{"id":3843,"date":"2022-02-23T22:39:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T03:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sidehustlepro.co\/?p=3843"},"modified":"2023-11-14T21:22:41","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T02:22:41","slug":"howmoniquelittlegrewhernaturalhairaccessorybrandintoamultimilliondollarcompany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/howmoniquelittlegrewhernaturalhairaccessorybrandintoamultimilliondollarcompany\/","title":{"rendered":"288: How Monique Little Grew Her Natural Hair Accessory Brand into a Multimillion Dollar Company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-fusebox-player-single\"><script data-type=\"track\" data-hash=\"Zwg0pOdgzq\" data-track=\"294\" src=\"https:\/\/app.fusebox.fm\/embed\/player.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This week I chat with <strong>Monique Little<\/strong>, CEO &amp; Founder of You Go Natural, one of the nation\u2019s fastest growing natural hair accessory brands. Little founded the company to address the need for easy styling options for women who opt to wear their hair in its natural state. Having started with just a sewing machine, some remnant fabric from her mother\u2019s stash and an idea, in just five years Little has successfully grown a multimillion dollar brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this episode you will learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How wanting more freedom in her schedule led to the start of You Go Natural&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How she got her product to grow in the first six months to a point where she was making more than her full time job\u2019s salary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How she went from working with contractors to opening up a facility and hiring full time employee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When she decided to raise capital and how she had to explain the black women\u2019s beauty experience to people who didn\u2019t understand the need for her product<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Her marketing strategy for scaling the business, when she knew it was time to bring in an external team, &amp; how being in your own target market helps with knowing what to say to your audience + much more!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out this episode and others on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/side-hustle-pro\/id1126021323\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/sidehustlepro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Soundcloud<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/sidehustlepro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">YouTube&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Links mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yougonatural.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">YouGoNatural.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike\/dp\/1501135929\/ref=asc_df_1501135929\/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=312094794926&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=11956666771950277243&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9004369&amp;hvtargid=pla-491073163660&amp;psc=1&amp;tag=&amp;ref=&amp;adgrpid=61851652293&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvadid=312094794926&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=11956666771950277243&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9004369&amp;hvtargid=pla-491073163660\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Shoe Dog A Memoir by the Creator of Nike<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): <a href=\"http:\/\/sidehustlepro.libsyn.com\/rss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">http:\/\/sidehustlepro.libsyn.com\/rss<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Announcements<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Join our Facebook Community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: <a href=\"http:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">http:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/facebook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Guest Social Media Info<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Side Hustle Pro \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sidehustlepro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">@sidehustlepro<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/sidehustlepro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">#SideHustlePro<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You Go Natural<strong><em>: <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/yougonatural\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong><em>@YouGoNatural<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"fbxt-wrap\" >\r\n\t<div id=\"fbxt-wrap--inner\" class=\"fbxt-extra-class\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"fbxt-header\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fbxt-header--logo\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"25\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 25\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<circle opacity=\"0.05\" cx=\"11.6406\" cy=\"12.3918\" r=\"11.6406\" fill=\"#C60808\"\/>\n<path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M16.6445 10.2899H6.63672V9.04663H16.6445V10.2899Z\"\/>\n<path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M16.6445 13.3421H6.63672V12.0989H16.6445V13.3421Z\"\/>\n<path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M12.7025 16.395H6.63672V15.1518H12.7025V16.395Z\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n\r\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"fbxt-header-text\">Show Notes<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fbxt-header--nav\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<a\r\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"fbxt-header--nav-item 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M16.5 9H13.5938L15.0625 7.5625C16 6.625 15.3125 5 14 5H12V1.5C12 0.6875 11.3125 0 10.5 0H7.5C6.65625 0 6 0.6875 6 1.5V5H4C2.65625 5 1.96875 6.625 2.9375 7.5625L4.375 9H1.5C0.65625 9 0 9.6875 0 10.5V14.5C0 15.3438 0.65625 16 1.5 16H16.5C17.3125 16 18 15.3438 18 14.5V10.5C18 9.6875 17.3125 9 16.5 9ZM4 6.5H7.5V1.5H10.5V6.5H14L9 11.5L4 6.5ZM16.5 14.5H1.5V10.5H5.875L7.9375 12.5625C8.5 13.1562 9.46875 13.1562 10.0312 12.5625L12.0938 10.5H16.5V14.5ZM13.75 12.5C13.75 12.9375 14.0625 13.25 14.5 13.25C14.9062 13.25 15.25 12.9375 15.25 12.5C15.25 12.0938 14.9062 11.75 14.5 11.75C14.0625 11.75 13.75 12.0938 13.75 12.5Z\" \/>\n<\/svg>\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"fbxt-nav-text\">Download<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<a\r\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"fbxt-header--nav-item fbxt-nav-new_tab\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#\"\r\n\t\t\t\t>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M12.5 0H1.5C0.65625 0 0 0.6875 0 1.5V12.5C0 13.3438 0.65625 14 1.5 14H12.5C13.3125 14 14 13.3438 14 12.5V1.5C14 0.6875 13.3125 0 12.5 0ZM12.3125 12.5H1.6875C1.5625 12.5 1.5 12.4375 1.5 12.3125V1.6875C1.5 1.59375 1.5625 1.5 1.6875 1.5H12.3125C12.4062 1.5 12.5 1.59375 12.5 1.6875V12.3125C12.5 12.4375 12.4062 12.5 12.3125 12.5ZM10.625 3L6.375 3.03125C6.15625 3.03125 6 3.1875 6 3.40625V4.25C6 4.46875 6.15625 4.65625 6.375 4.625L8.1875 4.5625L3.09375 9.65625C2.9375 9.8125 2.9375 10.0312 3.09375 10.1875L3.8125 10.9062C3.96875 11.0625 4.1875 11.0625 4.34375 10.9062L9.4375 5.8125L9.375 7.625C9.34375 7.84375 9.53125 8 9.75 8H10.5938C10.8125 8 10.9688 7.84375 10.9688 7.625L11 3.375C11 3.1875 10.8125 3 10.625 3Z\" \/>\n<\/svg>\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"fbxt-nav-text\">New Tab<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t<div class=\"fbxt-content\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fbxt-content--inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  0:02  <\/p>\n<p>You're listening to side hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow your side hustle from passion project to profitable business. And I'm your host, Nick Kayla Matthews comin. So let's get started. Hey guys, hey, welcome. Welcome back to the podcast. It's Michaela here and today in the guest chair, I have Monique Liddell, who is the founder and CEO of the Hugo natural brand. Now, I first heard about this brand from my friend Chantal, shout out to Chantal, who taught me about these awesome t shirt funds that you go natural has wear, you know, it looks like a pre tight bond that you did yourself, and you're able to just rock it. And this came in clutch for me, especially in my postpartum days. So I have been rocking them through workouts through running to the store anything I can think of just lounging around the house, deep conditioning, my hair, whatever you can think of I have been so grateful for this brand. And I'm so glad that I can finally have her in the guest chair. So a little bit about Monique, she got her fashion she got her start in fashion retail as a teenager, she founded the company to address the need for easy styling options for women who opt to wear their hair in its natural state. And she started with a sewing machine just using some leftover fabric that her mom has. And now in going on six years, she has grown it into a multimillion dollar brand. And she employs over 50 people now 60 People in counseling in Dallas, Texas. So let's get right into this episode to hear more about Monique's journey.<\/p>\n<p>All right. Hey, hey, Monique. How are you? Oh,<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  1:45  <\/p>\n<p>good. Thank you for having me.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  1:47  <\/p>\n<p>So I wanted to just kick things off by learning a little bit more about you. So tell us who is Monique. What was your first experience side hustling.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  1:56  <\/p>\n<p>So I'm monoclonal I'm CEO of IGN. And I have always kind of had an entrepreneurial spirit. So coming up, I love to just like make jewelry and sell it. When I was in college, I was selling jewelry online, I had a little Shopify store. So it's always kind of been in me to be resourceful. And to have that entrepreneurial drive.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  2:24  <\/p>\n<p>That's so cool. I didn't know you had that shot during college. And what were you studying in school at the time? Were you studying fashion at all? Or what were your plans for post grad.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  2:34  <\/p>\n<p>So I studied economics, I went to Rutgers University, and studied economics, I did take a couple of classes I fit in New York, and post grad it was really the goal was just to get a job. Get a job that pays well. But it was really just a very uneventful post grad experience up until this point.