We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katii McKinney a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katii, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Most in this industry do not test out all of the products they carry or get to know the brand itself. We make sure every product we carry is tested so we can speak to its quality, how to use it, and explain how it works and could work for you. Normally products are carried because they are poplar brands. We seek out brands that are not as well known, some are start ups, but all are small black owned businesses.

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

I grew up in New Braunfels and in many cases, I was the only black girl in the class. Like many little black girls who don’t really see people like themselves portrayed as smart and beautiful, it was difficult growing up feeling that way. The older I got, it was a matter of showing people how intelligent I was to combat what many saw on TV.

As I grew older and started my family, I wanted to change the narrative for my son and especially for my daughters. I was able to instill confidence in my daughters and their appearance until they started kindergarten. That is when they started to feel that their hair in its natural state was not pretty. I then made the decision to set the example and make them feel better about their hair is curly.

So we started off on our journey only wearing our hair in its natural state and no longer straightening it. As they grew older, they gained confidence in how they looked and it showed in their style. A year before, I started Elegant and Dapper, we were in a local beauty supply store and a young man was looking for products for his hair. I noticed that the rep only told him the aisle he could find curly hair products in.

While he was in the aisle, he asked his friends what they thought he should get. There wasn’t any guidance given by the rep on what could help him. It made me think in a world of natural hair what we call “Product junkie” was just due to not having the information on what products could do according to what we needed or looking for them to be used for.

I started researching how to form a business and looking for brands that would allow me to sell their products. I then took it a step further and reached out to other small black-owned businesses that were creating their own products. In 2017, I established my dba, and in 2018 with a small loan from my parents, I launched my website Elegant and Dapper with a few brands that were willing to work with me as a small start-up company that was solely online.

My family all jumped right in and helped test products we brought in to the point that when I started participating in vendor events my daughters were able to inform and advise on products without me having to stay at our table. We continue to research and expand the brands we carry and promote them online as well as at events we attend.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on my website that I maintain but many of my vendor partners do not allow third party market place sales like on Amazon. I chose to use Squarespace as my hosting site. It was recommended by my cousin Dave McClinton that is an artist in Austin who had been using the site for many years. It is very ecommerce friendly and easy to use by anyone. I recommend it on a daily basis because of the ability to create content from my phone, take point of sales orders that update my inventory when I participate in events, the most cost efficient compared to other ecommerce hosting platforms, and add products and photos with ease. The pros are all of those things and having the access to new features and external apps as they partner with other companies without having to build those connections. The cons to the site would be not being able to build out a robust website with my own stand a lone features but that will be something I will work toward in the future. What I have going on right now is best suited for me.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Right now the books that I am reading that are impacting how I look at my management and entrepreneurial journey is Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Social Entrepreneur’s Playbook by Ian C MacMillan and James D. Thompson. Atomic Habits talks about how small changes can make a difference even when you think it wouldn’t. As a business owner I believe that sometimes we think changes have to be big and dramatic but simple things that you maybe not even think would matter can make a big difference. Knowing that I look at what I can do to improve my customer service or my product arrivals that would make my customers feel good about ordering from me. With the Social Entrepreneur’s playbook, it looks at your social impact and feasibility. I believe my business needs to make that impact to my community not just for myself but for others and their families.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elegantanddapper.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/elegantanddapper
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/elegantanddapper
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elegant-and-dapper/
• Other: tic-tok Elegant and Dapper