When you think of a beauty supply store, many of us picture a small store packed with goods, usually owned by someone of asian descent. Most of the products cater to our community with brushes and other hair tools, mixed in with number of hair products for just about every hair type, ranging from natural hair to every kind of weave.
Beauty supply stores are like many other businesses in Black neighborhoods, they are not actually owned by us, which shortens the circulation of the Black dollar significantly.
But Nineteen-year-old Kayla Davis and her 21-year-old sister, Keonna, are changing that.
They are the proud owners of KD Haircare Supply at 24453 Sunnymead Blvd. in Moreno Valley, which is ranked one of the toughest cities in the country to find jobs. This makes them some of the youngest, if not the youngest African American girls to own a beauty supply store.
The sisters said their idea of opening the store was born out of frustration when the pair could not find jobs.
“Talking to my mom, she was like: ‘Stop stressing about it and begging these people for a job and create your own business,’” Kayla said.
“We talked about what we both like. We both like our hair and know that people spend a lot of time on their hair,” Keonna said.
They initially opened an online store and when that was going well, they opened the store using money saved from that business and their part-time jobs plus some cash matched by their parents.
The young entrepreneurs did their research before opening the store. They went to their competition, big box retailers, vendors and mom-and-pop stores to see what were the biggest sellers were and where they should aim for their price point.
Business has been good, and the entrepreneurs hope to grow their business into a chain.
That might happen faster than expected because their story has gone viral with praises coming in from…
…all over the country.
The beauty supply store is only one of their dreams. Like most at the crest of adulthood, their aspirations are malleable. While they would like to franchise and open more stores, particularly on the east coast where they get the most inquiries, they haven’t given up on pursuing higher education. Kayla wants to be an ultrasound technician, and Keonna wants to go back to school to study 3D animation and visual arts. They are saving money for their next chapter now.
“You’re very tired at the end of he day. But it’s very much worth it because it’s your own store,” Keonna added. “You’re your own boss. You can make the rules and dictate what you want to do about it.”
While it may be tough some days, Keonna says having her sister by her side is a tremendous blessing.
“I have complete trust and faith in her. She has complete trust and faith in me.
“We’re sisters so we’re going to butt heads on things, but at the end of the day, we both love each other dearly,” she added
To learn more about KD Haircare Supply, visit its website and follow them on Twitter @KDHairCareLLC
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