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20 November 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com goal: Showcase a range of colors for any skin tone for people of all ethnicities. THE LANDMARK LAWSUIT One day, Kim and Wendi got a call from a retailer asking why their Mixed Chicks line was available at Sally Beauty Supply—but for cheaper. Not knowing what the retailer was talking about, Kim and Wendi soon discovered Sally Beauty's line called "Mixed Silk," which bore a striking resemblance to their brand not only in the similar name but in the packaging's shape, fonts and colors. Furious and offended, the women remembered previously speaking with a Sally Beauty rep at a trade show about the possibility of working together. After deliberating about what to do, in March 2011 the women filed a lawsuit against the multibillion-dollar corporation for trademark infringement. The months that followed would be a particularly trying time for the duo. "I'd have to say those 19 months took a lot out of us," Wendi says of the litiga- tion involved prior to the trial, which amounted to almost $2 million in fees. "Kim was eight-months pregnant at that time and that's stressful enough, but to have to be on trial and do depositions and travel, I don't know how she did it. It Be a Savvy Store Owner Kim and Wendi share their top four tips for business ners. 1. Stay Grounded: "You have to work hard; you have to stay grounded," Wendi says. "Just remember what's most important, and for us our families are number one." 2. Reinvest It: "Don't quit your day job when you start your own company," she says. "Everything that you make from your company has to get reinvested into the business unless you want to be owned by somebody else. [Kim and I] kept our day jobs and every dime that we made, we reinvested—for years." 3. Start Slow: "We started with just the leave-in conditioner," Wendi says. "We didn't start with several expanded lines. Everything we made from that leave-in we then used to create a shampoo and a deep conditioner—and that wasn't for two years that we added those two more SKUs to make it three [products]. Each year we may add another SKU, and that's how we do it." 4. Get Connected: Kim and Wendi are the only two people who answer emails sent directly to their main Mixed Chicks email address, and therefore hear firsthand from their customers what they want to see more of and what to develop next. They also connect with their fans through social media, and know the importance of adapting to stay relevant in an ever-changing marketplace. "There are women who aren't 'ethnic' but have curly hair [yet] don't know there's an ethnic aisle."