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  3:02  <\/p>\n<p>So at what stage in your professional journey Did you say, You know what, I think I want to start my own business. Is that how it happened?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  3:11  <\/p>\n<p>Yes. So shortly after I spent maybe, like six years in corporate. And shortly after having my daughter, I realized that I really wanted time to be home. And I spent some I spent about six months home with her and then I went back but I knew that I wanted more freedom in my schedule, and more freedom to not only that, but to achieve things that it might have taken much longer to achieve. Had I tried to climb the corporate ladder.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  3:45  <\/p>\n<p>I'm sure a lot of moms can relate to this feeling. And for you, what were some of the first steps that you took once you had that realization.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  3:52  <\/p>\n<p>So the first step was to sort of act on some of the ideas that I had. I mean, I had been wearing my hair naturally since high school, which back then was kind of a novel thing like that was back when there were only a couple of of products on the shelf that catered to ethnic hair types. Right. So I had been seeing how this community was growing, you know, all through these years and I had these ideas for the holes that I saw in the market and things that just were not being addressed. And so once I had a little bit of time I was home. I just sort of acted on it i i do some remnant fabric that my mom had in her closet and I created these pre tight head wrap satin line head wraps that really helped me to look good on the go and didn't break off my hair are dry it off like a typical cotton head wrap would do. And there was really just nothing on the market like it at the time. I had searched for it because I needed it for myself. My daughter was super young. And I just didn't have time to think about, oh, gosh, I gotta it's wash day to day, I got to spend a few hours doing my hair, I didn't have time for it. And so I needed to create something for me. And then I ended up selling it to others. And it was interesting how it scratched an itch in the market. And people really did respond to it.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  5:23  <\/p>\n<p>We sure did. You know, it's funny that you say, oh, you know, I just picked up some material and I stitched it like most of us don't have a sewing machine lying around. And we, you know, even if we did couldn't make this. So funny that you say that so casually, like, I would probably have just taken and I have just taken a random t shirt or a bandana and wraps it around my head. So when you designed it, you had kind of a designer's eye and you was it in the that was the prototype, how it looks today with like the knot and the turban like pre tie kind of formation, or was it a different version when you initially created it.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  6:05  <\/p>\n<p>So when I launched it, it was kind of around the time when head wraps were really becoming trendy. So people were actually using the Ankara fabric, more so than like the stretchy fabric at that time. So that's what I used at first I use Ankara fabric, and I and I and I sat in lined it, I tied these big fancy bows that are it's just not scalable to do anymore. And then I created all different types of styles that mimicked what women were doing at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  6:41  <\/p>\n<p>So when did you start selling them while you're on maternity leave, or once you got back to work.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  6:46  <\/p>\n<p>So while I was on maternity leave, I opened up the store. And it was you know, sales were trickling in, it was more than I would have expected how to without having any Facebook ads or anything like that. But it wasn't obviously it wasn't enough to be a full time income, right? And so yes, and I went back to work. And as it continued to grow, it really just didn't become sustainable to do both anymore. I was leaving work at my lunch hour to ship these things out in the mail, or I was sitting in my car and together, dropping the inboxes. And I'm like, oh gosh, I can't I can't do both. And it got to the point where the store was making more than my salary. So I just, it just made more sense to to do it full time.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  7:39  <\/p>\n<p>Did it grow to that point where it was making more than your full time job in that first year?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  7:44  <\/p>\n<p>Yeah, within the first six months, actually, it grew to that point, I've been putting them up on my Instagram and I had grown such engagement with the followers really became a community and every time I would drop a new color or a new print, people would rush to the store to buy. And in six months, it was just like, wow, like I would wake up in the morning and my husband and myself at the time would drive to work. And I would look at my Shopify store. And I'd be like, oh my goodness, like I made more before I even got to work today, then I'm gonna make all day long. I just ended up you know, saying I'm just gonna take the leap, and I decided to quit my job and do it full time.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  8:32  <\/p>\n<p>Did you ever expect it to take off so quickly?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  8:35  <\/p>\n<p>Not at all. No, it was not expected for it to take off so quickly. Now, I did know that. Because this this little idea had been like, nagging at me for so long. I knew it was a good idea. Like it was like something that had to exist in the world. But I never, you know, before these opportunities open up to you, you just don't even know. It's that's what it looks like, right? Like, I'm just kind of doing this thing that came to me. And you know, I'm along for the ride. But I don't know that I ever really thought of it becoming as big as it is.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  9:15  <\/p>\n<p>Yeah. And I think sometimes that's the beauty of side hustling, you know, you're able to start something and you don't put that pressure on it. Oh, it has to be this. It has to make this much in X amount of time. You know, that gives you that freedom to explore different patterns to get some feedback from your customers. So where are you getting feedback from the customers were things that people were saying to you. Was that helping to inform your next version of the product or your next pattern your next design?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  9:44  <\/p>\n<p>Oh, absolutely. And that is our Mo to this day is I always say you know there's a saying that says if you're not embarrassed by the first product you put out you put it out late when I think that To the products that I put out, oh my gosh, I just want to apologize to my first. I mean, I just took the feedback. And it's another funny stories I, I used to make them on these little Styrofoam heads, the, you know, like the little head forms. And I didn't realize that that's not the size of a real head. So these things were tiny, like, absolutely. And I was sending them to customers, and they'd be like, Oh, I love it, but I just can't get it on my head.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  10:32  <\/p>\n<p>I didn't know those Styrofoam heads were<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  10:36  <\/p>\n<p>just assumed they were. So you know, those are learning experiences. I mean, there's, it's, there's a craft called millenary. Art. Oh, what's that, which is like the making of headwear. Um, and that's an art form that is so rare that I never studied. And that, you know, most people don't know about, right? So there's all those things that go into making something that goes on your head or things that I have been learning as I go learning as I interact with my customers and put new products out there. And, you know, it's, it's the only way for me to understand what my customers need.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  11:17  <\/p>\n<p>So, all this time, were you making all of these by yourself? Or did you also have a team or a few people that were helping you.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  11:27  <\/p>\n<p>So I started out doing it by myself, probably for the first four months or so. It was me and this little $40 sewing machine that I had a little bit of fabric. And then my mother saw me doing it. And she was like, Do you need any help, because my mother is the one who taught me how to sew. Okay, so I think she reluctantly came in. And I have pictures and videos of us in her living room with just like fabric everywhere, and like labels. And at the time, my sister was helping us ship and it was just like it had taken over her home. And so then it was me and her. And then after that, I put up a Craigslist ad and just put it up for a few seamstresses around the city. And they were working from home for me. So what we would do is we would have, we would take the orders, and then we would print out a spreadsheet. And we would just divvy it up across like three or four people across town who would make them<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  12:37  <\/p>\n<p>I can't even imagine,<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  12:39  <\/p>\n<p>leave a little box of fabric at the door, they would come pick it up, and they bring it back the next day made. And we just pay him cash, and then put the cash back into the business. So that's how we scaled because it was an easy way to do it in a way that we didn't have to do a whole lot of manufacturing upfront.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  12:58  <\/p>\n<p>Did that help you to be profitable, just having low overhead and paying people but you know, not really having full time employees?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  13:05  <\/p>\n<p>For sure. It will I mean, it was the only way I could have done it. I didn't have a ton of capital to start up with I didn't have much credit to start up with it was the only way that I could have scaled a business to this size and not have taken the big financial risks upfront. Yeah. So yeah, that was super helpful. I didn't even consider taking on full time employees until a couple years back when it really just became unsustainable to be doing it as I was,<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  13:38  <\/p>\n<p>and what year did you leave your job?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  13:41  <\/p>\n<p>So I left my job and 2016 About six months after I started. Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  13:48  <\/p>\n<p>So what happened next, tell us how did you go from side hustle to main hustle.