We were lucky to catch up with Donna Prescott recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Donna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I started my Beauty business as a means to escape an abusive relationship. I was considered a troubled teen and as a result, I was separated from my family and sent to live in Brooklyn NY with my grandmother. I soon became a teen mom. My son’s father was abusive and I needed to find a way to take of myself and my son. At the time my aunt was starting up her small salon business and invited me to work alongside her. I had a natural God-given talent for doing hair and it felt natural going into the world of the hair industry. I worked under her for about 5 years as well as 2 other hair stylists for another 5 years. I took all the experiences from each of these jobs and after being exposed to the endless areas that I could branch out in the beauty/hair industry decided to start my own business. I first started as a booth renter in a salon, which turned into my being promoted to the salon manager after only working there for 4 months. The owner was so impressed by my work ethic that he recommended me for a partner position. I work side by side with him for a year to learn the ropes of the business and within 1 and 1/2 of being the partner, I become 100% owner of my own salon business. Donna Prescott Beauty was formally called Alter Image Salon and was launched in 2012. I saw a need in my community for luxury salon services that catered to the individual needs of each guest. Many people within my community complained about having to travel far outside to get that type of service. So I created an atmosphere where each client would have a professional salon experience and that they would feel pampered at every visit. As I grew I eventually expanded into retailing Indian Hair extensions and luxury wigs and fully embraced becoming Donna Prescott Beauty.

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 am Donna Prescott, owner of Donna Prescott Beauty based in Brooklyn NY. I was born on the island of St Lucia and relocated to Brooklyn NY at the age of 16. I became a teen mom at the age of 17 and quickly had to use my gift to make a living for myself and my then-baby boy.

Donna Prescott Beauty is a luxury beauty/hair business that provides luxury salon services to my community. We retail our line of Indian hair extensions and luxury wigs. A very quality and premium product. We have a growing hair loss clientele that we cater to with our nonsurgical hair replacement services.

I have been building a DP Beauty Day program where I sponsor a free monthly day for someone dealing with severe hair loss for any reason. We run a contest on our business IG page and pick a winner to receive a free wig from our hairline collection, a hair and skin care service. This program is to bring more awareness to hair loss.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The first time I had to pivot in business I was not ready and it happened so quickly. Everything was going so well with my business but I was not paying attention to what was happening in the economy because I had the mindset back then that I had a need-based business and that people would always need their hair done. Little did I know that during a recession people tend to do what helps them save money. I noticed a decline in hair service appointments which was what made me have to take a deeper dive into my business and figure out ways to bring in more income to sustain. That’s when I learned about having different streams of income as well as passive income. I then developed a few areas within my business such as creating an affiliate program, selling digital products, offering one-on-one training, a wholesale program selling hair extensions and wigs, as well as retailing hair extensions and wigs. These pivots made such a huge change and growth in my business.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I initially started my business by bootstrapping. I started from ground zero I would call it. I came up with a plan to fill up my chairs and work my way through each appointment to save up funds to get all the necessary things that were initially needed. Eventually, I learned about building Business credit and tapped into that type of funding to further expand and frow the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://donnaprescott.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnaprescottbeauty/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaPrescottbeauty
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY4RLua70sWO27z9OTkNQuQ
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/home/qpIahwlf3RSvAI4sHEexjw

Image Credits
Wig on Lizzo is provided by Donna Prescott Beauty and installed by hair stylist Ysuefnyc. It’s a 24′ Relaxed Straight Full Lace wig provided for a shoot for Allure magazine.