We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leanna Penn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leanna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I never dreamed of having my own business. I was just a regular girl working at Home Depot designing kitchens. I worked for that company for six years and though I loved it very much, it wasn’t enough to pay my bills and take care of my two kids that were in daycare at the time. I worked my way up to kitchen design and it still wasn’t enough. So I quit. With no plan. Then one day my cousin asked me to do her locs. I knew the basics but I wasn’t a professional. She absolutely loved her hair. I posted the picture on Facebook and people started requesting me to do their Locs. And here I am now 4 years later. I have serviced more than half of the people in my city with Locs. I’m proud of myself.

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

I provide a ton of services for natural hair. Starter Locs, Loc Detox, Loc Repair, Micro Locs, Loc Extensions, Cuban Twist, Anything Protective for natural hair, I can do! The products I use are all natural and very soft and soothing to the scalp. When I first started I wanted to know everything about natural hair. I studied what natural products would help the hair to strengthen and grow. I’ve had clients come to me in tears because they have become so accustomed to wigs, that they couldn’t maintain their natural hair at all. I know all about the different textures of hair, And how long it will take for your hair texture to lock. I give my clients as much information as I can about their loc journey. Telling them to “Trust the Process” because the end results are beautiful. I’m set apart because the passion and love I have for my craft shows on my clients faces when they leave my chair. They Pay full price, tip, and promote my business because they too have seen the progress their hair has made since coming to me.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Absolutely. Let me just say when I first started doing hair as a side hustle I had no idea what I was doing lol. I didn’t know what I should be charging. Plus I didn’t really know how to style the locs like that either. All of that came with time. What made people keep coming to me was #1 I was passionate and #2 I was consistent. I posted every picture of every client. I made them feel loved and appreciated. No matter how much improvement my work my have needed. I loved it. Those same people are still rooting for me and sitting in my chair till this day. I realized that this wasn’t a side hustle anymore when I started taking my business more seriously. Even though I was working from home I made my living room look like a salon. I had awesome customer service from HOME. I started taking deposits. I think that also set me apart. I gained so much clientele from working out of my house that I had to go find a shop to Work in because my clientele grew so much.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I didn’t have money to fund my business at first. All I had was a comb and some gel lol. I literally started my business with nothing but vibes and confidence in myself. I would purchase my product with whatever extra money I had. I used a regular chair until I could afford a salon chair. And I had a hand dryer before I was able to purchase a stand up one. Yes you need money to start a business but all I had was hustle and a comb. I made do with that until I could do better. I want people to know, especially my young black women. Start off small. I know social media makes everything looks so perfect. But I personally believe that when you put blood sweat and tears into your business, all of the glitz will come. I’m not perfect. I still have my days. I’m still learning to save and put up money. But boosting confidence in my black people will always be worth it. THIS is my passion. I Am Leanna Do Locs LLC.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bookleannadolocsllc.as.me/
• Instagram: Www.Instagram.Com/Leannadolocs
• Facebook: Leanna Do Locs
• Other: TikTok: Leanna_Do_Locs