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  13:53  <\/p>\n<p>I would say after I quit my job, I stayed home and started just working on the business. And there were moments where as I was growing it, I also needed to like have income to contribute to my family. So I was like driving Uber in the morning. And then you know, working on the business but it was really just a grind for I would say about three years before I could just like do this and do this only. And so that's how I grew it. It was really like I spent time just growing it with seamstresses across the city like I told you and then last Wilton 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic actually was we had since transplanted to Dallas, my husband stopped transplant planted us to Dallas. And I was working with manufacturers at that point. Well, not manufacturers, I had some seamstresses and I had had a bad experience trying to transition to a manufacturer. And I just realized that I just needed my own facility. Yeah, I needed to be able to bring this in house and control all the pieces that we're working together to make this business go home. So I opened up a facility here in Dallas, and I opened it up with like, 2500 square feet and like six people. And that was,<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  15:19  <\/p>\n<p>how did you just open up? Like you just said that very casually? Did you open up a facility like you're driving Uber? Right? So I'm assuming that money is tight right now. So how do you go about even doing that? How does that process work?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  15:35  <\/p>\n<p>So I mean, I wasn't driving Uber at I had been I stopped driving Uber maybe a couple years before that, right. So at this point, it's sustaining itself enough to know that, for me to be able to step back and see where my limits were, and my limits were around meeting demand, fly. And it was really, like, I can't make enough for the, for these customers, like these customers are wanting every time i i release a batch, every time I send them out to a contractor and get them back, I released a batch, they're gone in half a day. And I can't it was hard to sustain that. And so having an A team that was working here full time, was just necessary. Now, I won't say that I had a ton of money when I opened the facility, because I didn't. I did it was pretty tight. But you know, I found a small space. And a, I just like put the money down. And I knew that there was enough revenue in the business to sustain that from month to month.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  16:43  <\/p>\n<p>Yeah, because this is a lease. So you can, yeah, and talk to us a little about that supply chain, because I am so impressed when I see how people were able to pivot during that period. So you touched on, you know, you pivoted to mass, while supply chain was held up, how long, you know, what was that process like of you having to do that? And how did it impact you financially.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  17:06  <\/p>\n<p>And so it was about three months that we had to do that for, luckily, my product is pretty modulars. And the materials that we use to make them are readily available now, you'll probably pay a premium buying them not wholesale, cuz sometimes I did have to go to our local fabric store and pick up fabric or what have you, because my supplier just didn't have any more left. So I had to be creative about how I procured my materials, and how I got them around that time. And it was really difficult. But I have to say, because I had so much I did have a lot of remnant fabric or leftover fabric, I was able to just utilize that as a resource, then that that pushed us through.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  17:53  <\/p>\n<p>So when you say your supplier, this is the person supplying the actual fabric, you know that you don't use them to actually make your<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  18:01  <\/p>\n<p>products. No, so I just I buy the raw materials, we keep them in house. And we try to manage our inventory pretty closely, sort of just in time as as much as the market demands. And we make it as we go.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  18:18  <\/p>\n<p>And I can relate to this on a small small scale, you know, having merchandise for the site house approach shop, right? So you know, having to decide how much raw materials to have, even though you're not yet ready to put that on sale is a it's a dicey process, especially when you want to make sure that your supplier doesn't sell out. Right. So how do you manage that if people are asking for this color? And then your suppliers out of stock of that color? Like does that happen to you? How do you manage that?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  18:48  <\/p>\n<p>It does happen. I'll say last year, we scaled up the business, believe it was 700%. Last year, and because of that, like the amount of raw materials you have to buy to anticipate that kind of demand. Yeah, you're bound to make some mistakes. And we did we ended up with a lot of raw material inventory, that, you know, we then had to be creative about offloading. And so this year, is the first year where we've had that type of scale of data that we can forecast on going forward. So we're still learning that process. And I think that any business that is in a fast growth phase as we are is gonna end up having to think about those things on the supply side.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  19:44  <\/p>\n<p>So guys, let's face it. The work world looks so much different than it ever has, whether you're in person remote, or in a closet like me, or somewhere in between. Taking care of your team couldn't be more important. That's where gusto comes in. Gusto Modern HR platform makes it easy to hire, pay, manage and support your employees all in one system of record. That means no more jumping between applications and no more jumping through hoops, your payroll, your benefits, your hiring and onboarding, team management tools, and so much more are all there for you in one convenient place. On top of that, gusto provides actionable insights to inform decisions around workforce costing, competitive compensation and employee engagement. So almost tough decisions you make each day just got a whole lot easier. And the best part, listeners of side hustle pro get three months of gusto for free at gusto.com\/s. HP. That's right, if you're ready to experience a new bar for HR, get three months free at gusto.com\/s, hp gusto.com SHP. So what would you say in addition to the supply management, what have been some of the parts that were unexpectedly challenging?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  21:08  <\/p>\n<p>I think the biggest challenge that I'm facing so far as is learning to manage a team is largest we have. So we started with the six people, but now we've got 60. And most of them are on the production side, we've got a whole factory of people who make these products for us, and just understanding how to create an organization that people are proud to come to every single day and enjoy working out that meets their needs. And just as much as they are, you know, meeting the needs of the business? That's been a challenge that I didn't really think that I would be facing. But it's it's it's an important one to tackle.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  21:51  <\/p>\n<p>And how are you so far kind of navigating that? Are there books or resources or leaders that you've kind of tapped into to get a better sense of how do I create that culture that fit? Essentially what you're describing? Is that that company culture?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  22:08  <\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I mean, I'm fortunate to we raised money last year. So I'm fortunate to have a network of people who have gone before and I can tap on for advice. But a lot of it is just the gut instinct of how would I want to be treated in an organization? What are the good experiences that I've had, in my past? What are the bad experiences that I've had, in creating the best experience best work experience for the people who come here every day?<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  22:40  <\/p>\n<p>Now, you mentioned raising money? So of course, we want to touch on that, because we know that our businesses at the end, like at the end of the day, we all need capital to grow in scale. So when did you decide to raise and why?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  22:53  <\/p>\n<p>So I decided to raise shortly after we moved into this facility. And it was because it was a good time as far as like how well we were doing so we can we I bootstrapped the business all the way up. We've been profitable from day one, right? So once we got to a certain scale of a million dollar run rate and things like that, things that I knew, looked good in the eyes of the VC and I could pitch easily and they wouldn't be difficult to tell that story. They always say, if you're going to raise money, do it when you don't need the money. That's when that's when I did it, we were doing pretty well. And it was a good story to tell. So I decided to go out and tell it.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  23:38  <\/p>\n<p>Was it difficult to raise money from people who don't necessarily understand the need behind your product?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  23:43  <\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I mean, that was, it was an amazing eye opening experience to be sitting across will across the zoom at that point, from people who look nothing like me and trying to explain the black woman's beauty experience. So like, not only did you do that, yeah, it's it's not only that, I mean, men in general, I work with my brother now who is the CFO of the company he came on last year. He doesn't even fully understand it, right? And he's a black man. Talking to two white men who I mean, although Well, meaning just you have no context for the challenges that women of color face and in beauty. It was man it was it was an experience. And I'll say you said how do I how did I do it? And it was mostly taking the story. I told the story over and over and over again. And that's what happens when you're pitching to VCs. But taking it and examining it to see where's the common ground here where what is the universal story here? And how can I make this as relatable to as broad an audience as possible, so that we can connect? And then we can go deeper on the nuance of this?