We were lucky to catch up with SHARNICE WALKER recently and have shared our conversation below.
SHARNICE, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
I began Colorful Scissors, LLC in 2008 when I was 12 years old. I had an idea visit my clients at their homes and style them because a lot of people did not have transportation or was bed bound. I knew bringing the salon experience to them was a golden idea because my clientele started with senior citizens. Word of mouth began to travel from my good work and I began to service the daughters of my clients and then started servicing the grand and great grands of my clients and now I service the whole DMV. I turned my business into an LLC 3 years ago when I walked away from my job at State Farm because my time of growing someone else’s business was over. I spent 6 years with them and expanded their brand and raised them so much revenue that it no longer made sense for me to keep putting my “part time” business to the side. Making it my priority put me in a better position and made me flexible enough to chase other dreams and goals.
In my business, I have seen people progress and that touches my soul. I’ve seen families buy their first home, get their driver’s license, get promoted to new positions or jobs, have their first child, graduated from high school and college, and even I’ve seen people pass on as well. I become family with my clients in so many words and I love what I do. I will continue to service and make people feel beautiful.
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
My business began when I was 7 years of age. My mother began teaching how to braid hair one style at a time. We began with braids, then twist, then corn rows; Before I knew it I was doing my own hair by age 9 and had clientele since age 12. I took every thing I learned from my mother and applied it to my business. As the industry shifted and changed I began adapting and improving my skills accordingly to keep up with all the changes.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
In order to get my business started I had to work a full time job with State Farm for 6 years before I was able to invest in myself. I worked over 40 hours and sold a lot of policies to increase my paycheck with commisSION. It was exhausting working over 8 hours a day and then going to service clients in the evenings and weekends. Giving up most of your free time to build your future can be over whelming but I assure you that it pays off if done properly. I had to invest in websites, supplies, gas in my vehicle because I am mobile, business fees and taxes. Best decision I ever made.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Growing a business from scratch can be hard but it is doable. I used websites such as Craigslist, Facebook, and Instagram to grow my clientele. Craigslist improved once it became a site that charges to post because it weeds out the fakes. I was targeting a mature audience and I knew they would search for me there. Facebook helped me get families to use my service but things did not move as fast. Instagram was very helpful because I was able to promote my brands to over 21 thousand followers at one time. People enjoy your personality so I share that on my page and provide my followers with links to book me. Social media makes it easier to promote but it was an over populate community so you have to learn the different algorithms in order to be successful. There is always homework involved prior to just posting online.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colorfulscissors.online
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sharnice_cubana