Vrydag, April 15, 2011
Compton moedertaal se storie van die welsyn van 'n suksesvolle sake-eienaar is een beide wetgewers en enkele moeders kan vier
Deur Jasmyne A. Cannick
Dit is al byna twee dekades Sabrina Fisher Reece, 41, gebruik haar suster se weggegooi braid uitbreidings haarself te leer hoe om braid. Na die oefen op haarself en poppe, sy verhuis die hare van haar klasmaats vir te braiding $20 op Compton se Centennial Hoërskool ekstra geld in te samel.
A Compton moedertaal, haar ouma van die ouderdom van 3 maande wat Sabrina nadat haar ma, wat verslaaf is om te kraak, het haar in tas en probeer om haar dood te maak, maar is gestop deur 'n verbyganger.
Ongelukkig, haar pa was 'n alkoholis en het gesterf toe sy net tien.
Nadat ontsnap die kloue van Los Angeles County se Departement van kinders en familie Services, Sabrina het 'n relatief gelukkige kinderjare grootword in Compton met haar ouma. 'N Student van Centennial High School, Sabrina was gewild en kaptein van die Cheerleading span. Maar dat almal die einde van die dag het sy gesien haar oupa vermoor haar ouma. Sy was 17.
"Dit was die mees traumatiese ding om ooit met my gebeur,"Sabrina onthou. "Dit is iets wat nog spook om my te op hierdie dag en my vir ewig verander."
Terwyl Sabrina daarin geslaag om te gradueer van 'n hoë skool, haar lewe was nooit weer dieselfde. Vir die eerste keer in haar lewe sedert sy was 'n 3-maande-oue baba, Sy was alleen in die wêreld te afweer vir haarself. She quickly made the decision to marry her boyfriend as a means of survival.
“I just remember that I was scared to be alone and I really didn’t know what to do.”
It wasn’t soon after she got married that she had her first child at the age of 20, a son she named Justin.
Still braiding, but not solely dependent on it as a means of income because her husband was and great guy and the breadwinner in the family, SaBrina had built up a steady stream of clients in her home on 126th and Compton Avenue.
Maar in 1991, just after three years of marriage, she separated from her husband and found herself on welfare and food stamps trying to raise her son, alleen.
“A new mom, alleen, it’s one thing to be single and alone in the world, but when you have baby that depends on you for everything, it’s up to you to make a way. I was determined to be a better mother than my mother was to me.”
It’s at this point in her life, SaBrina decided to take her love of braiding to another level. She started off with signs made by hand from materials she’d purchased at Thrifty Drugstore. Each sign made with her trademarked capital B in “SaBrina,” she put her signs up all over South Los Angeles.
Shortly after her marketing efforts began, a community tragedy proved to be a lucky coincidence for SaBrina when on April 29, 1992, the four officers accused of beating Rodney King were acquitted and the 1992 Los Angeles uprising resulted in the beating of Reginald Denny, 'n wit konstruksie vragmotorbestuurder op die hoek van Normandie en Florence. Elke nuus bemanning vlug na wat nou berugte kruising te rapporteer regstreeks van die toneel, en in die agtergrond was Sabrina se tekens.
Haar selfoon begin lui die haak af byna onmiddellik met Swart vroue maak aanstellings te kry om hul hare gedoen.
Nog steeds besig om uit haar huis, Sabrina is nou besig met 3-5 kliënte per dag begin so vroeg as 5 ek. en eindig rondom 1 ek. Soos haar kliënte gegroei, Sabrina gehuur om 'n omgewing meisie saam met haar by haar huis.
In Maart 1996, as sy ry af Normandie sy sien 'n te huur teken op 'n gebou op 65th straat.
"Ek onthou wat bang vir mislukking,"Verduidelik sy. "Dit is so maklik om net uit te werk van die huis, but actually step out and start a real business was huge step for me.”
SaBrina rented that building and immediately began marketing to the residents that a braid salon was coming to their neighborhood.
