MOGUL MAKING W/ MIZ PINKY

“I say ‘God. You wake me up to be powerful every day, show it to me.’ And that’s it. Show it to me.”

— MIZ PINKY

For my latest R&V contributor Ariele “Miz Pinky” Thompson the journey to becoming a business owner is the culmination of a childhood vision and each and every step has earned her the complete awareness of what she’s made of. If she’d believed in herself earlier she told me, there’s “no doubt in [her] mind” she’d have gone much further, much sooner. A New York native, turned Georgia business owner, she’s the founder and owner of Pinky’s Kid’s, a membership only kids braid salon, slated to open three (read: three!) new locations by May 2020. Miz Pinky is creating a legacy as a self made entrepreneur and has paid for the lessons she’s learned through her journey with the risks it costs to stay nimble. She shared her insight with me, and has allowed me to share her journey here on R&V. Pinky, talks about her childhood, the tragedy that changed everything, and planted a seed so profound for me when we talked about what she’s learned about herself along the way, that I can’t wait for you to find it. In two simple words, she laid down the complete definition of a boss. But, I’m not one to give away good story…

Ariele

Wife. Mother. Fairy Hair God Mother. Rising Mogul. Daughter. Sister. Miz Pinky.

If the family had a yearbook, you’d have found her under, “the most likely to get a beating”. The third of five children for her mother, Pinky didn’t waste any time getting to the point when I started our conversation by asking her who she was as a child. She’s direct, with a whole lotta energy and when we talked I found moments where it sounded as if she was singing, her voice floats some moments, and lands in beats in others. Work with that, it’s the truth and it’s all I got. The self proclaimed “spoiled brat” was defiant, and did what she wanted, in fact she was so insistent on it, her parents she says, “they let [her] be wild.”

Pinky “loved playing around in hair” and built up her passion as her sisters on call stylist, that is until the family got their very first computer. A Compaq. She unfolded the memory of creating her first flyer on said computer, and the memory of AOL and the sounds of dial up, falls out right alongside it during her flashback. If you know, it’s stuck for you too and deserves notable mention. At fourteen, the future Miz Pinky walked around her neighborhood, knocking on doors with her flyers in hand. “Two people let me do their kids hair, and that’s where it started.” Fourteen doors later, a seed was planted.

With two clients, she set appointments and got to work. After some time, the mother of one of her first clients suggested Pinky walk to a local Dominican salon for a part-time job. After her parents agreed the mother went with her and the owner who’d been getting walk-in requests for braids immediately saw an opportunity. Pinky began working in the salon, and the bug took set. Not long after, she decided to go to hair school, while still in public school, and told me she immediately “loved every aspect of it.” They couldn’t teach her what she knew through practice, however learning about the health of hair and scalp, and operating a hair care business intrigued her, and gave her access and a peek into a world filled with everything she loved. Her head went down, and her senses went up. While Pinky’s passion, was still on doing kid’s hair at that time, she told me “…in hair school they don’t really teach you who your customer is” and so believing the hair industry, and a career within it couldn’t be exclusive to children, she set out and away from her path although the children were “honestly who [she] had the most fun with.”

Sometime in 2006, after the birth of her first son, Pinky relocated to Georgia, and in 2013 she was able to follow her passion and leased and opened her very own salon, in a small strip mall. The salon with it’s high-end luxury feel, and decor attracted customers and the attention of passerby’s and had several stylists on staff and Pinky maintained a constant flow of children in her chair. Surrounded by her own and the other stylists adult clients, she decided after six months in business to move all the children’s appointments to Sunday’s to separate the babies from an atmosphere that wasn’t always easily or quickly censored. Sunday’s became, “Little Angel Sunday’s” and the lux salon was transformed into a private palace where the children could have the entire space to themselves. For an entire month and a half “Little Angel Sunday’s” was a hit, and the first seeds to a business model, Pinky still wasn’t entirely convinced on were planted. “It was never a plan to be solely a kids brand, and that’s what I wanted but I didn’t know it was an option. I thought you always had to have a full service salon.” says Pinky.

As with most of my contributors, great seeds don’t always take root though and some have to be uprooted all together to find more fertile soil, but the story doesn’t end there. We aren’t at Pinky’s Kids, the good part, the major lesson, thee moment - yet, you know. But, I got to tell you, it will be the first, and hopefully the last time you’ll ever hear that an 18 wheeler truck, (read: a truck with eighteen wheels) was involved in an uprooting on this site. I mean…

Plant. Water…

A month and a half into “Little Angel Sunday’s” Miz Pinky was woken up to calls and text messages. Non. Stop. Her memory of the day brought her to one particular story; a parent known for being a joker. He called and they went back and forth in a dialogue she’d been convinced was a pre-appointment check in prank. Right?

Wrong.

She remembered the alleged “joke” telling me he started out immediately saying “There’s a truck in your salon.” Pinky responded: “Stop playing, what’s up?” To which he returned, ”No. There’s a truck in your shop.” and Pinky, still playing along but done playing along said: “No. Stop playing, what’s up? You need something?…” Their discussion ended firmly, with no mention of an appointment but instead with him saying “…You should go over there.”

When she pulled up to her salon, only eight months old, she described what she saw as a movie scene. It was disturbing to say the least, chaos, sirens, lights, peices of her all white salon strewn about, covered in blood. It was an out of body experience and the tragedy left her without a business, or a plan and the driver of the 18 wheeler that drove through the salon, dead.

“It was the setback for the comeback, for real.” she told me. But of course it didn’t look that way. Then, everything looked as it was — gone, and while she tried to sort things out, scrambling to figure out what to do next, the calls didn’t stop. Miz Pinky was making calls to cancel appointments, while taking calls to deny them, or accepting calls accompanied by offers of condolences. The news broadcasted her reality, and it prompted more calls from those who hadn’t already heard and were now seeing Miz Pinky, on their TV screens. Pinky told me, “You can have an accident today but because you’re a business you still have customers calling, you’re still on Google, you’re still on every platform. So it’s not like you can just brush it off and say ‘ok start over’. I really didn’t know what to do.“

Ultimately, it was the calls that didn’t stop that began watering the tiny seed planted, although it seemed there was nothing left to plant it in. Pinky told me she “started paying attention more and more to who was calling.” It was the parents of “Little Angel Sunday’s”, and they weren’t only calling to check in on her, or schedule appointments, they were delivering intel on booths and salons nearby for rent and trying to get their beloved Miz Pinky back in the game. “They were just like, we don’t want anyone else to do our kids hair.” and you can hear the shrug in her shoulders through her voice over the phone. Trust me. So, Pinky went back to the very beginning, and redecorating her guest house into a private playhouse, she began taking appointments through referrals only from home, and Pinky’s Kids was officially born — well, sort of.

MAKE room.

For the corporate girl, it may be a boss who won’t let you be great, for a business owner it could be the competition down the road, or next door. For Ariele, it was her neighbor.

The convenience of working from home, came with low overhead costs, mounting referrals, and a neighbor who’d had enough of Pinky’s Kids booming business bringing extra traffic and cars to the block. Hand written notes left on her clients windshields, calls to the city’s code enforcement and zoning planning departments, and a guest house driveway that could only hold but so many cars, Pinky had to admit it was all becoming too much. Her neighbor making it uncomfortable for everyone involved was ultimately the final push towards her reality. With the money she’d saved taking appointments from the guest house, and the final settlement from the trucking company, which she’d sued for damages, she was ready to step back out onto the main road. Miz Pinky found a home she renovated into her tiny clients “very own play house.” and now outside the privacy of her families home, Pinky’s Kids was no longer a “by referral only” business, and was far from “Little Angel Sunday’s”. The original dream was brought back to life, after years of believing it could never completely be. Leaving room for her passion and including it in each step of her journey forced her back down her original path and Miz Pinky went back into business as Pinky’s Kids, a full service kid’s membership only braid salon.

