A mother-and-son duo are growing in business together.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Nneka Slade, 49, and her son, Kameron Coleman, 25, are the owners of Play Beauty Supply in Richmond Heights, OH. Before they acquired the store, Slade had worked as a cosmetologist for over three decades.
The duo purchased their first storefront in 2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We learned a lot about each other,” Slade told the outlet. “I’m more of the left brain-organized, structured, and Kameron is more of the right brain-creative, risk taker. There’s a nice balance that happens.”
At first, Slade pivoted from working directly with clients to having an e-commerce business selling hair extensions. Then after buying Play Beauty Supply, Coleman would travel to hair salons and stylists to bring greater attention to their products.
“She leans on me to bring in the new 21st-century ideas, the delivery, websites, marketing. It’s a balance with each other,” Coleman said.
Slade tailors her product offerings toward minority groups, and now she can spread more awareness amid the business’s recent addition. The outlet notes that in March the mother-son duo signed a seven-figure deal to purchase another beauty supply store, Star Beauty Plus in Maple Heights, which serves customers throughout Northeast Ohio. The two say that the store’s previous owners, the Kim family, were very helpful throughout the transition.
Additionally, Star Beauty Plus had been known for supplying wigs, hair products, and tools. Both Slade and Coleman plan to scale the business by establishing a location in Akron as well as offering new services, including a barbershop, events, and classes to support budding hair stylists and entrepreneurs.
“We never dreamed about this happening,” Slade explained. “We didn’t know what was going to happen but if we failed, we were going to fail big, something like this doesn’t happen.”
She later said, “People that come in now to the store are excited to see that it’s Black-owned. They come in shedding tears because they can buy the products they need for their hair. People come in from all over either around or out of town, and most are coming from Akron and Canton areas. We are so happy about the support we have received.”
