We were lucky to catch up with Calvaniece Mason recently and have shared our conversation below.

Calvaniece, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I made the decision the beginning of Q1 to outsource my social media management and it’s been one of the best decisions that I could have made for my business.

I was neglecting that area of my business because I was not being consistent with my scheduling and posting. After reviewing my strengths and weaknesses in business from the previous year I decided to set a budget and work with someone who could handle this portion of my business.

Calvaniece, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Let’s just say I was born into the beauty industry… My mother was a hairdresser and during my teenage years I spent time working in my mother’s salon assisting her with clients and styling my classmates hair.

After graduating high school, I decided to go to cosmetology school in which I worked with haircare companies such as Aveda and Bronner Brothers Nu’Expressions I also furthered my education and skill set training with the Francesco Group Academy in the United Kingdom and at the Aveda Advanced Academy in New York under Jon Reyman

So, when people ask who is Calvaniece Mason? Well, I’m a former hairdresser who has turned her love and passion for beauty into a sustainable haircare brand for women of color.

In 2015 I officially launched Calvaniece Mason Hair Brands Co. my first product was the Elite Pro Turbo | Lite Professional Hairdryer.

As a former cosmetologist and cosmetology instructor for Aveda Institute of Atlanta at that time I was inspired to create an ergonomically designed high powered lightweight hair dryer for stylist after discovering the number of work- related injuries resulting in hairdressers developing and suffering from carpal tunnel.

After operating for several years,I went through a traumatic experience in which I suffered from hair loss. Searching for a solution to my own hair loss, I decided that I would create one for all women who may experience the same challenge of hair loss as myself.

Calvaniece Mason Hair Brands Co. has expanded into a sustainable hair care brand for women suffering hair loss.

When it comes to my brand, I am most proud of the fact that I have created a solution to help solve a problem that many women of color experience and suffer from which is hair loss.

This is something that is very dear to me, and I want to be able to help other women grow their hair back, feel their best self and continuing to share my love and passion for the beauty industry with the world.

I believe it’s important for me to promote healthy hair, the well-being of my consumers and the preservation of our environment. Meeting the standards of being eco-friendly, cruelty free, carcinogen free, paragon free and talc free.

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

My haircare products are manufactured in the United States. After years of research, I was finally able to connect with a chemist who was working with a manufacturing company here in the U.S. that manufactures haircare products.

One thing that people should always take into consideration when it comes to a beauty product is the testing that goes into it. I was no stranger to this process because when I worked with Bronner Brothers Nu’Expressions line each month I would have to test a batch of products on my clients in the salon.

The biggest take away is you want to have products that perform. After testing the products for a couple of years and the manufacture working on the ingredients to get the formulations to my standard after the results I seen of myself I knew it was time to bring my line of haircare products to market. Remember testing never stops…

Being manufactured in the United States the conversation was a lot different than sourcing overseas. One of the biggest reasons is my manufacturing company is owned and operated by a woman of color and my chemist is a woman of color. It made it easier for us to communicate and understand the challenges that women of color face and the best way for my brand to provide a solution to these challenges.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

Currently Calvaniece Mason Hair Brands Co. products are retailed exclusively online at www.calvaniecemason.com. We are in the process of expanding our brand store on Amazon.

Before expanding my brand into other retail avenues such as Amazon I wanted to generate all my traffic and revenue through my brands site. I wanted a more personable shopping experience with my consumers and the opportunity to connect directly with my audience before expanding to other platforms.

I think this is a good strategy for E-commerce brands, track your analytics and conversions from your site directly for six months to one year before navigating into other avenues.

It’s a marathon not a race, let your consumers and your leads generated from maybe your Facebook Advertisement get familiar with your brand and focus on building brand love.

Brand love is what will sustain you as you scale and it’s not a race to scale but a time to learn and grow with your brand as it evolves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.calvaniecemason.com
• Instagram: Personal @calvaniece / Business @calvaniecemason_hairbrands
• Facebook: Calvaniece Mason Hair Brands Co.