<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  25:11  <\/p>\n<p>Oh, what did that look like for you? I mean, was it from the lens of womanhood? You know, every man who has a wife knows how their wife feels when she's not looking her best, perhaps, right, like, so what lens? Did you approach it from? Yeah,<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  25:26  <\/p>\n<p>I mean, it was from the lens of womanhood, it was on from the lens of just time saved. And money saved. I looked at it from the lens of when I was pitching, I only had the satin line turban products, but we've expanded since then. But just understanding that no matter what background, you come from, the amount of time that women of color spend managing their hair on a day to day basis, is sometimes inhibiting, and if we can somehow alleviate that in moments when there are other things that that needs to take precedence or take priority. You know, that's everyone knows what that's worth in their life.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  26:10  <\/p>\n<p>Absolutely. Absolutely. So, what are some things that have shifted about your business since you started?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  26:19  <\/p>\n<p>Um, I would say, Oh, I'll say this for sure. When I started, I, it was kind of like, of course, you're wearing all the hats when you're a solopreneur. Right. So there were a lot of decisions that I could just make on the fly and just go, right, you know, sales are low today, let me run to the fabric store, pick up a new print, I'll put a sample online and just run a sale on it. Yeah. And that can't happen anymore, when you have an entire team of people, because everyone's looking around, like what just happened like It's like whiplash for them. So really, I'm a very agile person. And I like to be flexible in the way that I do business. But understanding that there are also structures and processes that need to be put in place in order for things to scale with a team.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  27:15  <\/p>\n<p>And one thing I definitely want us to touch on is the marketing piece. So how important was this to you, when you were starting out? What did you learn in the process about what was helpful for your business, when it came to marketing techniques?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  27:30  <\/p>\n<p>And so in marketing, I mean, I guess because I am, I am my market, just understanding that the voice of what my customers want to hear, and not straying from that has been the most important thing and keeping our marketing on track, especially when we're bringing in partners that aren't as tied to the brand. Or it might not be as the voice might not be as intuitive for them. Understanding that keeping that voice is the most important piece of speaking to our customers.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  28:06  <\/p>\n<p>And then in terms of things like Facebook ads, or social media posts, email list building, how did you approach that what was helpful for you in scaling the business when it came to that.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  28:18  <\/p>\n<p>So I've got a great media spend team who runs our Facebook ads, they are incredible. And they come we go, we come back every week, every week, we have a call and just dig deep in the data. And just dig deep in, you know how things have changed from this week to next and have those metrics and those KPIs. So that's how we approach it is just making sure that every if we see a shift in any small piece of the data that we dig into why those things are happening, then make those adjustments on our end,<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  28:54  <\/p>\n<p>before you hired that media spend team. What were you doing on your own? And when did you know it was time to bring in someone external?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  29:02  <\/p>\n<p>So I was running Facebook ads on my own? I wasn't great at it at all. But they were profitable. I mean, the satin line here? Absolutely. At least when I launched it was pretty unique. So it really wasn't hard to acquire customers with it. And it wasn't expensive. I mean, when I came when I did bring our data team on our customer acquisition cost was I believe it was like a quarter of the average cost that they would see in a typical ecommerce business. So yeah, and even they were they were they checked and double check the data over and over and over again.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  29:46  <\/p>\n<p>Like is this real? Yeah, like<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  29:48  <\/p>\n<p>why was this happening that your CAC is $4 But you know, you know, your, you know, average order value is whatever number so those were the I did it and thankfully I was like had the accident that it was so profitable, because I didn't know what I was doing.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  30:07  <\/p>\n<p>But you know, I think that's the beautiful part though of being your own target customer and having that vision, that understanding of what your pain point is what you need to see what would make you buy a t shirt button and also your products, your Hugo natural products, specifically, the t shirt buns for me are self explanatory. Like when I see that and I'm like, oh, boom, I can get that cute not look without having to do it myself. Got it. I want it, like give it to me. So I think that is just awesome. But you did touch on the fact that now it's not as novel of a thing in terms of there more than one company selling similar products for the natural hair community like that now, right? So what is your thought process when it comes to competition? A lot of people get daunted, intimidated by it. But I don't see you doing that. So what's your approach and thought process with that?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  30:59  <\/p>\n<p>Yeah. So I mean, when I started this company, I would always tell, you know, the people around me that I don't want to sell head wraps for the rest of my life. I mean, I love them, and I love how enthusiastic people are about them. But I have so many ideas to innovate in this market. And that is what we're selling here is innovation. And so I when I when people come behind, and I mean, I don't wanna say copy, but I mean, you are inspired by what I, you know, it's nice, and it's flattering, but the ideas that we have going forward. I mean, if you're constantly doing what we've done before, he won't be able to do what we're doing next. So<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  31:50  <\/p>\n<p>yep, you'll have to wait for you to do that thing to know what your next step is. So it's not something to worry about. So before we jump into the lightning round, I just really quickly wanted to know, if you have the chance to start your company all over again, from side hustle to full time. What would you do differently?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  32:12  <\/p>\n<p>I'm not sure. I mean, because I did make a lot of mistakes coming in. But I that's how I learned how to run the business. And I don't know if that's a cop out. But it really is. Like, I couldn't think of like if I had done that perfectly before, would I still be here? Probably not, you know, and the things that I learned along the way really helped me to know this business inside and out<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  32:51  <\/p>\n<p>before we jump into the lightning round, one more thing, one more thing I need to know. So what is next for you go natural.<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  32:58  <\/p>\n<p>Okay, so I mean, last year, we released a bunch of product lines we had, you know, swim that came out our water resistant turbans, we had our new silhouette of sleep, which is kind of an upgrade to your everyday bond. And we did men's which was kind of like a side idea that took off. It's been crazy. And so last year was really our ecommerce product here. And we're looking to probably move away from product focus, and move more so into consumable. So we'll see I won't give away all the secrets. Give it all<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  33:44  <\/p>\n<p>away, we will watch but in anticipation<\/p>\n<p>Alright, so now we're gonna jump into a lightning round. You just answer the very first thing that comes to mind. Are you ready? Yeah. All right, number one. What's the resource that has helped you in your business that you can share with the side hustle pro audience?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  34:08  <\/p>\n<p>I would say the women's whatever Women's Development Center is in your city. I use the one in Philadelphia pretty early on and they helped me sort of get resources for marketing accounting. Even a small it was like a small $2,500 loan I took from them. They were an amazing resource for me as I was I was I was building the business. Oh, awesome.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  34:34  <\/p>\n<p>Number two, what's been the best business book or conference or podcast episode that you've consumed? This year?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  34:43  <\/p>\n<p>I reread shoe dogs this year. It is the autobiography or the memoir of Mikey. Yeah. And I love that story because it kind of makes me not feel so bad when I'm in like crazy, chaotic situations. So Like as you grow, you're always gonna be running into these moments where you have to think on your feet. So I love that book.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  35:06  <\/p>\n<p>Okay, number three, what is a non negotiable part of your day?<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  35:11  <\/p>\n<p>Right now? It's coffee. I am. I'm expecting a child. It used to be wine at the end of the night, but it's not<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  35:20  <\/p>\n<p>for congratulations. Number four, what is a personal habit that you feel has helped you significantly in business? For me,<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  35:33  <\/p>\n<p>it's been making to do lists and managing my calendar. Just because I mean, the number of things that end up falling on your plate on a day to day basis as a CEO and entrepreneur, there's no way to keep track of it if you don't, don't manage a list or manage a calendar.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  35:53  <\/p>\n<p>And then number five, last question is, what is your parting advice for fellow Black women entrepreneurs who want to be their own boss, but are scared of losing that steady paycheck,<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  36:07  <\/p>\n<p>I would say, take the first step and it doesn't nest that first step doesn't necessarily mean quitting your full time job. But take that first step and then take the next one. And, you know, it'll take you where it needs to take you if you're continuously working on it. As long as you're not giving up, it's gonna have to think that's just the way life works. It's gonna have to move forward. So just take the first step and then take the next one and try to manage things as it feels natural for you and your family.