While many businesses have struggled to keep up during the pandemic, Gwen Jimmere has not only kept her business afloat, but has also earned herself the title of Entrepreneur Of The Year. Ernst & Young awarded her the honor in the 2020 Michigan and Northwest Ohio category.
Jimmere is the founder and CEO of Naturalicious hair care company, a business that sells products to help repair natural hair, and teaches customers about hair care.
Jimmere said she started the company with only 32 dollars in investments after getting out of an abusive marriage. She said that winning the award represents possibilities for other women out there who feel they can’t pursue their dreams because they believe they lack the resources.
“It means everything,” Jimmere said. “This is representation for all the women out there who feel like they are down and out.”
Some of the challenges Naturalicious faced during the pandemic have included a national bottle shortage that prevented Jimmere from packaging products. She said that COVID-19 actually created an uptick in demand, but that they simply weren’t able to keep up because of the supply issues. Now she said Naturalicious is fully staffed and shipping out orders on time.
Jimmere also took advantage of the pandemic by starting the Repair your Hair Challenge, a 15 day hair care boot-camp that she says can take you "from wack to a snack.”
She said the challenge was inspired by salons closing and people having to take care of their natural hair at home for possibly the first time. So far over 400 women have participated, and Jimmere says the results are “mind-blowing.”
To find out more about Naturalicious and the Repair your Hair Challenge, watch the video above.