Following on last month’s installment of our Breaking Into Business series, we sat down with another trailblazing business leader, Myleik Teele, Founder and CEO of curlBOX, a subscription service for naturally curly hair. From starting in public relations to launching her own entrepreneurial venture, Myleik’s career journey thus far has been more than enviable — it has been truly encouraging and we were #blessed to hear her story.
Myleik grew up in Inglewood, California, and later graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Consumer and Family Science and a strong desire to pursue a job she “loved from the very beginning.” She revealed that “since graduating [from] college, [she] always had a job that [she] liked.” Her advice: “Go do what you like to do – you don’t have to sit and be miserable…you may not be able to make as much in the beginning, [but] what [you will] learn [will be] immeasurable.” Before curlBOX became a tour de force, one of Myleik’s earliest jobs was in public relations. She earned her stripes for over ten years in the space before launching her own boutique PR firm, Art of Facts Public Relations in Atlanta, Georgia in 2009.
curlBOX developed out of a need to bring the best in hair care to naturally curly bombshells everywhere! On a monthly basis, curlBOX sends subscribers a curated box of curly hair products straight to their doorsteps. I got a bit of scoop on the May curlBOX Body featuring cover star Taren Guy (on sale May 4th!), chock-full of spa essentials. Of course, with such admirable natural hair herself, I had to ask Myleik about what hair care products she is loving the most. Her “favorites vary by the week,” but the week of our interview, her bomb products included “Naturally Smitten, Hawaiian Silky Miracle Worker 14 in 1, Ouidad Double Detangler, and anything OGX Beauty.”
In addition to launching a beauty business, Myleik is behind what I call a motivational movement: #MyTaughtYou. If you haven’t yet heard of the hashtag, it is a compilation of inspirational quips and lessons learned over the course of Myleik’s career. Her honest musings led her to create the #MyTaughtYou journal and a phenomenal podcast series in 2011 that “started with 11 listeners in a month and now [has] over 75,000 downloads a week!” With no intention to make money, she created the MyTaughtYou journal as it was “the exact journal [she] had used for 7 to 8 years” and she wanted to share her method to achieve personal and professional goals with others. She shared, “I am the ultimate consumer of content… I’ve loved magazines from my childhood. I want to put out what I see in my way, I’ve always believed I have something to say…it always blows my mind that people want to listen.”
Given her deep well of wisdom, I had to hear Myleik’s Top 5 positive habits:
- “Always being a person of my word – I do what I say I am going to do. Do. It.”
- “Being honest and trustworthy. That matters more than your ability in business.”
- “Always show up on time – I always show up before time… people notice you when you show up on time, just as they notice when you are late.”
- “Go above and beyond, [develop the] healthy habit to do more than what is asked of you.”
- “Setting standards and being proud of my work; even if someone doesn’t like it, I know that I put forth my best.”
One look at Myleik’s Instagram account gives you all the inspirational feels. When asked about #blackgirlmagic, she offered, “For me, it means all the extra-special things about black women given the special circumstances we face every day – we face challenges with hair, body type, and facial features and we are still looking fabulous and beautiful. We are going to college at higher rates and starting businesses.” My final question for Myleik, what would she do with $20 on a Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia? Her answer: “I’m going to The Sole Spa in Buckhead for a foot massage. I walk out feeling like heaven!” If you want to learn more about curlBOX, check it out here and follow @curlBOX and Myleik on Instagram!
What do you think of this Breaking Into Business interview? Let us know in the comments who we should feature next!
Source: curlBOX & www.OpulentCouturierStyle.com