“I kept the same concept when I went commercial. And when I did that, to be honest, my clientele tripled. Everyone wanted to be a part of something exclusive.” said Miz Pinky.

Pinky’s Kids

At Miz Pinky’s salon early confirmation, and words of affirmations come sealed with dope little dos. The salon, is a beauty and brains bootcamp where licensed stylists are trained to deliver the Pinky’s Kids service, and experience with the support of the salons eponymous product line. And the children who are members of the salon are those of parents who she says “don’t ever have to touch their kid's hair again.” and children who are hardly pressed to leave.

“If you just listen to your customer, they’re going to tell you everything you need. Really, like Uber. Uber said, they just needed a ride, they don’t want to drive anymore. It’s the same thing. The parents said they don’t want to do their kids hair anymore. And I’m like ‘Pull up, I got you!’”

With the slogan “Parents drop your combs.”, it’s really as simple as that. After the accident that caused the salon to close, Pinky’s Kids became a subscription based business, where Pinky allowed parents to chose pre-set packages and bring their children by the salon for weekly, or bi-weekly full service appointments. Much more than a wash and style, Miz Pinky and her stylists specialize in healthy scalp and hair care, and are transforming the health (and length!) of their clients hair. She adds value she told me, and as such she doesn’t have to do anything beyond what she already does. No promotions, no specials — just consistency.

And it’s not just her clients who benefit from her growing hands, her stylists are booked out for an entire year, do not pay booth rent, nor do they have to market to their own customers. Standing behind their chairs and their own talented finger tips, they get to take full advantage and pride in a well known and established brand. She told me, “Because we are a membership only salon, we’re building residual income. People are driving over an hour and a half for their bi-weekly appointment.” Memberships all come with a one year contract, “so where most stylists have to go places and figure out [how many clients cover] their booth rent, there’s [none].” Pinky says membership dues are withdrawn each month “like Amazon Prime, [the stylists] are always getting paid.”

“It has something to do with the energy and the atmosphere.”

— MIZ PINKY

The Salon

Plush white fur, sparkles and gems, living swings hanging from the sky, your favorite songs, favorite shows, white salon chairs, gold ornamental mirrors… what’s not to love. It’s fit for a tiny Queen.

The vision to be a children’s only stylist has morphed into a brand full of personality, four salons, family partnerships, products stacked on shelves and Pinky is witnessing it all with her own two mogul in the making eyes. Eyes that are looking back at a slickly paved road where there once was an unbeaten path. An entrepreneurs dream realized.

Pinky’s Kids will open three new locations in Decatur, Atlanta and Riverdale in 2020 and one of her stylists is currently going through six months of training, to take on a new role as an owner and operator of her own Pinky’s Kids salon. Pinky’s sister recently relocated to Georgia specifically to step into a role as the operating manager of the new locations, while another sister runs the mobile service in New York, scheduling at home appointments. Pinky’s Kids is a becoming a full circle legacy.

Photos courtesy of Pinkys Kids.

“I use to be the manager at KB Toys, and I couldn’t name a toy after one of my kids in there.”

— MIZ PINKY

The Product Line

While working from home, Pinky created a product line after deciding she was spending too much money, and using too many brands to manage different hair textures. So, she began researching and interviewing chemists and landed on one familiar with hair products, and already connected to the resources she’d need for packaging and labeling.

She did initial testing on herself and her boys and after she had something she liked, integrated the products into her client’s hair care regimens both in the salon, and at home. Having already given the parents of her clients a heads up on the product line, Pinky asked for their help saying, “If you see a difference or if you notice anything you don’t like it’s going to be up to you to let me know because I’m really creating it for you guys.” With their support and feedback she created the first two products for Pinky’s Kids, the # 1 best seller Blossom Oil, and Mia Mia Butter, a moisturizing hair dress named after her niece. To honor her young King’s, her sons and clients, each product has a “spin-off”, simply a name and packaging change, for boys like her own who “didn’t want to see girly products on their shelves.”