S
aBrina in 1996 at ger first location on 65th and Normandie
With no formal education in business or marketing, on her first day of business SaBrina had five employees and five customers.
SaBrina stayed on 65th and Normandie for a year and admits that she made a whole lot of mistakes in that time.
“I learned by trial and error,” she says. “I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning but as my business grew, so did I.”
She eventually made the decision to move due to the high crime in the area and the fact that oftentimes her and her employees worked late hours causing them to be alone in the shop long after most other businesses had closed for the day.
She found a location on Adams Boulevard just west of Labrea that she rented for $350 a month, increased the number of braiders she employed, and stepped up her advertising to include local Black newspapers.
Because of her background and humble beginnings, SaBrina always took a lot of pride in hiring local neighborhood girls in an effort to help them take the first steps of independence and getting off of welfare. Oor die afgelope 15 jaar, she’s hired 916 vroue.
"Ek huur vroue met die gedagte dat hulle hierdie werk te gebruik as 'n stepping stone op hul eie pad. Vir sommige van my meisies, dit is die eerste werk wat hulle ooit gehad het. "
As Sabrina het gegroei en geleer, sy probeer om te slaag op dieselfde inligting aan haar werknemers, die meeste van wat 'n hoë skool dropout enkele moeders was oor die welsyn van die lewe in Suid-LA.
"Toe ek geleer het oor die onderlinge fondse en my eerste spaar rekeninge by Broadway Federal Bank en TD Waterhouse geopen. Ek genooi deur die finansiële adviseur aan die winkel te ontmoet met my werknemers om hulle te leer oor die stoor vir die toekoms en watter stappe hulle kan neem. Ek wou op te hef en te motiveer en leer hulle om te stop met die verskoning dat hulle die produk van crack head ouers, the foster care system, or high school dropouts for failure. So was I and I didn’t let that stop me from going after my dreams. "
In 1998, SaBrina was the target of an undercover sting by the California State Board of Cosmetology in an effort to tax and govern braid salons in the same manner that barber shops and beauty salons were and require that hair braiders become licensed as cosmetologists. After a two year court battle, where the state board used confiscated hair clips and hair gel as their evidence, SaBrina along with the American Hairbraiders & Natural Haircare Association (AHNHA) and support from Republican state senator Ray Haynes fought off legislation requiring that hair braiders become licensed as cosmetologists, a story that eventually wound up in the Wall Street Journal.
“At the time, Ek het regtig nie verstaan die impak van al hierdie op die braid bedryf sou hê, maar nou verstaan ek. "
Na wat, Sabrina se besigheid dramaties toegeneem en sy het van handgemaakte tekens bemarking haar besigheid om met tekens professioneel gemaak. 'N skuif wat die aandag van die burokrate af by die City Hall, wat uiteindelik gekom nadat haar vir die feit dat in die skending van Los Angeles se Munisipale Kode verbied die plasing van tekens op die heinings van verlate eiendom gevang.
Sabrina se volharding en spunk toegelaat om haar foto's van haar tekens wat gepos is langs politieke kandidate hardloop vir die kantoor-wat in die skending van dieselfde reël was nie te neem. Sy het ook gehuur 'n prokureur. The District Attorney offered SaBrina probation of which she refused. She’d never had a criminal record and wasn’t about to agree to one. Eventually the D.A. dropped the case altogether.
As she worked hard to build her business over the past fifteen years, SaBrina had two other children, Joi, 16, and Jayden, 9.
And as her business continued to grow, she put her newly acquired business and savvy to good use and purchased her first home in 2000 and enrolled her children in private school ensuring that they’d have a better education than she did. Having never left California or even Los Angeles County, except to go to Sacramento and testify at a senate hearing, SaBrina got her passport and started traveling, including to Hawaii and Belize.
Something SaBrina says that she’ll never forget is purchasing her trademark Hummer H2.