<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  36:39  <\/p>\n<p>All right, Monique. So where can people connect with you after this episode,<\/p>\n<p>Monique Little  36:44  <\/p>\n<p>you can find the essence of Hugo natural on Instagram at Hugo natural Twitter at YG and raps and we are on Tik Tok. Please follow us there and natural and you can also see our full product line@www.eu Go Natural calm.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown Speaker  37:00  <\/p>\n<p>Alright guys,<\/p>\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  37:01  <\/p>\n<p>so thank you Monique for being in the guest chair. It was a pleasure having you. And there you have it you guys. I will talk to you next week. Hey guys, thanks for listening to side hustle Pro. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe rate and review on Apple podcasts. It helps other side hustlers just like you to find the show. And if you want to hear more from me, you can follow me on Instagram at side hustle Pro. Plus sign up for my six foot Saturday newsletter at side hustle Pro, that CO slash newsletter. When you sign up, you will receive weekly nuggets from me, including what I'm up to personal lessons and my business tip of the week. Again, that's sign hustle pro.co\/newsletter to sign up. Talk to you soon.<\/p>\n<p>Transcribed by https:\/\/otter.ai<\/p>\n<p>\n\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fbxt-content--footer\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"9\" height=\"11\" viewBox=\"0 0 9 11\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M0.5625 0.25C0.234375 0.25 0 0.507812 0 0.8125V1.375C0 1.70312 0.234375 1.9375 0.5625 1.9375H8.4375C8.74219 1.9375 9 1.70312 9 1.375V0.8125C9 0.507812 8.74219 0.25 8.4375 0.25H0.5625ZM2.10938 6.83594L3.65625 5.28906V10.1875C3.65625 10.5156 3.89062 10.75 4.21875 10.75H4.78125C5.08594 10.75 5.34375 10.5156 5.34375 10.1875V5.28906L6.86719 6.83594C7.10156 7.04688 7.45312 7.04688 7.66406 6.83594L8.0625 6.4375C8.27344 6.22656 8.27344 5.85156 8.0625 5.64062L4.89844 2.47656C4.66406 2.24219 4.3125 2.24219 4.10156 2.47656L0.914062 5.64062C0.703125 5.85156 0.703125 6.22656 0.914062 6.4375L1.3125 6.83594C1.52344 7.04688 1.89844 7.04688 2.10938 6.83594Z\" \/>\n<\/svg>\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"fbxt-nav-text\">Scroll back to top<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t<div class=\"fbxt-credits\" style=\"display: none\">\r\n\t\t<span>powered by<\/span>\r\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/fusebox.fm\">\r\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"76\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 76 16\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M23.0886 7.93007H24.517V13.5888H26.3406V7.93007H28.1033V6.26029H26.3406V4.55959C26.3406 3.6474 26.9332 3.4464 27.2827 3.4464C27.7386 3.4464 28.0121 3.66286 28.0121 3.66286L28.6959 2.10131C28.6959 2.10131 28.1033 1.71478 27.1004 1.71478C25.9303 1.71478 24.517 2.42598 24.517 4.46682V6.26029H23.0886V7.93007Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M31.8294 13.7743C33.3034 13.7743 33.9872 12.522 33.9872 12.522V13.5888H35.6892V6.26029H33.8657V11.1459C33.8657 11.1459 33.3794 12.0427 32.4373 12.0427C31.5103 12.0427 31.0088 11.5788 31.0088 10.4966V6.26029H29.1853V11.0068C29.1853 12.7693 30.4466 13.7743 31.8294 13.7743Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M36.8435 12.4447C36.8435 12.4447 37.9832 13.7743 40.0954 13.7743C41.9342 13.7743 43.241 12.7693 43.241 11.517C43.241 10.0018 42.2229 9.52254 40.7945 9.21332C39.5788 8.95049 39.0925 8.84226 39.0925 8.3939C39.0925 7.94553 39.7156 7.69815 40.3994 7.69815C41.3719 7.69815 42.1925 8.33205 42.1925 8.33205L43.1043 6.97149C43.1043 6.97149 42.0253 6.07476 40.3994 6.07476C38.4239 6.07476 37.2994 7.21887 37.2994 8.36297C37.2994 9.75446 38.5455 10.3729 39.9739 10.6821C41.068 10.914 41.4023 11.0068 41.4023 11.4861C41.4023 11.9344 40.7793 12.1509 40.0347 12.1509C38.819 12.1509 37.8616 11.0996 37.8616 11.0996L36.8435 12.4447Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M47.5644 6.07476C45.4826 6.07476 43.9478 7.77546 43.9478 9.92453C43.9478 12.0736 45.6345 13.7743 47.8227 13.7743C49.5703 13.7743 50.71 12.7229 50.71 12.7229L49.7982 11.3315C49.7982 11.3315 49.084 12.0736 47.8227 12.0736C46.683 12.0736 45.9384 11.2387 45.8017 10.5893H51.181C51.1962 10.311 51.1962 10.0328 51.1962 9.8936C51.1962 7.63631 49.5399 6.07476 47.5644 6.07476ZM45.8017 9.24425C45.8625 8.59489 46.3943 7.76 47.5644 7.76C48.7649 7.76 49.3423 8.61035 49.3727 9.24425H45.8017Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M52.5383 13.5888H54.225V12.6302C54.225 12.6302 54.8481 13.7743 56.398 13.7743C58.2671 13.7743 59.9083 12.1818 59.9083 9.92453C59.9083 7.66723 58.2671 6.07476 56.398 6.07476C55.0304 6.07476 54.3618 7.03334 54.3618 7.03334V1.90031H52.5383V13.5888ZM54.3618 8.8268C54.3618 8.8268 54.8784 7.80638 56.0789 7.80638C57.3098 7.80638 58.0544 8.71857 58.0544 9.92453C58.0544 11.1305 57.3098 12.0427 56.0789 12.0427C54.8784 12.0427 54.3618 11.0223 54.3618 11.0223V8.8268Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M64.3915 6.07476C62.2489 6.07476 60.5469 7.76 60.5469 9.92453C60.5469 12.0736 62.2489 13.7743 64.3915 13.7743C66.5341 13.7743 68.2361 12.0736 68.2361 9.92453C68.2361 7.76 66.5341 6.07476 64.3915 6.07476ZM64.3915 12.0427C63.1606 12.0427 62.4008 11.0686 62.4008 9.92453C62.4008 8.78042 63.1606 7.80638 64.3915 7.80638C65.6224 7.80638 66.3822 8.78042 66.3822 9.92453C66.3822 11.0686 65.6224 12.0427 64.3915 12.0427Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M71.1828 9.80084L68.5083 13.5888H70.575L72.2009 11.0841L73.8269 13.5888H75.9999L73.3406 9.80084L75.848 6.26029H73.7661L72.3225 8.51758L70.8485 6.26029H68.7059L71.1828 9.80084Z\" \/>\n<path d=\"M3.34457 0.583843C4.10968 1.3623 4.10968 2.62442 3.34457 3.40288C3.2166 3.53308 3.07534 3.6415 2.92523 3.72814V13.035L8.90051 13.035V8.33442L4.95452 12.3492V0.990621H14.7632V12.2656C14.9174 12.3532 15.0624 12.4638 15.1935 12.5971C15.9586 13.3756 15.9586 14.6377 15.1935 15.4162C14.4284 16.1946 13.1879 16.1946 12.4227 15.4162C11.6576 14.6377 11.6576 13.3756 12.4227 12.5971C12.552 12.4657 12.6947 12.3564 12.8465 12.2693V2.94071H6.87119V7.64125L10.8172 3.62648L10.8172 14.9851L1.00855 14.985V3.73693C0.852708 3.64886 0.706164 3.53751 0.573838 3.40288C-0.191279 2.62442 -0.191279 1.3623 0.573838 0.583843C1.33895 -0.194614 2.57945 -0.194614 3.34457 0.583843Z\" \/>\n<\/svg>\n\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week I chat with Monique Little, CEO &amp; Founder of You Go Natural, one of the nation\u2019s fastest growing natural hair accessory brands. Little founded the company to address the need for easy styling options for women who opt to wear their hair in its natural state. Having started with just a sewing machine, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spt_transcript":"Nicaila Matthews Okome  0:02  \r\n<p>You're listening to side hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow your side hustle from passion project to profitable business. And I'm your host, Nick Kayla Matthews comin. So let's get started. Hey guys, hey, welcome. Welcome back to the podcast. It's Michaela here and today in the guest chair, I have Monique Liddell, who is the founder and CEO of the Hugo natural brand. Now, I first heard about this brand from my friend Chantal, shout out to Chantal, who taught me about these awesome t shirt funds that you go natural has wear, you know, it looks like a pre tight bond that you did yourself, and you're able to just rock it. And this came in clutch for me, especially in my postpartum days. So I have been rocking them through workouts through running to the store anything I can think of just lounging around the house, deep conditioning, my hair, whatever you can think of I have been so grateful for this brand. And I'm so glad that I can finally have her in the guest chair. So a little bit about Monique, she got her fashion she got her start in fashion retail as a teenager, she founded the company to address the need for easy styling options for women who opt to wear their hair in its natural state. And she started with a sewing machine just using some leftover fabric that her mom has. And now in going on six years, she has grown it into a multimillion dollar brand. And she employs over 50 people now 60 People in counseling in Dallas, Texas. So let's get right into this episode to hear more about Monique's journey.\r\n\r\n<p>All right. Hey, hey, Monique. How are you? Oh,\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  1:45  \r\n<p>good. Thank you for having me.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  1:47  \r\n<p>So I wanted to just kick things off by learning a little bit more about you. So tell us who is Monique. What was your first experience side hustling.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  1:56  \r\n<p>So I'm monoclonal I'm CEO of IGN. And I have always kind of had an entrepreneurial spirit. So coming up, I love to just like make jewelry and sell it. When I was in college, I was selling jewelry online, I had a little Shopify store. So it's always kind of been in me to be resourceful. And to have that entrepreneurial drive.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  2:24  \r\n<p>That's so cool. I didn't know you had that shot during college. And what were you studying in school at the time? Were you studying fashion at all? Or what were your plans for post grad.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  2:34  \r\n<p>So I studied economics, I went to Rutgers University, and studied economics, I did take a couple of classes I fit in New York, and post grad it was really the goal was just to get a job. Get a job that pays well. But it was really just a very uneventful post grad experience up until this point.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  3:02  \r\n<p>So at what stage in your professional journey Did you say, You know what, I think I want to start my own business. Is that how it happened?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  3:11  \r\n<p>Yes. So shortly after I spent maybe, like six years in corporate. And shortly after having my daughter, I realized that I really wanted time to be home. And I spent some I spent about six months home with her and then I went back but I knew that I wanted more freedom in my schedule, and more freedom to not only that, but to achieve things that it might have taken much longer to achieve. Had I tried to climb the corporate ladder.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  3:45  \r\n<p>I'm sure a lot of moms can relate to this feeling. And for you, what were some of the first steps that you took once you had that realization.