Ascend.Her Beauty
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Ascend.Her Beauty Overview
The Ascend Beauty Cohort is the first cohort designed by a beauty entrepreneur for beauty entrepreneurs. This program was developed in partnership with Rahama Wright from the Yeleen Beauty Makerspace, a beauty contract manufacturing and co-production facility in Washington, DC. As a small business owner, who manufactures and/or sells hair care, skin care, & body care products this program is designed for you to successfully scale and grow your business to the next level. Our program curriculum will provide you with insights and data on how to best structure your business, create the best product formulation, build a customer focused brand, and develop effective marketing and sales strategies.
The Ascend Beauty Cohort is designed to help entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of the beauty retail space and build resilient businesses in an ever-changing marketplace. Together, we will share our experiences as entrepreneurs and leaders to date while determining how to lead businesses into their next chapters of growth and development. Ascend.Her Beauty will include up to fifteen (15) local small businesses owned by women entrepreneurs from the Greater Washington, D.C. region.
Cohort members will also have access to services, advisors, relationship building opportunities, specialized training, extensive business support and resources.
The focus areas of Ascend.Her Beauty includes:
- Building a strong business foundation
- Brand building
- Product creation
- Pricing and profit
- Sales strategy
- Business performance
Ascend.Her Beauty 2025
Members Can Expect
- Weekly classes over the course of eight weeks
- Individualized, vetted growth plan and opportunity to work with Wacif small business advisers
- Specialized technical assistance support based on cohort participants needs and business challenges (legal, marketing, operations, etc.)
- Final "capstone" presentation
- Potential eligibility for Wacif grant and debt capital (based on business lifecycle)
- Ongoing accountability and engagement opportunities
- Networking opportunities with other cohort members and alumni of past Ascend Accelerators
- Graduation celebration.
- Membership opportunity with the Yeleen Beauty Makerspace
Members Are Expected To
- Commit up to 10 hours a week for workshops, research, class assignments, and
- Attend all training sessions
- Create a 12-month growth plan
- Build relationships with cohort members, advisors, and other stakeholders
- Attend networking events (when possible).
Frequently Asked Questions
The number of businesses participating in this Ascend cohort will depend on applicant volume and suitability. To ensure the maximum level of learning and engagement and to facilitate community building, the cohort size will not exceed 15 businesses.
We strongly encourage entrepreneurs who meet the following criteria to apply for the Ascend.Her Beauty program. (1) Your business has operated for at least two (2) years. (2) The business has generated at least $10,000 in annual sales for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. (3) Your business is registered and in good standing.
Yes. Ascend.Her Cohort is intended for women business owners located in the Washington D.C. area. Subsequent cohorts of Wacif's Ascend Capital Accelerators will be open to other applicants at a later date. Until then, Wacif's advisory services are available to all entrepreneurs. Learn more by visiting https://www.wacif.org, schedule a one-on-one consultation, or attend an upcoming workshop.
The program is best suited for entrepreneurs whose businesses have a revenue-generating track record with a minimum annual revenue of $10,000. Entrepreneurs whose companies do not fit these parameters may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants will also be evaluated on their scaling potential and existing pipeline of opportunities, projects, and contracts.
We want to ensure participants can take advantage of all the workshops and learning opportunities offered throughout the program. While we expect participants may not be able to attend every workshop and activity due to scheduling, work, and life occurrences, wherever possible, absences are limited to one (1) session. If you are likely to be absent for more than one session, please consider applying at a time better suited to your schedule.
The initial Ascend.Her Beauty program will be hybrid. Sessions will be virtual and in-person.
The principal office of the business must be in Washington, D.C., Prince George's County (MD), Montgomery County (MD), Howard County (MD), Arlington County (VA), or Alexandria (VA).
Applicants accepted into the program will be informed no later than March 17th.
Applicants will be reviewed holistically based on (1) the business; (2) the business' management; (3) financial position; (4) growth potential; (5) expressed small business and/or market challenges; (6) ability to increase revenue and profitability and (7) the business' narrative around social impact and community engagement. Significant attention will be given to businesses located in Wards 7 and 8.