Available online and in the intentionally and purposefully packed “Growth Box” and “Moisture Box”, see a list of the Pinky’s Kid’s product line below.

Credit: Pinky’s Kid’s/Growth Box

Credit: Pinky’s Kids/Moisture Box

Blossom Oil

Flex Paste

Mia Mia Butter

Amplifying Foam

Everyday Miracle Treatment

Versatile Styling Cream

3 in 1 Hair Spray

*Live in NYC? The entire Pinky’s Kids product line can be found at the Northeastern Conference Office of Seventh Day Adventist store on Merrick Boulevard, in Queens, NY

“Kids want bragging rights and we should be able to give it to them”

— MIZ PINKY

Entrepreneur 101:

During our conversation, Miz Pinky shared some great tips about making your own way. Even if you’re working full-time, and day dreaming about becoming our own boss one day, you’ll want to take notes. These are the facts bosses are made of.

The Hustle Will Not Be Televised

“With the entrepreneur life you gotta to set yourself up different. You could binge watch a whole entire [season] and still not create what you wanted to for that day. The world sets you up to understand rules and regulations so now you have to make your own regulations for how many hours you want to put in. It’s a lot of discipline. No one is going to remind you. No one is going to praise you. It’s really all on you.”

You Are Your Value, Know That.

“It’s really learning your own value. You don’t have to work a nine to five to kill yourself to bring home less.”

“If I knew who I was before, I probably would have been too cocky with it.” she told me, about the time it took for her to realize that she could have always done, exactly what she wanted to do. Knowing your own value is probably the greatest hurdle for most entrepreneurs, or anyone with an idea seemingly too big to fit into their current reality. Pinky acknowledging how the experiences she’s had have allowed her to trust herself over time, should be confirmation for all of us. I believe, and she is proof, that you trust yourself more over time. It’s frustrating but arguably, necessary because time (and memory) brings with it unshakeable knowing that everything you are, was always in you.

Then, it’s up to you to do something with what you know and it’s never too late.

Teach Greatness

“If they were teaching affirmations in school, or my parents were teaching me, I would have been a lot doper. I wouldn’t have had to wait until I was a mom to know.”

Taking this path of owning her own stability has initiated conversations with her sons she’d never heard growing up about what’s possible. Pinky told me that her youngest son sharing his plan to own an airline, naming it and promising her mother free flights for life is confirmation he’s thinking big, and she’s doing something right. He’ll have a head start if she teaches him how great he is now, and it’s the water she says all children need to grow.

Freedom Vs. Time.

“I relax every single day.” she told me, when she talked about setting her hours and the blessing her business model and clientele’s school schedule gives her to open up her shop at 4:30 every day. She’s able to home school two of her sons, and surprise her oldest son in high-school frequently. Spending time with her kids, was important to her when she became a mother. That said, the aspects of time and freedom can get blurry, especially when what we want holds us hostage to it. “I like my journey. Sometime’s, it’s a little rough because we want things in our time frame.” she said. With all the freedom and flexibility she’s had as an entrepreneur, the concept of time is one she struggles with, understandably so, when the ability to use it wisely add life to any brand. “But, I wouldn’t change anything.” she ends.

& Road Rage…

“Ok. So, can you still have a little road rage?” Listen. Don’t judge my questions. I asked. Because, I’m curious. This life must come with restrictions. No? Running a business where word of mouth directly translates to bread and butter, there must be an understanding that you’re always on, aware and playing nice in traffic, no!? But, Miz Pinky kindly reminded me that everyone knows she’s from New York (so, you already know) and added “I got a little bit of chic-filet but I still got a lotta New York BLT” She is who she is all the time and this ties back to the seed I’d hope you’d find earlier… If you thought you’d had trouble finding it, you’re not only closer. You’re here.

