March Is Women’s Month and B Corp Month
Exilior celebrates Women’s Month and B Corp Month by supporting a woman-owned business called Emm’s Beauty Spot.
Emm’s Beauty Spot was founded by a young Kenyan female entrepreneur called Emmah Njeri. Emmah is raised in a small town in Kenya. She has always been passionate about beauty and making other women look beautiful. She attributes her entrepreneurial spirit to her Grandma, who was a small-business owner.
The birth of Emm’s Beauty Spot
In 2017, Emma decided to bootstrap and pursued her passion for business. She joined an emerging trend called Beautyprenuership in Kenya. This was when Emm’s Beauty Spot was born. She started her business in a small room in Kikuyu town, Kenya, to offer manicure and pedicure services for women and men. She quickly realized that there was a huge demand for her services, but at the same time, the operation costs were overwhelming. To avoid readjusting of cost for services for her clients, she decided to sell second clothes as an extra source of income. This system flourished, and she moved from selling secondhand clothes to new clothes.
Then 2020 happened. The tight Covid-19 protocols enforced by the Kenyan government served a significant blow to Emm’s Beauty Spot. Most of her clients would stop by and shop on their way from work, but with a 6pm curfew, they stopped coming. Then, there was a total lockdown in Kenya, and business activities were shut down. To survive, she started dipping into her savings to pay rent to keep her shop.
Bouncing back after Covid-19
Through Emmah’s resilience and sacrifice, Emm’s Beauty Spot bounced back after the Covid-19 protocols were eased. In 2021, Emm’s Beauty Spot expanded into a full-service salon doing hairdressing and makeup and hired two employees, in addition to manicure and pedicure. This meant she had to increase the size of her shop and acquire new hairdressing equipment. She was able to break even and make a small profit.
In 2022, Emmah became a first-time parent and welcomed a baby girl. She had to take a break from her business to take care of her baby. She employed a temporary employee while she was away from the shop. As she takes care of her new baby, Emmah is also worried about her business. Can she have it all?
Exilior supports the idea that women should not need to sacrifice entrepreneurship for motherhood and vice versa. We are celebrating women founders like Emmah. The strength, resilience, and grit of women founders to grow businesses against the odds! 10% of our revenue this March will directly support Emmah’s family and Emm’s Beauty Spot.