Meet: Vera, CEO of Fab Hair 1984

Introduce yourself and profession to our readers:
My name is Vera and I am the CEO of Fabhair1984, LLC. We currently sell high quality 100% Human Remy Virgin Hair (Exquisite Collection lasts up to 2 years with good care) and 100% Raw Human Virgin Hair extensions (Stunning Collection, lasts up to 4 years with good care). I also work full time as a Department Manager at a Healthcare company full time while trying to build this business and I obtained an Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Health Services Administration and Bachelor Degrees in Political Science. My professional and educational background enhanced my analytical, client services, entrepreneurship, financial, project management, marketing and operational skills. I am able to apply these skills on a daily basis to this business. 

What inspired you to pursue this area of interest:
For as long as I can remember I have always been interested in hair care and having fabulous hair. Too many women of African American descent ruin their hair with human hair extensions that are poorly processed with damaging chemicals and often have animal fillers and/or synthetic fillers.  In addition, they sometimes use hair care products that contain harsh chemicals that can be damaging to African American Hair. As a result, based on all a full year of research and testing many different hair vendors and hair care products, Fabhair1984, LLC came to fruition and we are offering two collections of high quality 100% Human Virgin Hair as well as closures and frontals:
The Exquisite Collection: 100% Human Remy Virgin Hair extensions,lace closures and frontals that can last up to two years or more with proper care. Bundles of the same texture and origin are exactly alike and blend well with African American hair. This collection is ideal for people who like to change their hair styles a lot, protect their hair so that it can grow string and healthy, and style and maintain their hair with a lot of ease.
The Stunning Collection: 100% Raw Human Virgin Hair Extensions that can last up to 3 years or more with proper care. This is single donor hair meaning that no two bundles of hair are alike so one would have to ensure that they choose the correct blend. The hair blends extremely well with African American Hair and frontals. This collection is ideal for people who do not want to change their hair a lot and are willing to put in the time to take care of this type of hair to make it last long.
Our main objective is for women of color to feet beautiful with fabulous real human hair extensions while protecting and growing the hair underneath the extensions. This is also why we do not sell tape ins or clip ins because both can be extremely damaging to African American hair types.

What advice would you share with those interested in a similar pursuit? 

I can go on for days on this but here are 5 major ones:

1. Always put God and Jesus Christ first (if you are a Christian). I am so serious it works. Pray every morning and night and go to Church every Sunday and make sure to give your tithes and offerings no matter how small every week. Your blessings and the clarity of your vision will grow because God and Jesus Christ have a dream for all of us and the more you involve both of them and allow them to take control when you feel stressed out the better off you will be in this pursuit.
2. Start out locally, figure out what your target market is who your competitors are. This will help in the creation of your brand and improve your focus, thus improving your marketing strategy
3. Create a budget. Starting this business can cost you anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000. This includes branding, website creation, business cards, information and how to pamphlets, packaging, purchasing of hair from multiple vendors so that you can conduct various tests to see how the hair performs, and purchasing hair so that a potential customer/client can feel the hair and eventually purchase hair off of your website. 
4. Persevere and work on the business whenever you have free time and work for another employer full time because you may not see a lot of sales in the beginning (3 months to a year to be exact). Do not let that discourage you!
5. Take advantage of social media. It is free advertising. Post different pictures of the hair and products as much as you can because it will get your name out there

Discuss a professional challenge and how you overcame it: 
One professional challenge that I over came was the funds to pay for everything I needed especially since I still have school loans to pay off and other bills to pay.  This to me is the hardest part of the whole project especially since I did not want to take out another loan. I prayed constantly for a solution and was blessed with one! Every two weeks a portion of my paycheck would be spent on the business and I have an amazing mother who believes in me, prays often an well and from time to time she would donate towards this effort.

 What is next for your brand/business in 2016? 

1. In 2016 I hope to offer more different types of 100% Raw Virgin Hair (Filipino, Burmese, and South East Asian) extensions
2. Change in the brand name
3. Potentially start offering the hair care products and vitamins so that my customers can take care of their hair underneath their hair extensions
4. We will be attending more shows in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside areas of California as a vendor to showcase the hair and take orders onsite. Regular shipping will be free and there will be no sales taxes applied. Details for these events will be posted on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest
5. More stylist partnerships 
6. Unveiling of our YouTube channel for installation and hair care tutorials 

How can readers connect with you online and through social media?

Readers can connect with us in the following ways:
Readers can check out our website: www.fabhair1984.com/products
Call: (516) 644-3691
E-mail: Fabhair1984@outlook.com
Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest: Fabhair1984