Conversations with the Inspiring Yewande Masi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yewande Masi.

Yewande, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Ornami years ago after being frustrated with the lack of inclusivity and quality within the beauty industry. I began by traveling to Asia to source high-quality human hair extensions for women of all backgrounds, hair types, and textures. Since then, we have branched out to include creating all-natural skincare products which are homemade and free of chemicals.

At the core of the Ornami mission is to provide great customer experience and enrich lives. Benefits include saving time, saving money, peace of mind and of course compliments!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If you speak to any entrepreneur, they will share how difficult the journey can be at times, however, it is so worth it! I’ve had some disappointments along the way including partnerships that didn’t pan out and struggling with sales. I had to learn how to assert the needs of myself and the business first. My advice would be that entrepreneurs not overthink to the point that it prevents them from moving forward. Entrepreneurs should worry primarily about making sure things in their business function first before making them look fancy. I found that we can get caught in a vicious cycle of creating pretty logos, etc instead of doing activities that actually earn money. We should be open to the fact that things will change on this journey and our business can end up looking very different from what we originally had in mind. What you think maybe a selling point, may not be and people will end up asking for something that isn’t necessarily the core of the business. Often times, it will end up better than expected, but different. Just be open to changes and listen to what your customers are saying.

What should we know about Ornami Beauty? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The thing I love most about my work is meeting other women, learning about their lives and sharing ideas. While Ornami provides premium quality hair extensions, we specialize in providing all-natural homemade skincare products. I am proud that Ornami is an inclusive company that empowers women and aims to bring transparency and social responsibility to the beauty industry. We are creating a safe community for our customers to and operate in a way that is accountable to our environment. This includes 100% recyclable packaging and developing alternate uses for waste.

For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I think women are well-positioned for ALL opportunities. Each of our perspectives is incredibly unique to our experiences as women. As far as industries, I have heard that the cannabis industry is very inclusive and has about a 50:50 ratio of women to men.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ornami.com
• Phone: 18882508125
• Email: info@ornamihair.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ornamibeauty/
• Facebook: facebook.com/ornamibeautybrand/
• Twitter: twitter.com/ornamibeauty/

Image Credit:
Sharde Moore Photography

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