In this weekโs episode of the En Factor we welcome Ashley Stark, founder of Peri Hair Care. From studying marketing at Purdue University, to specializing in the marketing field at Angieโs List, to getting involved with the hair care industry and starting her own venture in Indianapolis that simultaneously focuses on hair health and scalp health. Ashley discusses how she discovered a gap in the hair product market that led to her starting Peri Hair and developing trichology-backed shampoo, conditioner, and serum that are safe for any color of hair while being all natural. Tune in to gain some insight on Ashleyโs experiences on entering a saturated market, marketing, networking, and balancing a very busy schedule as an entrepreneur and a mother.
Key Words: Women in entrepreneurship, Product Development
[00:00:02] .
[00:00:03] That really inspired me to want to inspire them.
[00:00:06] I think to inspire them, I am taking on this challenge and I want them to be proud of what
[00:00:11] we're doing and proud of the products we can provide to our clients.
[00:00:15] I think that they just keep me going and I want them to be excited to come to work
[00:00:19] every day.
[00:00:25] Welcome to the En Factor, conversations with entrepreneurs who started, stumbled and
[00:00:30] succeeded.
[00:00:31] I'm Rebecca White and I'm so excited today to have Ashley Stark, founder of Perry Hair with me.
[00:00:38] Ashley, thank you for joining me today.
[00:00:41] Thank you so much for having me, Rebecca. I'm so excited to be here.
[00:00:44] Well, I'm excited to have you too. We were just talking a little bit before we got started.
[00:00:49] I spent time in Cincinnati. Love all the Midwesterners.
[00:00:53] You're there in the Indianapolis area and so I love the Midwest
[00:00:59] and it's just great to see your smiling face and to learn and I'm excited to learn more about your story.
[00:01:04] Well, thank you. I'm glad to share with your listeners.
[00:01:07] Sure. So I was reading about you a little bit before and you started out in marketing
[00:01:15] and then you became a founder, I mean a partner, I'm sorry, at We Grow Hair Indie
[00:01:22] and now you're the founder of a company called Perry Hair.
[00:01:26] So could you tell us a little bit about Perry Hair, what it's all about and then how you got there?
[00:01:33] Yeah, of course. Perry Hair Care provides a premium solution for consumers seeking to avoid harsh chemicals in their hair care products.
[00:01:44] So it's a trichology-backed line that was developed with trichologists.
[00:01:49] So for those of you who don't study hair every day, that's the study of the hair and scalp.
[00:01:54] So it really is a scalp-based and focused shampoo and conditioner and hair serum,
[00:02:00] but we wanted something that was also really healthy for the hair and made the hair healthy as well.
[00:02:06] We found that there was a gap in the marketplace where our scalp shampoos made our scalp feel amazing,
[00:02:12] but our hair would be too oily.
[00:02:16] I'm sorry, our hair would feel too dry and then when we use our salon grade products,
[00:02:20] our hair would feel amazing, but then our scalp would get too oily too quickly.
[00:02:24] So there was still a gap in the marketplace even though it is so saturated.
[00:02:27] So we knew we could develop something that married both the scalp health and the hair health equally.
[00:02:33] That's amazing. And you came to this.
[00:02:36] I mean, you talked about the scientists and the physicians that actually study hair, right?
[00:02:44] So you came to this from a very scientific approach.
[00:02:48] And so you're very young and have your own business.
[00:02:53] You're also a partner in another business, but how did you get there?
[00:02:57] I think you studied marketing and maybe came through a marketing path.
[00:03:01] So how did you get there?
[00:03:02] And then we'll come back a little bit more to Perry Hair and what it does.
[00:03:07] Yeah, of course.
[00:03:08] I studied at Purdue University here in Indiana,
[00:03:11] and then I went to Indianapolis and I worked for Angie's List.
[00:03:15] And I ended my time there in the marketing department where I learned a lot
[00:03:19] and I got to work with some really smart marketers.
[00:03:23] So that was such a great opportunity and it was a big company, about 1200 employees.
[00:03:28] So that was my first experience in the corporate world.
[00:03:31] After that, I went to a smaller business.
[00:03:34] It was about 75 employees and it was an advertising agency here in Indianapolis
[00:03:39] where I got to be client facing and kind of work on the background for different companies
[00:03:44] and their brands, which was really exciting.
[00:03:47] And one of my clients was actually We Grow Hair Indie.
[00:03:50] So not too long after getting on that account,
[00:03:53] they recruited me to come work in-house at their business
[00:03:56] and I thought it was an interesting opportunity.
[00:03:59] So I jumped ship to the client side again
[00:04:02] and I took over the marketing in-house at the hair restoration clinic here in Indie.
[00:04:06] That's great. So We Grow Hair Indie, I guess, does exactly what it says.
[00:04:11] It helps people that have hair loss.
[00:04:14] Yeah, it's interesting.
[00:04:15] We have two businesses under the same roof.
[00:04:19] So we have We Grow Hair Indie, which is our more medical side of the business
[00:04:22] where we offer hair transplants and hair treatments for people suffering with hair loss.
[00:04:28] And then we have another business called Transitions of Indiana
[00:04:31] and that's our full salon side of the business with our hair stylists.
[00:04:36] And they specialize in non-surgical hair replacement systems
[00:04:40] that people actually wear, like the synthetic hair.
[00:04:42] So those clients will come in and regularly get that serviced.
[00:04:46] So we have kind of two businesses under the same roof,
[00:04:48] but every proven solution in hair restoration.
[00:04:52] So we have doctors, nurses, trichologists,
[00:04:55] and hairstylists all under one roof, which is nice.
[00:04:58] Yeah, that sounds like a very, you know, a value-providing business.
[00:05:03] There's a lot of people, you know, we often think of men as losing their hair,
[00:05:08] but I know a lot of women have that problem as well.
[00:05:12] So I'm sure you help a lot of people with that business.
[00:05:15] Oh yeah, men and women.
[00:05:16] It's about 50-50 the split and it's everyone dealing with scalp issues maybe
[00:05:22] or all the way to hair loss.
[00:05:24] So we see everything across the board, men, women,
[00:05:27] and all different types of issues and concerns.
[00:05:30] Yeah, so you became a partner there.
[00:05:33] How did that work? You're very young.
[00:05:36] Yeah, I'm 34.
[00:05:38] I think right when I started at the business,
[00:05:41] they were just very open about the opportunity for me to someday become a partner,
[00:05:46] which I appreciated.
[00:05:47] And I think over time I just realized with all the effort I was putting in
[00:05:52] and how much I did care about the business, it just kind of made sense.
[00:05:56] So right after I had my first child,
[00:05:59] I was on maternity leave, I think, and I called one of the partners and I said,
[00:06:02] okay, it's time.
[00:06:02] I'm ready.
[00:06:03] So we started the conversations.
[00:06:06] Good for you.
[00:06:07] Good for you.
[00:06:07] And then when did you start Perry Hair?
[00:06:10] How recently did you start that company?
[00:06:12] So we founded Perry at the end of 2022
[00:06:16] and we didn't have product in hand until October of 2023.
[00:06:20] So it's only been about six months since we've had the physical product.
[00:06:24] Yeah.
[00:06:24] So let's talk a little bit about that.
[00:06:26] So you had the...
[00:06:28] Where did the idea come from?
[00:06:30] The opportunity?
[00:06:31] I'm guessing that you were hearing from clients there and saw a gap in the market.
[00:06:39] Yeah, kind of how I mentioned that there's two sides to the business.
[00:06:44] On the salon side of the business,
[00:06:46] we have all of these salon grade products which work really well for making your hair feel silky and smooth,
[00:06:52] which I love.
[00:06:53] And then on our more medical side of the business,
[00:06:55] we have our more trichology backed scalp concern lines.
[00:07:00] So all of us employees found ourselves bouncing between so many different products throughout the week.
[00:07:05] So I would use my salon products one night and then I would go use my trichology products.
[00:07:10] So we always talked about the idea that we could probably create something that we want for ourselves,
[00:07:15] that our clients would also love.
[00:07:18] And we finally decided to take the leap and just try it.
[00:07:22] And it took a long time to perfect.
[00:07:24] It took a year, but we finally found the solution that we're all super happy with.
[00:07:30] Yeah, when I was looking at the product, it's all natural, right?
[00:07:33] I mean, it's got a lot of great features, I think,
[00:07:36] for those of us who want to ensure that we are using natural products.
[00:07:42] Yeah, that's a huge selling point for me personally.
[00:07:44] I love to find products that are all natural.
[00:07:47] And I think we did have so many good trichology backed lines
[00:07:51] that had these medical grade ingredients, but they weren't natural.
[00:07:56] So a lot of our clients would raise concerns.
[00:07:58] So for a long time before this idea was ever a real thought,
[00:08:02] we were kind of looking around like what lines could we bring in that are natural?
[00:08:05] So that was always a concern.
[00:08:08] And then like I said, there wasn't one line that also focused on the hair and the scalp equally.
[00:08:13] So the fact that it's color safe, it's natural ingredients,
[00:08:17] and it focuses on the hair and scalp to us,
[00:08:19] that hits all of the really main points that we are looking to accomplish in one line.
[00:08:24] Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about how you actually went through the whole product development phase
[00:08:32] or steps to get to where you are today.