Miz pinky On miz pinky

Most people at some point reflect over the things that have happened in their lives. Especially after big losses and wins. I’m always curious about what my contributors have learned about themselves, especially as I continue to reflect and learn on my own journey and through theirs. So, I always ask when we speak; ‘what have you learned about yourself along the way?’. There are never really enough words but they’re always able to button it up into a sentence, or two. Past R&V contributors have told me they’ve learned to trust themselves, about their will power, that they’re able to mastermind their lives. They’ve come across hard lessons in relationships, and through their choices. Asking someone who’s known for so long, doubted it, then become who they wanted what they’ve learned, I mean, I had my pen ready. Before I could get the question out, she jumped right in. I checked the recording to make sure it was still on. Pen it hand, paper situated… This is it, this is always it.

Pinky perked up, voice raised she was singing again, almost screaming this time and says “…and I’m telling you I never knew!” Now she’s giggling. So, I laughed too, and I didn’t stop even though my mind did when she finally told me what she’d learned. To be honest, because (I’m learning) I think more than I listen sometimes, I was tailoring it in my mind, as soon as she’d said them… the two words. Two words. I usually get more. This time, only two. Two words. And I’m building this up because, y’all ain’t gonna leave out of here without feeling what I felt. She say’s, Miz Pinky, the fairy hair god mother says, “…and I’m telling you I never knew…” Wait for it. And I quote….

“I’m loud.”

I’m loud. When I asked her what she’s learned about herself after everything she’s been through and all she’s been able to do and create, Miz Pinky done told me, she just found out the other day (mind you) that she’s loud. And I’m telling you, I was so stuck but steady giggling, because she was still giggling and it’s rude to let people giggle alone. She’s cracking up, and I’m still thinking more than I’m listening. How am I going to write this? Fairy Hair God Mother got here boldly — and loudly. How am I going to swindle a profound lesson for myself (and those of you who read my mini biographical novels) out of this one. Loud?

I listened while she told me, her husband had told her before, a few times actually, to lower her voice while they were out. To which she’d responded, “Yo, shut up, I’m not loud.” She’s (still) laughing. I’m still thinking. She goes on to say that her youngest had made a recording of her recently, and she was so completely turned off by her own voice, she had to ask who it was. “You.” her son said. And Pinky, “I sound like that?” She went into work and asked around and it was confirmed, with added shock value that she’d just now figured it out. At this point, she’s almost hysterical, and I’m smiling (read: thinking) to myself. She became self aware so early in life, she’s just now bothered to notice how other people see her and there’s a gift in that. I’m sure this is the message I needed when Pinky tells me “I had no idea I was so loud.” And not long after, I’m forced to stop smiling, and just say “Wow.” I’d been waiting for a chance to ask her if she’d known, would she have changed but before I do she says, “I’m just glad I didn’t hear that when I was younger.”

The “wild” child’s answer surprised me. She answered, “I think so. I think sometimes, when you have people, like, if you have really strict parents, or really strict people around you, people that are always trying to change or dictate things, they could silence you. I’m just glad I didn’t have people around me that could silence me. I didn’t know I was loud. I thought I was just me.” And it’s a seed, the seed that I needed. And, if you don’t find somewhere to plant that and give it roots, I don’t know what to tell you. “I didn’t know, but now I know and I’m good with it.” she ended.

Though we chatted for a little while about the greatness in her family that’s she’s claimed to light her way, not much more needed to be said after she said all that. She’d already extended one helluva vine.

Learn more about Miz Pinky and Pinky’s Kids and membership options visit, PinkysKids.com and if you’re interested in following your dreams, take it from Miz Pinky…

“Stop waiting for people to tell you who you are. You know who you are, so tap into it.”

— MIZ PINKY

&CAREERSNOVEMBER 9, 2019

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