The Prado Siblings of Rizos Curls
This month we’re talking small business and more specifically, family businesses! We sat down with the dynamic sibling team – Julissa and Tony Prado, who started a new and innovative line for girls with curly hair – Rizos Curls!
Q: How did you get the idea for Rizos Curls?
Julissa: I’ve always battled with my curly hair as a little girl and went through many phases. I even remember my cousins who used to put my head over ironing board. I would be sitting there and thinking there’s gotta be a better way.
Also at the time, culturally you didn’t embrace wearing your hair natural. Curly products missed our community. No one would wear their hair curly. Everyone straightened it because our culture trying to appeal to European standards of beauty. I just wanted to show off my hair and there wasn’t a product out there which out help it. To me, it’s an important part of self-expression and self-love.
Q: What did you feel was missing from the market?
Julissa: There wasn’t any products out there for girls like me when I was younger – to just help enhance curly hair. I’d end up putting all this expensive product in my hair that wouldn’t hold it and I would be like ew, I might as well go straighten it. With Rizos, we can say that it really works, we’ve worked on it for 4 years and tested it on real people with real hair. It’s all natural and all the ingredients – I purchased from trusted sources, which means the potency is strong. We were sacrificing a margin for the potency, but that was worth it to us to get good quality ingredients to our customers.
What is the best thing about working with your brother?
Tony: For me, the best thing is that we know each other really well, what each of our strengths and weaknesses are. We’re also very comfortable with each other and there’s no hesitation in telling each other what’s working and what’s not working in the business.
Julissa: I really trust my brother. I’ve worked with him my whole life. He’s my most trusted business partner since we were little kids. We complement each other very well. I started saving for this product when I was 15. And 4 years ago was when I started working on the actual formula was when I introduced the idea to my brother. It’s been an amazing roller coaster since then.
How do you guys split up your roles?
Tony: It’s definitely based on our skill sets. Julissa is really strong in sales and marketing and being the face of the company. She’s got a very dynamic personality so it’s perfect for her to be the face of the company. My strength is running the back-end. Running the logistics and financials. It’s like I run the day-to-day and she moves it forward.
What advice would you leave with people who want to do what you guys have done?
Tony: I’d say keep working on your dreams. Be patient. Don’t get discouraged. But most importantly, focus on the day-to-day. You can get impatient if you think about all your goals, what you want to achieve and how it’s not happening soon enough. Don’t focus on that. Instead focus on what you can do every single day. Ask yourself what am I doing today and the next day and the next… and it just moves forward on it’s own.
Any simple style tips for girls with curly hair?
Julissa: Definitely go and check out al of our tutorial videos online. But a few key ones are:
· Shampoo is actually more for your scalp health and should wash your hair without over drying it. You can put the shampoo on and give yourself a scalp massage while you do it.
· Brush your hair while you condition in the shower. Our conditioner is really moisturizing and helps to bring the rest of your hair back to life.
· Apply the styling product while your hair is still wet
· For me hair care is a 3-part cycle – it’s the health of the scalp, the health of the hair and finally the styling.
Check out all of Rizos Curls’ products and videos here:
https://rizoscurls.com/
