Name:

Bryant & Kummbareh Owens

Title:

Founders

How long have you been in operation:

Since January 15th, 2014

What inspired you to start your business?

Our business wasn’t started by intention, it was started by a push from family, friends, and jobs that were taking all our time. Our daughter struggled with very dry hair and scalp with she was very young and the hair & scalp, products that were sold in stores didn’t work well and didn’t solve the problem, so, my wife, Kummbareh decided to embark on the journey of learning how to develop products for our daughter using the best natural ingredients. Two years later the struggle of caring for a family of five and both of us juggling demanding full-time engineering jobs pushed us into this journey of business ownership. We decided it was time to have more control over our lives and believe entrepreneurship is the best way to achieve that.

What are some struggles you faced when trying to achieve your goals?

For us as a family is it most definitely time management, risk management, and financial stability. With a family of five it is probably easy to assume that time is something we struggle with and fitting in basketball practice, football, tennis, and ballet, when you are trying to get a startup off the ground. The second largest struggle for us is really taking our time when it comes to risk, we are not as risky as we probably should be and that is because we have three little ones that we are responsible for. The third struggle is financial stability, this is a piggy back off of the second struggle, but it is important for us to be able to put food on the table, clothes on the children’s back and shelter for live in so some sort of financial stability is very important.

What is one of your most notable triumphs?

We have had a number of triumphs over the last year and a half, but there is one that stands out; after we put in all the work we did in 2014, participating in 30+ popup events marketing on the internet, and going to events to network. By the end of 2014, sales were growing but not stellar, and we ended the year knowing that the first year was a test year and hoped to see greater gains sooner than later, and first quarter 2015 we made more in revenue and profit than the entire year in 2014. After putting in the work day after day, event after event, that was our most notable triumph because it showed us that people loved our products and we were making a difference in the relationship women have with their hair.

What is one piece of advice you would give to those who want to be entrepreneurs?

If you don’t build your dream someone else will hire you to build theirs. Expect it to be the hardest thing that you have every had to do, but if you are working in an area of passion, expect is to be extremely fun as well, and lastly enjoy every moment of the journey.

Where do you envision your business and Detroit in 10 years?

I envision Detroit to be much different, much more of a tourists location, a place to vacation in the summers and shopping galore. In terms of EverButter, I still see us building & strengthing relationships through hair, but I also see us expanding into national events, and expanding into other areas such as teaching and helping others build family businesses, digging deeper into financial literacy, and building programs off that.

Finish this sentence: Detroit / Michigan / Your City needs…?

A reliable public transportation system that connects the suburbs to Detroit, so that everyone in the city is not dependent on an automobile to get places they need to be. We also need better quality roads.