Episode 57: Richard Steadwell (Kingzi Royal Skincare Collection)

Richard Steadwell is living his dream of being a self-employed entrepreneur. He is the owner and operator of Kingzi Barbers Lounge in Charlotte, N.C., and the Kingzi Royal Skincare Collection.

Although Richard has always possessed the creative spirit of an entrepreneur, there were limitations he says he had to overcome before he could realize his dream.

“I’ve always been good with my hands. I love being creative and using my imagination. I always knew that using those natural talents would make me happy.” Richard called himself a kitchen barber because he’s been cutting hair since he was a teenager, but he never thought of it as a career.

Richard was born in North Carolina but was raised in California. In the tenth grade, he decided school wasn’t for him.

“I was struggling and getting into trouble a lot. I had convinced myself that they were teaching me the things I wanted to know. Deep down, part of my reasoning was I felt like I was an embarrassment to my mother, and I didn’t want to keep putting her through that, so I quit.” Richard explained. “My mother wasn’t happy about it, but my mind was made up.”

Richard’s mother gave him two options, the military or trade school. Due to health issues, the military wasn’t a good fit, so Richard went to the Earl C. Clemmons Job Corps center in Morganfield, Ky. “My mother drove me to the center because she was serious about me not sitting up in her house without a job or trade of any kind. She said if I was going to be grown, I had to make a way for myself.”

 

While in Job Corp, Richard took several certification classes, including a business course. The one thing he stayed away from was getting his G.E.D.

“If I had been wise and not so worried about failing, I would have just gotten my G.E.D. while in Job Corps. Things would have been a lot easier for me, and I would be farther than I am today. But, what can I say? I was young and didn’t want to listen to anybody."

In his lifetime, Richard has done just about every laborious job there is. He was a self-proclaimed jack of all trades and master of none.  After years of going from one unfulfilling job to another, Richard decided he wanted something more. One day, not long after his fortieth birthday, Richard was sitting in his barber’s chair and shared his idea of going to barber college.   

Immediately Richard looked into starting barber college at Park West Barber College in Greensboro, N.C. As he read the requirements, the first thing that stopped him I his tracks was the requirement of a high school diploma or equivalent.  “There I was again. Every time I tried to move forward, I found myself coming back to the same roadblock. All these years later, my decision to drop out of high school was still haunting me. I sat there thinking about what I wanted and the time I had wasted. I have to admit I was terrified of going back to school, but I decided I couldn’t spend one more day letting fear hold me back.”

Richard enrolled at Gilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, N.C., and started working towards his G.E.D. He transferred and finished the program at Alamance Community College in Graham, NC.

After receiving his G.E.D, Richard started at Park West Barber College in Greensboro, N.C. From there, he became an apprentice barber.

Richard was an apprentice barber at Bennett’s Barber Shop in Charlotte for four years.  As Richard worked as an apprentice barber, he was free to explore his creativity.  Richard noticed a small selection of beard and skin grooming products for men. The scents were basic and didn’t represent all men, especially black men. That is how Kingzi Men’s Skincare Collection was born.

Putting what he learned about sales and marketing in Job Corps, Richard is preparing to put the Kingzi Royal Skincare Collection on the shelves of major shopping centers all over the country. But for now, the skincare line can be purchased locally at Kingzi Barber’s Lounge.

To learn more about Richard Steadwell and The Kingzi Royal Skincare Collection, please send him an email to [email protected]

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