ProWoc Celebrates: Carriene Rendbo | ProWoc⎮Professional Women of Colour ⎮Denmark

ProWoc Celebrates

Carriene Rendbo,

Owner and Founder of I love Natural Hair’

ProWoc Celebrates CARRIENE RENDBO, the owner and founder of I Love Natural Hair, an online website for curly hair products. Born in London, Carriene moved to Denmark in 2009 and lives in Copenhagen with her family. ProWoc spoke to Carriene about her journey and achievements.

Introductory Edition, August 2020

Tell us about how it all started. What inspired you to start your own company?

The idea of starting and owning my own business was always appealing to me, but I never really knew what that business should be or how to approach it.

I moved to Denmark from the UK, and two years into my transition to Danish life, I started to lose my hair as a result of bad hairstyling practices. This started a chain reaction of events including, being confronted with learning how to take care of my natural hair; something I had never been able to do; to dealing with the emotional issues that I felt afro hair represented in a very Eurocentric society; to then starting my own business to help other women (and men) who I knew had similar stories to tell.

In 2011, I Love Natural Hair was born. It initially started off as a place to purchase healthy hair products for curls, including finding science-based information on how to maintain it.

In 2014, I started workshops to help people take care of their hair, which led to a distribution deal with a US hair product brand. I succeeded in negotiating a distribution deal, which initially was limited to Denmark, but soon turned into becoming a lucrative EU distribution deal.

What would you consider some of the biggest challenges you have had to face?

Moving to Denmark was a huge change for me culturally. It was a place where my husband could thrive musically and economically, as this was his home country, but it was challenging for me. It took me a while to adapt to the culture and despite having a BA in French & Media and Cultural studies, it was difficult to find a job in media, mainly due to the language barrier.

How do you overcome your fears and insecurities?

I have always had a can-do attitude. I refused to dwell on the notion of my skin colour holding me back from achieving success, although I was brought up to understand that I had to work twice as hard as my white counterparts to find success. I believed the key was to gain the right knowledge to pursue my dreams, and put that knowledge, mixed with a little faith into action to attain success.

How do you manage the demands of being a working woman and mother?

Working smart and not hard became my new mantra. Therefore, I decided to outsource most of my tasks to free up my time to engage in other activities in the business. I have recently branched into manufacturing, where I produce products and sell them in a business to business model.

I Love Natural Hair

How do you challenge yourself to continue to excel and reach greater heights?

My time was already in demand with the business and taking care of a family. However, I took on the challenge of returning to education, to study Trichology, the study of diseases and conditions of the hair and scalp. My vision is to open a clinic, and a chain of clinics in the future.

What is next on your vision board?

My vision is to bring value to the lives of people that I meet. I believe that my company gives me the opportunity to do that, through teaching, trading, mentoring, and building a legacy that I can pass onto my children. My plan is to continue to grow and dominate the markets that I am in, whilst providing avenues for others to move forward in their success.

What has being a part of ProWoc meant to you?

I would describe ProWoc as a kind of sisterhood, that helps propel women of colour forward in their ambitions. I appreciate everything it offers me both career-wise, socially, and practically. When I first came to Denmark, I didn’t have any real support system in regards to pursuing a career in Denmark, or the knowledge of how to navigate Danish society. However, 10 years after eventually settling into Denmark, ProWoc was founded. This community of women was a godsend. I enjoy being associated with so many intelligent, ambitious strong women; some of whom have become friends. Show me your circle of friends and I’ll show you your future.

I only wish ProWoc had existed when I first arrived in Denmark. A group such as this would have been invaluable to me at the beginning of my journey into navigating Danish life and the business sector. The caliber of women in ProWoc shows me that the future can be bright in Denmark, and we can change some of the narratives that perpetuate negative stereotypes of women of colour in this country.

What learnings from your experiences can you share with other ambitious women?

My key take-away from this eventful roller coaster of a journey that I have been on is to feel the fear and do it anyway. Fear is never a good enough reason to not succeed. Determination, consistency, and discipline are the keys to longevity. We can all learn the lessons from the tortoise and the hare. Success is 90% work and 10% performance, but many of us get it the wrong way around.

I also believe that it is always important to have multiple streams of income. COVID-19, if nothing else, has highlighted that.

It is important to me to make sure that I am always bringing value to people’s lives through service and understanding that it is not always about making money.

Carriene Rendbo is the first woman achiever to be featured on the introductory edition of ProWoc Celebrates

(cover image of Carriene by Zozo Ntokazi Mposula)

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