We recently connected with India Dinae and have shared our conversation below.

Hi India , thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I started my business because I was a black woman in a small predominantly white town where I got my BS in communications media and there were absolutely no products for MY hair type. I then moved to southern Illinois and the same story, no products for my hair…that weren’t completely toxic. So, my hair was completely damaged and I fit into the stigma that “black people’s hair doesn’t grow beyond a certain length”. I moved to Atlanta and decided to change what had been the case. I did marketing research on how many young Black women had been in my position and the numbers were absurd. From then on I transparently shared my journey on social media and the business took off before I even had proper labels and I was delivering products in brown paper bags, but I was making a difference. I have hundreds of people who credit me daily for how far their hair has come. My business began to stand out instantly because of my customer service, how quickly I shipped orders and the fact that I was not only selling a product but educating my customers as well on how to independently take care of their hair.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is India Dinae, I am from Philadelphia, Pa and the most important parts of me start with the fact that I was raised by a single mother. Having a mom that ALWAYS instilled in me that I could be whatever I wanted to be and to always keep God fist is the number 1 reason I’m here today. I had no idea that at a young age when my mom was refusing to put a perm in my hair and taking me to natural hair salons back in 2002 that she was feeding my subconscious for what I do today. After going on college and ruining my hair with flat irons, quick weaves, etc.and not having access to products that would restore my hair’s health I decided to be the solution for my girls going through the same thing. Me moving to Atlanta was initially for acting until I realized God had other plans for me, I quit my job and started iRestore with absolutely no money and no business background in 2019. Fast forward, almost 4 years later I own a company that has made $10,000 a month and has restored the hair, faith and confidence of hundreds of people. iRestore Hair offers 3 different hair oils that are tailored to individual needs, an aloe vera base shampoo, a jojoba oil base deep conditioner, a sea kelp infused heat protectant, an aloe vera infused edge control and much more to come in the future.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Running this business and trying to be a good steward over what God has put me in charge of has been THE most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. In the almost 4 years that iRestore has been in business I have had to endure some of the most traumatic events. During this time I’ve lost a baby, lost a former partner, and lost a friend all in devastatingly tragic ways, while also having health issues that have had me in and out of the hospital and even having surgical procedures. Despite all the test that have been thrown at me, my customers never had to worry about shipping times being delayed, quality of products going down or lack of transparency. I will always keep getting back up for them!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media was the easy part, finding my niche was the tough part. I entered a multi-trillion dollar industry, a Black women with no business background just winging it and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. When I first started I was just trying a bunch of different things but the one that worked the best and really built my audience was me being transparent about my own struggles and when I slipped up. Selling the people on myself and not a product was the best thing that happened to my business. My advice to any new or current small business owners would be to figure out what makes you stand out, what makes you human, what adds that “me too” factor to your business?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.irestorehairs.com
• Instagram: I_restorehair
• Facebook: I.restorehair
• Twitter: iRestoreHair

Image Credits
Kimani Dakota London