Life & Work with Claycee Hackney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claycee Hackney.

Hi Claycee, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a hustler and I’ve always been creative, so I knew with my dedication I could make money off of my interests which have always been fashion and hair. I use to dye my hair crazy colors to match my outfits in high school. Girls would bring their bundles to school and pay me to dye them. I never had the desire to do hair, it was just an outlet to allow me to be creative and express myself. When I graduated high school, I moved to Los Angeles, CA to attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. I wasn’t used to not making my own money because I had two jobs in high school and my parents didn’t want me working my first year of college. The desire to still financially have my own birthed my first business CvbelloByClvydope (HairByClvydope).

I sold high-quality hair extensions, handmade custom wigs, clip-ins, frontals, closures, you name it. I told my family to not buy me Christmas gifts but to invest the money into my business. Although I started a business, I couldn’t 100% live off the money yet. I’ve always been a fly girl so I became a stylist worked on numerous projects such as photo shoots, video shoots, short films, TV shows, and movies but I didn’t feel like styling scratched my fashion itch enough. I lived walking distance from the wholesale district so on the weekends when I didn’t have anything to do I would walk around the district and just look at all the showrooms. Fast forward one year of living in LA, I used the money I’d saved from my hair company to fund my second-born DopeSZN. DopeSZN is an online women’s boutique. I like to call our style elevated streetwear.

At 18/19 years old, I was actively building two brands but also working traditional jobs. I graduated college in 2018, right after college I got a full-time job as a Merchandising Assistant but that didn’t last very long. My sister is my accountant and she did my books for my CvbelloByClvydope and DopeSZN. In one year I had made the same amount of money at my full-time job then I did with my “side hustles.” 2019 I officially moved back to Atlanta. LA played a pivotal part in my entrepreneurial journey but moving home was the best decision career-wise for me. I was shipping all my packages back here anyways. Although my businesses were doing well, I still styled for about a year and I also started doing hair. I always knew how to do it I just never saw myself as a hairstylist until my customers who were purchasing wigs from me wanted me to install them. 2020 I fully jumped in my self-employed bag and have been working for myself only ever since. Being a hairstylist or service provider was never in my plans. In November 2021, I launched my hot tools company SleekPRO Stylers to help myself start transitioning out of being a hairstylist.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth? Puh-lease. Nothing about being an entrepreneur is smooth. I think the biggest struggle is staying consistent. I’d look at my Wix and Shopify apps some days like “okayyyy anybody gonna place an order??” It’s easy to stay motivated when the money is rolling in but when you go through stagnant periods is really when you have to kick your discipline into over time. That’s why so many people say being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone, it is easier to give up but that’s what separates me from most. I’m never giving up. I also struggled a lot with realizing it’s okay for people to help you. I love doing everything on my own because I know it’ll be done right but I strive to have a billion-dollar beauty and fashion empire. I knew I couldn’t get there with a one-man band. I had to learn how to expand my network and I’m still learning that.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I don’t think I have one thing I’m most proud of. I’m most proud of my growth as a whole. I think there’s something very special about having an idea in your brain, creating and bringing it to life, and being able to financially live off of those ideas. Because my background is in fashion, I feel the most creative with my boutique. I plan my creative shoots literally from what I see in my head. I still shock myself when I pull it off.

My resilience sets me apart from others. I’ve been what people would consider a boss and a worker. I’ve done both at the same time before too but I never let anything stop me from chasing my dreams or fulfilling my passions. I’ve learned to adjust during difficult times in my career, that’s why I’d never give up.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I’m very authentic and I think it shows in my work. I’m not doing anything like anyone else. I always add my own spin to everything and I’ve never been worried about people not liking it. I feel like people appreciate when you’re authentic and have your own individuality. I’m also teachable. I think that’s one of the most important things someone can be entrepreneur or not. I learn from everyone, literally.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopdopeszn.com
• Instagram: @dopeszn @clayceebonja @sleekprostylers @hairbyclvydope
• Twitter: @clayceebonja
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/AllThingsDope

Image Credits
Javier Crump