I couldn't be more excited to help kick beauty week off
with this extraordinary young woman.
I actually found an article about her many months ago,
and I said to the team, "Could we have her on the show?"
And she's here, so it's happening.
And 16 years old,
she's the youngest black beauty store owner in the country.
Please, take a look.
Hi, I'm Paris McKenzie.
I'm 16 years old.
And I'm the proud owner of Paris Beauty Supplyz
in Brooklyn, New York.
Both of my parents immigrated from Spanish Town, Jamaica,
and I'm one of our first-generation children in this country
to be a citizen.
Without their hard work and without their determination,
we wouldn't be as successful as we are now.
We came from not sleeping on any furniture
to owning our own home.
All my life, I've been working in stores owned by my mother.
About one to two years ago,
I started working more independently in the salon.
So, I started taking clients and I did hair and I did nails.
And on a school day, I will go to high school,
I go to college, and then I'll come straight to work after.
One day, the previous owners of the Beauty Supplyz store
came to my mom and told her that they were selling.
So, she came to me and asked me if I wanted to invest,
and I said, "Yes, of course."
To be able to do this and take a huge step in my life goal
was something I couldn't pass up.
I had to mature very quickly.
I had to learn how to handle money,
how to handle business at a very, very young age.
There are so many people that are in young people's ears
like, "You can't do it yet."
So, seeing my story should help them erase
all of those negative thoughts
so they can go and try to achieve
whatever they want to in life.
I just wanna be able to give them the opportunity
to build up that courage and give them that motivation.
(audience applauds)
Okay, I was redoing my homework on you last night,
and I was reading this L article that you did.
First of all, Bella Hadid and Janet Jackson
was Tweeting and Instagramming about your story.
And one of the things I loved in the article
was that you said you have a very amazing prowess
for salesmanship and identifying what a customer...
When they come and you say,
"I clock their style, kind of who they are.
And I think intuitively, I know maybe what they need."
And that you yourself, when you would walk through stores,
did not only not get assistance,
but not really any help at all.
In fact, a bit of the opposite.
So, what about your experience made you be so proactive?
Well, when I was in beauty supply stores
and when I would walk in,
I wouldn't get the experience I felt like I needed.
Being black and having natural hair
and being young as well, not really knowing your identity,
you kind of want someone to help you be guided on your path.
And I never got that experience.
So, being the person that I am,
I wouldn't want other people to feel the same way I did.
So I thought, "Let me use this store
as a way to empower other women or any gender
and empower people who don't get that experience
so they can love themselves
and make themselves more beautiful.
You're 16?
Yes. (chuckles) Paris, what is going on?
You act and look so mature.
You're balancing homework and college
and running a business.
How do you think that you became...
I started young too,
and I don't even have anything to pull from.
I'm just staring at you and, oh, how do you do what you do?
Well, I have a schedule set now,
and I go to high school in the mornings,
and I go to college in the afternoons,
but it's only two days a week.
And then I'm in the store the whole day
until after eight o'clock.
And then at night, I go back to high school work.
And that's the schedule I have,
but really, the work ethic I got
was from watching my mother.
She's a entrepreneur herself,
and she owns two businesses as well.
And just watching her and growing up around her
is what really what taught me to be what I am now
and how to have that work ethic and that determination.
Well, as a mother of two daughters,
I can only marvel at your and your mother's grace.
It's just so inspiring.
And it's so just dope and awesome and cool and inspiring,
as well as really elegantly pointed
in business, organization, prioritizing.
I wanna introduce you to a trailblazer
in this beauty industry.
And after working with makeup for over a decade
and feeling like there was still a void
in options for black women,
she took matters into her own hand
and created this company, UOMA.
And it's Sharon Chuter, who's here.
Sharon, hello.
Hi, hi guys from Los Angeles. (laughs)
Sharon, I have so much to talk to you about today,
but with Paris, I mean, when you hear her story,
does it feel reminiscent of your own?
Is there parallels? What are your thoughts?
Oh my God, firstly, I'm blown away.
Paris, you are amazing.
I am a super fan. I love what you're doing.
And yes, there is so much parallels
because a lot of people don't know this about my story,
but I actually brought Revlon into Nigeria
when I was a teenager.
So, my story is very similar to yours,
really starting that entrepreneurial path
while I was really young.
I mean, I wasn't as young as you,
I was only a couple of years older than you were
at the time that I did that, so I am amazed,
I'm in awe, and I could not be proud of what you do
right now (indistinct).
And your store, Paris, is so extraordinary.
I've looked at the shelves and the stocking
and your curation and your knowledge of the products.
And Sharon, we're gonna talk in the next segment
about all the pioneering you've done.
And I believe you have something for Paris.
Yes, I do, Paris.
So, I am such a fan of what you're doing,
and I would love to support you in any way I can.
And there's two ways that I would love to support you.
First part is your education because it's so important.
Very similar to you, I did start an entrepreneurial path,
but I did go back and continue working
and continue studying.
So, I would love to contribute $5,000
towards your education to make sure
that you continue- Oh my God!
because it is super important.
Oh my God! And the second thing
I would love to do is also give you
$5,000 worth of products as well from UOMA Beauty,
so that you can display them proudly.
And I hope in doing that,
you get even more beauty brands support you
and come on board on your shelves, but I am beyond proud.
Well done.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. Paris,
you really are the shining example.
I mean, you just have blown me away
since I found out about your story several months ago.
I am so honored to be on a show with you.
Work with Sharon, shine a light.
I'm really impressed with you.
And I think you have so many things
in your brightest of future
and so many people to carry and lift up with you
because you've clearly figured out
a way to pull this all off.
So, thank you, Paris.
Sharon, we'll be back in a minute to talk more with you
right after the break.
Thank you, Paris.
(upbeat music)