In 2012, when former financial analyst and trained cosmetologist Ngozi Opara realized that women of African descent with natural hair had no options of hair extensions made specifically to match their texture, she decided to venture into the untapped market. Ngozi launched Heat Free Hair, the first manufacturer of virgin hair exclusively created to blend with textured kinky, and curly hair and her clientele included celebrities such as actress Uzo Aduba and singers Jill Scott and Tamar Braxton.

But it wasn’t smooth-sailing when she started out. She faced the challenges of being a pioneer (starting from scratch, creating a new market), had to leave her comfort by travelling to China to learn the weave-manufacturing process (while living in less-than-ideal conditions) and much more she had to put in the hard work.

Recently, she shared the importance of “deep work”, which you can liken to the advanced version of hard work.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR8Uc91DUOX/?taken-by=ngozithestylist&hl=en

She said,
“For the past few months I’ve taken a step away from all things social to truly learn the concept of “deep work”. Deep Work calls for you to put all your focus into achieving a milestone or to strategize without any distractions. It is a powerful tool that I encourage anyone who has something major that they want to accomplish to do. I’m one for balance but I also know that to make major moves you have to also make major sacrifices. I’ve gone from working out of my car, to my bedroom, to a friends house, to renting a shared space, to renting an office space to now buying this grey beauty behind me and I couldn’t be more proud of where my journey took me. Meet the new @heatfreehair headquarters! #proudmoment #nzobeauty #heatfreehair“

Indeed it is true that choosing and intensely focusing on one goal with no distractions yields positive results in the shortest possible time compared to pursuing different things at the same, with other distractions to boot.

Although other hair manufacturing companies have since jumped on the bandwagon, Ngozi has stayed on top by controlling the entire value chain from manufacturing, distribution and retailing through her website.

We watch and cheer for her as she continues to be innovative and to show us all the ways hard work pays off.

Enjoy Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Complement it with 31 ways to get more deep work accomplished.

Images via Clever Girl Finance and Ayiba Magazine.