“I went to Penske Hummer in Torrance with $9,000,” she recalls. “I had worked really hard to save up that money to put down on my Hummer. I remember walking in and asking if there were any Black sales reps because I wanted to make sure a Black person got the commission. The Black sales rep either didn’t think I could afford the Hummer or just didn’t want to help me. I just remember her making me feel lower than the dirt on the ground. I was devastated and felt defeated. I ended up getting my Hummer from a white man at another dealership who had my car in 24 hours ready for me.”
SaBrina with her brand new Hummer H2
While she makes a good living, SaBrina says that she still lives a relatively modest and sheltered life with her main focus being her children and her business.
Throughout the growth and expansion of her business, Braids by SaBrina has serviced over 10,000 clients including singer Natalie Cole, Usher, en Sanford and Son’s Lynn Hamilton. Besides the traditional braid styles often worn by Black women, SaBrina had expanded her services to include twists, Dreadlock Extensions braid weaves, and loc maintenance–which has brought her customers from as far Thailand,Kanada,Hawaii and Costa Rica. Closer to home, SaBrina is responsible for the maintenance and care of former Oakland Raider wide receiver Jerry Porter. While Black women still make up the majority of her clientele, white women and Latino men have also boosted her business profile.
In addition to running Braids by SaBrina, SaBrina is currently working on her autobiography and making time to speak to underprivileged inner city youth and young women as a motivational speaker. She continues to teach others how to braid with through the educational component of her business, which since 1998 has taught over 360 students how to braid her properly. Later this year, her trademark style of braiding will be available on DVD as SaBrina extends her wings even further.
SaBrina will celebrate fifteen years of business with an open house celebration on Saturday, April 16 uit 11 ek. te 2 pm. Braids by SaBrina is open seven days a week at 5372 West Adams Boulevard is Los Angeles. The phone number is (323) 937-8825. Aanlyn by www.braidsbysabrina.com en youtube.com/braidsbysabrina
April 14, 2011 op 2:58 pm
Wow,
Ek is waarlik ongelooflike storie. Dankie vir die deel as baie van ons gaan deur tragiese situasies, nie so baie die vrees vir mislukking te oorkom.
Ons dikwels woon op ons pyn, seer, verlating en verlies wat ons gaan deur die lewe voel jammer vir onsself en nooit verbind met ons Godgegewe talente / seën.
Jou storie is inspirerend en ek dank jou vir ander te help op jou reis. Geluk met jou sukses * 15yrs *
April 14, 2011 op 4:19 pm
Goeie môre Sabrina. jou storie is regtig raak en soos 'n jong vrou in die wêreld probeer om die regte pad te vind, Ek is regtig geïnspireer deur jou sukses. jy my laat weet almal is nie perfek nie en jy moet gaan deur proe en trigulation om dit te maak in hierdie wêreld, ook te bly sterk en bly beweeg vorentoe. Ek is so op soek daarna uit om jou te hoor op die radio, sodat ek kan hoor meer oor jouself en die dinge wat jy het om deur te gaan om te wees waar jy is vandag, Ek het regtig appreicate jou en jou besigheid, gelukkig 15years van sukses Sabrina en mag God jou seën met meer jare om te kom. Thank you for Sharing your life Story 🙂
April 14, 2011 op 5:02 pm
Sabrina Sabrina Sabrina Oh boy onthou ek daardie floresent tekens oral in die stad vir baie jare. Ek gebruik word om hulle tot die alledaagse op die pad om te werk. Ek het altyd vir myself gesê “hierdie meisie is in ooreenstemming” Maar ons dank vir die deel van jou sukkel met besigheid en persoonlike lewe. Ek het vir jou kyk op YouTube vir 'n jaar nou en godin koord geleer uit jou video .. lol. You are always smiling no one would have Ever know you carried so much pain inside. God Bless You
