It’s not uncommon for college students to have a “side hustle.” Whether it’s doing hair, tutoring, cooking, or even offering rides off-campus, students are able to showcase their talents while making money and managing their schoolwork.
Safiya Brown, 19, is part of the side hustle community. She is the creator and owner of Hair Homicide. It is a business that specializes in all things hair, including closures, frontals, wigs, coloring and ponytails.
Brown is a sophomore health informatics and information management scholar who grew up in West Orlando.
“I love my city…however, everything wasn’t always sweet; if I didn’t grow up there, I wouldn’t have the hustle and drive that I have today,” Brown said.
Although Hair Homicide has been a business for only five months, Brown has been doing her own hair since her junior year of high school.
“My head [was] looking crazy and I [was] not trying to pay anybody else to do it,” Brown said. “I figured, I can do anything someone else could, [so] I started making it a business when I got to college because I needed extra money,” she said.
Side hustles are all about giving your talent exposure to make extra money.
“The extra money definitely can help with things you might need to pay for like books, groceries or clothes,” Brown said.
Lyric Vickers, a friend and regular client of Brown’s, has been supporting Hair Homicide since its first day of business.
“I told her how talented she is and that [she] should’ve been started it a long time ago, but now she is better than ever and killing the game,” Vickers said. “Safiya is very professional. She makes sure she is clear on what the client wants and that she can execute it the way they want with no hesitation.”
Hair Homicide got its attention-grabbing name as a reference to “killing the game.” “I figured, when people do something good, they ‘kill’ it,’ so Hair ‘Homicide,” Brown said.
Another good friend and client of Brown’s, Jada Ramsey, rated Brown’s business a “10 out of 10.” “She’s willing to take her time and she cares about the clients. In general; she has reasonable prices [and] she prepares the hair days before install,” Ramsey said.
There are many students on campus who would like to start their own side hustle in order to make extra money, but don’t know where to start. “If someone wanted to start their own hair business, I would tell them to just go for it and work on building a brand and getting yourself out there; step outside of your comfort zone,” Brown said.
Brown said she doesn’t plan on continuing her hair business after she graduates from Florida A&M University. She plans to go to graduate school.
If you are interested in getting your hair or wig done, you can contact Safiya Brown on Instagram @hairhomicide.