Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price turned her passion into a side hustle into the American dream
Lisa Price, the founder of Carol's Daughter, explains her evolution from hobbyist to creator of a major brand on the next episode of TheGrioTV's "Masters of the Game."
Lisa Price is living the American dream — but only because she took a huge risk. I interviewed her for the next episode of “Masters of the Game” on TheGrioTV, and it was a joy to talk about Carol’s Daughter, the brand she built, because I have been using it for my hair for 20 years. I’ve never found a leave-in conditioner that’s better.
Back in the late ‘80s, Price was living in Brooklyn and working as a TV producer but her real passion was making fragrances and lotions at home. For years, she dabbled in her kitchen, creating beautiful things for herself and some friends. It was just a hobby until her mother, Carol, encouraged her to start selling them. So Price took some bottles to local small markets, quickly selling out of the small batches she made and making more. Soon, people started asking her for products and coming to her house to buy them, growing her side hustle into a very small business. When she was pregnant with her first child she decided to go for it — she quit her job and went all in on her business, a hair and body care company called Carol’s Daughter.
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The company flowed out of her love of being a home chemist who could make lotions for her friends. But, critically, Price listened to advice and complaints from her users, which sharpened her ability to give people what they wanted. She knew the science of what African-American hair needed and Carol’s Daughter grew steadily. By the 2000s, she had a store in Brooklyn, investments from Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jay-Z, and sales of over $2 million a year.
Still, the business could be challenging for her — Carol’s Daughter had lots of employees to pay so Price was often walking on a tightrope over a valley. There were Fridays when she did not know how she would have enough money to keep it going on Monday. There was a bankruptcy filing. But there was always a great brand with great products, a loyal fanbase and a passionate owner. In 2014 L’Oréal, the global cosmetics conglomerate, acquired Carol’s Daughter, a move that elevated the brand and made Price wealthy. Her decades of work had paid off. She had gone from making beautiful things in her kitchen to building a brand that belongs in the portfolio of one of the world’s biggest beauty corporations. Her side hustle has created generational wealth. That is the American dream. Watch Lisa Price tell the whole story on “Masters of the Game,” airing Friday, July 26 at 8 pm ET/7 pm CT on TheGrioTV.
Toure is a host and writer at TheGrio. He hosts the TheGrio TV show “Masters of the Game,” and he created the award-winning podcast “Being Black: The ’80s” and its upcoming sequel “Being Black: The ’70s.” He is also the creator of “Star Stories” and the author of eight books, including “Nothing Compares 2 U an oral history of Prince.” He also hosts a podcast called “Toure Show.” He is also a husband and a father of two.
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