We recently connected with Nonye Nduaguba and have shared our conversation below.

Nonye, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think that being focused and persistent are two things that are really important for success. I view success as an auto door that is closed from afar but automatically opens for you when you are very near to it. If you persist, you will prevail. A lot of people especially our young ones are impatient and give up easily. Being focused is what makes you use your energy and time on only important pursuit, and persistence is what helps you overcome the challenges that you face when pursuing your goal.

You have to be dedicated, self disciplined and willing to make sacrifices to achieve your goals. You have to keep learning to stay ahead and be flexible enough to adapt to new challenges.

Nonye, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Nonye hair braiding, and Nonye Hair Braiding is me. My braiding passion started at a boarding school in Nigeria, where I discovered my creativity. Hair is my passion and I turned it into a business. My greatest motivation is when my clients are happy and recommend my work. It gives me so much strength to work even harder and create more.

Our Services range widely from cornrows, men’s locs and braids, to women braids, and we care for all hair textures. All we need is a picture and we recreate the same style or even better. I am a creator and a pacesetter, so I always come up with trendy styles and our clients love it. I sleep thinking of the next trendy style to do, and the funny thing is they end up trending, that fuels me to become better.

What sets me apart from others is that I am a Brand. After 16 years in Austin, I have been able to separate and distinguish myself from others by my values, genuineness, consistency and my communication with my customers. I have worked so hard to be where I am today.

I am grateful to my support system. Without them I could never be a brand. They made me the woman I am today and I am grateful. Our mission is to provide our customers with professional and friendly service that is specialized to meet their individual needs and wishes. I am also proud of my clients, your support and love keeps me going.

I am proud of myself for never giving up and chasing my dream. Now it is a reality. Where I am today is just a glimpse of where I am headed. Stick around as I have more in store for the city of Austin.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started my hair business in 2007, and it grew and expanded steadily but at the back of my mind, I still looked at it as my side hustle, so in 2010, I made plans to go back to school for a masters program.

I applied to Texas A & M university, Commerce and was admitted to a masters in accounting. I was working long days, had toddler twins, and was pregnant with my third baby, so my schedule was already tight, but I went back to school online to get my masters degree.

I knew it was going to be tough but I was mentally prepared. I took 2 classes each semester and managed to scale through the first 2 semesters. My biggest hurdle came In my second academic year, when I had to take tax accounting. Tax Accounting was different and very difficult for me as it required digging into the smallest details of tax code which I was unfamiliar with. I struggled with the class and eventually withdrew.

For the next 2 years, I focused on work and family. I was stuck and didn’t know how to proceed with my career and future until an idea suddenly came to my mind. I realized that in my quest for a career in accounting, I was wasting my talent and creativity. I am passionate about numbers, and I love to create and teach, and with my hair braiding business I can do all three. With a new mindset, I immediately applied to change from an MS in accounting to an MBA and my application was approved. I started back at school, but this time, it was in sync with my business. I was able to apply concepts from my class to my business. Three years later, I graduated from Texas A&M university with my MBA. Looking back, it was tough and seemed impossible, but I didn’t quit and was able to push through.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started braiding at the age of 12. I attended a boarding school for my middle and high school education. While at school, it was hard to find someone to do my hair as everyone had a braiding partner and the easiest way to get a braiding partner was to know how to braid myself . The first time I realized I could braid was when I braided my partners hair. She had long beautiful hair and her braids came out so good that she got compliments wherever she went. Unfortunately she wasn’t good with hair, so I walked around with an ugly hairstyle while she flaunted my handwork. It didn’t take me long to realize that I could recreate any braid style that I saw.

While at the university, I didn’t get to braid as it would take time away from my studies. I only braided my close family’s hair in order to save them money. I loved working with numbers and my future plan was to be an accountant or a university lecturer.

When I relocated to the United States in 2007, I planned on getting my Masters degree so that I can better my chances of getting a good job. While trying to apply to schools, I started braiding my family and friends in order to earn some income. I didn’t think much of my action until I started getting requests from other people who had seen my handwork and wanted me to do their hair.

Important events in the growth of my business was when I formalized my operation by moving from my garage to a very small space. Not long after, I got my first employee, and within a short time, the space became smaller and couldn’t contain my team. The transition to a bigger space was automatic for me as it was only natural that I provided a more conducive environment for my growing customers and employees.

My personal mantra are these words from Oprah ‘leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives ‘. As a leader, I have come to understand that people are unique and no two people are the same, so I try to relate with people individually and to always lead by example.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nonye.org
• Instagram: @nonyehairbraiding
• Facebook: NonyeHairBraiding
• Twitter: @nonyehairsalon
• Youtube: Nonyehairbraiding
• Yelp: Nonyehairbraiding