone else who I knew through

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Speaker 3: someone else who I knew through someone else.

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Speaker 2: It's that mental rolodex.

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Speaker 3: I mean, come on now, Yeah, it goes back deep,

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Speaker 3: coming up after the break. The only way we're going

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Speaker 3: to grow is by serving this community and serving them well.

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Speaker 3: So I want to give them the opportunity to help

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Speaker 3: guide our product development roadmap. With a few dollars we have.

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Speaker 1: We'll be right back with Mine the Business. Welcome back

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Speaker 1: to Mind the Business, Small business success stories from iHeartMedia's

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Speaker 1: Ruby Studio and Into It QuickBooks. So, Sierra, you've spoken

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Speaker 1: in interviews about the challenges of being a black business owner,

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Speaker 1: and as an entrepreneur coach myself, I know very well

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Speaker 1: the statistics do not favor people of color, especially when

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Speaker 1: it comes to raising capital and funding. Can you talk

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Speaker 1: about what have been some of the challenges that you've

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Speaker 1: faced in your journey and do you have any examples

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Speaker 1: of where your community has come in to overcome them

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Speaker 1: or to help you overcome them.

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Speaker 3: I'll start with that one. So with the product like

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Speaker 3: hours that is predominantly used by black women and people

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Speaker 3: of color in general who wear braids, I would say

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Speaker 3: I don't have to spend as much time explaining or

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Speaker 3: convincing them that this problem exists and that the solution

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Speaker 3: should also exist, and so I get a lot of

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Speaker 3: excitement when I tell people within our community about what

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Speaker 3: we're doing, and you know, they want to refer their

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Speaker 3: friends and their co workers, their family members who identify

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Speaker 3: with this issue. On average, one in three wearers are

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Speaker 3: going to experience scalp rotation while wearing braids. So if

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Speaker 3: I'm talking to someone who looks like me, if they

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Speaker 3: themselves are not prone to scalp rotation, they know someone

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Speaker 3: else that is. And so we've been able to leverage

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Speaker 3: word of mouth in that regard. But with that has

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Speaker 3: come challenges on the funding side and the storytelling side

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Speaker 3: of making a compelling case for this problem that we're

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Speaker 3: solving in the solution that we've developed, because there's very

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Speaker 3: limited data that exists around consumer behavior in this category

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Speaker 3: spend in terms of how the market is segmented players

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Speaker 3: along the value chain. These are privately held companies whose

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Speaker 3: data is not made public, So we're making assumptions and

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Speaker 3: educated guesses based on the data that we can find.

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Speaker 3: And venture capitalists are data driven. They make decisions based

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Speaker 3: on biases that they see in their portfolio, but also

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Speaker 3: readily available data that helps drive their investment decisions. So

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Speaker 3: that's two things that I can't always provide in a

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Speaker 3: very astute manner because it doesn't exist. So when I

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Speaker 3: get frustrated, I find myself saying, like, what you're asking

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Speaker 3: me for does not exist.

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Speaker 2: It literally doesn't exist.

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Speaker 3: Here's what I can tell you. And so having to

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Speaker 3: give really thoughtful answers while also being candidate that we're

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Speaker 3: building in a white space, and we know that there's

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Speaker 3: money flowing through here because that much is available online,

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Speaker 3: but some of the more nitty gritty details that are

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Speaker 3: more readily available through consumer research is not quite there

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Speaker 3: for hair extensions today.

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Speaker 1: Well that makes sense, right, because it really depends on

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Speaker 1: who's doing the research and who they're talking to, and

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Speaker 1: a lot of this information can be very anecdotal, and

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Speaker 1: it's not something that you'd necessarily have a pie chart

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Speaker 1: that you can go and reference to. So it makes

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Speaker 1: sense why you'd have those challenges. There was a recent

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Speaker 1: statistics that I read the other day that was about

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Speaker 1: forty six percent of black business owners site community support

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Speaker 1: as a primary motivation of their business. Would you say

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Speaker 1: that that's a primary motivating factor for you one hundred percent.

