This interview is about a young Ghanaian woman who was born and raised in the Netherlands. Her name is Abigail Mensah and she is twenty years old. Abigail previously studied Cultural Social Education at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Miss Mensah loves everything that has to do with hair and beauty. This interview will tell you more about her brand.

What kind of business are you running?

My brand is called AbyM.Stylez. I started this brand in 2017. This is a platform about hair and beauty for colored females. The main focus is for kinky and curly hair. I also have a product which is called AbyM Hair Oil. The platform that I own gives tutorials on how to take care of your hair and I also give beauty tips to females around the world. I do this in several ways. I have a YouTube channel where I give the tutorials as I told and I also give advice to people in my Facebook Group. I also have my own Facebook page where I put my content.

Why did you start this brand?

The reason why I started this, was because I saw that there is a gap in the market. There were not many hair products for colored people. De Kruidvat for example, has a few hair products for colored people, but the product range is not really big. A lot of beauty stores for colored people are not owned by them. Most of the time are those shops owned by Indian people which is not a bad thing, but they do not have the same knowledge about “black hair” as a colored person or a person with curly or kinky hair. I want to make a change with my product! I only have one product at this moment. Besides that, I also host hair and beauty events.

What kind of message would you like to spread through your brand?

I want to make a change with my brand. I think that it is important that the consumer knows what they buy and I think that I can do that with my knowledge about kinky and curly hair. I always tell young women that they should not be under pressure by (social)media. I noticed that a lot of young girls are comparing themselves with famous Instagram people and I always try to tell them that they are beautiful for who they are and that they should not look at how others look.

Who is your target audience?

Young colored women from the age of eighteen till mid-thirties who live in countries where the population of black people is high. For example: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most of my YouTube viewers are from the United States because my content is in English instead of Dutch. This gives me a bigger chance to reach more people.

What kind of responsibilities does a business owner have?

A lot! Sometimes you need to be professional in a setting which is not professional. That can be difficult sometimes. I have a target audience that watches me on YouTube and because of that, I have to take care how I act. I cannot be doing crazy things when I am at a party. I do not want to say that people see me as a YouTube figure, but they do take me seriously when I talk about hair and beauty topics. Another important thing is that your actions speak louder than your words. You cannot say something and not take your things into work.

What kind of tasks do you have for your business?

I am a beginning business, so there are not so many things that are being outsourced. The things that I do myself are the accounting, the production of my hair products, the promotion, booking of events and editing my content for YouTube. I do not depend on others and that is why I do it all myself. There are so many sources that can help you, that it is not really needed to outsource certain business activities. When I see that my business will grow, I have no choice and then I will outsource my tasks to others.

What kind of sales channels do you have?

I am still working on my website but customers can buy my products through social media and they can also buy my products through the events that I host. When I host or give seminars, I make sure that I bring my hair product with me so that people can buy it there as well. When people want to buy my product through social media or the email, I send it through the post.

What can you do with your product?

You can use my products for your hair which gives you a better stimulation to grow your hair. Men can use it for their beard to grow and you can also use it if you have a dry skin. My products are available in two formats: 10ml and 50ml.

How do you see yourself in five years?

If I put in the work as now times ten, I will sell my products in many stores around the world. I will be giving a lot of shows and spread my mission and vision to others. Also, will I be able to have employees for my company. I would also like to expand my product range with hair shampoo, face masks, body lotions and more.

Check her out on:

YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM