Organic is Sexy! TAJ10 Q&A
“The quote is that ‘if you do what you love every day, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ That’s what I’m striving for and this is what I love,” said Anita Saoud during our interview. This is when we knew for sure that picking the women behind TAJ10 for our Q&A feature was certainly the perfect move.
We not only fell in love with TAJ10 the product, but also with the entrepreneurial passion behind the product. What really sealed the deal is the fact that the company was thought up, put together and executed by two sisters with a vision and desire to do what they love and adore. Something Beauty by the B can certainly relate with! If that wasn’t enough, this fabulous hair line was created and is growing and expanding right from Calgary.
TAJ10 translates to Crown Perfect, and Anita and Nadia are working hard to get their product and name out there. And so without further ado, here is all you need to know about TAJ10 and the lovely ladies behind the brand!
Q&A: Anita Saoud, TAJ10
When did you start your company?
We officially started the company in May 2011.
What made you interested in starting in this field and starting your own business?
I really always wanted to get into fashion and beauty. I was originally going to go into makeup, but with all of my connections within the salon industry, it seemed like a natural progression. I always got compliments on my hair and we just went from there and wanted a product that was natural, good for the hair but that it worked.
That’s the problem with a lot of organic products is that it just doesn’t work. It either leaves your hair dry or greasy and no girl wants that.
Where can people find your product?
We are at 4 salons right now in Calgary and we are working on one in Airdrie and then there’s online. We’ll be expanding Canada wide soon as well. http://www.taj10.com/
Your business is a sisterly venture. How and why did you decide to work together and start this business?
Who else would you really want to work with, especially when you’re close. I have a business background and she’s more on the beauty side of things, so it works.
What was your first step in starting and launching TAJ10?
Research! That was my first step, where I researched a lot of labs to figure out cost, and if the product worked. We went through about 5 labs, Canadian and in the US as we wanted to keep it as local as possible, and I found a Canadian lab that had no parabens, no sulphates and not tested on animals. That’s what we really wanted.
So we essentially tell them what we want, and for us it was more about what we didn’t want in the product, and they gave us different samples of our formula that they created and from there we would test it on us and our friends and would get feedback to take back to the lab. Since it’s a small company, we wanted the product to work and be for everyone so that every girl could use it.
Right now we just have the one line, Vanilla Bliss, which is Shampoo, Conditioner and a spray. Eventually we are going to get into hair masques and everything will be organic of course. The best thing about it is that if you have coloured hair, or hair extentions, chemical threatened hair, it doesn’t damage your hair and keeps it looking nice.
What was driving your motivation behind making sure the products you created were organic and paraben free?
Honestly it was talking to a friend who brought to my attention at how bad parabens are. Most of us are concerned with what we are putting into our bodies by the food we eat, but not as much about what we’re putting on our body in the form of makeup and other products through skin and hair. That made me do some research on the products that I was using and that were costing me a lot of money.
The more I read, the more I realized how neglected our bodies are. Yes we are getting better at eating healthier, but what we put on our bodies will also affect it.
How did you decide on the name?
TAJ in Arabic means Crown, like Royalty, and 10 is a perfect number…so Crown Perfect!
What is your top mission and priority?
Right now it’s definitely to get our name out there. As long as you’ve heard of us, that’s what we want. I want to be huge!
What exactly do you do in your day-to-day? How do you balance a part-time job alongside launching and running TAJ10?
Organization is key. You have to be very organized, as a business person in general, you have to be self-motivated. I have to write a task list and my day-to-day is really crazy.
My role is to do a lot of the scouting of hair salons, dropping off samples and getting our name out there marketing wise. My sister is taking care of the customer service portion of our business, so she makes sure that each salon that our product is carried at have full stock, see if they want a customer appreciation party so that we can give out TAJ10 samples to their customers.
What do you think makes the company and brand special?
We’re real girls! We want people to think of TAJ10 and think Nadia and Anita, and not just think about the product.
What have been some of your hardships with starting your own business?
No luxuries. All the money that you make goes towards the company, so I don’t have the luxuries that I used to have. There’s a lot of sacrifices, I’m not going out nearly as much, however there are plus sides to it as well.
What has turned out to be easier than you expected?
Sales calls. That was my biggest fear and it took me a long time to get into it.
What hair or product tip would you give to our readers?
Never go outside with wet hair! And don’t brush your hair when it’s wet…it breaks the cuticle and is really bad for it.
What are your favourite makeup products and why?
MAC Red lipstick that I love, and liquid black eyeliner!
What’s your favourite current or upcoming beauty trend?
I would say that I love the 40s and 50s. Pinup is amazing.
