Jerricha Hoskins knew that if she worked hard enough and embraced every stage in her business, she would accomplish success. Before creating her business, Hoskins grew up in foster care and was homeless with one child.
The 30-year-old native of Dayton, Ohio, is founder of Arcani Coil Hair. A mother of five children — four boys and one girl — she launched her business in January 2017.
Before creating her business, Hoskins faced challenges such as losing her home and cars as well as sleeping on benches with her young son. According to the Dayton Business Journal, Hoskins suffered the death of her foster mother who wanted to adopt her, and she found herself questioning why her biological mother didn’t want a relationship.
Through it all she stayed motivated for herself and her children. “It just made me not ever want to be in that position again,” said Hoskins. She added that she always had a dream of doing hair and being like Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female self-made millionaire. With absolutely no business experience, Hoskins made her dream come true. “I imagined it all the time,” Hoskins said, “and I knew that if I worked hard enough it would get to the point that it’s at now.”
Arcani Coil Hair offers a line of products such beard shampoo, braid and loc gel, a tear-free shampoo and a conditioner for kids; but the brand’s most-popular item is the Enthroned Edges edge control.
“Every Black girl I know uses edge control and none of them work. They all melt, even on my hair,” she said. Hoskins was convinced she could make her own edge control that would work. “I just started mixing stuff up, trying it on my customers, trying it on my family.”
She was able to take note of her success during the February 2020 Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show. “People were literally walking past my booth rubbing their edges like ‘that’s um,’ and they just rubbed their edges,” she said. She was shocked, “I’m like ‘Oh my gosh; like they recognized my brand. This is crazy.’ ” Hoskins is honored by the little girls who look up to her. She read to a class of third graders and described the moment as celestial. “When I walked in, they were like ‘Oh, she’s here.’ They had me sign autographs, their bookbags. Like it was really just dope to see little black kids like see me and represent me,” she said.
Arcani Coil Hair helps anyone in a position similar to where Hoskins once was. In addition, Hoskins works closely with at-risk youth providing a space for college students to come, “and work for my company just so they have something to do.”
Arcani Coil Hair is currently in small beauty supply shops, some Black- owned. Arcani generates about $250,000 a month in revenue while selling nearly 25,000 products a month. In the next few years, Hoskins hopes to expand her products by selling in major retail stores and having a distribution space.
Hoskins has many plans to positively affect the lives of at-risk youth. She wants to provide after-school opportunities “where kids can come in and make a couple of dollars … so they don’t have to be out here doing dirt to get money,” she said. She also plans to create a nonprofit organization to help domestic violence survivors “transitioning into housing [and] homeless mothers transitioning into housing,” she said. One major goal for her is to buy an apartment unit for transitional housing “because I needed that when I was homeless, but that really wasn’t available.”