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  3:52  \r\n<p>So the first step was to sort of act on some of the ideas that I had. I mean, I had been wearing my hair naturally since high school, which back then was kind of a novel thing like that was back when there were only a couple of of products on the shelf that catered to ethnic hair types. Right. So I had been seeing how this community was growing, you know, all through these years and I had these ideas for the holes that I saw in the market and things that just were not being addressed. And so once I had a little bit of time I was home. I just sort of acted on it i i do some remnant fabric that my mom had in her closet and I created these pre tight head wrap satin line head wraps that really helped me to look good on the go and didn't break off my hair are dry it off like a typical cotton head wrap would do. And there was really just nothing on the market like it at the time. I had searched for it because I needed it for myself. My daughter was super young. And I just didn't have time to think about, oh, gosh, I gotta it's wash day to day, I got to spend a few hours doing my hair, I didn't have time for it. And so I needed to create something for me. And then I ended up selling it to others. And it was interesting how it scratched an itch in the market. And people really did respond to it.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  5:23  \r\n<p>We sure did. You know, it's funny that you say, oh, you know, I just picked up some material and I stitched it like most of us don't have a sewing machine lying around. And we, you know, even if we did couldn't make this. So funny that you say that so casually, like, I would probably have just taken and I have just taken a random t shirt or a bandana and wraps it around my head. So when you designed it, you had kind of a designer's eye and you was it in the that was the prototype, how it looks today with like the knot and the turban like pre tie kind of formation, or was it a different version when you initially created it.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  6:05  \r\n<p>So when I launched it, it was kind of around the time when head wraps were really becoming trendy. So people were actually using the Ankara fabric, more so than like the stretchy fabric at that time. So that's what I used at first I use Ankara fabric, and I and I and I sat in lined it, I tied these big fancy bows that are it's just not scalable to do anymore. And then I created all different types of styles that mimicked what women were doing at the time.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  6:41  \r\n<p>So when did you start selling them while you're on maternity leave, or once you got back to work.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  6:46  \r\n<p>So while I was on maternity leave, I opened up the store. And it was you know, sales were trickling in, it was more than I would have expected how to without having any Facebook ads or anything like that. But it wasn't obviously it wasn't enough to be a full time income, right? And so yes, and I went back to work. And as it continued to grow, it really just didn't become sustainable to do both anymore. I was leaving work at my lunch hour to ship these things out in the mail, or I was sitting in my car and together, dropping the inboxes. And I'm like, oh gosh, I can't I can't do both. And it got to the point where the store was making more than my salary. So I just, it just made more sense to to do it full time.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  7:39  \r\n<p>Did it grow to that point where it was making more than your full time job in that first year?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  7:44  \r\n<p>Yeah, within the first six months, actually, it grew to that point, I've been putting them up on my Instagram and I had grown such engagement with the followers really became a community and every time I would drop a new color or a new print, people would rush to the store to buy. And in six months, it was just like, wow, like I would wake up in the morning and my husband and myself at the time would drive to work. And I would look at my Shopify store. And I'd be like, oh my goodness, like I made more before I even got to work today, then I'm gonna make all day long. I just ended up you know, saying I'm just gonna take the leap, and I decided to quit my job and do it full time.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  8:32  \r\n<p>Did you ever expect it to take off so quickly?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  8:35  \r\n<p>Not at all. No, it was not expected for it to take off so quickly. Now, I did know that. Because this this little idea had been like, nagging at me for so long. I knew it was a good idea. Like it was like something that had to exist in the world. But I never, you know, before these opportunities open up to you, you just don't even know. It's that's what it looks like, right? Like, I'm just kind of doing this thing that came to me. And you know, I'm along for the ride. But I don't know that I ever really thought of it becoming as big as it is.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  9:15  \r\n<p>Yeah. And I think sometimes that's the beauty of side hustling, you know, you're able to start something and you don't put that pressure on it. Oh, it has to be this. It has to make this much in X amount of time. You know, that gives you that freedom to explore different patterns to get some feedback from your customers. So where are you getting feedback from the customers were things that people were saying to you. Was that helping to inform your next version of the product or your next pattern your next design?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  9:44  \r\n<p>Oh, absolutely. And that is our Mo to this day is I always say you know there's a saying that says if you're not embarrassed by the first product you put out you put it out late when I think that To the products that I put out, oh my gosh, I just want to apologize to my first. I mean, I just took the feedback. And it's another funny stories I, I used to make them on these little Styrofoam heads, the, you know, like the little head forms. And I didn't realize that that's not the size of a real head. So these things were tiny, like, absolutely. And I was sending them to customers, and they'd be like, Oh, I love it, but I just can't get it on my head.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  10:32  \r\n<p>I didn't know those Styrofoam heads were\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  10:36  \r\n<p>just assumed they were. So you know, those are learning experiences. I mean, there's, it's, there's a craft called millenary. Art. Oh, what's that, which is like the making of headwear. Um, and that's an art form that is so rare that I never studied. And that, you know, most people don't know about, right? So there's all those things that go into making something that goes on your head or things that I have been learning as I go learning as I interact with my customers and put new products out there. And, you know, it's, it's the only way for me to understand what my customers need.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  11:17  \r\n<p>So, all this time, were you making all of these by yourself? Or did you also have a team or a few people that were helping you.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  11:27  \r\n<p>So I started out doing it by myself, probably for the first four months or so. It was me and this little $40 sewing machine that I had a little bit of fabric. And then my mother saw me doing it. And she was like, Do you need any help, because my mother is the one who taught me how to sew. Okay, so I think she reluctantly came in. And I have pictures and videos of us in her living room with just like fabric everywhere, and like labels. And at the time, my sister was helping us ship and it was just like it had taken over her home. And so then it was me and her. And then after that, I put up a Craigslist ad and just put it up for a few seamstresses around the city. And they were working from home for me. So what we would do is we would have, we would take the orders, and then we would print out a spreadsheet. And we would just divvy it up across like three or four people across town who would make them\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  12:37  \r\n<p>I can't even imagine,\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  12:39  \r\n<p>leave a little box of fabric at the door, they would come pick it up, and they bring it back the next day made. And we just pay him cash, and then put the cash back into the business. So that's how we scaled because it was an easy way to do it in a way that we didn't have to do a whole lot of manufacturing upfront.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  12:58  \r\n<p>Did that help you to be profitable, just having low overhead and paying people but you know, not really having full time employees?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  13:05  \r\n<p>For sure. It will I mean, it was the only way I could have done it. I didn't have a ton of capital to start up with I didn't have much credit to start up with it was the only way that I could have scaled a business to this size and not have taken the big financial risks upfront. Yeah. So yeah, that was super helpful. I didn't even consider taking on full time employees until a couple years back when it really just became unsustainable to be doing it as I was,\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  13:38  \r\n<p>and what year did you leave your job?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  13:41  \r\n<p>So I left my job and 2016 About six months after I started. Yeah.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  13:48  \r\n<p>So what happened next, tell us how did you go from side hustle to main hustle.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  13:53  \r\n<p>I would say after I quit my job, I stayed home and started just working on the business. And there were moments where as I was growing it, I also needed to like have income to contribute to my family. So I was like driving Uber in the morning. And then you know, working on the business but it was really just a grind for I would say about three years before I could just like do this and do this only. And so that's how I grew it. It was really like I spent time just growing it with seamstresses across the city like I told you and then last Wilton 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic actually was we had since transplanted to Dallas, my husband stopped transplant planted us to Dallas. And I was working with manufacturers at that point. Well, not manufacturers, I had some seamstresses and I had had a bad experience trying to transition to a manufacturer. And I just realized that I just needed my own facility. Yeah, I needed to be able to bring this in house and control all the pieces that we're working together to make this business go home. So I opened up a facility here in Dallas, and I opened it up with like, 2500 square feet and like six people. And that was,\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  15:19  \r\n<p>how did you just open up? Like you just said that very casually? Did you open up a facility like you're driving Uber? Right? So I'm assuming that money is tight right now. So how do you go about even doing that? How does that process work?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  15:35  \r\n<p>So I mean, I wasn't driving Uber at I had been I stopped driving Uber maybe a couple years before that, right. So at this point, it's sustaining itself enough to know that, for me to be able to step back and see where my limits were, and my limits were around meeting demand, fly. And it was really, like, I can't make enough for the, for these customers, like these customers are wanting every time i i release a batch, every time I send them out to a contractor and get them back, I released a batch, they're gone in half a day. And I can't it was hard to sustain that. And so having an A team that was working here full time, was just necessary. Now, I won't say that I had a ton of money when I opened the facility, because I didn't. I did it was pretty tight. But you know, I found a small space. And a, I just like put the money down. And I knew that there was enough revenue in the business to sustain that from month to month.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  16:43  \r\n<p>Yeah, because this is a lease. So you can, yeah, and talk to us a little about that supply chain, because I am so impressed when I see how people were able to pivot during that period. So you touched on, you know, you pivoted to mass, while supply chain was held up, how long, you know, what was that process like of you having to do that? And how did it impact you financially.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  17:06  \r\n<p>And so it was about three months that we had to do that for, luckily, my product is pretty modulars. And the materials that we use to make them are readily available now, you'll probably pay a premium buying them not wholesale, cuz sometimes I did have to go to our local fabric store and pick up fabric or what have you, because my supplier just didn't have any more left. So I had to be creative about how I procured my materials, and how I got them around that time. And it was really difficult. But I have to say, because I had so much I did have a lot of remnant fabric or leftover fabric, I was able to just utilize that as a resource, then that that pushed us through.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  17:53  \r\n<p>So when you say your supplier, this is the person supplying the actual fabric, you know that you don't use them to actually make your\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  18:01  \r\n<p>products. No, so I just I buy the raw materials, we keep them in house. And we try to manage our inventory pretty closely, sort of just in time as as much as the market demands. And we make it as we go.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  18:18  \r\n<p>And I can relate to this on a small small scale, you know, having merchandise for the site house approach shop, right? So you know, having to decide how much raw materials to have, even though you're not yet ready to put that on sale is a it's a dicey process, especially when you want to make sure that your supplier doesn't sell out. Right. So how do you manage that if people are asking for this color? And then your suppliers out of stock of that color? Like does that happen to you? How do you manage that?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  18:48  \r\n<p>It does happen. I'll say last year, we scaled up the business, believe it was 700%. Last year, and because of that, like the amount of raw materials you have to buy to anticipate that kind of demand. Yeah, you're bound to make some mistakes. And we did we ended up with a lot of raw material inventory, that, you know, we then had to be creative about offloading. And so this year, is the first year where we've had that type of scale of data that we can forecast on going forward. So we're still learning that process. And I think that any business that is in a fast growth phase as we are is gonna end up having to think about those things on the supply side.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  19:44  \r\n<p>So guys, let's face it. The work world looks so much different than it ever has, whether you're in person remote, or in a closet like me, or somewhere in between. Taking care of your team couldn't be more important. That's where gusto comes in. Gusto Modern HR platform makes it easy to hire, pay, manage and support your employees all in one system of record. That means no more jumping between applications and no more jumping through hoops, your payroll, your benefits, your hiring and onboarding, team management tools, and so much more are all there for you in one convenient place. On top of that, gusto provides actionable insights to inform decisions around workforce costing, competitive compensation and employee engagement. So almost tough decisions you make each day just got a whole lot easier. And the best part, listeners of side hustle pro get three months of gusto for free at gusto.com\/s. HP. That's right, if you're ready to experience a new bar for HR, get three months free at gusto.com\/s, hp gusto.com SHP. So what would you say in addition to the supply management, what have been some of the parts that were unexpectedly challenging?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  21:08  \r\n<p>I think the biggest challenge that I'm facing so far as is learning to manage a team is largest we have. So we started with the six people, but now we've got 60. And most of them are on the production side, we've got a whole factory of people who make these products for us, and just understanding how to create an organization that people are proud to come to every single day and enjoy working out that meets their needs. And just as much as they are, you know, meeting the needs of the business? That's been a challenge that I didn't really think that I would be facing. But it's it's it's an important one to tackle.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  21:51  \r\n<p>And how are you so far kind of navigating that? Are there books or resources or leaders that you've kind of tapped into to get a better sense of how do I create that culture that fit? Essentially what you're describing? Is that that company culture?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  22:08  \r\n<p>Yeah, I mean, I'm fortunate to we raised money last year. So I'm fortunate to have a network of people who have gone before and I can tap on for advice. But a lot of it is just the gut instinct of how would I want to be treated in an organization? What are the good experiences that I've had, in my past? What are the bad experiences that I've had, in creating the best experience best work experience for the people who come here every day?\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  22:40  \r\n<p>Now, you mentioned raising money? So of course, we want to touch on that, because we know that our businesses at the end, like at the end of the day, we all need capital to grow in scale. So when did you decide to raise and why?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  22:53  \r\n<p>So I decided to raise shortly after we moved into this facility. And it was because it was a good time as far as like how well we were doing so we can we I bootstrapped the business all the way up. We've been profitable from day one, right? So once we got to a certain scale of a million dollar run rate and things like that, things that I knew, looked good in the eyes of the VC and I could pitch easily and they wouldn't be difficult to tell that story. They always say, if you're going to raise money, do it when you don't need the money. That's when that's when I did it, we were doing pretty well. And it was a good story to tell. So I decided to go out and tell it.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  23:38  \r\n<p>Was it difficult to raise money from people who don't necessarily understand the need behind your product?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  23:43  \r\n<p>Yeah, I mean, that was, it was an amazing eye opening experience to be sitting across will across the zoom at that point, from people who look nothing like me and trying to explain the black woman's beauty experience. So like, not only did you do that, yeah, it's it's not only that, I mean, men in general, I work with my brother now who is the CFO of the company he came on last year. He doesn't even fully understand it, right? And he's a black man. Talking to two white men who I mean, although Well, meaning just you have no context for the challenges that women of color face and in beauty. It was man it was it was an experience. And I'll say you said how do I how did I do it? And it was mostly taking the story. I told the story over and over and over again. And that's what happens when you're pitching to VCs. But taking it and examining it to see where's the common ground here where what is the universal story here? And how can I make this as relatable to as broad an audience as possible, so that we can connect? And then we can go deeper on the nuance of this?\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  25:11  \r\n<p>Oh, what did that look like for you? I mean, was it from the lens of womanhood? You know, every man who has a wife knows how their wife feels when she's not looking her best, perhaps, right, like, so what lens? Did you approach it from? Yeah,\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  25:26  \r\n<p>I mean, it was from the lens of womanhood, it was on from the lens of just time saved. And money saved. I looked at it from the lens of when I was pitching, I only had the satin line turban products, but we've expanded since then. But just understanding that no matter what background, you come from, the amount of time that women of color spend managing their hair on a day to day basis, is sometimes inhibiting, and if we can somehow alleviate that in moments when there are other things that that needs to take precedence or take priority. You know, that's everyone knows what that's worth in their life.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  26:10  \r\n<p>Absolutely. Absolutely. So, what are some things that have shifted about your business since you started?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  26:19  \r\n<p>Um, I would say, Oh, I'll say this for sure. When I started, I, it was kind of like, of course, you're wearing all the hats when you're a solopreneur. Right. So there were a lot of decisions that I could just make on the fly and just go, right, you know, sales are low today, let me run to the fabric store, pick up a new print, I'll put a sample online and just run a sale on it. Yeah. And that can't happen anymore, when you have an entire team of people, because everyone's looking around, like what just happened like It's like whiplash for them. So really, I'm a very agile person. And I like to be flexible in the way that I do business. But understanding that there are also structures and processes that need to be put in place in order for things to scale with a team.