3 rules to help you build a successful business The Way We Work a TED series
Transcriber:
Running a business means
being a constant problem solver.
Every day it’s something new,
whether it’s product development,
distribution, creating content
or, I don’t know,
deciding what to do during a pandemic.
The trick isn’t always knowing
all the answers
but becoming adept at figuring them out.
[The Way We Work]
My entrepreneurial spirit
comes from growing up
in Latino neighborhoods in LA
and being surrounded by so many people
who are immigrants.
It takes heart and ingenuity
to move to a new country
and rebuild your life.
I grew up seeing firsthand
so many examples of people
getting creative with limited resources,
whether it was the pupusa lady
outside, rain or shine,
or my dad, who started as a field worker
and now owns his own restaurant.
In 2017, I left my corporate job
and used my entire life savings
to launch Rizos Curls.
Helping people embrace
their natural hair texture
has been my personal passion
since I was a teenager.
Learning to love my hair
in its natural state
was the first step
to learning to love myself.
Today, I’m running a self-funded,
multimillion dollar business
that has been profitable since day one.
Growing up where I’m from,
building a successful business
felt unattainable.
But turns out that entrepreneurial
spirit was there all along.
Here are my top three principles
that guide me in doing business.
One: Get personal with your customers.
With every transaction,
your customer is giving you power,
so don’t take that power for granted.
I feel so immersed with our customers
because I see them in my family, my tias,
my cousins, my parents and even in myself.
And that means nobody,
not even the haircare giants,
can speak to them like I can.
We get to know our customers
on a personal level
because we take the time to really listen.
Building that kind of relationship
creates an authentic,
reciprocal understanding
between brand and customers.
Two: Don’t be afraid to break the rules.
As a Latina-owned, self-funded
small business,
I’m constantly entering spaces
where my business
is the first of its kind.
This year, we launched Rizos Curls
into a mainstream retailer
where we became the first Latina-owned
curly hair care brand
to be carried in their stores.
It was a big deal for us.
Traditional business wisdom says
that we should have invested
a lot of marketing dollars
on that type of launch,
but instead I showed up on a horse,
with a mariachi and recorded TikToks.
I spent less than a 1,000
dollars on that launch.
So my point is, don’t be afraid
to try things differently.
Don’t expect the same rules to apply
to your small business
as they do to Fortune 500 companies.
Embrace what makes you you,
and make it a part of your strategy
rather than following the same
old playbook that’s out there
for everyone to see.
Three: Make your intuition your BFF.
Running a business is noisy and demanding.
There’s retailers, customers,
your team, your finances,
and things happening in the world
beyond your control.
How do you make big and important
decisions with all of that?
Yes, facts and data matter,
but at the end of the day,
you’ve got to trust your gut.
Your intuition is your best friend.
OK, here’s what I do.
I have daily check-ins with myself,
and I have a checklist that I go through
after every big meeting
where I ask myself questions like,
“Am I uneasy? Am I excited?
How do they make me really feel?”
It’s a thing that can’t be explained
through numbers or logic.
But when I go through
my list of questions,
I’m able to quiet the noise
and tune into that voice inside me
that helps me stay true
to myself and my mission.
It’s important to know who you are
and who you are not.
That means knowing when to say no.
For me, that’s meant
turning down outside capital.
Yeah, that extra cash flow
would have been amazing,
but investors would want to maximize
profits and in turn,
compromise a community
and culture aspects of what we stand for.
And for me, that’s non-negotiable.
At the end of the day,
you have to be grateful.
No one has to work for you,
and no one has to be your customer.
People have choices,
so remember to appreciate
every employee effort
and every sale.