After a bad salon experience, Registered Nurse Alexis Stanley created her own natural hair products. Her unique hair formula was a success, selling out of her initial batch of products in less than 24 hours on the launch date.
In 2020, Stanley’s Uniqurl products reached $1 million in sales and landed in 43 Sally Beauty Stores. The company is looking to expand into more stores this year.
Although Stanley reached her first $1 million in revenue in only two years after launching, she tells entrepreneurs that it’s important to understand the stories behind the success.
“Overnight success does not exist,” Stanley shared during an interview with Black Enterprise
. “A lot of people think ‘I’m just finding out about them and they are already a successful business’. But more than likely, they’ve been at it for a number of years before you found out about them. Business owners need to understand that persistence is key to making money. A lot of people quit too soon because they are looking for that overnight success.”Registered Nurse Reaches $1 Million in Sales for Natural Hair Products
Stanley’s hair products were born out of frustrations with her salon experience.
After a stylist colored her hair, it became damaged and it wouldn’t return to its natural curly state. She also noticed that her hair was breaking off. Desperate for a solution to restore her hair, she tried tons of products in the market.
Unfortunately, there was no
product that could cure her breakage. On top of that, her hair care routine was starting to become a job in itself, going through multiple steps to achieve her hair goals. Stanley needed a viable solution for her natural hair so she created it!Uniqurl was the result of years of trial and error. After 13 failed attempts to create the perfect product, she finally created the ideal concoction. Uniqurl is a clean, multi-use product line formulated to effortlessly maintain natural hair. She was able to narrow her must-have products down and mix them together to create the model solution for natural hair.
In 2018, Uniqurl was launched with one product under the company’s name. Since Stanley already had a community of people who wanted the product before it was available, she sold out on the first day. Her success kept growing from there, achieving the $1 million mark during a pandemic.
“Understanding your customer is important,” says Stanley. “You have to know where they shop, where to advertise your product, and have a robust email list to target customers.”
Natural Hair Care Products in Sally Beauty Stores
The word was quickly spreading about Stanley’s special hair formula. In 2019, Sally Beauty approached her about placing her product in stories. At that time, Stanley was not ready for store placement and had to decline. She was making products out of her kitchen. But when the opportunity came back around, she had her team and infrastructure in place to make it happen.
For 2021, Uniqurl is on track to double sales. The company has a total of 8 products in the market and is looking to launch more.
For entrepreneurs who are seeking to go to their next level in their venture, Stanley shares these words of wisdom: As an entrepreneur, never assume you know everything. Be comfortable with the things you know. Don’t be afraid to hire out and get people to help you. Having competent business partners can make or break your business. It’s important to have great business partnerships, relationships, and customer service.
More information about Uniqurl can be found on the company website and you can find products in Sally Beauty stores.