Soulful Strands, a mulitcultural haircare store in Oregon, finally opens despite its owner facing months of issues in securing a bank loan.
A Black woman’s dreams of opening a multicultural haircare store have finally come true. Nichole Ashley Moss is now supplying those with natural textures with the products they need at Soulful Strands in Oregon.
The opening of the store is especially triumphant for Moss. After running into issues for months to secure a business loan to bring her plan to fruition, she has finally received the funding needed to accomplish this goal, especially in its underserved area. The business launched officially in Corvallis, a suburb of Oregon just outside Portland, to ensure people of color within the neighborhood can buy what they need for healthy hair as supplied by one of their own.
In a profile with Oregon Live, Moss explained her motive for opening Soulful Strands, recognizing the need for a Black-owned haircare store within her community, now the only one of its kind in the area.
Soulful Strands’ opening on Nov. 11 is a testimony to Moss’s determination and perseverance in starting her own brand. She encountered numerous issues when wanting to embark on her journey as an entrepreneur. Initially, she wanted to open an indoor spa in Portland but could not find a bank willing to back her idea. A suggestion by her husband to fill a gap in hair product stores near their residence led her down another path, but she still was met with pushback by traditional bank lenders.
However, after four months of a combined effort of saving her own capital alongside her husband, Moss was officially approved for a business loan to create Soulful Strands. Despite the happy ending, Black business owners are significantly impacted by a lack of access to capital, with the roadblock often being a tremendous barrier to them opening up stores and building their own legacy.
Soulful Strands ultimately has its own success story. Now providing various products as a “one-stop shop” for multicultural haircare, it still holds its story as a business that had to go through the systemic trials of raising capital as a diverse company.
Source: Black Enterprise
