Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Washington.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My business started as a small thought that turned into a secret dream I had my sophomore year of college. I always wanted to be a lawyer or a Medical Social Worker, or, so I thought.
My parents raised me to be extremely successful at anything I do, my mother wanted to be a lawyer and before she graduated from high school and a counselor discouraged her from following her dream, so I always thought that I would pick up where she left off and succeed by becoming a lawyer. I took a couple of classes and hated it, just wasn’t for me, I majored in Sociology and decided I wanted to be a Medical Social Worker, inspired by my mother who has battled Cancer twice. I love the reason behind what I wanted to be; however, I knew deep down in my heart it didn’t make me happy.
I graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in Sociology and started working for my father’s HVAC company post-grad. I’ve always admired my father’s work ethic, no one on the planet works harder than my father (other than Barack Obama). My dad taught me to be a leader and to break barriers as a child until now, he never told me I couldn’t do anything, and I knew post grad that I wanted to start a business, but I just didn’t know what I was passionate about.
One night I woke up at 2:00 am and decided to scroll on Instagram and realized that I followed so many hair extension companies influencers and hair stylist and thought about the hair business idea. I went on godaddy.com and started thinking of a name, I wanted to celebrate women of color and to have a brand that doesn’t sell hair to WOC because they hate their hair, but to explore trying new styles and colors without damaging their hair.
I came up with “Bronz” because I thought about how all women love when they are happy, and they have a natural glow, I thought “well black women love a good tan against our beautiful rich skin” and thought Bronze, then I dropped the E to make it look fancy. I bought the domain within an hour and stayed up all night researching vendors, websites, logos, etc., and that’s where it all started!
Has it been a smooth road?
Absolutely not. I’ve failed so many times at pretty much everything that needed to be done, and I’m glad I did because you learn so much more from failing, you’ll never stop learning as an entrepreneur. I have had issues with trying new hair vendors halfway across the world via What’s app, trying the hair and it being complete garbage, tangling, matting along with the hundreds of dollars I’ve wasted trying these vendors, it took me a year to find the perfect vendor for my company.
I launched my website in March 2018 had issues with inventory, customers placing chargebacks, didn’t like my website, not liking the photos or the image of my brand. I had enough of it and stopped selling in May of 2018 to rebrand and do it right. I’d work long hours 50-60 hour weeks to earn more money to hire models, photographer, website developer. It was the biggest risk I’d taken financially, but I knew this is what it was going to take to compete in the market. I didn’t have an option to do less than expected because this type of business you have to have good content, great colors, nice logo, quality everything.
I’ve cried so many nights because I was growing as a learning entrepreneur, and it’s EXHAUSTING, but I get up every morning excited because I did all of it on my own, my vision created what I wanted, I planted the seeds, and now I’m watering and watching my business bloom. I love Bronz, it’s my baby, and after all of the hard work I put in its up and running, and I am very pleased with my brand.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Bronz Hair Co. is a luxury raw hair extension company. We specialize in Southeast Asian hair extensions from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma. I am most proud of the product that I offer, it took a long time finding quality hair to offer to my customers, and I absolutely love my product because it has amazing natural luster and matches the texture of WOC a lot better than other extensions on the market.
My company takes great pride in being honest and transparent with our customers. Some hair extension companies don’t test their hair , they slap a price on it and say its the best , they also make up these exotic names for marketing purposes, which is not bad , but I prefer to know the truth about what I’m putting on my head as a consumer, so I wanted to be a transparent company. I hate to break it to people, but Brazilian, Malaysian and Mink hair is not real.
Majority of the hair you purchase is from China, Vietnam, etc. I don’t purchase hair from China because the majority of the vendors process their hair heavily and it doesn’t last long term; not all vendors are that way. I just prefer to do business in Vietnam and Cambodia because the product is so much better in my opinion.
What sets us apart from other companies, is that we provide bundles with thick strands, longer single wefts for easy installation for sew-ins and our hair last up to 3 years with quality care.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I believe Houston, is great for my business I’m 100% online based, so it really doesn’t matter where my office is based. I’ve had customers from Brooklyn, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, etc.
The advice I would give to someone starting out is to stay consistent and put in the work. It will not be easy at all, you can pay someone to set up a hair extension business for you, you can pay for vendor list, etc., but it is nothing like researching on your own and finding those hidden gems. It’s going to be tough, and the market may seem oversaturated, but what’s for you is for you.
The hair extension market is projected to reach 10 billion by 2023, so I believe that anyone with the passion and diligence to stay consistent can succeed. So find your seat at the table, and if you can’t find one bring the table.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bronzhairco.com
- Email: info@bronzhairco.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/bronzhairco
- Facebook: facebook.com/bronzhairco
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