April 14, 2011 op 5:13 pm
Hustler is what i used to call her but now i must add Survivor. I brought my dauughter to work for her about 3 years ago because i had met Sabrina at the Black Business Expo. I told her my teenage daughter braided hair from home. She encouraged me to bring her in and she trained her and i could not have been more impressed. She is now in college and braids hair for extra money. Plus she doesn’t have to ask me for as much. Thanks you Sabrina because i never told you that
April 14, 2011 op 5:43 pm
GOD IS SO GOOD girl you did my hair in 1994 you had just had a daughter and i held her in my lap while you braided my hair. Jy is inderdaad 'n inspirasie vir vroue van ongunstige situasies en upbringings. Dit laat hulle weet om te stop om verskonings te maak, want ons lewens verander kan word. Wonderlike storie en voorblad is my show
April 14, 2011 op 6:01 pm
WOW Dit is so wonderlik. Ek”VE s jou en jou besigheid GROEI Sabrina VIR JARE. EN nou weet JOU storie wat jy nog my steun ALTYD. Ek sal opstaan BY 05:00 net vir jou
April 14, 2011 op 6:46 pm
Ek het 'n voorblad luisteraar vir jare en ek onthou hoor Sabrina op die skou jaar gelede, toe die staat raad klopjag haar winkel as jy praat van in die artikel. Ek het gedink 'n onreg het dan gedoen is, dus is ek bly om te sien sy het dit deur. Geluk Sabrina Ek is trots op wat jy kan nie wag om te lees wat jy r boek.
April 14, 2011 op 7:11 pm
Finally a REAL story thanks sister for keeping it real and letting these young women know you were on welfare and you made mistakes in business this can help somebody else. Gelukkig 15 year anniversary most small businesses don’t last. 15 years is a reason to celebrate. oh and be careful i saw you youtube stalker video lol
April 14, 2011 op 8:02 pm
Hey Sabrina you may not remember me but i took your braiding class in 1999 and you allowed me to come back the next day for free to ensure that i got the style i was trying to learn down pat. I moved to Texas and i’ve been braiding every since. So sorry Sabrina for all the pain you have suffered i had no idea. You were so kind and so patient with me and If there is ever anything i can do for you please don’t hesitate to ask. i watch you on youtube regularly
April 14, 2011 op 9:17 pm
Great that someone recognized that this woman had a story to be told. Inspiring Article
April 15, 2011 op 2:48 by die
What an incredible story I was moved to tears. It was also truly inspiring, to read what this young lady has been through and overcome. I’m sure her life isn’t easy and there are challenges she faces daily – a black woman running her own business, raising children, let’s face it she’s gonna have them; and yet she looks back extends her hands to help other young women from similar backgrounds and trauma achieve. She’s showing us what we can do when we believe in ourselves and our vision. Ek is regtig uitsien na die lees van haar volle verhaal.
April 15, 2011 op 4:58 by die
Ek is 'n lang tyd kliënt en wat ek waarlik liefhet oor Sabrina is sy trots op die werk wat sy en die braiders doen. Sy lei hulle en byna elke keer is ek daar sy boor in hulle die belangrikheid nie laat om te werk of inforcing 'n vorm van professionaliteit. Ek het gesien dat haar gefrustreerd as klink, maar sy het nog beheer en hou haarself besigheid wyse. Bestuur van 'n besigheid is nie maklik nie. My hoed gaan af na jou Me. Braid Queen
April 15, 2011 op 6:45 by die
Ek het by verskeie geleenthede oor die jare uit die Mall kom en het en Braids Deur Sabrina flyer op my motor venster. As die helfte van die mense in Amerika gehad het dat die soort van bepaling sou dit 'n beter wêreld te wees. Vertoorn nie een dag oor jou ma dit haar verlies. Omdat jy Rock
April 15, 2011 op 10:18 by die
Ek is wakker my dogters tot net om jou te hoor op die radio. So trots op jou ek het na Centennial te gratuated jaar voordat jy
