We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Janelle Wilson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Janelle below.
Janelle , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
Hello, I am Janelle Wilsonn, the owner of Loving Locks, an independent company providing Sisterlocks®T services, products, classes, space share (chair rental) / private suite rental, and mentorships.
The first time I saw Sisterlocks®, I knew they were for me. I started my Sisterlocks® journey August 2007 and became certified July 2008. I am now a Sisterlocks senior trainer for the national Sisterlocks Organization, Brand Ambassador, and R-Certified to teach Sisterlocks retightening classes as well as a Sisterlocks product distributor.
I continue to love Sisterlocks at every stage of growth.
I managed a career as a Health Inspector, wife, mother and entrepreneur, and knew “Sisterlocks® is more than a hairstyle it’s a lifestyle”. -Dr. JoAnne Cornwell
Sisterlocks® is an answered prayer!
Vision: Provide chemical free, healthy hair management for women, men and children. Loving Locks seek to promote Liberation, Options, Versatility, Ingenious, Natural, Gorgeous hair.
Sisterlocks® ”It’s a lifestyle not just a hair style”- Dr. JoAnne Cornwell
Sisterlocks® is a natural hair management system that allows women with tightly textured hair to take advantage of a wide variety of today’s hair styles without changing the texture of your hair.
Sisterlocks® are tiny uniform locks that are the result of a precision parting grid, and a specialized tool is used to place the hair into its locking formation. -Dr. JoAnn Cornwell
“Sisterlocks® creates a stable , woven framework in a lock of hair within which the natural interlocking process can take place.” – Dr. Jo Anne Cornwell
Janelle , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello, I am Janelle Wison, the owner of Loving locks, an independent company providing Sisterlocks® services, products, classes, space share (chair rental)/ private suite rental, and mentorships.
The first time I saw Sisterlocks®, I knew they were for me. I started my Sisterlocks® journey August 2007 and became certified July 2008. She continue to love Sisterlocks at every stage of growth.
I managed a career as a Health Inspector, wife, mother, student and entrepreneur, and knew “Sisterlocks® is more than a hairstyle it’s a lifestyle”. -Dr. JoAnne Cornwell
Sisterlocks® is an answered prayer!
Mission: To Establish and maintain many types of locs, through professional quality service, and educating the client. Loving Locks LLC provides care, comfort, and confidence to enhance intrinsic beauty.
Vision: Provide chemical free, healthy hair management for women, men and children. Loving Locks seek to promote Liberation, Options, Versatility, Ingenious, Natural, Gorgeous hair.
Sisterlocks®”It’s a lifestyle not just a hair style”- Dr. JoAnne Cornwell
Sisterlocks® is a natural hair management system that allows women with tightly textured hair to take advantage of a wide variety of today’s hair styles without changing the texture of your hair.
Sisterlocks® are tiny uniform locks that are the result of a precision parting grid, and a specialized tool is used to place the hair into its locking formation. -Dr. JoAnn Cornwell
“Sisterlocks® creates a stable , woven framework in a lock of hair within which the natural interlocking process can take place.” – Dr. Jo Anne Cornwell
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
There were two times I had to pivot, the first was my career the second was my business. I stated that I met my first business customer as I sat studying in a library. I was a divorced mom desiring another source of income. I was working full time, while pursuing a higher college degree, knowing I needed to complete a 1 year unpaid internship that would require that I quit my county job. I took the Sisterlocks training with the mindset of slowly building clientele on the weekends, and anticipated that I would have a large enough clientele to sustain when I began my internship. It did not go that way, the clientele grew faster than I could finish school. I graduated, got a promotion, and business continued to grow. After COVID I quit my full time job to run my business full time. That was the first pivot, then the second also a result of COVID. I was running my business full time but COVID caused an abrupt stop to all hair care services that I was providing, my pivot was to switch to teaching my clients and other customers how to self -retighten their own locked hair, I was able to teach those classes online, sell the hair products online and teach for the national Sisterlocks organization online. Currently that pivot has excelled the business, which offers both options for online or in-person classes, an online store and a onsite product vending machine for students clients and other consultants, and all hair care services has resumed.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
My side hustle was to provide Sisterlocks services in my basement, have extra money for leisure activities and pay for school, well as stated earlier I got a promotion at my job, I never had to quit the job for internship, but my clients grew so quickly that when I met my husband he stated “this is no longer a hustle, this is a business”, I quickly began renting a small suite to provide services, the national Sisterlocks organization reached out to me to become an instructor, so I did not want to pass up such an opportunity. Once I became an instructor, I realized my clientele had out grown the suite I was renting. I began looking for something larger and found a building with several rooms including a conference room which I converted to my classroom. My salon became an official host location for the Sisterlocks Blended Training class, which I was now a paid instructor. The other rooms in my salon became suites to be rented to other consultants and I created the space share chair rental room, in which new trainees could book hourly to service their own new clients even if they had only one. This provide new consultants options so that they did not have to service clients at their homes after COVID.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovinglocks.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovinglocks08/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LovingLocks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLd74LymKh2A1ix8lG-gRcw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/loving-locks-plymouth-2
- Other: https://my.sisterlocks.com/janelle-wilson.html https://poplme.co/hash/XeP5R6ut/1/dash
Image Credits
Willie Wilson