[00:08:35] I'm sure you had a lot of misses along the line as you were developing this.
[00:08:40] Yeah, of course. There's always some misses and some lessons learned.
[00:08:44] I think for us, we luckily had a chemist here locally that someone that we work with had worked with previously.
[00:08:52] So that worked out really well that we can just hop over to their office and have a conversation.
[00:08:57] So that really probably helped push things along even faster.
[00:09:01] But I think for us the struggle was where to begin
[00:09:05] because there are so many products we want to make
[00:09:08] and there's so many products that we know are important to our clients and ourselves.
[00:09:13] So to narrow in on one line was hard.
[00:09:17] So we did bounce around a lot at the beginning and then we kind of ended up
[00:09:20] going with the line that would just be universally good for everyone.
[00:09:25] So it's really middle of the road.
[00:09:27] It's a gentle formula.
[00:09:28] It's made for all hair types and textures and colors.
[00:09:32] And really we thought we'd start with the foundational core line
[00:09:37] before we build on more specialties from there.
[00:09:41] So who manufactures your product for you and how did you figure that out?
[00:09:45] I work with a lot of student entrepreneurs who have, you know,
[00:09:50] want to develop products and always finding somebody to manufacture it can be a challenge.
[00:09:56] Yeah, so our chemist where he works, they manufacture it just right down the road from us.
[00:10:01] It's just crazy. They're in our backyard and the owner went to Purdue University.
[00:10:06] So we had a connection right away and I just felt really lucky to find them.
[00:10:10] We have talked to plenty of others, but we ended up going with the person that was just in our backyard.
[00:10:15] And once we started networking, I think we realized how common it is
[00:10:20] and how many manufacturers there are out there and how they're all different.
[00:10:25] So it was interesting once we started having those conversations,
[00:10:29] how many options we did have, but we knew nothing about that industry before we got into it.
[00:10:34] Yeah, and you mentioned networking, which is so critical for any entrepreneur
[00:10:39] along the way.
[00:10:41] You know, as you're thinking about your career and the steps that you've taken,
[00:10:48] what kind of advice and how do you think about networking for somebody who's thinking about being an entrepreneur?
[00:10:57] Yeah, I think it's so important.
[00:10:59] I honestly stepped away from it for so long when I first became a partner at We Grow Here, Indy,
[00:11:06] and I was really heads down in the business.
[00:11:08] And then when we launched Perry, I realized that I needed to network with people in the industry.
[00:11:13] We know nothing about trying to get our product on shelves outside of We Grow Here, Indy.
[00:11:18] So now I'm faced with this whole new industry and I'm meeting so many people that are so helpful along the way.
[00:11:25] Every time I meet someone new, I just realize how important that is to our success.
[00:11:32] So I have spent a lot more time recently trying to network and meet people.
[00:11:35] And it's just so beneficial.
[00:11:39] You know, you brought up a really good point, getting your product on the shelf.
[00:11:42] So where do you sell your product?
[00:11:44] Do you sell online?
[00:11:45] Do you sell in stores, drugstores?
[00:11:48] What's the strategy for distribution?
[00:11:52] Yeah, that's also kind of bounced around.
[00:11:56] I think at first we thought it would be more B2C and we realized just how much money that would take from an advertising perspective.
[00:12:03] So I think now we're pivoting and we're going the B2B route.
[00:12:08] But right now, we are only sold in Indianapolis at We Grow Here, Indy and then online at PerryHare.com and on Amazon.
[00:12:15] So trying to drive traffic to our site and to our Amazon listing, it takes money and it takes time to set up those digital campaigns,
[00:12:24] which luckily we can do and we have a good team that can handle the digital marketing.
[00:12:29] We just don't necessarily have that ad spend budget that we would love.
[00:12:32] So right now, we are trying to go the B2B route and focus on networking and trying to sell here locally to retailers that might be interested in carrying our products.
[00:12:42] We have not gotten there yet, but that's what we're working on right now.
[00:12:45] Yeah, yeah.
[00:12:46] So you brought up digital marketing and that's really from a that's really the name of the game today, right?
[00:12:53] You've really got to be focused on knowing your customers, having a really strong customer archetype.
[00:13:02] And I'm sure you've got some of that or a lot of that from the experience you had at We Grow Here, Indy.
[00:13:09] And we're able to clarify that.
[00:13:12] But talk to us a little bit about figuring out who your primary customer is and how to reach them.
[00:13:21] I think a lot of entrepreneurs or people considering entrepreneurship, you know, feel really overwhelmed by that whole process.
[00:13:31] Yeah, it's overwhelming.
[00:13:33] And coming from a marketing background, it overwhelms me.
[00:13:36] So I am not the creative marketer.
[00:13:39] I've always been more on the paid media side.
[00:13:42] So the digital marketing I do feel comfortable with, but the messaging is such a struggle.
[00:13:48] So we do know our customer at We Grow Here, Indy.
[00:13:51] But to think about who our customer is outside of that, we had to just basically create a profile of someone, our ideal customer.
[00:14:00] We're targeting women in the U.S., 18 plus that are health conscious, like we mentioned people who are looking for products to avoid those harsh chemicals.
[00:14:11] So it's interesting since we're so early, we haven't really circled back to see like is this truly who we're attracting.
[00:14:18] But that's if we had to pick a target market, that's who we would be honing in on right now.
[00:14:24] But it'll be interesting to see if that's truly who our customer is once we have, you know, hopefully more of those someday.
[00:14:29] Yeah. And once you nail that down, then you start to think about what kind of medium to use and, you know, social media and
[00:14:40] mail lists and other aspects, right, of digital marketing.
[00:14:45] And have you ever considered a crowdfunding campaign as a way to promote your product, not just raise money?
[00:14:54] I have thought about that.
[00:14:56] I have not looked into it enough, so I'm not super familiar with crowdfunding.
[00:15:01] I thought it might be things that were like a little bit more like innovative, I guess.
[00:15:07] But I maybe it is just everyday products that people believe in and want to, you know, put their money behind.
[00:15:13] I need to spend some more time looking into it.
[00:15:14] Yeah, it's a lot of it is about the story, right?
[00:15:17] You know, what's your story and the impact and the value that you can create and getting the attention of an audience.
[00:15:24] But I find it really interesting that a lot of people can use crowdfunding.
[00:15:29] You know, in a recent class I taught, a digital marketing class, all the students had to create a crowdfunding site just to have the
[00:15:36] experience to launch a new product.
[00:15:39] Oh, that's so cool.
[00:15:41] Yeah, not just to raise money, but to launch a product and get the word out.
[00:15:47] And so let's talk a little bit about the company that you're building.
[00:15:54] Is this, you know, you're in the very earliest stages.
[00:15:58] What are some of the challenges and the things that you're thinking about now as you develop strategy and marketing is obviously one?
[00:16:06] What are some of the other things that for anybody that's thinking about launching a product, you need to think about?
[00:16:17] Yeah, that's a great question.
[00:16:18] I would say, sorry, let me think about that for one second.
[00:16:25] I had my answer.
[00:16:30] Okay, so the challenges for us so far have been what a saturated market we decided to go into.
[00:16:37] So it's our expertise.
[00:16:40] It's where we it's everything we know.
[00:16:43] We know hair, but we don't know products and how to sell products.
[00:16:47] So it's a completely new industry to us.
[00:16:49] We feel so comfortable with the product part of it, but not the industry, which sounds so interesting.
[00:16:55] So I think to us, if I could go back, maybe I would have spent more time trying to network in the industry and find partnerships
[00:17:04] and maybe even some sales opportunities even before we had our product just because it is so hard to get in front of people and it takes so much time.
[00:17:13] So I think for us, the challenge is really we finally have something we believe in and we're just sitting there looking at it.
[00:17:20] How do we get it beyond We Grow Hair Indie?
[00:17:22] So we're really thinking about the messaging and it's a long story and it's kind of a confusing story to tell.
[00:17:29] So how do we whittle down that message and really try to get it out there?
[00:17:32] And that is so insightful and such a classic challenge, I think for every startup figuring that out.
[00:17:40] And I think it's fascinating because you're right.
[00:17:44] You're coming from an industry that you know well and you're creating a product that is a compliment or adjacent to it.
[00:17:52] I think there was something written maybe about your company and the idea of adjacent entrepreneurship, right?
[00:17:59] And you've honed in, I think, on the big challenge with that.
[00:18:05] Yep. I think it's so fascinating.
[00:18:09] It is a way for us to help consumers outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.
[00:18:14] So we can attract people that are willing to travel for our expertise.
[00:18:19] But most people that we see are in the state of Indiana and we really saw an opportunity to get in front of people across the country to help them with the foundational start to healthy hair, which starts with the products that you use.
[00:18:32] But how do we reach them? Age-old question.
[00:18:35] So that's a struggle, but it is a slightly different target market than who we're targeting at We Grow Hair Indie because they don't necessarily have hair loss.
[00:18:44] So I really am extremely concerned with the health of my hair, but I don't have hair loss.
[00:18:49] So this new company is targeting someone that's completely different than We Grow Hair Indie.
[00:18:55] They are the same, but it's also a slightly different market as well.
[00:18:58] So it's an interesting challenge.
[00:19:00] Yeah, I get that.
