We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brina Bujkovsky. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brina below.

Brina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

My parents – particularly my mom – infused me with a ton of personal confidence in both my own natural talents and my abilities to learn new skills. I grew up feeling like I could accomplish anything as long as I felt passionately about it. Both of my parents were artists and they always encouraged me to pursue my love of art, design and music.

That said, when I was a kid, most people believed that we were born with natural talents and proclivities rather than the more contemporary growth-mindset. Not to mention that some aspects of society and career aspirations were somewhat off-limits to girls at that time. Children these days have more avenues to explore and better opportunities to make their own paths.

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’m a born entrepreneur. I started selling packs of chewing gum to my classmates at the back of the school bus in Kindergarten. I used to make crafts for every holiday and sell them to my friends as gifts for their parents on Mother’s Day and Christmas. In 7th grade, my mom and I sewed and sold hundred of custom made scrunchies for $1-$3. I took the profits and invested in my porcelain doll collection.

Magic Manes Hair is my third successful ecommerce business. In 2001, I started a handmade gifts business called The Younique Boutique and ran it with my family until 2012. I sold custom wedding cake toppers from 2013-2019. I started Magic Manes at the beginning of 2019.

I was looking for a small business I could run from my home office. After my experiences selling heavy, handmade ceramic platters and delicately sculpted polymer cake toppers that sometimes broke in shipment, I was drawn to an item that was lightweight and not fragile.

My daughter was in 1st grade at the time and along with her friends, very interested in unicorns, mermaids and bright colors. The girls were happy to model for me in exchange for free hair and it was fun to pretend to be a social media influencer and model the products for photos and videos.

My guess that kids would love our bright, fluffy and inexpensive hair extensions was right. Every time we went out to capture fun images and videos, other people would notice and compliment the kids. This brought out a ton of confidence in the kids that was fun to watch.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Prior to starting The Younique Boutique, my professional background was software interface design. Through my work as a designer/developer, I learned agile and lean methodologies which have served me ever since in all aspects of my work and career.

After The Younique Boutique was sold, I was very keep on the world of technology startups and I founder a San Francisco based startup in the event space called PopUpsters. We were accepted into an accelerator program and I was fortunate to learn from some of the very smartest and luminary mentors the Bay Area had to offer. I went on to become a fellow with the Startup Leadership Program here in San Diego and became a mentor for Startup Weekend.

Applying the same lean principles to my ecommerce startups, I always begin with testing product-market fit. For Magic Manes, I initially invested in 180 units in three colors and two styles for my 2 week sales test. I used Facebook ads and a video I shot with my daughter and her friends. The test was a success and I used the profits to invest in more inventory.

One thing I see often with new, hopeful business owners is a choice to build a giant catalog full of exciting products which requires a big capital investment. They’ll also hire web designers, photographers and ad buyers. All of this before they even sell one item. Usually, this is simply because they are afraid to find out that their idea isn’t profitable. I encourage newbies to learn the tools themselves and start small – sell to your friends and family first – be flexible on your product and willing to pivot. Start with a simple, testable hypothesis.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

I have sold several businesses. My best advice is to put your exit strategy in your initial business plan. How long do you want to run this business? What does a successful exit look like to you? How can this business serve as a stepping stone to a larger dream or goal?

Additionally, it’s important to consider the ways in which you can grow the business. For instance, if you are self-fulfilling orders, would you be willing to rent warehouse space in the future? What other verticals could you expand into? Taking these factors into account will help you make decisions along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Magic-Manes.com
• Instagram: @magicmaneshair
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/magicmanesshop
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brinabujkovsky/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfZs43vtfRZEFwuuox8Ui5w