August 14, 2021
Entrepreneurs, Female Founder Spotlight, Latest Articles

Female Founder Spotlight: Imogen Fox

28 April 2021|Latest Posts, Meet the Successful Founder

Foxy Locks started back in 2009 from my bedroom in my parent’s house. After completing a course in Beauty Therapy and having a few dead-end jobs, I finally realised that my real passion was hair extensions. This obsession came from my own hair always being quite fine and lacking in volume, I struggled to grow my hair past my shoulders but then I discovered hair extensions and they changed my life. From that day forward I strived to offer the most amazing, quality hair extensions worldwide. That was my mission.

After a few months of trading on my self-made website the orders kept coming in so quickly, I had to move my business into my parent’s garage. I asked my mum if she could quit her job to come and work by my side – she ended up being the Manager for 8 years and we had so much fun growing the business until she sadly passed away in 2018. My world was completely rocked, not only had I lost my best friend and mother, but also someone who was such a big part of my company.

After taking some time out of work to grieve I realised she would want me to get back to it, and to make Foxy Locks bigger and better than ever. So that’s exactly what I did. Keeping my company running with a smaller scale team, which also includes some of my family, has been essential in creating trust and success from it, as we all want the best for each other. Foxy Locks went from my parent’s garage to my own garage in my first house, to a big HQ in our local city – the business just grew from strength to strength, and we moved as the business grew.

How did the idea come to you for the company?

Sitting in my bedroom at 18yrs old, fed up with working jobs that were going nowhere and never finding a passion in beauty therapy (although I studied and completed my 3-year course) I realised where my passion was and what I wanted to do. I saw that there were no other companies offering the type of hair extensions I wanted, thick luscious hair at a good price point, so I decided to come out with my own brand and that is when Foxy Locks was born.

How did you achieve awareness?

Youtube was such a driving force for my brand back then, I used to create hair tutorials (in the days when few did!). These were videos showing how to style your hair and how to use hair extensions within those styles. I was always very shy growing up so putting myself out there was really difficult at first, but I’m so glad I did. It gave my company awareness and in turn, turned me into the confident woman I am today. Social media is still a huge driving force for our brand’s awareness.

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

When I started I used my own savings, just a few thousand pounds to buy a box of hair extensions which I used to label myself, once those sold I invested the money back in and created bespoke products & packaging. I kept doing this for years – I even adopted a preorder system so I could use the funds to buy more stock & keep up with demand.

What are the key successes?

Staying focused, managing procrastination and always investing back into your growing company. Wait to spend on things you want, like materialistic things, when you can afford to do so. Put your business first, the more you put in the more it can grow.

What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

Losing my mum has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. The fact she was such a huge part of my company really hit me hard, but you have to keep going. I had to continue to make her proud.

More recent challenges have come from things like Brexit and of course the Coronavirus Pandemic but you have to have the right frame of mind to take on these challenges and work out how to get through them. You have to put in consistent efforts and have a hardworking, supportive team to keep your company growing when you face these challenges. I am so lucky to have such an amazing team.

What are your plans now/for the future?

The plan is to keep offering the most amazing hair and increase our product range. We have some very exciting product launches coming in the near future.

What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

Just go for it, it’s never easy but if you genuinely believe you have an amazing product or idea then push the hell out of it and get it going. It takes patience and perseverance but if you love what you do then one day it won’t feel like work anymore and you can reap your rewards.

Can you share your top tips for entrepreneurial success?

1. Stay focused

2. Set weekly or monthly goals

3. Try to keep track of trends and what others are doing in your sector to make sure you are ahead of the game.

4. Don’t borrow too much if you can, or make sure you’ll be able to pay it off

5. Start slow and steady, trying to jump the ladder too quickly will usually end in failure or you’ll burn yourself out.

6. Stay true to what you stand for and ensure your business stays authentic to you.

Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?

I tend to only follow accounts that inspire me, whether it’s by who they are, the brand they’ve built or their style. If you check out my Instagram and who I follow they are all on there.