What It's About
A hairbrained scheme helps a couple mix things up.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Kim and Tim discovered that DIY subscription boxes were great when their subscribers didn’t know what they wanted, but when they did, they would rather just buy the product from someone else instead of having to make it themselves over and over again.
But, in a way, the subscription business unintentionally provided them with the research they needed to develop a real line of products. They knew what worked recipe-wise, what sold the best, and they had a solid idea of what their customers really wanted when it came time to pivot.
Fun Fact
When Tim went on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he and Kim actually drove all the way to New York from Chicago! Both of his parents, Kim’s mom, and a few other relatives wanted to go with him, so they all piled in a car together to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Notes from Chris
Episode 899
The year was 2013. Beyonce performed at the Superbowl, people were doing the Harlem Shake, and high school sweethearts Kim and Tim Lewis of Chicago, Illinois were looking for a change. Kim was working her way up the ladder in “Corporate America” while Tim found himself in between jobs. The job hunt struggle was real, but there was one benefit to this period of uncertainty. It got them thinking about how amazing it would be for them to work for themselves—doing something that would finally allow them to live life on their own terms. But first, they needed an idea... Around this time, Kim had thrown herself into the people of color beauty space. With a growing love of her all-natural mane, she eagerly sought out resources to keep her look “on fleek,” but unlike the gorgeous hair on her head, her research fell flat. There just wasn’t anything out there to educate and empower other women of color to embrace their god(dess)-given curls. From then on, her mission was clear—she’d comb through the tangled up rhetoric to supply her people with the information they needed to ditch their flat irons and hair damaging chemicals. And she’d build up a social media style community in order to do it. But with Tim in between jobs, money was tighter than her curls. Where were they going to get the capital to fund something like this?? That’s when they decided on something a bit unconventional. See, Tim is a trivia whiz and exactly the kind of person that you want on your team for those weekly quiz nights at the bar. And what does any trivia-loving person do when they’re looking to fund a new business venture with limited funds? Why, they go on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, naturally! Although it felt like a stretch when he signed up, he was chosen to compete, and their families took a road trip up to NYC to share in the hairbrained scheme. When everything was said and done, Tim walked away with a fun anecdote—and $100,000 in prize winnings. Unfortunately, unlike Kim's fabulous curls, their social media platform fell flat. Still attempting to find more natural products for her hair, Kim found herself brushing up on DIY hair solutions. She spent hours watching recipe videos and picked a few she wanted to try out. After a mad dash to the grocery store for ingredients, Kim tore apart her kitchen in the pursuit of fierce and natural hair. But four hours and a couple hundred dollars later, she was disappointed with the final result... It wasn't a total loss though—amid the mess of her kitchen, she found her next side hustle. In this day and age, Kim says that the only way to truly know exactly what is in your products is to make it yourself. And that was the whole idea behind building her subscription-based model. Her customers would use her raw ingredients and recipe tutorials to make the products themselves, and they’d know exactly what they were putting on their hair and body. And it also wouldn’t break the bank! Since then, the couple has continued to grow their hustle with hundreds of subscriptions and thousands of orders shipped. Now, almost four years later, they have moved on from sending customers ingredients, to actually selling their own product line. Last year, CurlMix made a total of $1 million. Already, CurlMix surpassed that amount in 2019, making $3 million, and Kim says that it’s her goal to close out the year at $10 million. Kim and Tim have truly built a curly hair care empire! It grew from a hustle to their full-time career, and now they get to live the independent life they always dreamed of. Not only that, but CurlMix has allowed them to give back to their community, by opening up a manufacturing facility in Chicago and employing women to ensure that they have a job where they receive fair wages. They can’t wait to see what the future of CurlMix brings.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- CurlMix: Mix things up—add some of Kim and Tim's products to your hair routine!
- Shopify: Kim and Tim used Shopify to set up their site for CurlMix, and they're offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
SEE ALSO:
- Oncology Nurse Creates Products to Regrow Hair After Chemo; Earns $80,000: After kicking cancer to the curb, a Texas oncology nurse discovers the power of essential oils for hair regrowth and launches her own handmade hair care line
- Cow Fat Skincare Line Steers to Grade-A Paycheck: A mechanical engineer invents her own “fatty skincare line” after not finding what she wanted on store shelves
- Holiday Body Butters Become $1,000/Month Side Hustle: A teacher-turned-construction inspector aces his exams and creates a series of courses to help others entering the field
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Resources
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Quote of the Day
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