I won’t sit here and pretend like business is easy – one mistake can cost you a lot, and even though you’re doing your best to please your customers, produce products to meet demand or weather the dry times. Sometimes it just does not work out.
The support you once had is just none existent, and the bills come every month, whether you are doing well or not. The problem is your customer, me, and others who have supported you, expect that you will do what you need to do to get yourself out of this debacle.
If competition is stiff, you have to stay ahead of the game; you have to innovate, pivot, connect with your customer, and see what they are buying. In the beginning, natural hair products were booming, and there was anlot of money to go around because the market was very small.
Sometimes businesses take that for granted, and they do not prepare for the future; it may just be a million other producers starting to flood the market, because they think they can do it better.
It’s a delicate balance, and it is by no means easy, so when a company fills out a Crowd Funding Profile and puts itself out there, saying, “Hey, we need help – we want to stay in business”, I can certainly understand where they are coming from. I also understand that this might be it; this is the last attempt at keeping the doors open, and if it works, great, but if it doesn’t work, then as the business owner, you can probably say you’ve tried everything you can.
From the perspective of the consumer, how do we know that if we give you 7,8,9, or 10 grand, that you will be here for the long haul, and use it the way you should be using it? If you made mistakes now, what tells me that you won’t make mistakes again with my dollars in your pocket?
Times are hard, and we are all looking for that bang for our buck – that product that does what our hair needs, and at the same time doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. We can’t tell you how to run your business, but we will say that in a almost saturated market, you better have something that is not only economical, but of the highest quality, as well.
In addition to product and cost, technology and social media is a huge factor in getting your products seen and purchased. No need for me to go any further, because we don’t need this post to turn into a business lesson.
The point is, I do not think Crowd Funding is a great way for a natural hair company to get back on the map, unless you have something great and innovative to offer in the form of a project.
My advice is: get creative, and figure out to get yourself seen, as your last resort. Education is huge these days, so if you can write, start a blog – if you have a salon, do demonstrations, and publish them on YouTube.
Do whatever it takes, but in my opinion, begging for cash to pay your bills is the nail in the coffin. Give us your opinion – do you think Crowd Funding Campaigns are the way to go for failing natural hair businesses, who can’t pay their bills?
See I don’t mind supporting black owned business because that’s US. However, blatantly talking about your decisions and why you are in a financial bind is not the way to go and a complete turn off for me. Crowdfunding should be the last resort (depending on the cause as well). If for a sickness or medical bills, then of course I would be glad to help. But if you are not able to pay your bills because of certain “instances” I think the business should downsize themselves and bite off only what they can chew.
I think these businesses know that it’s easy to sucker black women into giving them free cash. After all, all they have to say is black owned, natural hair. It’s evident from the amount of money being charged by the established natural hair care lines. When you compare the cost per ounce between any regular hair care brand vs natural brands, the natural brands are 5 times more expensive. Many even more than that. And if it’s black owned, there’s a premium for that as well.
It doesn’t make any sense to me especially considering that our natural hair can thrive with regular products. But many have been conned into believing that only organic products will do, and the expense is justifiable. It is not. My hair has started doing very well on regular products that are not targeted for black natural hair. Black women really need to wise up and stop following others blindly.