Entrepreneur Spotlight: Mona-Lisa of BlackMasterPiece.com

Mona Lisa, Founder of BlackMasterPiece.com

MONA-LISA

Founder of BlackMasterPiece.com, The Natural Hair Community

I have the pleasure of knowing Mona-Lisa personally. She is incredibly open-minded and ambitious. The best part of being around her is that she is judgement free and has a shockingly positive and inquisitive attitude towards life.

Below, she speaks about the process thus far: 

What were you doing before you got into natural hair care?

I became a licensed real estate agent at 19 and focused on that and school for a few years. It taught me a lot about sales, human nature, and the way business is done…although watching my mothers entrepreneurial pursuits probably taught me the most about business and taking initiative as an individual.

The first step was writing about your experiments in natural hair care, correct (is there a better word for “experiments?”)? What made you decide to start the blog?

Yes, that was definitely the first step, I decided to begin a blog because I knew I had quite a lot to contribute to the subject of natural hair care. Experiments is actually a great term for the way I approach new styles, it’s like a new frontier I want to discover and master. I wanted to showcase my varied style experiments, and I also endeavored to be a reference point for women with hair textures like mine (being that there is such a dearth of women with hair textures like us wearing their coils proudly in the media) so that they could see with their own eyes that hair like ours can thrive, look gorgeous, and be incredibly versatile.

Share with us some of your ups and downs with the blog.

The biggest challenge for me as a blogger is remaining consistent and driven to provide my readers with new interesting content. I am continually inspired with new styles I attempt or look to attempt, the key is to regularly keep my readers up to date on what I’m doing. When you’re in school, regularly taking on clients, and looking to have some semblance of a social life while being a blogger, it can produce some challenges, but you just have to push through it and remember why you got into it in the first place in those moments. It’s also best to be honest with your readers about when/if you need to take a step back and why.

When did you get your first client? How was that for you?

I got my first client subsequent to putting in loc extensions for my best friend, it was my first attempt and it came out so good that people were asking her about where she got her hair done non-stop. My first client saw my work and wanted the same look done. That experience was both challenging and incredibly rewarding; it was challenging because it took a massive amount of time to complete, but it was rewarding because her hair came out gorgeous. From there I’ve had a steady stream of clients and it’s been wonderful.

What has opened up for you now, business opportunity-wise?

This is an exciting time because I have so many ways I can proceed to expand my vision for healthy hair care, right now I’m going to focus on providing more content on my blog, starting a Youtube channel and interacting–very soon I will be moving on to the next step. I believe that what needs to come next will become evident to me soon enough.

If you could give one piece of advice to an entrepreneur a few steps behind you, what would it be?

I would say follow your passion, no matter how unorthodox or unusual. Focus on helping others that are looking to have a similar journey and always be true to your ultimate mission. Be inspired and if you feel so inclined, share that inspiration with the world.

If you could recommend one thing to an open-minded person to do with no expectation other than to improve their life, what would it be?

It would be to learn about the law of attraction and the myriad of other laws at work in our world. Coming into awareness of them really transformed my perspective and changed my life for the better.

What motivates you to be an entrepreneur, and what keeps you going when you have mood down swings?

Growing up watching my mothers entrepreneurial nature and witnessing the birth of her business really motivated me to start my own thing when the time came. When I’m feeling low about my path and feeling uncertain, I remind myself that there is something special about this, that I have never been driven to work so hard for something ever before. I remind myself that this is something of my own that I created, and that this is something to be proud of.

What did your mom do and how did she inspire you?

My mom founded a computer repair company when I was about 11. I watched her open up her 1st location, I witnessed all the dynamics that went into setting up the location, the long hours and the hard work. She also adjusted with the times and by the time I was began high school she started a consulting firm in which she would offer computer training (where I was the manager) and simultaneously held various professional development and children’s educational workshop contracts with the NY board of education.

My mom is the kind of person that takes initiatives and understands how best to leverage opportunity with precise strategic timing. This was inspirational to me because I found something invigorating about being your own boss, determining your own path and mapping out your future single-handedly. As a result of this upbringing I couldn’t imagine a better life then that of an entrepreneur, your victories are your own, and your losses are your own, its the path that will leave me with the highest sense of purpose and fulfillment.

And what do you see and want in future for Black Master Piece/your business aspirations?

I would love to see my following continue to grow and I want to provide a haven where natural women can come to be inspired and be encouraged.

Where can you be found?

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

My site was just relaunched as of yesterday and redesigned by Jean-Pierre of Jean-Pierre Designs. I’m really excited about it and looking forward to all the possibilities.

Click to Visit BlackMasterPiece.com - The Natural Hair Community

Stay tuned for the next entrepreneur in the series. If you or someone you know might inspire others, please contact me.