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Speaker 3: I would say since the beginning, we've always had a

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Speaker 3: good relationship with our community, and more so today because

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Speaker 3: a lot of my focus this quarter, in this year

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Speaker 3: is on building relationships with beauty supply stores and salons,

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Speaker 3: and so I get a lot of energy from talking

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Speaker 3: with these usually sole proprietors about their small business and

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Speaker 3: their challenges and what they need to succeed, and why

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Speaker 3: we should work together, why they should carry a product

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Speaker 3: like hours in their store. Many of them are taking

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Speaker 3: a bet on us because we're a new product and

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Speaker 3: a higher price point in a category that has not

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Speaker 3: seen partly any innovation, and so I have to explain

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Speaker 3: to them why we're doing what we're doing, what success

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Speaker 3: we've seen to date, and then in return, I get

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Speaker 3: to learn about their individual businesses, how they came into

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Speaker 3: the beauty industry, what questions they get from their customer base.

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Speaker 3: So it's really rewarding to be able to network pretty horizontally. Actually,

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Speaker 3: they are small business owners like I am.

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Speaker 1: Technically all right, So we've talked about the importance of

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Speaker 1: networking amongst your entrepreneurial circle, and we did talk about

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Speaker 1: how community has impacted your own mission as an entrepreneur.

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Speaker 1: What strategies do you have for fostering returning and happy customers.

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Speaker 3: Good customer service and authenticity, also being able to connect

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Speaker 3: with your community in person. So we're prioritizing more of

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Speaker 3: that this year as well. But I would say I've

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Speaker 3: seen huge returns from providing customers with a pleasant experience

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Speaker 3: from checkout to install. So we have our Braiker's directory

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Speaker 3: on our site, which allows our customers to browse professionals

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Speaker 3: near them if they want to go to a rebund

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Speaker 3: to approved breider, and even something as simple as software

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Speaker 3: that we have on the site that makes suggestions, our

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Speaker 3: FAQs that are really thorough, and having a chatbot on

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Speaker 3: our website for quick answers. So you know, really just

438
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,120
Speaker 3: trying to provide a seamless shopping experience for our audience

439
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,240
Speaker 3: has really paid off in terms of returning customer rate,

440
00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,360
Speaker 3: but also building a really strong opportunity for referrals from

441
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:14,440
Speaker 3: one customer to another.

442
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,359
Speaker 1: That's great. That word of mouth is really powerful, so

443
00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,040
Speaker 1: when it's harnessed in a way that's strategic, I think

444
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,160
Speaker 1: it can have a really big impact on building out

445
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:23,480
Speaker 1: that community for sure.

446
00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,280
Speaker 2: So before this interview, Sierra, I jumped on your website

447
00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 2: and I clicked around on your products, and I saw

448
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:31,640
Speaker 2: you had a bunch of great reviews. But while looking

449
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:33,960
Speaker 2: at these reviews, I also saw that you were doing

450
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,120
Speaker 2: a really good job of getting back to people right,

451
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,440
Speaker 2: thanking them for their feedback or even their considerations moving

452
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,399
Speaker 2: forward for your products. So how has reviews helped you

453
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,320
Speaker 2: foster community, helped you find your super fans and those

454
00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 2: awesome returning customers.

455
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:53,000
Speaker 3: It's a great question. The reviews can be scary, Like

456
00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,040
Speaker 3: whenever I get that email they have a new review,

457
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,760
Speaker 3: my heart always drops good or bad, and so I

458
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,479
Speaker 3: always make a point in as usually me responding if

459
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,119
Speaker 3: not one more person from my team. But I always

460
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,520
Speaker 3: think it's a good idea to make sure people feel

461
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:12,400
Speaker 3: validated with their reviews because they're leaving it for the

462
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,880
Speaker 3: company to see, but they're also leaving it for other

463
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,120
Speaker 3: people to see. So I just want to make sure

464
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,240
Speaker 3: that they feel like their concerns have been acknowledged. In

