Hustle Diaries: Huia Hair
At Ako Cashflow, we believe the best business ideas often come from solving your own problems and Chloe Huia, founder of Huia Hair, is living proof of that. This week on Hustle Diaries, we’re diving into a business born during lockdowns, rooted in self-discovery, and now helping curly-haired customers across Aotearoa and Australia feel seen, supported, and stylish.
This is where you hear it unfiltered—real stories, real lessons, straight from the owner themselves.
How It Started: Turning Frustration Into a Business
Our business provides curly hair tools and products, making them more accessible for people across Australia and New Zealand. It all began during COVID when I was on my own journey to return to my natural curly hair. I struggled to find products and tools locally that truly worked. That’s when I realised there was a major gap - and I decided to fill it.
That’s when I decided to create a business that focused on providing quality, local options specifically for curly hair.
Best Advice for Anyone Starting Out
Do your research! Spend time really understanding the market, what’s already available, and where the gaps are. It’s also important to remember that making mistakes is okay, it’s one of the fastest ways to learn.
Keep things simple when you start, and don’t try to do everything at once. Focus on getting the foundations right first.
Hard Lessons, Better Decisions
A big lesson I learned was that you don’t need to go big or flashy when you first start out. In the beginning, I spent a lot of money on things I thought were necessary to look “professional,” but I quickly realised it wasn’t needed.
What mattered most was starting and getting my products out there. That experience taught me to focus on what really matters and make better financial decisions moving forward.
What’s Been a Game-Changer?
Definitely Canva! It’s made creating marketing materials, branding, and content so much easier and more professional. Another game-changing strategy has been communication. As an introvert, this didn’t come naturally, but learning how to talk to people, build relationships, and collaborate has had a huge impact on growing the business. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s made a real difference.
The Huia Hair Legacy
I hope they remember that we provided high-quality products, that we truly cared about our customers, and that we were easy to talk to and work with. Customer care and quality have always been at the heart of what we do.
Final Thoughts from Chloe
I’m really grateful for this journey so far. There’s still a lot to learn, but I’m open to the process. For anyone just starting out, remember that it’s okay not to know everything, you learn as you go. Keep it simple at the beginning and let your product and passion speak for you.
Hustle Diaries is all about raw, honest stories from small business owners doing things their way. Got lessons, real-life wins, or setbacks that shaped you?
