Head-to-Toe Confidence with Beauty Entrepreneur Karen Fox, CEO of Fox Grand Luxe
Karen Fox is the entrepreneur and owner behind Fox Grand Luxe, a hair wig adhesive company. After giving birth to her son, Karen suffered from postpartum shedding edges (diminished hairline). She created this company to help consumers like her feel more confident and beautiful by offering a high-quality wig glue that keeps their wigs in place while protecting their sensitive skin.
Her goal is to provide a better alternative for women to wear their wigs, without breaking the bank. During this interview, Karen walked us through her journey from ideation to creation, and how she cultivates confidence for herself and the customers of her growing brand.
How do you cultivate confidence?
Honestly, it isn’t easy to cultivate confidence, but I remind myself daily that so many others have become successful with a lot less. I often listen to advice from people like Steve Harvey who has such an inspirational story of success- he started off with nothing and even had to sleep in his car before, but through hard work and dedication he became a successful businessman. I also look at my family’s story- they migrated to the US from Jamaica with nothing and knew no one, but still made an amazing life for themselves. I also give myself pep talks often to keep myself motivated, and tell myself, “You’ve got this Karen!”
What does being a woman-owned business mean to you?
Being a woman-owned business means everything to me! Being in a male-dominated industry as a Black female-owned business shows other young Black girls that we aren’t less than others and that we can do it all! We can be great mothers and raise our children right, work two jobs, and still run a successful business. I know that we can “do it all” as long as we set our mind to it and want to.
What was your business origin story?
In the past, I worked as a correctional officer and started realizing that even city jobs aren’t 100% reliable, so I started thinking of other avenues of income. During COVID I gave birth to my son and started to suffer from post-partum shedding, that is when I became motivated to create something of my own. I knew if this was a problem for me, then other women were probably also suffering from post-partum shedding, and I wanted to help them and also become a role model for my daughter, and other women who looked like me.
Okay, coming up with a great idea and actually taking the steps to become an entrepreneur and launch your company are two very different things. How did you know it was time to get started?
I knew it was time to take steps to become an entrepreneur because I was no longer afraid to become an entrepreneur. Do you know how many million-dollar ideas never come to fruition because people are afraid? So don’t let your fear of the unknown or failure deter you from chasing your dreams, if you feel a little bit of fear, use that as a motivator to start your entrepreneurship journey!
Sometimes entrepreneurship can be a hard and isolating journey. How do you stay confident along the way?
I stay confident by surrounding myself with like-minded people. Here’s the truth, your best friend may not be your biggest supporter, but they can still be your best friend! You may need to step out of your comfort zone and find like-minded people through other avenues such as events and seminars. Once you find your circle of like-minded people, follow up with each other, hold each other accountable, and always keep moving in the right direction.
If you had to list three traits or attributes that have been pivotal for your success, what would they be?
Courage: Have the courage to keep going, especially when you experience your lowest lows, and don’t be so quick to throw in the towel. you have lows and do not throw in the towel. Also, have the courage to not take no as an answer from ANYONE. Sometimes you’ll enter rooms where you might feel intimidated and feel like you don’t belong, but hold your head up high and know that you deserve a seat at that table!
Creativity: Have creativity to pivot ahead when you hit a dead end. Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you wanted them to, so you need to put on your thinking cap, go back to the drawing board, and think of some new creative angles. Always keep their creative juices flowing.
Kindness: Have the kindness to understand the audience and customers you serve. When you’re an entrepreneur you need to understand and play both roles as the producer and as the consumer. You need to know how to keep your business successful, but also be able to serve your customers simultaneously.
What's one myth you'd like to debunk about your line of work?
A myth I’d like to debunk is that you have to know what you’re doing in order to get started. That is simply not true and when I got started as an entrepreneur, I knew absolutely nothing. I had come from a regular 9-5 job as an Executive Assistant at a local college and had no business experience whatsoever. I had to start from scratch and learn everything about business ownership and the hair industry on my own. What I didn’t know, I made sure to do thorough research and ask lots of questions from those people that did know. Through hard work, determination, and many lessons learned along the way, I was able to build a successful wig business from the ground up.
What advice would you give to burgeoning entrepreneurs?
I would tell burgeoning entrepreneurs to take advantage of the highs! Enjoy them and use them to continue to push forward. But also remember that there will also be lows and make sure to prepare for them- financially, emotionally, and mentally.
What words do you live by?
These are two of my favorite quotes that keep me humble and grounded:
1. “Live without fear and always be humble in business”
2. “Behave as if you can’t afford a loaf of bread when in fact you own the bakery.”
Any final words of wisdom?
Take every bad experience as a lesson that your business is trying to teach you. When you own your own business, lessons are going to be learned the unconventional way- pay attention and don’t ever let it get you down, learn and embrace the lessons, and always keep growing.