465
00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,440
Speaker 3: some of them, we may send them an email separately

466
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 3: asking for more questions or asking them if we can

467
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,480
Speaker 3: use their review for content, etc. So I think that

468
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,479
Speaker 3: reviews are a really key way to build trust among

469
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,639
Speaker 3: new customers. Your current customers are probably not reviewing the

470
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,560
Speaker 3: reviews till after the fact, but it does give new

471
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 3: customers an opportunity to make an informed purchase. The only

472
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 3: way we're going to grow is by serving this community

473
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 3: and serving them well. So I want to give them

474
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,919
Speaker 3: the opportunity to help guide our product development roadmap with

475
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,199
Speaker 3: a few dollars we have.

476
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,720
Speaker 2: I love that perspective, and Jennie and I are always

477
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,280
Speaker 2: looking for sort of you know, the happy customers and

478
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,280
Speaker 2: the people who are leaving the reviews, especially the positive ones,

479
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:08,520
Speaker 2: are the people who go out and tell people about

480
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:11,920
Speaker 2: your product, right So having that awesome relationship with them

481
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,920
Speaker 2: and sort of building a community of those super fans

482
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,479
Speaker 2: I think is incredibly important for all solopreneurs out there

483
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:16,920
Speaker 2: right now.

484
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:18,119
Speaker 3: Yep him in percent.

485
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 1: So you've talked about the importance of black women feeling

486
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,480
Speaker 1: comfortable and cared for. How does that mission inform the

487
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,080
Speaker 1: way that you build your brand and your market your products.

488
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:28,160
Speaker 1: I would say in the.

489
00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:32,840
Speaker 3: Early days, we really wanted to evoke the feeling of

490
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,919
Speaker 3: resting and being at peace and at ease and not

491
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,959
Speaker 3: having to worry when you get your hair braided. And

492
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:47,000
Speaker 3: since then that motif has evolved in the end to

493
00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:51,240
Speaker 3: end experience of getting your hair braided. So the other

494
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,720
Speaker 3: products that we've added on in edge jail, which can

495
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,440
Speaker 3: also be used as a do it all jail for

496
00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:01,120
Speaker 3: your install, high quality edgebrush, and we're launching some other

497
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 3: products later this year. We believe that when people get

498
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,600
Speaker 3: their hair braided and they make an investment in this experience,

499
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 3: they're making an investment in the hair, but also in

500
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,920
Speaker 3: the takedown and all the other steps that are involved

501
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,360
Speaker 3: with getting braids, even to the person that's installing them.

502
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 3: So we're focused on making sure that when people think

503
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:29,000
Speaker 3: about the future of hair extensions, it includes safe and

504
00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:34,480
Speaker 3: non toxic ingredients, a seamless checkout experience, a seamless install experience,

505
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:39,240
Speaker 3: a seamless takedown experience, and reusing. Our bundles are on

506
00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:43,440
Speaker 3: average about an ounce and a half bigger than standard

507
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,000
Speaker 3: plastic bundle, so you don't need as much hair for

508
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:51,000
Speaker 3: an install with rebundle, and then because of the thickness

509
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,720
Speaker 3: of the fibers, they're also better candidates to take down

510
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:59,280
Speaker 3: and reuse them after your install. You can reuse the

511
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,520
Speaker 3: bundles up to three times. You can wash them like normal.

512
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:04,440
Speaker 3: You can also use drash shampoo if you're in a

513
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:07,200
Speaker 3: rush and do it all over again, and once you're

514
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,919
Speaker 3: done with the hair, it can be composted.

515
00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:13,040
Speaker 1: I love that. It's like you're infusing the idea of

516
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,119
Speaker 1: luxury and that soft girl life into the brand.

517
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,520
Speaker 3: I guess so, yeah, I don't live a soft life,

518
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,879
Speaker 3: but hopefully our customers do.

519
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 1: I love it. So your products are great for the

520
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,200
Speaker 1: health of the planet and the environment, but they're also

521
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,320
Speaker 1: great for the health of your customers. What are the

522
00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:33,880
Speaker 1: plans that you have for Rebundle's future.