[00:19:01] In fact, when you were talking earlier, I was wondering if peri hair was something that someone with a healthy scalp and healthy hair would want to use.
[00:19:10] And it sounds like it is a way to keep your scalp and your hair healthy.
[00:19:14] And that sounds really interesting.
[00:19:17] And it's a way to scale what you're doing to a different market and beyond, but also continue to serve the market that you're already in, I think.
[00:19:26] Yep, definitely.
[00:19:28] Yeah.
[00:19:29] So I'm really curious about your own journey.
[00:19:33] And not everybody decides they're going to take that step to start a business.
[00:19:39] I mean, you had plenty to do as a partner in We Grow Hair Indie, but you decided to take on this new challenge.
[00:19:50] Did you grow up in a family of entrepreneurs or have an entrepreneurial mentor along the way?
[00:19:58] Yeah, I did. My dad has always had his own businesses and his dad had his own businesses.
[00:20:04] So I think I must have been soaking that in as I was growing up.
[00:20:08] And then my mom's a CPA and I also have that mind.
[00:20:11] So it's interesting. I do think I got a little bit from both of them.
[00:20:14] I'm the spreadsheet girl, but I guess I also have this desire to be an entrepreneur.
[00:20:20] It takes a lot. It's a lot of hard work.
[00:20:23] Yeah, it does.
[00:20:24] And I think hard work is probably the main common theme among every entrepreneurial venture.
[00:20:30] So talk to us a little bit about funding.
[00:20:33] And every company has to consider how it's going to fund its product and its company, the company and how they're going to grow.
[00:20:42] And so you mentioned that marketing is very expensive.
[00:20:47] And so are you bootstrapping the company?
[00:20:50] What are your thoughts about how to develop the company from a finance perspective?
[00:20:57] Yeah, that's a great question.
[00:20:58] I'm still trying to figure that out.
[00:21:00] Yes, we are bootstrapping the business right now.
[00:21:03] We'll continue to do so as long as we possibly can.
[00:21:07] I think we're not ready to go raise any serious capital from any like VCs or anything yet.
[00:21:13] We just don't have the traction yet and we're not ready to take on that pressure probably.
[00:21:19] So we want to grow organically and slowly as long as we possibly can.
[00:21:23] But we have thought about maybe a friends and family round or raising some type of capital eventually if we need it.
[00:21:29] So right now I'm kind of focusing on just trying to sell the product.
[00:21:33] And then when I'm faced with that problem, I think we will look to raise some sort of capital,
[00:21:39] whether it's friends and family or if we put more money in the business ourselves.
[00:21:44] So I'm curious about the name, Perry Hare.
[00:21:46] Where did that come from?
[00:21:48] Yeah, it's interesting.
[00:21:49] My daughter's name is Perry, actually.
[00:21:51] It's spelled differently.
[00:21:53] So it was near and dear to me, obviously.
[00:21:56] But my marketing manager pulled P-E-R-I from the word superior.
[00:22:01] And the second I saw it, I was like, that's the name, Perry, my daughter.
[00:22:05] So it has kind of two meanings there.
[00:22:08] Yeah, yeah, that's great.
[00:22:10] And it's pretty easy to pronounce and remember too, I think.
[00:22:14] So you mentioned right now you have the basic shampoo and conditioner, is that right?
[00:22:21] Yep.
[00:22:21] And so what are your plans as you develop the company?
[00:22:25] I mean, you said you had so many products that you were interested in.
[00:22:29] How are you planning to grow?
[00:22:32] And I know you said you wanted to grow slowly and organically,
[00:22:36] but what direction will you be taking as you grow the company?
[00:22:40] Yeah, good question.
[00:22:41] We have three products right now.
[00:22:42] So the third is the third step in that process, which is the hair serum.
[00:22:47] So it's basically like an SPF for your hair.
[00:22:50] It protects your hair from environmental and heat protection.
[00:22:54] And then it also delivers hydration, shine, and frizz control.
[00:22:58] So I love the multifaceted approach with that product.
[00:23:04] I think we could have some more specialty products like that,
[00:23:07] like oils and things like that, that take care of the actual hair strands.
[00:23:12] But I think after this first basic line of restorative shampoo and conditioner,
[00:23:17] we would probably lean more into the scalp concerns.
[00:23:21] So have like an oily cleanse line.
[00:23:24] So someone like myself, I would probably use the daily cleanse restorative line
[00:23:29] that we have out right now a couple nights a week.
[00:23:32] And then maybe once a week, I would use my oily cleanse line,
[00:23:35] which is basically just helping with your sebum control
[00:23:38] and it kind of makes sure that your scalp is as oil-free as possible.
