Santa Rosa sisters want everyone to have access to textured hair products

Editor’s note: Small businesses drive Sonoma County’s economy. Throughout 2023, local consumer and economy reporter Sara Edwards will be profiling the entrepreneurs who own or manage companies, boutiques, shops and other small businesses that play an integral role in our regional economy. Have a suggestion? Contact editor rick.green@pressdemocrat.com.

Sonoma County has several locally owned salons that specialize in textured hair care, but Santa Rosa sisters Eva Karikari and Ernestina Apraku couldn’t find one to meet their needs.

They would drive outside Sonoma County for a business that had high-quality products and knowledgeable staff. Also since buying online wasn’t reliable, with dodgy customer service and marginal product quality, they said.

So, the two opened E&E Beauty Supply Bar in Santa Rosa to fill the gap and create a shop where local residents and tourists would feel comfortable going to for high-quality hair care products coupled with the sisters’ firsthand experience.

I stopped by the store at 1331 Guerneville Road last month to chat with the duo about their new venture and the thinking behind it.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Sara Edwards: What got you into the business? How did you get started?

Eva Karikari: I’m a mother of five children, and it’s hard to find supplies for ethnic hair in Sonoma County. We’re used to going farther away to find quality hair care products such as extensions, wigs and things like that.

I’ve lived here for over 18 years and we were thinking how we can open up a business that can also make an impact here in the community.

We decided on the hair care industry because there isn’t a store like what we had in mind here. We did our research to figure out what the market is and picked this location.

There are quite a lot of African Americans here in this county, and there’s just no business related to what we are doing. Now, we don’t have to go far to get quality merchandise, and we’re happy to serve the community.

Edwards: Tell me more about the struggle to find somewhere local.

Karikari: This industry is monopolized by other ethnic groups, so a lot of times, customers walk in and feel uncomfortable because they are being watched. I felt that way when I’ve gone into a shop like this. We had a couple of people, even a 17-year-old, walk in (to our store) and we just saw the relief on their face.

I have an 18-year-old son, so imagine him going into a shop like this and feeling compelled to want to purchase something, so they don’t think he walked into their store to steal something. That really touched my heart and emphasized the reason why we wanted to do this.

It helped us to know that we weren’t in the wrong industry and we weren’t doing the wrong thing. We just really want to be here to make sure that our community can walk into a store and get what they want versus getting it on Amazon or doing a whole day trip to buy hair.

Edwards: I’m sure having store owners who know what experiences your customers have had in the past and have knowledge of the products themselves is also incredibly helpful.

Karikari: Exactly. And again, the reason for this is not for one particular ethnic group but to serve all people from different backgrounds.

People from different backgrounds come in and get excited about all the different kinds of wigs. We also let people try things on and if it suits them, then they can purchase it.

We’re getting more positive feedback, and every day we feel a sense of fulfillment. We want to make sure we can focus on that customer service and make them feel welcome.

Edwards: You’ve been open for a few months now. What has business been like so far?

Ernestina Apraku: Most of the people who come in are very happy that this is open. Some of them didn’t know we were here, but they say, “We just saw something from the bank across the street and just had to come in.” We get new customers almost every day.

Karikari: The bank tellers also come on their lunch break to check us out, so it’s bringing a lot of excitement and we know that people will recognize us more. I think we really have an opportunity to tell our story. It will continue to help grow our inventory so we can cater to all ethnic groups and carry what they need.

Edwards: What are some difficulties in the hair care industry?

Karikari: I think the challenge is being minority and being a Black-owned business because it’s a trillion-dollar market and it’s monopolized by other ethnic groups in a sense of finding a good, reputable vendor to purchase quality goods from means you have to jump through hoops.

In this industry, many of us want a piece of the pie and it’s a big table with enough room for all of us to sit at. So, that’s one of the challenges we’re facing is that vendors set the brackets so high that we have to jump hoops to try and establish relationships with a vendor to get the quality goods that customers want.

And sometimes you have to put up a fight and walk away knowing that maybe in the future a vendor will change their policies if they have more outspoken people saying the policies are not fair.

Edwards: Now that you’ve been in business for a few months, what are some things you wish you knew before you opened?

Apraku: I think having good vendors.

Karikari: I would agree to that. Have great vendors because we have good quality stuff. But there are other things that we’re still hoping to carry, products that people are asking for.

We’ll do research to see which company or manufacturer can provide us that product at a good cost. We want to make sure that we’re not hiking up prices, so people can say things here are affordable.

We were both born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, and we know how it is back home. Now we’re here and we have this opportunity, which is huge. It’s about making sure that you’re conscious about every choice you make and that we’re loving our community.

Edwards: What are your expectations for business for the remainder of 2023?

Apraku: I think it’s going to be great and that we’ll get more and more customers every day. I think by the end of the year, we’ll be way better than we are now.

Karikari: We have our target in our heads. We see more new customers coming in and we want to get different folks in here to do different services.

We have a massage person that’s going to be coming in the next week or so and a fully licensed cosmetologist who specializes in braiding, twist crochet and all kinds of hairstyles.

Eventually we want to get more products from Ghana so that it’s a well-rounded shop. Our vision is huge and we see us being busier and having great customer turnout. The sky’s the limit for this shop, and we sincerely hope that we continue to get support from the community.

Edwards: This is a question I ask all small business owners I interview for this column. What is something that keeps you up at night?

Karikari: Customers mean revenue, and if you’re not getting customers into your shop, then there’s no sense of growth. So, that’s what keeps us up at night is making sure that we continue to grow and get our name out there.

Apraku: And also getting the right products for the store because sometimes we have had to travel a bit farther to get it.

Karikari: Yes, we go to L.A. sometimes. We’ll place an order and go to L.A. to see what new products they have and then we drive back home with our order. We’re going to stick to California and try and discover new vendors out there that we don’t know about yet. And also, how do we go from just being store owners to also being vendors. You don’t see a lot of African Americans being vendors of products.

We’re learning so much and our ultimate goal is to be a distributor ourselves and distribute to other Black-owned businesses.

You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.