523
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 3: We are continuing to explore other applications for the fiber

524
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:43,200
Speaker 3: technology that we've developed, so other types of hair extensions

525
00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:47,720
Speaker 3: beyond just braids. And then I'm also really focused on

526
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,080
Speaker 3: how we make this product more accessible and available. So

527
00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,200
Speaker 3: pricing is always going to be a point of contingency

528
00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,640
Speaker 3: for people that are trading up from a lower price synthetic,

529
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 3: but we know we can capture more of them with

530
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:07,239
Speaker 3: different strategies in our pricing strategy. This one area that

531
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,080
Speaker 3: we're working on this year, but also making sure that

532
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:14,400
Speaker 3: the products are available in beauty supply stores, in big

533
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,960
Speaker 3: box retailers where prestige beauty is because we do see

534
00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:22,840
Speaker 3: our product as a luxurious experience, So there's some development

535
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,080
Speaker 3: on that side that we're working on to make this

536
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:26,760
Speaker 3: product more widely available.

537
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,520
Speaker 1: I love it. Do you have a story that sticks

538
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,880
Speaker 1: out to you from your community that's really shifted your

539
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:34,520
Speaker 1: mindset in any way?

540
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,160
Speaker 3: Yeah. I would say there's been a number of customers

541
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,720
Speaker 3: who've told us that they're wearing braids again for the

542
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,560
Speaker 3: first time in several years. It is something that they

543
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,120
Speaker 3: thought just wasn't for them anymore. Their scalps couldn't tolerate it,

544
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,640
Speaker 3: and so they've just sort of given up on it.

545
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 3: Which braids are an really intricate part of black culture

546
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 3: and black hair, So I can't imagine what it would

547
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,560
Speaker 3: be like to not be able to wear braids, but

548
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:04,000
Speaker 3: that is a lot of people's reality. So it's really

549
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:09,440
Speaker 3: invigorating to hear from someone say that, you know, they

550
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 3: were able to wear braids again for the first time

551
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,640
Speaker 3: in a long time, and they're able to rejoin part

552
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:15,479
Speaker 3: of their culture.

553
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,720
Speaker 1: That's really important, and you're literally allowing folks to rejoin

554
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 1: the community that they're a part of and experience what

555
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,040
Speaker 1: it is to embrace your culture proudly wear it. And

556
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:31,400
Speaker 1: I think only a person from the community can understand

557
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,120
Speaker 1: how to best serve that community in this case, and

558
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,160
Speaker 1: I think you're doing an amazing job at this, Sierra,

559
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:37,920
Speaker 1: So I just want to congratulate you and the team

560
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 1: at Rebundle. It's such an inspiring story, and I know

561
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,880
Speaker 1: this is just the beginning of so many waves that

562
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,160
Speaker 1: you're going to make in the haircare industry.

563
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:47,440
Speaker 3: Thank you appreciate that.

564
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 1: Where can we find you online?

565
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 3: You can find us online at rebundle dot co and

566
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,400
Speaker 3: on Instagram and TikTok with the same handle.

567
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:58,040
Speaker 1: Amazing. Thank you Sierra for being here.

568
00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:58,840
Speaker 2: Thanks so much.

569
00:30:59,120 --> 00:30:59,880
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you both.

570
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 1: Sierra and her story is such an inspiring example of

571
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 1: what success looks like, especially when you rely on your community. Austin,

572
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:13,920
Speaker 1: I'm curious for you, what was your favorite part of

573
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:14,880
Speaker 1: our discussion today.

