When considering individuals who do not look like what they’ve been through, Mahisha Dellinger comes to mind. The CURLS founder and host of OWN's Mind Your Business with Mahisha upbringing was rocky, to say the least, but she preserved despite the tribulations she faced.
PHOTO: HER Magazine
In an interview with xoNecole, Dellinger opened up about her troublesome childhood.
"I was my mother's second child by her second boyfriend. The first was a pimp. The second was a college educated Tuskegee University graduate who deemed her unworthy to marry.”
Due to her mother being away from home often, Dellinger had to learn how to become an independent thinker at the young age of seven. In addition to having to mature faster at home, she was also exposed to extreme circumstances in her neighborhood.
"I witnessed everything from drive-bys (my home being a target on multiple occasions due to my brother's gang activity), home invasions, and murders, pimps and prostitutes… Friends pregnant by 15, while some of their brothers didn't make it to see 18. My first sexual experience wasn't by choice, [it] was by gunpoint at the age of 14. I was a young single mother destined to be another statistic."
With the odds seemingly against her, Dellinger could’ve given up but she used her life’s journey as fuel for her triumph.
PHOTO: Black Enterprise
While speaking with Forbes, she expressed the importance of not settling in stagnation because if you do, you’ll never be able to move forward in life.
“… if you stay stagnant and only focused on what you're doing at the moment, you won’t be ready for the changes that can happen around you—and that can lead to your downfall. I shared [the phrase: ‘you have to evolve or you will dissolve’] on the show because it rings so true to me and what I've dealt with in my business. I had to evolve to stay successful.”
Dellinger’s evolution has surely been one to watch! In 2002, she created the beauty brand CURLS which catered to naturally curly-haired women at a time when women were not as open about embracing their natural textures. In the beginning, the business was flourishing and climbing steadily, but eventually, she hit a snag.
“I was in the position for growth early, once CURLS hit Target and others retailers. But then we went flat. Sales were good but they weren’t growing. And you don't ever want to go flat because that can signal a plateau. The next thing you know, you’re in a dip. So I had to shake things up, re-look at my formulation and figure out what to do to bring something fresh, lively and new to our customers.”
She also told xoNecole something she reminds other aspiring entrepreneurs of often is some businesses use social media as a filter for their progress, but don’t believe the hype.
"Your chances of failure are FAR greater than succeeding [because] 80% of businesses fail by year five. Don't let Instagram fool you into thinking the grass is greener on the other side, they just used a filter… Entrepreneurship can be extremely lonely. You will have to sacrifice fun for funds if you want to grow your business."
To enhance her customers' experiences with her brand, Dellinger told Forbes she introduced new collections, upgraded the brand's packaging and created products people looked forward to receiving and purchasing. Needless to say, her efforts worked.
PHOTO: Blackaphillyated
“I think entrepreneurs are the biggest gamblers in the world. There are some things that are driven by the numbers and when you're going out and doing your research and due diligence, you're looking at your data. But, if you know your target market and your audience and you're talking to them like we do, some of it is intuitive. I am the consumer. I follow the consumer very well because I am her. And 90% of the people that work for me are also the consumer [women with curly hair]. We're very engaged with her on social media and in-person. We see the things she sees and we're connected with all of our vendors and partners, so we know what the trends are and what is selling. But sometimes, you can line everything up and still have a fail. And that’s ok. There’s no right balance.”
PHOTO: Fashion Bomb Daily
In her everyday life, apart from her business, Dellinger is also balancing being a wife/mother and a boss but she thanks her support system for helping her through it all.
“Some days I might be a better mother than I am an entrepreneur and some days I'm a better entrepreneur than a mother. And there are a few days where I do both very well, but I have support from my husband and he picks up when I need it. With the show, when I had to go away for two months, I had to lean on him and I couldn’t have done it without him. There’s lots to do but that's what having the right team is about.”
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