[00:23:45] So as you develop it, you'll be adding in some additional types of products
[00:23:51] for different hair types or would you be adding other kinds of products?
[00:23:58] I mean, what's kind of the big picture of where you might go?
[00:24:02] Yeah, I would love to focus on texture specifically someday.
[00:24:06] I think first we would focus on the scalp type.
[00:24:10] So I think like an oily scalp and a dry scalp,
[00:24:13] we want to make sure we have a product for those types of scalps
[00:24:17] if the everyday gentle line isn't strong enough for their area of concern.
[00:24:21] So I think we'll go the trichology route and address those scalp concerns first.
[00:24:26] And then I think after that, we would love to lean into more like the hair texture
[00:24:30] and maybe if someone needs something a little bit more hydrating,
[00:24:33] we could have a stronger conditioner.
[00:24:35] So I think we would lean into the texture after we hit the scalp concerns.
[00:24:39] So as you think about your new strategy of B2B,
[00:24:44] there's a lot of hair salons around the US.
[00:24:50] And would a hair salon be a good market?
[00:24:54] I know it's kind of interesting to me because it seems that a lot of the hair care products
[00:25:00] that I've used over the years have started in the hair salons,
[00:25:05] but then later they're now in, you know, CBS or Walgreens or online obviously.
[00:25:12] So are hair salons a good market for you to think about?
[00:25:17] Yeah, I think so and especially that we have the salon side of our business transitions.
[00:25:23] Indy carries it in our salon.
[00:25:25] So that is helpful to have that experience and it's so new.
[00:25:28] So we're just building on that.
[00:25:30] We've only carried it for six months, but our hairstylists love it.
[00:25:33] So I just basically need to capture that content from them,
[00:25:37] get some testimonials from our stylist and then that can help probably with our messaging to other salons.
[00:25:43] Yes, it's definitely in our plans to hit salons.
[00:25:46] I think it's harder for me to hit them, you know, one by one.
[00:25:52] So I am looking to maybe find like an organization of salons that are maybe somehow related
[00:25:58] in a networking group that are salons that are focused on like the more natural products
[00:26:04] that avoid those harsh chemicals.
[00:26:06] I think that would be a good place to start.
[00:26:08] Yeah, I think that's a great idea.
[00:26:10] I mean, I think going to an association where you can,
[00:26:14] or to some sort of expo or conference or place where you might even be able to showcase what you're doing,
[00:26:22] exhibit, have an exhibit even could be a really valuable way.
[00:26:27] And I don't know that industry well enough, but most industries have that.
[00:26:31] So that's a great thing to think about.
[00:26:34] And I think for anybody out there who's trying to reach a market when you can find a collective way to reach them,
[00:26:43] it's much more efficient.
[00:26:45] Yes, a thousand percent.
[00:26:46] We are looking to go to a couple trade shows.
[00:26:50] I hope this year we're trying to figure out some of the funding,
[00:26:53] but we are hoping to go to a couple trade shows and get in front of as many people as we can in one or two days
[00:27:00] because I think, as you've heard from many entrepreneurs, time is our most valuable resource.
[00:27:06] So how can we get in front of the right people and do it efficiently?
[00:27:12] Because I can sit there and cold call and cold email every night for two hours.
[00:27:19] But it might be quicker to find a trade show and try to meet more people faster in one day.
[00:27:26] Right. You know, you've got you're in that classic stage where you never have enough time
[00:27:32] and you never have enough money to do everything that you want to do.
[00:27:36] And do you have a team yet or is this pretty much a one or two person effort at this point?
[00:27:43] So I pretty much work on the business by myself full time when I can on the side of We Girl Hair and D.
[00:27:50] I do have support for my husband, who's so great, but he is watching our kids,
[00:27:54] so he doesn't have a lot of time.
[00:27:56] And then the beauty of all of this and the adjacent entrepreneurship
[00:28:00] is that I can tap into my team of experts at We Girl Hair and D.
[00:28:03] So I have the support of marketers and trichologists and everyone that I need.
[00:28:09] I have these experts around me.
[00:28:11] They are busy with their day jobs, but I still have them available to me and I can tap into them
[00:28:17] and they can support me when time allows, which is so nice.
[00:28:21] Yeah, that's really helpful.
[00:28:23] So let's talk a little bit about challenges.
[00:28:26] You know, every entrepreneur has learned to be resilient and to persevere
[00:28:31] and to move past failures along the way.
[00:28:36] How do you think about failure and challenge?
[00:28:40] And do you happen to have any stories or anything you would be willing to share
[00:28:44] that might help other entrepreneurs out there who are struggling today with a challenge?
[00:28:51] Oh, yes. I have plenty to share.
