-- Recorded date: circa early 2000s

-- Guest: Sherri Y. McDonald Part: Part 1

-- Original format: archived video conversation, now revived as audio

Sherri Y. McDonald joined Courtney Crosslin, now also known as Sisi in Brasil, for Part 1 of a throwback Sat With conversation about building Hair Sugar, her online hair boutique, before social media selling, content marketing, and personal-brand retail became everyday business language. These conversations began as video recordings in 2006. Now they are transcribed, revived, and released as audio for the people who need to hear them.

Sherri explains how she turned a lifelong obsession with hair into a boutique built around human hair extensions, personal delivery in Atlanta, client education, and trust. She is clear that she is “more so of a buyer,” not a beautician, but her strength is helping clients understand what they are purchasing and how to care for it.

This conversation is useful for beauty entrepreneurs, boutique owners, service-based sellers, and anyone trying to turn a hobby into a business without skipping the research. Sherri talks about starting with the network already around her, using a blog and YouTube to bring in traffic, and building a memorable brand experience through packaging, product names, and customer care. Her advice is grounded and practical: “having a strong online presence is really, really important,” but so is knowing your market, your environment, and the people who can help you get started.

Topics include:

-- Turning a personal hobby into a real boutique business

-- Building Hair Sugar through salons, word of mouth, blogging, YouTube, and social media

-- Using packaging, product names, and brand details to make the business memorable

-- Researching distributors, tax rules, accountants, attorneys, and the market before scaling

-- Customer service, setbacks, Atlanta’s beauty culture, and staying committed at the two-year mark

Standout quotes:

-- “I have an online hair boutique. It’s called Hair Sugar.”

-- “I can kind of counsel and educate without necessarily having to do hair too.”

-- “Wherever my laptop can go, I can go do business.”

This podcast can be found on all major podcast networks, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

Visit faafo.app/radio for more information.