Herbal remedies: couple looks to make bad hair days a thing of the past.For Stephanie Suthers, making herbal herbal, early botanical book containing descriptions and illustrations of herbs and plants with their properties, chiefly those qualities that made them useful as medicines or condiments. Most of the herbals were written between c.1470 and c. products runs in her blood, so when she decided to become an entrepreneur, she tapped into the knowledge of her ancestors Ancestors See also father; heredity; mother; origins; parents; race. archaism an inclination toward old-fashioned things, speech, or actions, especially those of one’s ancestors. Also archaicism. — archaist, n. . At an early age, Suthers was taught the many uses for herbs by her Cherokee grandmother. "In her village, my grandmother was the medicine doctor." Suthers, along with her husband Isaac, owns Don-Vant Inc., a manufacturer of herbal hair and scalp products that include shampoos, conditioners Conditioners used on leather take many shapes and forms. They are used mostly to keep leather from drying out and deteriorating. A very old and widely used conditioner is dubbin. , oils, and pomades. With six employees, the Carson, California-based firm posted 2002 sales of $600,000. Before cashing in on bad hair days, the couple had three businesses and several other jobs before opening the business in 1996. Among them was a nightclub that was destroyed in the 1992 Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. riots. Unfortunately for the couple, the club was uninsured and the owners wound up with $200,000 in debt. That's when Stephanie decided to use her knowledge of herbs to eliminate that debt. With $5,000 of their personal savings, which was used to purchase bottles, ingredients, and labels, Isaac threw himself into selling the product and the business was born. The company's first contract was with a beauty supply store in Los Angeles called Beauty Town, which in the first year sold $6,000 worth of hair conditioner Hair conditioner is a hair care product that alters the texture and appearance of human hair. History For centuries, Natural oils have been used to condition human hair. , the couple's first product. "It was really hard trying to get people to accept a product that had inferior packaging, a product they've never heard of, and one that had no advertising whatsoever," Isaac says. "What we would do is sell the products on consignment The delivery of goods to a carrier to be shipped to a designated person for sale. A Bailment of goods for sale. A consignment is an arrangement resulting from a contract in which one person, the consignor, either ships or entrusts goods to another, the and at least we could direct, customers to these stores to buy the products." Today, Don-Vant's product line, Hairobics, includes 22 beauty products for the hair, skin, nails, feet, and face. Looking ahead, the couple's next plan is to open a day spa A day spa is a business establishment which people visit for personal care treatments such as massages and facials. It is similar to a beauty salon in that it is only visited for the duration of the treatment. . Last year, the company moved into a 5,000-square-foot complex that will accommodate the spa, their manufacturing facilities, and office space. The couple estimates it will cost $100,000 to establish the spa and projects $250,000 in annual revenue. "What we are trying to do is develop this first one and then franchise," Isaac says. Don-Vant Inc.; 20850 Leapwood Ave., Ste. A; Carson, CA 90746; 888-532-6267; www.hairobicsallnatural.com |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion