Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Angel Cornelius, Founder of Maison 276, located in Sugar Land, TX, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Maison 276 is the leading beauty brand for the diverse community of middle-aged women (aka “Silveristas”) that want to address the changes in their hair and skin with clean and innovative formulations while also authentically celebrating the vibrancy of their lives. The highly acclaimed Maison 276 3-Step System has revolutionized silver and blonde hair care!

The 3-Step System is a plant-based, clean, and white formulation that keeps hair of all textures vibrant in color, soft, and moisturized WITHOUT the purple dyes used by 99% of our competitors.

Our brand name is inspired by Angel’s childhood home in New Orleans.

Tell us about yourself

Maison 276 was birthed because of my nearly lifelong personal frustration with the beauty industry’s products for my silver hair. Although my initial goal was to solve a personal pain point, I quickly realized that an incredible number of women shared my same frustrations, regardless of hair type or hair texture. I think my perspective as an industry outsider was critical because it allowed me to tackle silver hair care challenges from a radical and fresh perspective.

Our unique Maison 276 3-Step System offers premium hair care products for silver and blonde hair without the use of purple pigmentations while also being suitable for ALL hair types and textures.

In addition, although many of our customers originally come to us for innovative solutions to treat their silver hair care challenges, it is our authentic and diverse representation of all middle-aged women that has built the foundation of an extremely loyal tribe known as the Maison 276 Community.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Maison 276 is a bootstrapped company that competes with multi-billion-dollar conglomerates while also receiving global industry recognition for our product innovation. We also take pride in the growing Maison 276 Community because it illustrates the diverse and powerful community of Silveristas who enjoy our products and see themselves reflected in our brand values.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the most challenging aspects of entrepreneurism is pushing yourself to stay ahead of consumers’ evolving tastes and preferences. At Maison 276, we consider business trends from the perspective of our customers. The health of our customers ultimately determines our ability to thrive and be successful. Today’s U.S. consumer is emerging from a 2-year global pandemic, seeing inflationary pressure on their daily budgets, and dealing with increasing interest rates. Those three elements present challenges in the short term.

However, the U.S. consumer has also demonstrated tremendous resiliency over the past few years, and we believe customers are willing to spend and show strong brand loyalty to companies that deliver great value and authenticity.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Just do it! I believe that many Silveristas underestimate the tremendous value of their lifetime experiences. Regardless of industry, either knowingly or unknowingly, we have accumulated years of experience and expertise across multiple disciplines.
  2. This expertise can come from building a career, managing a household, or community leadership responsibilities. Success in any of these roles requires us to have passion, commitment, and vision. At some point, we have served as problem solvers, people managers, and team builders. Often, we’ve had to be creative while overcoming obstacles, pivoting when necessary, and seizing opportunities.
  3. These experiences and skills are critical components to building and scaling a business, and they shouldn’t be overlooked or minimized.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Today’s consumer wants purpose-driven brands. Whether in beauty, food, fashion, or other consumer goods, the customer increasingly wants value alignment between themselves and the brands they buy. Maison 276 wants to empower Silveristas to redefine society’s stale notions of aging and celebrate the vibrancy and beauty of their lives.

Regardless of who she is, when a woman encounters Maison 276, she WILL see herself reflected in a beautiful, vibrant, and authentic manner. Maison 276 is only a small part of an accelerating cultural tidal wave that will redefine society’s approach to aging and beauty.

#JointheSilveristaMovement

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://maison276.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maison276
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maison276/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelcornelius/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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