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  27:15  \r\n<p>And one thing I definitely want us to touch on is the marketing piece. So how important was this to you, when you were starting out? What did you learn in the process about what was helpful for your business, when it came to marketing techniques?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  27:30  \r\n<p>And so in marketing, I mean, I guess because I am, I am my market, just understanding that the voice of what my customers want to hear, and not straying from that has been the most important thing and keeping our marketing on track, especially when we're bringing in partners that aren't as tied to the brand. Or it might not be as the voice might not be as intuitive for them. Understanding that keeping that voice is the most important piece of speaking to our customers.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  28:06  \r\n<p>And then in terms of things like Facebook ads, or social media posts, email list building, how did you approach that what was helpful for you in scaling the business when it came to that.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  28:18  \r\n<p>So I've got a great media spend team who runs our Facebook ads, they are incredible. And they come we go, we come back every week, every week, we have a call and just dig deep in the data. And just dig deep in, you know how things have changed from this week to next and have those metrics and those KPIs. So that's how we approach it is just making sure that every if we see a shift in any small piece of the data that we dig into why those things are happening, then make those adjustments on our end,\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  28:54  \r\n<p>before you hired that media spend team. What were you doing on your own? And when did you know it was time to bring in someone external?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  29:02  \r\n<p>So I was running Facebook ads on my own? I wasn't great at it at all. But they were profitable. I mean, the satin line here? Absolutely. At least when I launched it was pretty unique. So it really wasn't hard to acquire customers with it. And it wasn't expensive. I mean, when I came when I did bring our data team on our customer acquisition cost was I believe it was like a quarter of the average cost that they would see in a typical ecommerce business. So yeah, and even they were they were they checked and double check the data over and over and over again.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  29:46  \r\n<p>Like is this real? Yeah, like\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  29:48  \r\n<p>why was this happening that your CAC is $4 But you know, you know, your, you know, average order value is whatever number so those were the I did it and thankfully I was like had the accident that it was so profitable, because I didn't know what I was doing.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  30:07  \r\n<p>But you know, I think that's the beautiful part though of being your own target customer and having that vision, that understanding of what your pain point is what you need to see what would make you buy a t shirt button and also your products, your Hugo natural products, specifically, the t shirt buns for me are self explanatory. Like when I see that and I'm like, oh, boom, I can get that cute not look without having to do it myself. Got it. I want it, like give it to me. So I think that is just awesome. But you did touch on the fact that now it's not as novel of a thing in terms of there more than one company selling similar products for the natural hair community like that now, right? So what is your thought process when it comes to competition? A lot of people get daunted, intimidated by it. But I don't see you doing that. So what's your approach and thought process with that?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  30:59  \r\n<p>Yeah. So I mean, when I started this company, I would always tell, you know, the people around me that I don't want to sell head wraps for the rest of my life. I mean, I love them, and I love how enthusiastic people are about them. But I have so many ideas to innovate in this market. And that is what we're selling here is innovation. And so I when I when people come behind, and I mean, I don't wanna say copy, but I mean, you are inspired by what I, you know, it's nice, and it's flattering, but the ideas that we have going forward. I mean, if you're constantly doing what we've done before, he won't be able to do what we're doing next. So\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  31:50  \r\n<p>yep, you'll have to wait for you to do that thing to know what your next step is. So it's not something to worry about. So before we jump into the lightning round, I just really quickly wanted to know, if you have the chance to start your company all over again, from side hustle to full time. What would you do differently?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  32:12  \r\n<p>I'm not sure. I mean, because I did make a lot of mistakes coming in. But I that's how I learned how to run the business. And I don't know if that's a cop out. But it really is. Like, I couldn't think of like if I had done that perfectly before, would I still be here? Probably not, you know, and the things that I learned along the way really helped me to know this business inside and out\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  32:51  \r\n<p>before we jump into the lightning round, one more thing, one more thing I need to know. So what is next for you go natural.\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  32:58  \r\n<p>Okay, so I mean, last year, we released a bunch of product lines we had, you know, swim that came out our water resistant turbans, we had our new silhouette of sleep, which is kind of an upgrade to your everyday bond. And we did men's which was kind of like a side idea that took off. It's been crazy. And so last year was really our ecommerce product here. And we're looking to probably move away from product focus, and move more so into consumable. So we'll see I won't give away all the secrets. Give it all\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  33:44  \r\n<p>away, we will watch but in anticipation\r\n\r\n<p>Alright, so now we're gonna jump into a lightning round. You just answer the very first thing that comes to mind. Are you ready? Yeah. All right, number one. What's the resource that has helped you in your business that you can share with the side hustle pro audience?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  34:08  \r\n<p>I would say the women's whatever Women's Development Center is in your city. I use the one in Philadelphia pretty early on and they helped me sort of get resources for marketing accounting. Even a small it was like a small $2,500 loan I took from them. They were an amazing resource for me as I was I was I was building the business. Oh, awesome.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  34:34  \r\n<p>Number two, what's been the best business book or conference or podcast episode that you've consumed? This year?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  34:43  \r\n<p>I reread shoe dogs this year. It is the autobiography or the memoir of Mikey. Yeah. And I love that story because it kind of makes me not feel so bad when I'm in like crazy, chaotic situations. So Like as you grow, you're always gonna be running into these moments where you have to think on your feet. So I love that book.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  35:06  \r\n<p>Okay, number three, what is a non negotiable part of your day?\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  35:11  \r\n<p>Right now? It's coffee. I am. I'm expecting a child. It used to be wine at the end of the night, but it's not\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  35:20  \r\n<p>for congratulations. Number four, what is a personal habit that you feel has helped you significantly in business? For me,\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  35:33  \r\n<p>it's been making to do lists and managing my calendar. Just because I mean, the number of things that end up falling on your plate on a day to day basis as a CEO and entrepreneur, there's no way to keep track of it if you don't, don't manage a list or manage a calendar.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  35:53  \r\n<p>And then number five, last question is, what is your parting advice for fellow Black women entrepreneurs who want to be their own boss, but are scared of losing that steady paycheck,\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  36:07  \r\n<p>I would say, take the first step and it doesn't nest that first step doesn't necessarily mean quitting your full time job. But take that first step and then take the next one. And, you know, it'll take you where it needs to take you if you're continuously working on it. As long as you're not giving up, it's gonna have to think that's just the way life works. It's gonna have to move forward. So just take the first step and then take the next one and try to manage things as it feels natural for you and your family.\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  36:39  \r\n<p>All right, Monique. So where can people connect with you after this episode,\r\n\r\n<p>Monique Little  36:44  \r\n<p>you can find the essence of Hugo natural on Instagram at Hugo natural Twitter at YG and raps and we are on Tik Tok. Please follow us there and natural and you can also see our full product line@www.eu Go Natural calm.\r\n\r\n<p>Unknown Speaker  37:00  \r\n<p>Alright guys,\r\n\r\n<p>Nicaila Matthews Okome  37:01  \r\n<p>so thank you Monique for being in the guest chair. It was a pleasure having you. And there you have it you guys. I will talk to you next week. Hey guys, thanks for listening to side hustle Pro. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe rate and review on Apple podcasts. It helps other side hustlers just like you to find the show. And if you want to hear more from me, you can follow me on Instagram at side hustle Pro. Plus sign up for my six foot Saturday newsletter at side hustle Pro, that CO slash newsletter. When you sign up, you will receive weekly nuggets from me, including what I'm up to personal lessons and my business tip of the week. Again, that's sign hustle pro.co\/newsletter to sign up. Talk to you soon.\r\n\r\n<p>Transcribed by https:\/\/otter.ai\r\n<p>","footnotes":""},"categories":[68,136,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty","category-fashion-jewelry","category-hair"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7931,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3843\/revisions\/7931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidehustlepro.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}