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Simi Belo s an award-winningnventor,founderand director f lmiisLimited, hecompany behind the aw ard-winningNewHair @)Simi who is of Nigerian heritage ha salways been keen to improve theproducts designed or women and in2003, whilst running her f irst companyCuru PR, he inallymanaged o developone of her favourite deas,NewHair@'.Simi'sentrepreneurialismnd creativityhave been recognisedmany timesover,and she and her company miis Limitedhave alreadywon six major awardsan dwere inalistsor si xothers.An engagingand eloquent peaker, im iha s ourteenyearsexperiencen publicspeaking nd s requently sked o speakat/or chair prominent events.She is abusinessmentor, an active member ofmany business etworksand alsoassistsvarietyof charities nd trusts.

NEWHAIRWIGSAn interview with Simi Belo

What is your business background?I haveover ourteen earsexperiencenPRan d marketing nd prior o settinguplmiisLimited, ran my own suc cessfulRconsultancy uru PR.

What did yo u study? Whatqualifications and experience didyou have to gain for this type ofbusiness?I actually raduated n Ceography romKing'sCollege,University f Londonbu tthen went straight nto PR nd marketingso I did a mastersn International ublicRelations,nd hen one n Marketing.Mybackground n PR an d marketing hasproved ncrediblyuseful or what I amdoing now. But 've had o learna lo t on -the-lob, ro m saleso Intellectual ropertyan d commercial aw. I have personallyfound that having a degree- levelqual i f icat ion, and a very goodunderstanding f three key areas legal,

f inancial / account ing and sales &market ing) is v i ta l to running anybusiness.f your backgrounds not in anyof these areas,don't worry, there aremany expertsout there to help. . . . .butyou st i l l need to have a goodunderstanding f thes eareas n order osourcehe right supplier.

What influenced you to get into thehairpiece trade?Over he years 've had a lot of ideas orways to improve existingproductsandfor new products nd concepts. fter oomany years in PR and market ing,including wo years unning my ow n PRagencyCuru PR, was ready or a newchal lenge. tar t ing p lmi isL imi ted s avehicle o bring o marketmy ideaswa spossible,hanks o the incredible upportof mv friends nd amilv.

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rr,:3,*XllXxlrr,lxxx,Xx,::x:llXllxt:,*,,X*XrX,*,,,your clients use your wigs?

product,NewHair@,eliverse following benefits hey have spent

manyyears ooking or:-By allowing he wearer o reveal omehis/herhair ow n real oots,scalpan d

t addresseshe 'no vis ib leroblem you get with

wigs. Hair bands, ringes, akeare used o cover t itching n

wigs, but because hey alsowearer's airl inean d roots,can tell that somethino s

worn.hough there are some otherroducts, .g . hairpieces,al for

igs, hat allow he wearerown hairwith the wig ha ir,ar esti l leasy o spot becausehere s

visible ump'at the pointwherewearer'shair meets th e fake hair.

s totally bump free, becauseu are attaching he wig hair at the

s quick and easy o wearremove, and therefore saves he

a great deal of t ime and money,to exist ing hai r

opt ions, e.g. weaves,nd extensions.

your first major project?yo u mean.This s my

ut NewHair@s he irstbrought o market. 'm

on my second nvention ightan dwill be able o talkabout t from2007, so watch this space!

typical day.such hing as a'typical day'

me , thankfullyl spentyesterday nohone to our newest business

then in meet ings with ourroperty awyers. oday have

cal l with one of ourollowedby an nterview ith a

hen a meeting with ourand pr inters.Tomorrow a

with accountanu.

What next for Simi?To get NewHair@nto Oprah's eadandthen retirequicksmart.All before turn40 in 2008.

What advice would you give to anindividual who is trying to breakinto the hairpiece industry orinvent a product?

lf you have plenty of tenacity anddetermination,he n go for it! You mustbe like a terrier hat nevergivesup , nomatter what! Leaveyour pride at thedoor. lf for some reason others takeconvincing bout what yo u are offering(and yo u need o be prepared or this),and these peopleare key to achievingyour object ives, hen you must beprepared o keep going back to them.Also,you must believe hat you can doanythingyou want to, be posit ive t allt imes and ap proachbusiness nd life nthat way.

Do you focus on encouragingent repreneur ia l ism amongJt theyouth?I always encourageent repreneural ismamongst he youth, as I believet is veryimportant. his s why I assist variety fcharit ies nd trusts, or instanceYoungEnterprise ondon. I wish that all theresources,chemes, ourses,acil it ies ndso on availableodaywereavailable he nI was young, as I had many deasmanyyears go ,but didn't havea cluewhere ostart . l 'm pleased hat business ndinnovation s really creeping into th eschool urr icu lum.

Please name the awards that youhave won?Winner, SpecialRecog4ition 004' fromThe Gl obal Women Invento rs &lnnovatorsNetwork (May 2A0\. Winner,'European Business2004' f rom theEuropeanFederation f Black WomenBusinesswners October 004).Winner,'Top Ten Bri t ish Female Inventor /

Innovator 005' from The Brit ishFemaleInventors & Innovators Network(February 005). Winner, BestStart Up2005' London African Car ibbeanEntrepreneurs ward from the AfricanCar ibbean BusinessNetwork (March2005).Winner, Black& Minority EthnicBusiness f The Year2005' Passport oExoort award from UK Trade &Investment ivision May 2005).Winner,'Top Ten Pan-AfricanWomen's nventorInnovator2005' award from The Pan-AfricanWomen's nventors InnovatorsNetwork September 005).I would l ike to extend my gratitude oyo u to haveagreed o do this nterviewfor the YPCN. I would also l ike topersonallyhank you for inventing hi srevolutionary airpiece. ca n personallyvouch that the NewHair wiqs areamazing.For further information, p lease vis i t(wvwv.ewhairwigs.netwww. miis.com)and peruse he var iety of wigs andopportunit ies vallable t lMllS.

Interviewed by Alice EkwallaAlice Ekwalla s qualif ied in CreditManagementand as a FurtherandAdults Education Teacher. Alicecurrently works for COICommunicationss a creditcontrollerin the Accou ts Receivabledeoartmentand also ocus' on Blackand Minor i ty Ethnic market ing,deal ing wi th F inancia l ResourcesManagement and BME bespokemarket ingcampaigns.

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