NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Starting a business at any time can be hard but imagine doing it during a pandemic.
De'Quioa Freeman says she wanted to be one of the Black businesses that survives COVID-19.
While many business owners are wondering how to keep the lights on, Freeman was researching her next plan.
"If you just challenge yourself and just keep going then you never know, the outcome may be better than you expected," she said.
Freeman has always done hair, it was a passion project that turned into a career.
And as some businesses were folding because of the pandemic, Freeman says she needed to take a leap of faith.
"Anything is possible at this point, you know what I mean. Yes the pandemic happened, yes COVID happened, yes a lot of people are going through a lot during this season; and I just want to inspire people to whatever we’re going through work towards something," Freeman said.
There were more than 1 million Black-owned businesses in the U.S. at the beginning of February 2020, according to research from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
By mid-April 2020, 440,000 black business owners had closed their doors for good, a 41% plunge.
Freeman wanted to defeat the odds. She took styling hair down a different path.
"This is an RV actually, it’s a camper and oh my God, you should've seen the condition, it was crazy," she said.
With some research and help from her father, she bought the old RV and like an old hairstyle she gave it a new look.
Freeman is putting a twist on how she serves her clients; Culture Hair Design is now on wheels.
Freeman passed her State inspection and took her first client this week.
She is asking for financial help to keep her thriving through a GoFundMe account.
