So, what is or who is Zillionhaire you ask? Chile’ if you don’t already know, you need to get to know, your hair will thank you!
Zita Okeke set up the site titled Zillionhaire, as a platform for us afro and curly hair girls and ladies in Birmingham town. How does it work? With a hairstyle in mind, you visit the site and are able to request for multiple stylists. In a swift manner, you receive quotes in return and also appointment times, and are able to choose that of your liking.
Sounds great right? Keep reading to discover more about this unique service for ethnic consumers and also the brains behind the revolution.
So, who is Zita?
Zita proudly describes herself as being bubbly and bizarre. Born in Oxford, Zita has both Nigerian and Ghanaian roots. When we approached Zita about this piece, she gave mature and inspiring responses. It is quite amazing that she is only 24 years of age.
She studied medicine at the University of Birmingham and lists her passions as fashion, beauty, hair and high heels. Zita’s experiences in life as an ethnic minority have given her the drive to achieve all that she has today. She truly wants Zillionhaire to help her fellow sisters realise the beauty and versatility of their hair.
So, why Zillionhaire?
Zillionhaire was humbly born from a few notes scribbled on a napkin. Most of us have that trusted salon owner, and Zita was no different. As a student in Birmingham, she would travel back to her hometown to visit her mainstay hairdresser. Zita’s hairdresser moved location and she then realised how hard it was to find services online for young black women. So ta-da, the idea of Zillionhaire came life. Zita has her family and friends to thank for supporting the idea. In particular, she says her older brother was a great source of inspiration, especially as he also runs his own business alongside full-time employment.
So, how did you get Zillionhaire off the ground?
It’s all well a good having an idea and a dream, but you gotta execute well also. Zita did her research and made use of the means around her. Zita was blessed to be granted £1,000 from the University of Birmingham’s startup fund scheme. She also got herself a part-time job to cover the initial costs of starting her website.
Zita also made her idea as simple as possible. She is not afraid of a little hard work. In the beginning, she abandoned a year’s work so that she could strip back and start again. This enabled her and her website to work better and smarter.
So, what drives you?
Zita quotes that her faith in God gets her through. She actively works on being positive and doesn’t accept failure. Zita describes herself as being stubborn, which is needed in this industry. She has had to swallow and rise from rejection when approaching stylists to join her site.
Zita is wary of perfectionism’s curse mind you. Over-planning and over-thinking can make you talk yourself out of doing things. She recommends being malleable and being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Zita says feedback is also great for her and any business. She has learned to act on all feedback given and edit part of her website accordingly.
So, what’s next for Zillionhaire?
Zita hopes for a Zillionhaire app to be launched. In the meantime however, Zita is excited to soon be able to offer an updated version of the website. It will be more user-friendly and modern. Watch this space.
Zita is also looking forward to promoting her services to the next influx of students in Birmingham. She wants to recruit more stylists, and may even expand the geographical territory. Zita will also continue to network, as she fully appreciates how essential this is for any start-up. The only way is up for Zita and the Zillionhaire brand.
If you like this post, you can check out the post when we had a word with Rudi Page on UK black hair and beauty.