Ajenkins / October 25th 2011 / No Comments

Founded in 2010 by Mimi, Layla, and Alex and inspired by The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, Luxy Hair has managed to find a niche business in hair extensions leveraging the power of YouTube.

YouTube was used first to test the waters and then the website followed. The use of forums and Yahoo Answers also made for a good initial foundation by sharing valuable information through answers and directing people to helpful content.

The focus has always been on quality over quantity. This has resulted in good growth but few complaints.  Despite their use of YouTube, there is nothing viral about them. It has been a gradual and organic building of their profitable business.

Word of mouth has been huge. They share information first and rarely suggest or push a purchase. They are transparent about the pros and cons and that has translated into referrals. Mimi and Layla answer Facebook and YouTube questions. People really appreciate the access to humans who are also the owners/founders.

Since launching a website, the emphasis has been to provide a good web experience. That focus on the new web marketing methods has meant no newsletter or other uses of traditional marketing efforts to date.

The 4-Hour Workweek inspired their lean startup manifesto. They are empowered to build the business the way that they want. The business sustains five people but allows them the freedom to run the company virtually and still travel the world.

Advice for other budding entrepreneurs

Take care of your legal requirements and domain name registrations at the start. Luxyhair had issues with competitors early on.

Be yourself

Be genuine

Focus on your dreams first and money second.