We were lucky to catch up with Amber Jackson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amber, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

My journey as a natural hair business all started from a desire to find products that met my hair needs. As a type 4 natural it’s extremely difficult to find products that cater to tighter curl patterns and coarser hair. The constant dilemma of brands changing their formulas and a lack of options that could provide adequate moisture led me to making my own DIY products. With years of being natural under my belt, I’d learned the ingredients that my hair grew to love.

I began showcasing how I used DIY hair recipes to grow healthy natural hair and the interest from friends, family, and my online audience grew from there! I noticed more and more people began stopping me to inquire about my hair and the products I used and I’d feel discontent knowing that I couldn’t refer them to the products I’d been using! From there the wheels began turning and the idea to start my business blossomed!

Contrary to popular belief, the process of starting my business wasn’t difficult at all! I always tell anyone that ask, that my journey was divinely guided by God. I leaned on YouTube heavily to learn how to find vendors, file legal documents, create my website, and design my labels. With God’s guidance, everything you see today was done on my own with the help of the internet! Whenever I’d come to a roadblock, or if there was something I couldn’t find online, God placed people in my path to provide answers to the problems I had! With amazing products in hand and all of the legal tasks behind me Classy Girl Essentials Natural Haircare was born!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Aside from being a business owner, my professional background lies in the world of science. I’m a board certified Medical Laboratory Scientist and I feel my background has been a tremendous help as it pertains to my formulations and understanding the characteristics of the ingredients I utilize.

As I mentioned earlier, my start in this line of business came from me seeking to create products for my hair that would provide moisture for my courser hair type. Hearing feedback from so many others struggling with this same issue fueled my desire to create a resolution for that problem. My haircare line focuses solely on one simple thing, moisture. The key ingredient to obtaining longer stronger hair all traces back to the hairs ability to retain moisture. My product line was created around that one word and the products we offer are our deep moisturizing hair butter, lightweight moisturizing oil, and our herbal infused hair growth oil.

Being hands on in my business from start to finish is something I’m extremely proud. We are a Christian based brand that not only cares about our supporters hair, but their overall wellbeing. We believe our core values as a Christ led brand sets us apart because we hold our company to a high standard and it reflects in the way we do business. We send out weekly encouraging blog post to our email subscribers to help them get through the week. Our brand is people centered, and my goal is that every person who decides to support our brand feels how much we appreciate them.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Being solely hands on in the process of manufacturing my own products was of utmost importance to me. I was very intentional about every ingredient used to make each product. It took many months to craft the perfect blend of ingredients before I landed on the final formulas. With my background in science I sought out ingredients that not only worked well for the hair, but focused on ensuring my ingredients were safe for my customers.

I was pretty comfortable with the basics of making my own products, however I did extensive research through articles and videos of other formulators to learn proper technique. My butter in particular came with a few learning curves because there are different phases in the process and missing a single step can completely alter the way the final product turns out!

There are some companies that opt out of the manufacturing process and have vendors to supply their products for them. I knew from the start that I wanted to personally be in control of what went into my products. It was important to me to make sure I knew how things were being done and what was being used to make my haircare products. Being involved in the process also made me feel a sense of connection to the customer. My involvement allows me to speak confidently with them and I often hear from customers that they appreciate my knowledge and ability to answer questions about the production of the products offered!

Being my own manufacturer has taught me a few lessons, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned from opting to be my own manufacturer is that knowledge is power.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There isn’t a moment in particular that I believe illustrates my resilience. My entire journey of becoming a business owner represents that. My faith and trusting that this path was what God was calling me to is the sole reason that my business exists today! There were many roadblocks I faced such as, lacking information as it pertained to my scope of entrepreneurship, battling doubt, and believing I could stay the course. My ability to quiet the noise and keep pushing forward in what was unfamiliar territory speaks to the kind of person I am. No journey is void of obstacles. Ultimately, in every endeavor, only the resilient see it through!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.classygirlessentials.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/classygirlessentials?igsh=Y2Rva3Nzc3RvZDlm&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EdHQj1i31/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/c/AmberAlycee
• Other: TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@classygirlessentials