Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Amosu.
Lisa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in a very strict household, I am the youngest of five sisters and always have been the different sister who went against the grain, being the tallest and the daredevil among my siblings made life interesting. My mom singled me out and often took me to the local flea markets to sell random things we had in our home. I never knew it was more than a learning experience but those times with my Mom shaped me to be the humanitarian and entrepreneur I am today. My mother would lose focus on selling things at the flea market and we would abandon our selling table and find homeless people to feed.
I watched my mother help a man who slept in his car, she went so far to not only feed him but to went to Goodwill and bought him some second-hand clothes and allowed him to take a shower at our home. Witnessing my mother’s bargaining skills and her passion to also help people made me want to do the same thing. After she passed away in my senior year in high school, I was hit with another blow. I had to decline the scholarships and grants I received so that I could stay at home and take care of my Dad and younger brother, this experience made me grow up even faster than I ever expected. My sister signed me up for Cosmetology school in hopes that I could follow in her footsteps but I dropped out and attended college. I ended up opening a nail salon and was one of the most popular, sought after nail tech in Baltimore. I later relocated to Houston with my then-husband and became a housewife. The entrepreneur in me would not let me rest, so my then spouse and I opened a mortgage company and cleaning company in Houston, TX.
During my work experience in Corporate America, I learned professionalism, time management, employee relations, budgeting and a full list of how to properly run a business. While working as an executive assistant for a major oil and gas company, I started an online business “My Trendy Place” in June 2006. We started off selling wigs online and eventually, the business started to grow to the point where I struggled with staying on top of my position in corporate America. As God would have it, I was terminated from the job and thought it was the worst day of my life.. I was a single mother, did not receive any child support, just purchased a house with my steady income. Here’s where the second-guessing started! I had great benefits for me and my son. I had guaranteed money as long as I showed up for work. Things changed so fast! I was so worried how I was going to keep my house if the business would be consistent and where would I get new, affordable health insurance for me and my son??
Just as I was dismissed from my job, my friend picked me up with all of my belongings from work. He encouraged me and said, “maybe this is a sign you should do your business full time” I was so scared and lacked confidence. We decided to stop at a restaurant on our way to my home and this is where my GOD MOMENT happened. While having one too many drinks at the bar, my company phone rang and it was a real customer wanting to come to my “Studio” to look at some wigs, little did she know my studio was a room in my house that was created on the fly. My friend encouraged me to accept the appointment and allow the customer to come over, Can you believe this customer ordered seven wigs and left a deposit of $1250 with me within 3 hours of being fired????? Get this. The next customer spent 2K a few hours later!!
I did this with NO INVENTORY, NO DIGITAL MEDIA, Nothing but real prayers! The trusted me to provide a quality wig without seeing any samples. I was like, Oh My Goodness, I believe in myself, I believe in my business. This was June 2007. Since then, the business has seen tremendous growth, nose dives and lots of opportunities as well as hard times.
We started off in a Salon Park, moved to a double room, eventually moved to a storefront and incorporated the boutique, which was a great power move. We then moved to a large location and added breast prosthesis and men’s accessories to our line. Once Hurricane Harvey stopped in to see us, business tool a nosedive and we relocated to another location and unfortunately, the traffic and logistics of that location did not work out for us, so we relocated again. I refused to give up on my business., just that simple. Our location worked for the time but we were motivated to move to a smaller studio for the wigs and to take the boutique online just as COVID-19 began. The pivots and challenges has been uncomfortable and uncertain at times but we have been blessed through it all. My Trendy Place is a business with a purpose! We help women reclaim their positive self imagine with high-end hair replacement systems, breast prosthesis and gorgeous clothing. We know that when you look good, you feel better.
Our non-profit LEAP, Ladies Empowering All People, offers free wigs for women and children who suffer from Cancer, Alopecia, Lupus and other forms of medically related hair loss. www.leapwithus.org
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Our path started off smooth but of course, with anything, challenges come to strengthen you. Our store was broken into some years ago. The thieves stole over 150K worth of wigs and the news made the headline of the New York Times. We could not have paid for that kind of advertising!! That incident brought so much attention and donations so that we could get back on track due to being under-insured. We decided to continue with our original plans to host a celebration for the cancer survivors.
Please tell us about My Trendy Place.
My Trendy Place is a woman’s one-stop-shop. We offer high-end hair replacement systems for women suffering from Cancer, Alopecia and other forms of medically related hair loss. We provide breast prostheses and clothing for all women. We are known for having high quality, durable wigs that looks amazing. Our customer service is exceptional!
I am most proud of how we have been able to bounce back after so many roadblocks and hardships. We still believe this is an important business to many people. We are different from the average wig shop. We actually act as a resource for cancer patients – we have partnered with The American Cancer Society and The National Alopecia Foundation to help guide our clients and patients.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have studied numbers and reached out to a mentor to help guide me.
Contact Info:
- Address: My Trendy Place 6250 Westpark Ste 209 Houston, TX 77057
- Website: www.mytrendyplace.com
- Phone: 713-723-2900
- Email: [email protected], [email protected]
- Instagram: My Trendy Place
- Facebook: My Trendy Place
- Twitter: My Trendy Place
- Yelp: My Trendy Place
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