We were lucky to catch up with Comfy Stennis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Comfy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I started this journey long ago. At 13, I decided stop letting my mother do my hair and took matters into my own hands. My styles were cute enough for family members and friends to start asking for me to help them. At 17 I went to cosmetology school but after graduating high school I decided to go to college instead of pursuing cosmetology full time. While in college, I still did my peers beauty services like hair and nails then learned how to do makeup. Fast forward 15 years, I am now a full time artist/entrepreneur that specializes in beauty and fashion services. Sometimes I get discouraged that I didn’t take my hobbies that translated dreams seriously because I could have been further in my journey. I have to remind myself that everyone doesn’t start the same, have the same support systems or the mindset to be an entrepreneur. It took me getting fired from my night job to buck down, change my mindset and build these brands.

Since I jumped in head first, I didn’t start my business any of the traditional ways. I started my business freelance then from my home. I just got a website like a year ago, I know dinosaur. I still don’t have a storefront but God and grind willing it is coming. The backend logistics of business I had to invest in classes, business coaching , start up programs and seek help other business owners because lord knows that wasn’t my strong suit. I believe I’ve come a long way in business and still have room to learn more.

My advise to anyone wanting to start a business is to start writing your ideas down on paper or on your phone. Find someone who is doing great in business even if it’s not your field and shadow them or be their mentee. I am grateful for the people who have helped me get this far.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Comfy Stennis, owner of Thee Creatives and cofounder of Klout Company. My partner in Klout is Ardonyalasha Johnson. We are making people, places and things more bëautiful and the power to influence words in fashion. Thee Creatives specializes in braids, locs and makeup services and Klout Company is the fashion brand that invites you to be a good vibe with our community of dope kings and queens. Klout Company also does events like fashion shows and pop ups.

My beauty business offers services to some of Kansas City’s most talented and busiest families who love that they can come relax, get their services done and not have to worry about their hair or makeup for their special events or maintenance appointments. It’s self care basically, while at a beauty service, guests can vent, chat, sleep or shop our merchandise and products. In the coming years, we’d love to become a one stop shop for the locals and beyond.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

In college I started doing makeup. To get practice and build my clientele I used to do events around the city like The Kritiq, KCFW and other fashion shows around KC.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I met my business partner Ardonyalasha Johnson in high school. While in high school we attended cosmetology school at the same time and became best friends. We also went to one of the same colleges so we stayed closed after graduation. In 2015, I presented the KLOUT idea to her and we built on that. As I mentioned earlier I am a strong artist and sometimes need help with logistics and that’s her strong suit so we make a great team. Outside of merchandise, we’ve been coordinating fashion shows for the last few years and create magic together. Ardonyalasha wants to do a kids fashion show so that may be next for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theecreatives.com
• Instagram: @yofavecreative
• Facebook: Comfy Stennis
• Twitter: @yofavecreative
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCk3Kt0yym_cgobriYtNysNA
• Yelp: Thee Creatives

Image Credits
Various KC Photographers