We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mawril Gray a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mawril , appreciate you 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 was a stay at home mom having a chit chat with a good friend in my dining room of my apartment one day, and I mentioned to her I need to find something to do to make a little money and take up some of my free time. Being a stay at home mom is great but taxing on your mental at times. I needed to fill a void and she said why don’t you start braiding in your free time. I was like maybe but I don’t want to just braid hair it would have to be a business. So from there on the ideas started flowing. I had already took the Art of Braiding at PG community college as a source of education to enhance my skill and already talent of braiding. I made my first flyer at home that evening with a polaroid picture I had taken from a client at the class I took. The problem was the I had no name for my business. No clue! So I spoke to another friend and I mentioned I need a name for my braid business but Im stomped, they in return say Rilbraidz Braidery mind you my name is Mawril so taking the Ril out of it and adding braidz with a Z only made perfect sense. From there Rilbraidz Braidery was created. Through good friends and conversations a talent I already possessed was brought to life. I have since rebranded to Mawril & Co because I not only do braids but we now offer Natural products and wellness care products. So we are more than braids 16 + years later
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.
Well I was born to be a leader and my own boss, thanks to my parents who owned their own natural food deli on capitol hill in Washington DC. So seeing the process from idea to store front was an attainable concept. I had always had the skill of braiding hair and knew it was something I could do that was like second nature to me. We are formerly known as Rilbraidz Braidery all across all platforms but we re-branded in 2022 to Mawril & CO. because we now offer more than braids and have matured as a company. I do Natural hair, braids, twist, weaves, loc maintenances. We also offer treatments for thinning hair, alopecia and other hair and scalp issues. 2015 I got certified a hair loss & scalp specialist and can properly differentiate scalp concerns. I plan to become a practitioner in next year or so. We also offer all natural chemical free products for hair, body and wellness for my clients. Our products consist of; scalp butter/hair oils, twisting cream, shampoos/conditioners, body butters, body scrubs, we do wellness balms for sick days and pain relief salve because sometimes you just don’t want to take a pill. I love a good holistic approach. My first product I created was in 2014 and It was black soap shampoo we called it Black Mud and it was created for my son because of his sudden dry scalp. Now he is 25 years old and with a healthy scalp. You have to love what you do in order to be successful in it. To stand in on one spot behind a hair chair for 4 to 6 hours and braid hair, have conversations, offer a product and at the end see your clients smile is why this is all worth it. Each client is an audition for the next client.
Have you ever had to pivot?
It’s so many pivots you take in life and business but its the mandatory pivots that count. My biggest obstacle was Covid-19 when it showed up because with me being a hair braider, physical touch was a must and not being able to be within 6 feet of anyone was devastating. This was my lively hood you are talking about and I have no back up but my products but who is thinking about hair oil when toilet tissue is a necessity. Survival for everyone was at the for front of everyday. I took a few weeks to think, clean, work on ideas and figure out. So I said well, I’ll order PPE items, we’ll work outside, I’ll check temperatures at door, and do wellness checks but the kicker was all the hair supply stores were closed unless it was a necessity or need. Until one day someone said Mawril you know the beauty Mart on 301 in upper Marlboro delivers hair, and from there the light bulb came on and the braiding started. We successfully braiding 1 client a day until we did 2 a day until we one day were back into the swing of things. We had a couple of COVID scares but not from braiding but because someone had been around someone who had been around someone. At that time I had knew if could survive a virus that was taking over the world then my braid business that I started could survive anything because I am the business.
How did you build your audience on social media?
In 2009 I had just joined facebook. I had been doing a good friend of mines hair in some braids and I was like let me just post it, The second I posted, my post was flooded with comments like; omg Ril I didn’t you did hair. When did you start braiding? How can I book? From there on I knew this was gonna be good. So posted often, took clients and started a page. That one post helped start a ripple effect of clients. Today we are on facebook, Instagram, Tictok, Pinterest, Linktree, You tube and we have a website along with an etsy store. I was nervous to put myself out there and was for a long time but at the end of the day I was just being myself sharing my talent and skill. Did I know it would be brand building and create a money making platform, NO. Would I do it all over again? Yes. I say that to say do what feels right and go for it. Create that page, start that business, build that website, make that flyer and post that content. We also have went from selling products in shop to online to now we do pop-up vending events all across the DMV area. You never who sees it and could change your life. That one post gave me the freedom to do what I love and showcase my God given talent and skill.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mawrilandcompany.com
- Instagram: @thebestrilbraidz
- Facebook: Ril Ril Ril
- Youtube: Mawril_Co
