Keisha HicksonInspiring,Educating andEmpowering By Ivory Moses

In today’s society, our youngpeople idolize social mediapersonalities, entertainers and variousfalse perceptions of what beauty is.Ms. Keisha Hickson is the CEO &Founder of Shining Stars Kids Salonlocated in Brooklyn, New York. Withher firm beliefs and innovative ideas,she has developed much more thanyour typical child salon experience.Through positive affirmations, herlove for god, and her passion forunifying the community; she provideseach child with a memorableexperience. LV Magazine readersplease allow me to introduce KeishaHickson Inspiring, Educating andEmpowering.

Ivory: Good evening Keisha, how are you? Keisha Hickson: I’m great Ivory. How are you? Ivory: I’m wonderful. Thanks’ for asking.Keisha, I want to start off by thanking youagain for gracing the cover of our September2018 issue of LV Magazine Keisha Hickson: No, I want to thank all of you!It’s such an honor to be selected and chosenas the cover story for publication. I feel likeI’m so small in this industry. (laughter) I’vebeen asking myself, why was I chosen?(laughter) Ivory: No, you’re not small in this industry atall! Not to mention you’re incredibly humble.Which is another one of your greatattributes! Keisha LV Magazine is aninternationally viewed, culturally diversifieddigital/print publication. Our goal is tohighlight the achievements of industryprofessionals. Shining Star Kids Salon, I AMbook series, and everything that you'redoing to give back to the community isphenomenal! Trust me, you may feel as ifyou’re “small time” However, there is an oldsaying that “It is the quality, not thequantity”. A publication doesn’t have toalways feature the “high-profile celebrity”.You are a big deal! The quality of whatyou’ve been doing and what you continue todo in your community is outstanding enoughand It deserves to be recognized. Therefore,on behalf of Editor-in-chief Lavern Spruilland the entire LV Magazine creative team,we want to provide you with a platform tobring awareness to your achievement’s aswell as your brand. You are more thandeserving of this opportunity. Keisha Hickson: (laughter) Thank you somuch.

Ivory: You're welcome and thank you! Now, youare the CEO & Founder of Shining Star KidsSalon and creator of the I AM book series.You’re all about the community, elevating andempowering our youth. But before we get intothe Shining Star Kids Salon and everything itentails, I want you to give me a brief overviewof your background. Tell LV Magazine exactlywho Keisha Hickson is. Keisha Hickson: Well, first and foremost I'm amother. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NewYork. Professionally I took a very traditionalpath; attended college and serviced the samefinancial institution for over 23 years. I am anurturer who believes in community andbringing people together. And I always put Godfirst in everything that I do. Over the past severalyears, I began to question myself, and myquestion was “How could I leave a legacy for mydaughter"? I wanted her to always know thatregardless of what she could always persevere. Ialso wanted to give back to the communitywhile impacting our youth in a positive way. Sobasically, that’s pretty much who I am. Ahardworking, African-American woman, who istrying to prepare her young daughter forwomanhood and for life while also impactingthe lives of those who surround me. Ivory: Beautifully said! Keisha Hickson: (laughter) Thank you. Ivory: I must ask you about the name of yourbusiness Shining Stars Kids Salon. That name isso captivating. Please let us know what theinspiration was behind the business and itsname.

Keisha Hickson: Originally when I decided toopen a children’s hair salon, I chose an entirelydifferent name. However, the name that Ioriginally chose didn’t describe who I was. Itdidn't describe what I wanted to instill in theminds of the young people who visited the salonevery day. As I mentioned I do have a daughterand every two weeks I take her to get her hairdone as well. This routine becomes a part of herlife. Therefore, it was important to me that theoverall experience was more than external. Mygoal was to nurture the children that we serviceinternally as well as externally. I feel that withthe popularity of social media our young girlsare getting lost. Shining Star Kids Salon is allabout positive affirmations. We aim to providethe children with a positive atmosphere, bysurrounding them with positive thoughts andshowing unity as a salon family; by engaging incommunity projects and by bringing awarenessto important social issues. In return, the childand their parent(s) can see that we are making adifference. We are teaching our kids how to notonly look past the mirror but how to also giveback to the community. So, based on theseprincipals the I AM series was born. Our logo isan image of a young girl’s hair surrounded by allthese positive affirmations such as “I AMBeautiful, “I AM Blessed”, “I AM Empowered” and“I am Strong.” The message is conveying thatoutside of how I look this is who I am. Ivory: That is a beautiful, empoweringmessage to young girls. Keisha Hickson: Thank you, Ivory, I also want toinclude the young men who visit to receivebraiding services, etc. Their representation is acrown. I couldn’t exclude them. It’s importantthat they are empowered also because theymatter in this society.

