What's Her Name? Kimberly Boyd

What's Her Company? Luxe Couture Extensions- A luxury hair brand aiming to provide fabulous woman with gorgeous yet economically-friendly priced hair. We specialize in the retail of 100% virgin Remy human hairs imported from India, Eurasia, and Peru. Bringing you the worlds’ most highly sought after hair types; worn by top models and celebrities, at a price you’ll love without sacrificing quality. Get top of the line hair extensions for less. It’s a little something we refer to as affordable luxury.

How Much She Started With? $1,200

How She Got Started: I have always been a business minded person. I started in the corporate world, working my way up the corporate ladder when I was 19 years old. Although I learned so much, what I learned most was, I wanted to be my own boss! But unfortunately, times were hard for my mother, two sisters, and me. Financially we went through a very hard time, and although I was working for one of the nations largest mortgage companies, I along with my older sister were trying to keep our family afloat. I watched my mom, struggle at a miserable job everyday. It added to the frustration that I felt within my own job. In 2007, my mother and I pondered with the idea of starting our own hair company and being our own bosses! My mother was a total Southern Diva, and having two sisters, hair extensions were no stranger in our household. But, unfortunately the options for quality hair in the Inland Empire of Southern California were so limited. We only had the Chinese owned beauty supplies selling Chinese hair. Not as fabulous! So there our business was born. Through much dedication in finding great vendors, it became a side hustle with visions of creating our hair empire.

Unfortunately, our dreams were cut short. In 2008, my mother died of stomach cancer. It was a huge blow to my life. Depressed, afraid, and everything in between the business stopped. I struggled through the worst time in my life. But God is good, and through His grace I realized the best thing I could do to honor my mother, was to press on! And that’s just what I did. With the help and support of my sisters, I turned our once side hustle, into a full-time dream come true!

Is This Her First Venture? Straight out of high school, my best friend and I tried to start a clothing company. We were 18 with big dreams! But unfortunately, doing business with friends does not always work out and that was the issue with us. We never got that business off the ground, but we’re happy to say we are still the best of friends to this day and that’s worth so much more.

When I went on to start Luxe Couture, it was a rocky start! I scouted local hair companies for months only to find the same throw away beauty supply store hair. When I did find local vendors that had quality Indian hair their pricing was just way too high. So I decided we needed to cut out the middle man. And that’s what we did. We sourced India, and were able to connect with some great vendors to start our company. Our first website was done by a friend for about $100. It was not an e-commerce site, however most definitely got our name out there. 

How She Got Her First Customer: Our first customer was a friend of the family. Friends have been a great asset to our business, as they’re the best advertisers and referrers which helped build our clientele. 

People Would Be Surprised To Know That: I give personal guidance throughout and after the hair buying process. We are a boutique- style hair company, catering to customers and giving that personal attention is very important. My clients can email, Skype, Facebook chat, phone, even Tweet me for the ultimate experience in online hair buying. It’s a totally free hair consultation to ensure my clients get exactly what they want and are happy with their purchase. I have even sat on the phone while a client drove to the beauty supply store and helped her pick out hair products!

What's Been the Most Difficult For Her: Finding good and consistent hair vendors has been a challenge. We are constantly looking for the hottest hair types, but finding the best quality isn’t easy.

A Typical Day in Her Life: Being an owner of a business is sometimes strenuous (and I currently co-own two!). So I believe the most important thing is to be organized! I always start my day off with a planning session, accounting for what I need to get accomplished that day. Microsoft Outlook is my best friend! My daily activities can fluctuate, but generally on a daily basis the rest of my day looks like this:

-Reading and responding to emails

-Preparing hair orders

-Inventory Control (updating spreadsheets, accounting for new shipments, and placing orders for product and supplies).

-Writing for the Luxe Couture Blog

-Social Media updates

-Meetings with my sisters/co-owners

If She Could Do One Thing Differently, She Would Do: Nothing. I most definitely have made a lot of mistakes, however they have been excellent learning experiences, and helped me become the business owner that I am today. Sometimes you learn the most while picking yourself up off the ground!

Her Favorite Quote? “How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone”. Coco Chanel

Who Has Helped Her Most Along The Way: My family and close friends. Their support has been phenomenal. I can always count on them for their honest feedback. It’s important to have people in your life that don’t mind keeping it real with you and telling the truth!

What's Next For Her? We are currently seeking to expand our business, making Luxe Couture Extensions available in hair boutiques and salons.

Continue HERE to read Kimberly's advice for entrepreneurs! 

Boss Chick Profile: http://bosschicks.com/profile/kimberlyboyd

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LuxeCoutureHair