- I can't overemphasize enough, the learning that takes place.

I don't regret it.

Sometimes I'm like, this sucks.

Nobody's gonna buy - I'm just gonna stop.

I'm just gonna go back to school.

I mean, you have those moments.

You just gotta keep going.

(bright music) Hi, my name is Charron Leeper Martin, and I am the CEO and creator of Perfect Pineapple, which is a head wrap and hair accessory brand based here in Cleveland, Ohio.

Eunice was my grandmother and she was the most elegant, courageous, and loving person I've ever met, but she was also creative.

And so she always encouraged and celebrated the creativity in me.

I've always loved fashion.

We shared that love and passion.

She was just a great pillar of our family and so when she died, it definitely changed our family dynamic.

I had a lot of ideas.

She always helped me reign them in.

I would wrap my hair with a scarf and I got a knot in it.

And for years, I just left the knot in there and found different ways to tie it.

Then, when I was going natural, I kind of put my hair up in the pineapple style and I was like, that's kinda cute.

That's when the light bulb went off and was like, oh, this is a thing.

And I just stood in the mirror and I was like, how many ways can I wrap my hair with this thing?

That's when I was like, "Grandma!"

And she allowed me to start it in her basement.

Each one is handmade and it's made out of my home, which I'm trying to get out of because I can't sustain that way.

I'm thinking about manufacturing, wholesaling, just nailing down the nuances of what products I'm going to offer so that I can take that off my plate so I can actually scale properly.

First of all, it's just hard being Black.

Let's just start there.

It's beautiful being Black, It's hard being Black.

So it's always a different feeling as a minority to start a business because your literal generational circle and social circle have a different buying power and a different mentality towards their relationship with money.

But I will say, it's been a joy starting a business as a Black woman.

I did make my grandmother a particular promise.

When she was very sick and close to the end of her days, she just grabbed my hand and she was like, "Charron, promise me you're gonna start a family business."

She said a lot without saying it, but at the end she said what she needed to say and she let me know, "I believe in you, you got this, and that's why I'm asking you 'cause I ain't gonna waste my breath asking somebody that I don't believe in."

And it meant more to me than anything.

So whether it's Perfect Pineapple or whether it's something else, that is the promise that I wanna fulfill.

(light upbeat music)