574
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,240
Speaker 2: I learned a lot from Sierra, not just from a solopreneur,

575
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,200
Speaker 2: but also from someone who also studied a little bit

576
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 2: of entrepreneurship in school and was able to take that

577
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,200
Speaker 2: into my own sort of journey here. But I think

578
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:32,880
Speaker 2: the biggest takeaway for me was how important she thought

579
00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,719
Speaker 2: customer feedback and customer reviews were not just for her

580
00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,000
Speaker 2: business in real time right. She mentioned like, oh my gosh,

581
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,040
Speaker 2: my heart drops because of how important it is to me,

582
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:43,840
Speaker 2: you know, as the CEO of this business. So I

583
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 2: think just kind of leaning in on how important it

584
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,200
Speaker 2: is for customer reviews, customer feedback to not just you know,

585
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 2: build new products and services for your customers, but also

586
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,720
Speaker 2: find those super fans, right because the customers who love

587
00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 2: your products are going to be the ones that drive

588
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:01,840
Speaker 2: the new ten, fifteen, twenty customers.

589
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 3: Right.

590
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,320
Speaker 2: Just having that one customer to refer you to all

591
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,760
Speaker 2: their friends is so important, and I've certainly seen that

592
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 2: in my own entrepreneurial journey myself. So I would really

593
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:14,560
Speaker 2: say that being able to identify and build community around

594
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,680
Speaker 2: your biggest fans as customers and take their feedback into

595
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,760
Speaker 2: account and launch new products with that feedback is just

596
00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,640
Speaker 2: really really important, while also reminding them like listen, here's

597
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:28,440
Speaker 2: an email address. Send us all your positive feedback, negative feedback,

598
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,280
Speaker 2: like we're here for it because it is what's part

599
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,959
Speaker 2: of building a long standing business. What about you?

600
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,320
Speaker 1: Yeah? I love that perspective, Austin, because I often get

601
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: the question should you launch the product or should you

602
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,320
Speaker 1: build the community first? And I'm a firm believer that

603
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,920
Speaker 1: you need to build the community first. You need to

604
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,280
Speaker 1: get people excited about what it is that you're building,

605
00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 1: and maybe even like bringing them along for the ride

606
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,800
Speaker 1: can be such an awesome part of your whole marketing

607
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:58,000
Speaker 1: strategy as a business. And I loved Sierra's perspective of

608
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,400
Speaker 1: being a member of the community that she's trying to serve.

609
00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,480
Speaker 1: Right when she's able to identify the known issues that

610
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:10,600
Speaker 1: come with installing synthetic hair. It just gives her a

611
00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:15,000
Speaker 1: unique perspective that I think makes her a better entrepreneur.

612
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,440
Speaker 1: I think it gives her a strategic advantage versus someone

613
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,720
Speaker 1: who would be coming in without any knowledge of what

614
00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,880
Speaker 1: those real pain points are from the customers that you're

615
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 1: trying to serve.

616
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 2: I totally agree, right, And I think it was some

617
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:27,959
Speaker 2: really good advice that she gave when we asked her

618
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,080
Speaker 2: about what sort of piece of advice would you have

619
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,120
Speaker 2: for someone who's trying to create a more sustainable product

620
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,440
Speaker 2: that already exists out in the marketplace, and she said,

621
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,520
Speaker 2: you know, you don't have to reinvent the wheel, right,

622
00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:40,400
Speaker 2: there's a ton of products out there right now that

623
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,760
Speaker 2: do need a little bit of reinventing from a sustainability side.

624
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,640
Speaker 2: Of the equation and that's exactly what she did. It's

625
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 2: just it's so inspiring.

626
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:54,720
Speaker 1: Absolutely another incredible episode that was fantastic, And if you're

627
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,800
Speaker 1: loving this show, you need to subscribe and continue.

628
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,400
Speaker 2: To follow us absolutely so, guys, you.

629
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 1: Can find me on social media at jokerotinto Podcast and.

630
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:09,080
Speaker 2: You can find me at Austin Hankwitz. You can follow

631
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:12,160
Speaker 2: Into It QuickBooks on all social media at QuickBooks. To

632
00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:14,719
Speaker 2: get the tools you need to start, run and grow

633
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,000
Speaker 2: your business, head to QuickBooks dot com today.

634
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,680
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635
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636
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,440
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638
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:29,319
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639
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,560
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640
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:40,239
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641
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642
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