NEWHAIRWIGS

An interview with Simi Belo

inventor, Simi Belo is an award-winning the founderand directorof lmiisLimited, co mp any behind t he a w a rd -w i n n i n g NewHair(@) Simi who is of Nigerian heritage has a l wa ys been k een t o i mp ro v e th e products designedfor women and in 2003, whilst running her first company Curu PR,shefinallymanagedto develop one of her favouriteideas,NewHair@'. and creativity Simi's entrepreneurialism many times over, have been recognised and she and her company lmiis Limited have alreadywon six major awardsand for werefinalists six others. Simi An engagingand eloquentspeaker, in has fourteenyears experience public asked speak to speaking and is frequently at/or chair prominent events.She is a mentor, an active member of business networksand alsoassists a many business varietyof charities and trusts.

What is your business background? in I have over fourteenyearsexperience PRand marketing and prior to settingup PR lmiisLimited,I ran my own successful consultancy Curu PR.

you study? What What did qualifications and experience did you have to gain for this type of business? I actuallygraduatedin Ceographyfrom of King'sCollege,University London but then went straightinto PRand marketing in Public so I did a masters International My Relations, then one in Marketing. and background in PR and marketing has proved incrediblyusefulfor what I am doing now. But l've had to learna lot onfrom sales Intellectual Property the-lob, to and commerciallaw. I have personally fo u n d t hat havi ng a degree-l evel q u a l i fi c a ti on, and a very good of understanding three key areas(legal,

fi nanci al / accounti ng and sales & marketi ng) i s vi tal to r unning any business. your background not in any lf is of these areas, don't worry, there are many expertsout there t o help. . . . . but you sti l l need to have a good understanding theseareasin order to of the right supplier. source

What influenced you to get into the hairpiece trade? Over the yearsl've had a lot of ideasfor ways to improve existingproductsand for new products Aftertoo and concepts. many years i n P R and m ar ket ing, includingtwo yearsrunning my own PR agencyCuru PR,I was readyfor a new chal l enge. tarti ng l mi isLim it edas a S up vehicleto bring to marketmy ideaswas possible, thanksto the incredible support of mv friendsand familv.

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Why do your clients use your wigs? Because product,NewHair@, my delivers the following benefitsthey have spent many,manyyearslookingfor:i) By allowingthe wearerto revealsome of his/herhair own real roots,scalpand hairl i n e , i t addr es s es he ' n o v i s i b l e t hairl i n e /ro ot s pr oblem y o u g e t w i th ' existingwigs. Hair bands, fringes,fake scalps, etc, are usedto coverstitching on existing wigs, but because they also concealthe wearer'shairlineand roots, the onlookercan tell that somethinois beingworn. ii) Even though there are some other half existingproducts, e.g. hairpieces, or wigs, that allow the wearer three-quarter to blendtheir own hairwith the wig hair, thereis they are stilleasyto spot because always 'visible a bump'at the point where the wearer'shair meets the fake hair. is NewHair@ totally bump free, because you are attaching the wig hair at the naturalrootslevel. iii) NewHair@ quick and easyto wear is and remove, and therefore saves the wearera great deal of time and money, w hen co m par ed t o exi s ti n g h a i r a t t a ch me nt opt ions , e. g . w e a v e s , b on d i n ga n d ex t ens ions . What next for Simi? To get NewHair@ onto Oprah'sheadand then retirequick smart.All beforeI turn 40 in 2008. Innovator2005' from The BritishFemale Inventors & Innovators Net wor k (February 2005). Winner,'Best Start Up 2005' London A fri can Car ibbean Entrepreneurs award from the African C ari bbean B usi nessN etw ork ( M ar ch 2005). Winner,'Black& Minority Ethnic Business The Year2005' Passport Of To Exoort award from UK Trade & Investment division(May 2005).Winner, 'Top Ten Pan-African Women'sInventor/ Innovator 2005' award from The PanAfricanWomen'sInventors Innovators & Network(September 2005). I would like to extend my gratitudeto you to have agreedto do this interview for the Y P C N . I w oul d al s o like t o personally thank you for inventing this revolutionary hairpiece. can personally I vouch that the N ew H ai r wiqs ar e amazi ng. For further i nformati on, pl e ase visit (wvwv. newhairwigs.netwww.imiis.com) / peruse the vari ety of wigs and and opportunities avallable lMllS. at

What advice would you give to an individual who is trying to break into the hairpiece industry or invent a product? lf you have plenty of tenacity and determination, then go for it! You must be like a terrierthat never gives up, no matter what! Leaveyour pride at the door. lf for some reason others take convincingabout what you are offering (and you need to be preparedfor this), and these people are key to achieving y o u r o b j e c tives,then you must be preparedto keep going back to them. Also,you must believethat you can do anythingyou want to, be positiveat all times and approachbusiness and life in that way.

ls this your first major project? It depends what you mean.Thisis my on but is second business, NewHair@ the first inventionI have brought to market.l'm working on my second invention right now,and will be ableto talk about it from April2007, so watch this space!

Do you focus on encouraging e n tre p re n e uri al i sm amongJt the youth? I a l w a y s e n courageentrepreneural i sm amongstthe youth, as I believe is very it important.Thisis why I assist varietyof a charitiesand trusts,for instanceYoung Enterprise London. I wish that all the resources, schemes, courses, facilities and when so on available todaywereavailable I was young, as I had many ideasmany years ago, but didn't havea cluewhereto s ta rt. l ' m p l eased that busi nessand innovation is really creeping into the s c h o o c u rri c ul um. l

Describe your typical day. Thereis no such thing as a'typical day' for me, thankfullylI spent yesterday on the o h o n e t o our newe s t b u s i n e s s p artn e r, th en in m eet in g s w i th o u r propertylawyers. intellectual TodayI have a co n fe re nc e c all wit h o n e o f o u r followedby an interview with a suppliers, newspaper,then a meeting with our d es i g n e rsa nd pr int er s . To m o rro w a meetinqwith accountanu.

Please name the awards that you have won? Winner,'Special Recog4ition 2004' from T h e Gl o b a l W omen Inventors & lnnovatorsNetwork (May 2A0\. Winner, ' E u ro p e a n B u si ness2004' from the EuropeanFederationof Black Women Business Owners(October2004).Winner, ' T o p T e n B r i ti sh Femal e Inventor /

Interviewed by Alice Ekwalla Alice Ekwalla is qualified in Credit Managementand as a Further and Adults Education Teacher. Alice currently works for COI Communications a credit controller as in the Accounts Receivable deoartmentand also focus' on Black and Mi nori ty E thni c mar ket ing, deal i ng w i th Fi nanci al Resour ces Management and B ME b espoke marketi ng commun t cat r ons campaigns.