Emmily Bowman updated her LinkedIn location about a month ago from Buffalo to Scottsdale, Arizona. But don’t worry: She’s still a Buffalo girl at heart.
She travels to the Queen City for a week about every other month, and her company, Braidbabes, will keep Buffalo as its headquarters.
“Buffalo is really our central hub,” she said.
Bowman moved partially for personal reasons – she loves hopping around, and she doesn’t love freezing winters – and for business reasons. Braidbabes, a mobile hair-styling business, launched in a third market, Phoenix, in September of last year. Bowman, who founded the business with Tori Everett, likes to build entrepreneurship connections when the business enters a new area.
When the company previously expanded from just Buffalo to adding on Nashville, Bowman lived in Nashville for a little over a year to do just that. Now, she's on to Scottsdale.
There’s also a benefit to letting your team thrive without the head of the company being around all the time, according to Bowman.
“There’s a benefit of running a company virtually, believe it or not,” she said.
The company recently moved headquarters from a Buffalo apartment to a more modern apartment still in the City of Buffalo. The space receives and ships out Braidbabes’ supplies, and sometimes Bowman or a guest, like braiders from another market, will stay there when they’re in town.
Braidbabes currently has 61 braiders, but Nashville and Buffalo are in their slow seasons, so braider numbers there are at an annual low.
Buffalo continues to be the business’ most successful market, making up about 75% of the company’s revenue in 2022.
Since launching as a full-fledged business in January 2019, Braidbabes has brought in $1.7 million in total revenue and booked about 12,000 appointments, according to Bowman.
Braidbabes' goals for 2023
After making sure to launch before Phoenix’s busy season, winter, Braidbabes has turned its attention back to crowdfunding. The business hit the $150,000 milestone on its Wefunder campaign and plans to hit its $1 million goal within the first half of the year.
Part of the investments will go to P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative Inc. Different amounts of investments will mean different tiers of contributions from Braidbabes, such as different types of hair-braiding appointments and pop-up events where proceeds go to charity.
Based on when funds are raised, Bowman expects to expand into two more cities this year. She’s looking at Austin and Denver.
She also expects to hire a marketing leader and part-time/contract CFO this year and launch a custom app in Q2 2023.
The business has had success with events, including the Buffalo Bills booking the braiding services for every home game this season, including playoffs games. The startup braids fans’ hair with red-and-blue braids as part of the fan experience outside of the Bills store at the stadium.
Braidbabes was booked by Nashville Soccer Club, a Major League Soccer team, as a fan experience service for every home game next season.
The business is also working on boosting its monthly plans by reducing pricing. Bookings provide more of a steady income and gives braiders consistent bookings even during typically slower seasons.
“It definitely helps steady out the business and keep the braiders happy,” Bowman said. “We’re excited to really keep building it back up.”
