Sherrie Williams First African American To Sell Haircare Line To A Major Hospital

There are a lot more Black-owned haircare companies getting their product lines on the shelves of major retailers. But one cosmetologist/entrepreneur became the first Black woman to secure a deal with a major hospital.

Meet Sherrie Williams, the founder and CEO of Simplistic BSC, a haircare line to help women of color maintain healthy hair. While appearing on Positively Milwaukee! with Caroline Meeks, Williams shared her entrepreneurial journey.

“When I started mixing my own products, it was because I went into stores and there were no products that were for me, meaning African American,” Williams explained.

After comparing the products on mainstream products to those of Black haircare products, Williams crafted her own concoction that she began using on her clients. Eventually, those clients came to Williams looking for her products.

That inspired Williams to go full throttle into launching her own haircare line made with Black women in mind. She brought the dream to life when she secured a deal to get Simplistic BSC sold on Walmart.com, a Piggly Wiggly location, a Fresh Time food market, and Froedtert hospitals.

It’s a major accomplishment for Williams, who worked to defy the odds after being labeled with a learning disability as a child.

“I was always in a limited situation,” Williams shared, adding how “once I got out of that atmosphere” and attended college, “I realized that I’m way more than I was told when I was in school.”

“I’m just a living testimony that if you put your mind to it, you can succeed,” she added.

When it comes to her “life-changing” partnership with Froedtert Health, Simplistic BSC will now be the go-to haircare product for all patients at their hospitals. It’s a first for a Black woman within the haircare space,

“I’m blown away and we already started shipping products to them,” she said.

While it’s “a lot of work,” Williams says it’s “gratifying” to service thousands of patients nationwide. Her advice for the next generation of female entrepreneurs…..

“Go for it. But do the research,” she said.

She also advises not to quit your day job until you know you can walk fully into an entrepreneurial endeavor and survive.