[00:28:54] I think to start, I am definitely a doer.
[00:28:59] So when I have an idea, I'll just go start it.
[00:29:03] And I think I can do anything, which I guess is it's good.
[00:29:08] But I think I would have done things differently if I could go back
[00:29:11] and I would have been a little bit more thorough with my, you know,
[00:29:15] I should have had an executive summary written out.
[00:29:18] I should have had a go to market strategy.
[00:29:20] I should have been able to present the selling points to someone
[00:29:23] before I even rolled the product out.
[00:29:25] So I think we're playing catch up on some of the foundational things
[00:29:29] that I could have definitely done before we had the product in hands.
[00:29:33] But, you know, you learn as you go and we have those things now
[00:29:37] and it's only been six months.
[00:29:39] So time like we talked about is the most important thing
[00:29:43] and there's always more time I could put into all of the businesses.
[00:29:47] But we're doing the best we can.
[00:29:49] Yeah. And I think you hit on the key point
[00:29:53] and that is you're learning everything as you go, right?
[00:29:58] An entrepreneurial journey, any new venture is just a test, right?
[00:30:03] It's a hypothesis and we put it out there and we test it.
[00:30:07] And then those mistakes and the challenges and the things we make
[00:30:11] that we stumble, the stumbles along the way are really what help us get to the success.
[00:30:18] Yep. We have made some, with our limited funding,
[00:30:24] we have made some decisions I probably wouldn't have made going back.
[00:30:28] We invested in some software for influencer management
[00:30:33] and looking back, that was money that we probably weren't ready to spend yet.
[00:30:37] We just don't have the time to manage these influencers on a daily basis
[00:30:42] and we thought we would.
[00:30:43] So that's something that we really went into it thinking
[00:30:45] we're going to really try to manage influencers
[00:30:47] and find some people that can promote our product.
[00:30:50] And that is just a full-time job.
[00:30:52] And we just, no one had the bandwidth to take that on.
[00:30:54] So that was a small investment that I definitely don't think we were ready for.
[00:30:58] So that's just an example.
[00:30:59] You asked if there are things that we have learned
[00:31:02] and that's an example of something I would have waited a little bit longer
[00:31:05] on spending any of our ad dollars earlier.
[00:31:09] I would have thought through that a little more.
[00:31:10] Yeah, I think that's great advice because you're right.
[00:31:13] I think most people would underestimate that that would take a lot of time to do.
[00:31:21] It's interesting because too much money too soon
[00:31:24] usually means that you spend it on the wrong thing.
[00:31:27] I'm not saying that's your case,
[00:31:29] but I think it's hard to know how to spend it in the early years.
[00:31:34] And so it's actually,
[00:31:38] you're probably more creative with the way you build your business
[00:31:41] if you don't have a lot of money in the early years
[00:31:44] because otherwise you end up spending it and probably spending it wrong.
[00:31:49] Right. I can't even imagine.
[00:31:51] Yeah, I mean, I think that's a classic case.
[00:31:53] And I hear from a lot of entrepreneurs, they say,
[00:31:58] well, if I just had more money, I'd be able to get this right.
[00:32:02] But the reality is throwing money at something doesn't always solve it either,
[00:32:06] as you pointed out.
[00:32:08] And so I think there's a great lesson in that.
[00:32:12] One of the other big challenges for anybody that's developing products
[00:32:16] is putting a price on them.
[00:32:19] So how did you go about pricing your products
[00:32:23] and what pricing strategy have you used?
[00:32:26] Yeah, luckily we carried so many product lines at both of our businesses
[00:32:31] that we kind of understood where the different products fell in this premium space.
[00:32:38] So honestly, we just looked at what we were currently carrying,
[00:32:43] what we thought our consumers thought was reasonable,
[00:32:46] and we tried to come in just under the premium products.
[00:32:50] So we kind of just looked at our competition and decided what we thought was feasible.
[00:32:55] Which makes a lot of sense, I think, for what you're trying to do.
[00:33:00] You have to look at your costs,
[00:33:01] but you also have to look at what the market tends to bear
[00:33:05] and what your advantages are.
[00:33:08] So we already talked about messaging being one of your biggest challenges,
[00:33:11] and I think that's, in the world we live in today,
[00:33:15] there's so much competition for,
[00:33:18] I mean, there's a lot of competition in your space,
[00:33:20] but competition for the consumer's mind as well, just getting their attention.
[00:33:25] How do you decide about back to marketing and spending those dollars,
[00:33:32] whatever it's on, marketing, manufacturing, how do you prioritize there?
[00:33:39] Yeah, that's a great question.
[00:33:40] We struggle with that, like everything with time,
[00:33:43] but we tried to start with a solid foundation, which is our website.
