Everything She Wants

We love to share inspirational stories about women who step out on faith and start their own businesses. And that’s exactly what Efe Cierkowski did when she left behind a lucrative corporate job and opened A Sip of Art , a charitable BYOB painting class studio in West Orange, New Jersey that's perfect for holiday parties. Born in Ghana, Cierkowski was inspired to become an entrepreneur after her second daughter was born prematurely and she needed more control over her schedule.  Efe Cierkowski, owner of A Sip of Art. “Maya was born prematurely at 27 weeks and spent two months in the [hospital] in New Jersey. I spent the majority of my maternity leave there and not long after she came home I had to return to work at my corporate job," Efe explained. "That was the moment I knew I wanted more control and flexibility of my time and life, but fear of replacing my income was the biggest thing holding me back.” The 37-year-old continued: “In 2015 it finally click

Michelle Breyer, co-founder of NaturallyCurly.com, has been on the frontlines of the curly hair revolution since 1998. The former business journalist was inspired to start the website after “a lifetime of fighting my curly hair and feeling like I didn't fit the accepted standard of beauty.” Now curly hair sisters of all races and ethnic backgrounds can learn Breyer’s tips of the trade in her first book, The Curl Revolution: Inspiring Stories andPractical Advice from the NaturallyCurly Community .   We caught up with the busy entrepreneur, via email. Photo courtesy of NaturallyCurly Everything She Wants : How did the idea for NaturallyCurly.com come about? Michelle Breyer : [After] a few mimosas at a party. I was working as a reporter at a newspaper with some fellow curly friends and we were complaining about our hair on a humid Austin day. Someone overheard us and thought it was crazy that people could spend so much time talking about their hair. He suggested we s