April 15, 2011 op 10:54 by die
Ek is so trots op jou Bri!…Ek het gewerk vir jou wanneer jy 1 geopen jou winkel en ek is bly om te sê dat ons 'n baie goeie vriendskap in stand gehou het….Ek het so baie oor braiding geleer uit jou, besigheid, & 'n sterk vrou….ek is lief vir die geskiedenis wat jy het made..i weet jy will.keep trots maak ons, en dat God sal voortgaan om julle te seën, sodat jy kan voortgaan om 'n seën vir ander te wees…..lief u!…Sy
April 15, 2011 op 11:11 by die
Baie dankie aan almal soseer vir die ONDERSTEUNING. Dankie JASMYNE Dominique vir die feit dat my op die SHOW. AND TO MY FAITHFUL LOYAL CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE ENCOURAGED ME FROM DAY ONE. WITHOUT YOU THERE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A BRAIDS BY SABRINA. ALL TO EVERY BRAIDER THAT HAS EVER CROSSED MY PATH IT HAS BEEN MY PLEASURE TO HAVE TAIGHT AND TRAINED YOU. MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN LIKE FAMILY TO ME, MANY OF YOU I LOVE WITH MY SOUL. WE ALL CROSSED PATHS FOR A REASON. GOD BLESS YOU ALL TO PRESUE YOUR OWN DESTINY. I PRAY THAT I WAS ABLE TO LEAVE SOME POSITIVE IMPACT ON YOUR LIVES.
WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE ALWAYS KEEP GOD FIRST AND YOU WILL SUCCEED.
Sabrina Fisher Reece (The Braid Queen)
April 15, 2011 op 3:13 pm
I am so happy for her. I knew she had to have some pain behind that smile (because she smile a lot) True Inspiration that reaches here in North Carolina.
April 15, 2011 op 4:59 pm
Ive known Sabrina for two years now and from the very start she presented herself to be very outgoing and most importantly very HUMBLE. After reading her story, I will admit that i am shocked as to how she was able to go through so much heartache and become as successful as she is now. Its just another form of proof to show the world especially the underpriveliged that you dont need all the riches in the world to make a great life with even greater people.
Sabrina luv you girl! Im very happy you have shared this with us.
Love Your Dollar Store Neighbor
Jessie
April 16, 2011 op 1:42 pm
Heard you on the radio yesterday SaBrina. Very proud of you
April 16, 2011 op 1:48 pm
Sabrina i have heard of you before but reading your story and listening to you o the radio made me realize what a great woman you are. I’ll be first in line to buy your book. God has shown you favor be blessed
April 20, 2011 op 10:11 pm
Wow i thank you for sharing your inspiration, Sabrina inspired me to open my own braiding salon that had a short run of three years though i have been and still am working from home and will reopen next year in spring. Its sooo amazing how your life almost mirrors mine and the effort just to be independant of the Child services and welfare agencies that crush the family unit in los angeles and almost mentally schackle women into a life of poverty. God has truely bless you and he is still blessing me too and I know that in the future i look forward to seeing you do great things, even greater than that of your past successes Be blessed.
April 26, 2011 op 2:30 by die
Ek is net oorweldig en oorstelp op dieselfde tyd. Ek het 'n paar van jou video's gekyk in die verlede van julle deel van die tragedie van jou ouma. My hart regtig gaan uit na jou. Egter, Ek is trots op jou, asook. Dit verstom my altyd om te sien hoe mense se persepsies hul werklikheid. Jy het 'n tragiese situasie wat ander het of sou laat dit beheer hulle en gemaak dat die ding werk vir jou. Jy het totale beheer van die situasie. Lewe vir jou 'n klomp suurlemoene maar jy lemonade gemaak het:-) Waarlik asemrowende. Nie net het jy jou kinders die eerste wat jy het terug gegee aan die gemeenskap. Jy is een van God se uitverkorenes. Bly nederig en kyk hom voort te beweeg vir jou. Ek kan nie wag vir jou DVD.