Ivory: Yes, I agree. They are young Kings justas our girls are young Queens. Keisha Hickson: Right, exactly! Ivory: Kiesha I admire you for everything thatyou are doing. You are a true inspiration.However, business ownership can beextremely tricky. It can consist of a lot of trialand error. My question to you is, did you faceany obstacles on your journey toentrepreneurship and if so how did youovercome them? Keisha Hickson: I wouldn’t say that I was facedwith any extreme obstacles. However, it wasmore about gaining an understanding of thethings that you’re faced with when you takeon the responsibility of a commercial space.Initially, I ended up spending more than I hadintended on spending when opening my firstlocation. Nevertheless, it was a learningexperience. Now, when it was time to open mysecond location everything was perfect. Theonly thing I had to do was put the furniture inplace and open my doors. Also, finding theright staff was important; making sure that Ifound people who could work with children.But, I’d have to say from the time that I’veopened everything has been pretty good.Nothing has happened that I feel like I couldn’tovercome. Ivory: I would like to elaborate more on the IAM series, which is so inspirational to mesolely because I too am very huge on youthadvocacy. I recently viewed an interview youhad with fellow journalist Lydia Patel and Idiscovered that Shining Star Kids salonthrough the I AM series also provides brandmerchandise for our little ones. Accessoriesrange from adorable totes, t-shirts and more!So, I want you to give me a completerundown of everything that the I AM seriesentails. Also, what would you like for thechildren to gain from it?

Keisha Hickson: Okay, when you see the I AM Logo along with an image of a female’s hair (which is arepresentation of the salon itself); her hair is surrounded by various empowering affirmations,beginning with the word’s I AM. The interview you viewed was recorded in April. April happens to alsobe autism awareness month. We participated in the autism fundraiser and for the entire duration ofApril, I decided to replace the earrings on the logo with autism puzzle pieces. As far as the brandingphase of the I AM series, I’m currently vending girl’s t-shirts and tote bags. Towards the end of theyear. I expect to produce the “I AM fearless” as well as the “I AM bold” t-shirts. In addition to ourmerchandise, we are in the process of developing a children’s book series titled the I AM book series.The first book “I AM fearless” is currently in its development stages. We all know that when we go to asalon to receive a hair service we talk (laughter) you know, and children do it too! Therefore, eachbook will revolve around that aspect of the salon. The first book is about a little girl who has a dancerecital. She is afraid to perform. Her mother takes her to the salon to get her hair done and afterhaving a heart filled conversation with her stylist she performs beautifully. At the end of the book, thelittle girl proclaims that she is fearless!

Ivory: Wow, that’s so dope. You areextremely creative. Keisha Hickson: (laughter) You know what?There was a time where I really thought that Iwasn’t creative. But, life will throw certainthings at you; forcing you to reinventyourself. Life pushes you to figure out “Howcan I leave my mark on this earth and leave alegacy for my family?" A lot of people don'tknow this about me. But, I am living with arare blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma.However, I didn't allow my condition to causea hindrance in my life. It actually ignited aflame in me. So, it was imperative that Ishowed my daughter that regardless of whathappens in life, you don’t fold! Ivory: Exactly! I love it! That is a valuablelife lesson. Now, after doing a little digging(laughter) I discovered that in March of2018 you were recognized amongst 31outstanding honorees at the 2nd annualLadies of 3rd Thursday Women in PowerCelebration. How was that experience foryou? Keisha Hickson: Oh, I was extremely humbledby the whole experience. At the time of theaward ceremony, I had only been in businesssince December of 2017. This upcomingDecember happens to be our one-yearanniversary. Lydia Patel is one of the ladies of3rd Thursdays. She and I met through amutual friend. So, I started telling her aboutmy vision for Shining Stars Kids Salon, the IAM movement and about all the charitableevents I’d like to do within the community.The Ladies of 3rd Thursdays also organize alot of charitable events, so the partnershipbetween me and their organization wasinstantaneous. Ivory: Tell me, what are your futureexpectations for the Shining Star Kids Salonand the I AM BRAND?

Keisha Hickson: Well, I would like to start myown haircare line or possibly have an existinghaircare line that will allow us to use/selltheir products through endorsements. I’malso interested in developing a web series.Lately, I’m noticing that while in the salonvarious topics arise amongst the parents.They discuss the school system as well asother challenges that they may be faced with.They're discovering they have similarparenting issues and concerns. Mostimportantly these parents are buildingfriendships with one another. I would love tolaunch a web series ; to provide them with amedia platform to discuss their issues andtrade ideas. As far as the I AM series my planis to eventually launch a complete back-to-school line which will include backpacks,notebooks, and other back-to-school items.Ultimately, the goal is to franchise my brandin the future; with the opening of additionallocations. I would love to explore each ofthose concepts. Ivory: That’s fantastic, your salon soundstherapeutic. Would you ever considerinvesting in an international salon location? Keisha Hickson: It is therapeutic for everyone!Yes, of course, I would consider internationalexpansion of the salon. Ivory: Keisha I feel like you’ve developedsomething brilliant. I foresee great successfor Shining Star Kids Salon and the I AMBrand. It has been my pleasure to speakwith you today. You are truly an inspirationfor me and other business-mindedindividuals out there. Thank you so much forgracing our publication with yourgreatness! What final words do you have forthe readers of LV Magazine? Keisha Hickson: Whatever your vision is,execute it. There are so many differentinnovative ways to begin to get a business off

Even the smallest ripples can cause waves. KeishaHickson may consider herself as just a ripple in anindustry amongst her peers. However, she is makingwaves in her community! Her willingness anddetermination to create positive environment’swhere young girls and boys can learn theimportance of self-assurance will undoubtedly leavethe legacy of a woman who possessed a passion forpositive change. LV Magazine readers, I’ll see younext issue.