[00:33:50] We wanted to make sure we had a site that was really set up
[00:33:54] to be easy for the consumer to purchase,
[00:33:57] and we have all of our technical SEO and our keywords set up on the site.
[00:34:02] So we were thoughtful about the setup of our website and our Amazon storefront.
[00:34:07] So that took a lot of time and effort.
[00:34:10] And then from there, we're just really focusing on slowly growing the brand
[00:34:15] organically on social with the content that we have.
[00:34:17] So I think any marketer would say they don't have enough content and content is king.
[00:34:22] So it's a full-time job to try to keep up with the content creation piece of it as well,
[00:34:29] but that's really where we're spending our time right now,
[00:34:31] is getting thoughtful content from consumers that are happy,
[00:34:35] that can help us spread the word through their channels.
[00:34:37] Yeah. So I've heard you mention about five full-time jobs that you have.
[00:34:43] So how do you balance? You're a mom and a wife.
[00:34:46] You mentioned your husband, and you have one child?
[00:34:50] Two.
[00:34:51] Two children. So a mom and two little children.
[00:34:55] How do you manage all of that?
[00:34:57] And do you have any advice for someone else who's listening out there
[00:35:03] that is struggling with five full-time jobs at once?
[00:35:08] I'm exaggerating.
[00:35:09] But I believe in my calendar and my time blocking,
[00:35:16] I'm very particular about how I plan out my weeks.
[00:35:20] But really I would credit it all to my amazing team.
[00:35:24] I have such a good team of people around me at We Grow Hair Indie.
[00:35:28] They're so passionate about hair care and helping everyone they see,
[00:35:33] and that really inspired me to want to inspire them.
[00:35:36] So I think to inspire them, I'm taking on this challenge,
[00:35:40] and I want them to be proud of what we're doing
[00:35:42] and proud of the products we can provide to our clients.
[00:35:46] So I think that they just keep me going,
[00:35:48] and I want them to be excited to come to work every day
[00:35:51] because I'm excited to go to work every day.
[00:35:54] Yeah, it is all about surrounding ourselves with the right people, right?
[00:35:59] It sounds like you've got a great team at work
[00:36:01] and a great team at home to help you get things done.
[00:36:05] So I'm really excited to see where you go with this, Ashley.
[00:36:10] I mean, you've got a lot of energy and enthusiasm,
[00:36:13] and it's a great example, I think, of an early stage company
[00:36:17] that our listeners can learn a lot from.
[00:36:20] So I've just loved hearing your story.
[00:36:24] Before we go, I would love to ask you
[00:36:26] if there was one piece of advice that you wish you had had
[00:36:32] before you got started,
[00:36:34] or one piece of advice maybe that you would give to somebody out there
[00:36:39] facing what, you know, getting started and trying to get started,
[00:36:43] what would that one piece of advice be?
[00:36:48] I think I would say,
[00:36:51] find your passion because it would be really hard to do
[00:36:55] if it's not something you're really passionate about.
[00:36:58] So like I mentioned, in this market,
[00:36:59] unfortunately, it's a super saturated market.
[00:37:02] A lot of people would be scared to jump into a situation like this,
[00:37:05] but we just were so passionate about helping our clients
[00:37:09] and providing something for them that we want for ourselves.
[00:37:13] So make sure that you understand your target market
[00:37:16] and who you're going after and why you're doing what you're doing.
[00:37:19] And then the advice I would give is kind of what I mentioned earlier.
[00:37:22] Make sure you have put the thought into your go-to-market strategy
[00:37:27] and how you're going to sell your product
[00:37:29] and learn from your failures along the way.
[00:37:33] It's not easy, but it's fun.
[00:37:35] Yeah, that sounds like fantastic advice.
[00:37:38] And I'm very excited to watch where Perry Hair goes.
[00:37:41] And I hope all of our listeners will go out and check it out.
[00:37:46] Where can they find out more about you and Perry Hair
[00:37:49] and maybe connect with you?
[00:37:51] Find the product.
[00:37:52] Of course. Yeah, PerryHair.com is probably the best place
[00:37:55] to learn more about our product.
[00:37:58] And then if you want to reach out to me directly,
[00:37:59] you can find me on LinkedIn, Ashley Stark,
[00:38:02] or email me, Ashley at PerryHair.com.
[00:38:05] I'm always looking to connect with everyone and network
[00:38:08] like we talked about.
[00:38:09] So if anyone has any questions, please reach out.
[00:38:12] Thank you, Ashley.
[00:38:13] Thank you.
[00:38:17] If you enjoyed this episode
[00:38:18] and would like to learn more about entrepreneurship,
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[00:38:24] Thank you so much for listening to this episode of InFactor.