Woman draws inspiration from father to open her own store, help others

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A woman used inspiration from her father to open her own business that is thriving four years later.

Mercedes Brown’s store, Mercedes Brown Hair Boutique on Blue Ash Road, sells everything from extensions to earrings, handbags and more.

“I have earrings for pretty much every occasion,” Brown explains. “From date night to weddings, to birthdays. You name it, we got it.”

Her specialty is in hair extensions. Helping her clients make any type of transformation they’re looking for.

“I have women who come in who are dealing with things like chemo treatments or alopecia or they’re just, you know in remission, so their hair is coming back,” says Brown. “To see their face light up when they try on a wig and it’s fitting for their look that they wanted; that is the best feeling.”

A feeling she says she never received when she was in stores shopping for beauty products.

“When I would go in many beauty supplies, I felt rushed,” Brown recalls. “I couldn’t ask questions. They didn’t have the products that I was looking for and so I saw a need and I was like, you know what, I want to create a space that is welcoming that also has the products that we need.”

While she says it was scary launching her own business, she drew inspiration from her father.

“My father passed away at a young age,” explains Brown. “And he passed away with a lot of dreams that he didn’t do, and I was like I need to step out.”

Taking that leap of faith, she opened her boutique in 2019.

Brown not only focuses on improving outward appearances but also hosts events to help women improve their inner beauty through the wellness circle.

She created a relaxing space inside the shop for business socials to encourage other entrepreneurs.

“I used to struggle with anxiety really, really bad,” says Brown. “And I wanted to create an open safe space where women who were dealing with anxiety or depression and all the things to just come together and get inside and just be supported from other people who were facing those things.”

Brown says the support and special connections have empowered her entrepreneurial journey as well.

“There’s been so many times where I’m like, I quit, this is too hard,” Brown explains. “And it’s been my support system. It’s been the community that I’ve created here with other entrepreneurs, where I bounce off their energy.”

Brown is now starting a group for teens, called Girls Group, to provide a space to talk about challenges they may be dealing with in school and in life.

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