Today we’d like to introduce you to Nycole Mason.
Hi Nycole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always dreamed of owning my own beauty supply store and it became even more important to me when I began to receive bad treatment and would get looked at as if I was going to steal something when I would go into stores that are Korean-owned. I lost my job in March of 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. When I lost my job, I thought to myself “okay God must be giving me the signs to start on my business journey” so from there I started doing a lot of research on how to open a beauty supply store, the cost, finding a location, etc. But I got stopped in my tracks because the world was shut down. Non-essential businesses couldn’t be open, no one was renting out commercial spaces or anything.
At this point, I felt a little discouraged because I didn’t want my dream of owning a store to not come true. So I thought to myself “how else can I fulfill my dream while the world is shut down?” I thought to myself how many times I’ve been getting my hair done and ran out of hair or I’ve gotten off work late and couldn’t make it to the hair store before they closed. It would be dope to have a beauty supply store that could deliver. When that thought came to my mind I was like BINGO that’s what I’m going to do. I am going to do a mobile beauty supply store. I am going to be like the DoorDash and Uber Eats but for hair care. I had to pivot my initial plan to something that I could do while the world was shut down. I officially registered my business in November of 2020. I started reaching out to vendors trying to get accounts, finding people who are in the same industry I was now getting ready to partake in. I joined a Facebook group dedicated to beauty supply store owners. I even found a vendor overseas because I wanted to carry my own brand of braiding hair. I wanted to have something, a product that was going to separate me from other beauty supply stores on top of my business model of being mobile. I officially launched on 5/7/21.
Since the launch of my mobile beauty supply store, Elegant Boutique, things have been amazing. So many people love the convenience and love that they can order their hair care products online without having to leave home and within an hour have them delivered. No one has to stress about trying to make it to the hair store before they close and be in the middle of a style and run out of product and not have a way to get it. My business has shipped to 13 states and 1 county so far with the goal of shipping to all 50 states and even more countries. Our own brand of braiding hair has become our top seller and constantly sells out! We even now offer wholesale! We offer wholesale on our braiding hair, products and much more. And it’s not just for licensed stylists or those who work in a salon. We even offer wholesale to home based stylists We want to help anyone who does hair (braiders, stylists, barbers) the opportunity to save money and maximize their profit. And our minimum quantity for items are pretty low and you save quite a bit by buying wholesale with us 🙂 it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I am going to be 100% transparent and honest, it has not been a smooth road. When I was first starting out, it was extremely difficult to get approved for a lot of vendor accounts because I don’t have a brick and mortar location and all of the vendors require you to have a brick and mortar some even come and visit your store before they approve you for an account and even then they can and will still deny you. But I found some ways to get around that, lol. Also, during COVID and when I first launched, shipping was extremely high, my vendor overseas was shut down for a few weeks so I couldn’t order braiding hair which was terrible because people had fallen in love with my hair and I didn’t want to let my customers down or stop offering it to them so I had to figure something out. Sometimes I have customers saying they don’t want to shop with me because I’m not a physical store and that sometimes can get discouraging because I think about the money I’m missing and the customers I don’t get to see and help but I try not to let that get me down and I keep pushing and focusing on all the good.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business Elegant Boutique specializes in an array of hair care products, accessories, hair and wigs for women, men and kids. We are also known for having our own brand of braiding hair that is our top seller. Stylist and customer absolutely love it and say they will not purchase any other hair now that they have tried ours.
What sets my business apart from others is we are not a traditional beauty supply store. We don’t have a brick and mortar location. We are online based and offer the option of local delivery and worldwide shipping. When people call us to inquire about us, like what time we close, where we are located, etc. and we tell people we are online and offer local delivery they are so shocked and always say “we have never heard of anything like this before this is amazing.”
What I, the owner am most proud of when it comes to my brand and business is that I have created something that is not traditional and that a lot of people haven’t really thought of. When most people think of beauty supply stores they think of the traditional brick and mortar, no one really thinks outside the box. I am also proud that we have shipped to 13 states, 1 country and have had multiple stylists inquire and purchase wholesale from us. I am also proud that my business was featured on the local news for being the FIRST and ONLY mobile beauty supply store in the whole state of Oregon.
What I want my readers to know about my brand and what we offer is that we are very unique in what we do. We offer something that no one else offers, which is our own brand of braiding hair. And there aren’t too many mobile beauty supply stores around. We also offer wholesale. We want stylist, braiders and barbers to be able to save money when they are shopping with us and not just 5% or 10%. We also listen to our customers on their needs and wants when it comes to things we should be carrying if we aren’t carrying something yet and we work our hardest to get the item in a timely fashion.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters to me the most when it comes to my business is being able to connect with my customers and providing them with the best customer service. Even though I interact with my customers via email, text or a phone call it is still extremely important for me to provide them with great customer service, listen to their needs and wants because they are trusting someone they have never met to deliver their order to them. It can already be a little scary ordering online because you never know what you may get.
It’s important for me because I know firsthand how it feels to be looked at or treated differently walking into a hair store. I know how it feels to ask a question to someone who doesn’t look like me and them not know anything about hair and can’t tell me anything about the product I want to buy.
Outside of business what matters to me the most is family. Family is extremely important to me and they are the reason I keep going when I sometimes want to give up. They cheer me on daily and are always proud of me and what I have accomplished so far.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elegantboutiquebeautysupply.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elegantboutiquebeautysupply
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elegantboutiquebeautysupply
