If you’ve not been in a hole the past couple of years, then
you must have heard about the dynamic duo, Kika Osunde and Chioma Ikokwu.
Popularly known as Chioma Good Hair and Kika Good Hair, the beautiful ladies
are co-founders and co-CEOs of the wildly successful hair, beauty and lifestyle
company, Good Hair Limited.
They started Good Hair Limited in England while
undergraduates at the University of Birmingham. From the humble beginnings of
the Good Hair brand, Chioma Ikokwu and Kika Osunde have grown their business
into a successful international brand. Testament to this is the vast patronage
of their hair products among celebrities including Rihanna, Kelly Rowland,
Genevieve Nnaji and others.
We took some time to reflect on their journey, and came up
with some lessons on how Kika Osunde and Chioma Ikokwu have been able to grow
such a massive brand from an operation which started in their dorm rooms. Let’s
share our findings;
1.
Make a
business out of your passion
Chioma Ikokwu and Kika Osunde had always loved amazingly
good hair. They used to buy from other vendors and wear them so beautifully
that friends and family would ask where they sourced their hair from. This
trend continued till they did some research, found suppliers online who were
cheaper, and decided to go into business for themselves.
The truth is that the entrepreneurship journey has its up
and downs, it is never all rosy especially during the early years. Being
passionate about what you do is one sure way to keep faith and keep pushing
even when the going gets tough.
This has been true for Chioma Ikokwu and Kika Osunde because
just like any new business, they faced several challenges but their genuine
love for and interest in good hair and helping women around the world look
beautiful kept them going.
2.
Study the
market
Chioma and Kika say that the first thing they did post their
decision to go into the hair business was to study the market.
You need to know whether the market is suitable for whatever
it is that you’re bringing to the table because an idea might be more appealing
in some geographical areas and not so much in other areas. Asides from this,
you also need to know your ideal customer – will your product or service be
appealing to younger or older people?
This can never be overemphasized because wonderful sounding
ideas have occurred to people and they rush to implement only to find out that
people are not interested in what they are offering.
3.
Never
compromise quality
According to Chioma Ikokwu, one of the things that made her
look to the internet to source other suppliers (in the days they were yet to
start their business) was the fluctuating quality of weaves and extensions she
bought from her then suppliers.
Because of this, they decided never to compromise on quality
in their own venture with Good Hair Limited. This single decision has paid off
handsomely as one of the factors that keep their customers always coming back
is Good Hair’s rock solid guarantee of quality.
The business partners, Chioma Ikokwu and Kika Osunde go as
far as travelling across the world to meet their respective hair donors and
manufacturers just to ensurethat standards are upheld.
4.
Employ
the best staff and continuously train them
When Chioma and Kika started out it was just the two of
them, but as business grew they had to employ staff to help in various aspects
of their operations. They quickly found out that mediocre staff sometimes
sabotaged business relationships that had required a great effort to set up.
This time coming from Kika Osunde, she says that one of the
greatest challenges Good Hair faced as a business was sourcing the right staff
and training them to acquire the necessary skills for the job. Also, especially
in Nigeria where staff retention rate is low, you will have to keep employing
and training, to keep up with new developments in the industry and to replace
other staff that may leave the organization.
5.
Create
work-life balance
In the beginning when it was just Kika Osunde and Chioma
Ikokwu, Kika Osunde was in charge of maintaining their Facebook page, which was
the main channel for advertising and marketing their business. Things got so
hectic and she worked overtime so much that her health suffered till she
realized that every business must have opening and closing hours.
The lesson here is that if you overwork and neglect your
health, soon, you won’t be strong enough to continue growing your business. So,
it is extremely necessary to maintain a healthy work-life balance even as you
give your ultimate effort to tasks.
Hopefully as you apply these lessons to your own
entrepreneurship journey, you’ll experience success similar to that which
Chioma Ikokwu and Kika Osunde enjoy with Good Hair Limited.
Good Hair Limited is on Facebook and Instagram as
@goodhairltd or visit www.goodhairltd.com
