Meet Soca Hair and Beauty. A brand which began as a way to earn money during the owner’s undergraduate year at York University. “I was struggling to make ends meet as a student and figured out when the major department and clothing stores had deep discounts on their products. “Last season” isn’t a Trini thing so when I snagged great products at even better prices, I was able to sell below average market prices.”
The brand’s owner believes that therein lies the competitive advantage that OCA Fashion has. “Our SOCA Hair & Beauty Products were launched in 2019 when I needed to find an at home solution to colour my natural hair. At first we started with hair colour wax and that eventually morphed but we began focusing on our 5 minute hair products which took off during the height of the pandemic when salons were closed due to public health restrictions.”
Before we get to the journey of the brand, let’s look at what’s the story behind the name of the brand. “OCA is Odetta, Collete (my sister) Alexander (our last name).
SOCA is Shem (my brother). There is also a funny story. One of my brothers’ friends Stephen, was making fun at us and asking whether he was adopted because his name wasn’t included in the store name. I’m pretty passionate about my family so I had to fix that! And just like that another brand was born!”
For every entrepreneur, mastering the art of multi-tasking is a must and this is no different for the owner of this brand. “I have a 9 to 5 as I’m the CEO of the local YMCA which is an international NGO and this requires a lot of work to keep it afloat so the struggle is juggling the various responsibilities of entrepreneurship and work. Luckily, I really love both so although sometimes it’s a bit frustrating, it’s definitely worth it.”
So what was the inspiration to start the brand? “I was inspired to put more time and energy into the business in 2010 when I lost my job when the Governments changed. I found myself with two degrees and struggling to find a job! At that time, I thought there was no way am I ever going to be in a position where my fate was totally in the hands of an employer. So, during the months I was looking for a job, I pumped all of my savings into the business. Luckily, I got a job as the Rebranding Project Manager at RBTT/RBC and was able to convert part of my home into a boutique in 2013.” A great example of taking the leap!
Now along the journey of brand creation and success, there must be milestones that the brand has celebrated.
“Apart from surviving the pandemic? We’ve been able to navigate the challenges of the global economic downturn and pivot to meet customers where they are, while trying to get the best value for every dollar. We are also launching a new brand with a new look and feel in Malabar, Arima (inspired by the House of Tea) called Selah House of Style. This is a passion project where we will also do some development and entrepreneurial projects with teens in Arima and environs. Selah House of Style will focus on dispelling the hyper sexuality now attributed to fashion.” Excited to see this unfold!
Along an entrepreneur’s journey, there are many lessons that are learned and it is no different for this brand.
For this brand, we got a list!
“1. Love what you do and do what you love
2. Success doesn’t happen overnight so patience is key
3. Don’t measure yourself against your competitors- you’ll either become boastful or come up short and neither is cool
4. Always work on revolving and becoming a better version of yourself. Be familiar with trends in the digital space – even if you don’t use all of them at least you’re in a better position to assess what’s best for your business. Knowledge is key to remaining relevant.
5. But my most important lesson hands down is that persistency is the key to all of the challenges you face and overcome as an entrepreneur.” Great advice!
So there must be advice for those out there who may want to begin their journey as an entrepreneur. “The best advice is to be like Nike and “Just do it”! You’ll figure things out as you go, but if you wait until all the stars are aligned the magic may never happen.” We endorse this!
So with creating a successful brand under their belt we wanted to get some insight from the team behind the brand. When it comes to the definition of a brand, “I define a brand as an entity serving a community. It’s kinda simplistic but that’s my take on it.” And what’s the difference between a business and a brand? “To me, a business offers goods and services. A brand has an emotive feel to it.” Great insight.
Being a member of the local brand community here in Trinidad and Tobago, we wanted to get an overall view of it all from SOCA. “The local brand community has developed quite a bit over the past few years. But there’s so much room for growth. I’ve seen some moves from various entities recently but there’s still a long way to go. With the right resources from the private and public sectors, the sky is the limit though!” That is so true!
When it comes to local, the markets play a big part in keeping the community networked. “I’ve been at pop ups in the years gone by, Love Me Pop Up, Christmas pop ups etc. We do promotions at events as well (with Kairi People events). We also did a pop up with Melanated Events in August 2022. We will be doing a Christmas flea market in Arima but not much else as it relates to pop ups.”
Check out this brand for more exciting things in the future.
