Entrepreneur Intel

Wes: I'm really excited to, uh, introduce our guest today. So her nonprofit has provided over 5, 500 wigs to kids with cancer. Um, also at no charge and kids with other disorders related to hair loss. She's a political advocate. She has worked to pass wig bills that would allow insurance companies to cover the cost of a child's wig.

She's a licensed cosmetologist who has, who uses her 50 years of experience as a force for good. Founder and CEO at Maggie's Wigs for Kids. Welcome Maggie.

Maggie: Hello, Wes. Thank you so much for giving me this wonderful opportunity and platform to reach out to your audience.

Wes: Well, I'm, I'm really excited to have you. I'm really excited because to me, I've gotten the chance to know you, get to know you, and you are probably one of the most impactful entrepreneurs I've ever met in my life. Um, I'm going to start by asking you this question though. You've been in the, you've been doing this for 50 years.

I mean, there's different varying degrees, but your experience is, overwhelming. Uh, Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids is, over a million dollars. Um, and you've been doing this for 50 years. what's the important, what the most important lesson you've learned thus far?

Maggie: throughout my career and my life, I think the most important thing that I have learned is the importance of always having a mentor. Um, to have somebody that I can aspire to, somebody who can, who's done or is where I'd like to be, and, who would take me under their wing and support me, whether it was in my early years of cosmetology, when I got my license and decided someday, I was 16 years old when I went to beauty school, and someday I wanted to own a salon, and, uh, I wanted And I've had mentors all throughout my career, and I always choose two different areas to have mentors.

One is spiritual, because I think that's where life is the most important for me, because it starts with God first. And then, of course, everything else that it encompasses. I've always been very driven. Um, and I always knew what I wanted to do since I was five years old. You know, my very favorite memory of, uh, of being with my mom is, is, uh, I was like, Five years old and used to go to the salon every week with her.

And, um, because back then women used to go and get their hair styled every single week. And I remember standing by the chair and looking up and thinking, someday I want to grow up and make people look pretty too. Now I was probably five, six years old. Unfortunately, um, my mother died when I was eight. And those were some of the sweetest memories I had, but I've never changed my goal of wanting to do that.

So, I think that has been so important in my life and throughout my life, is mentors, having a mentor, whether it was in cosmetology school, when I got out of high school, you know, then I got married and ended up with two children and divorced a few years later. And, uh, thank God I had my license because I was, the most important thing to me in my whole life was being a mom because I didn't have one growing up without one.

And so that was really, really important to me that I knew I had to work and make a living, but I also, my priority were my kids. So and I could work my job around my life instead of the opposite. So I, you know, I could be room mother and I could. You know, go to all their events, and um, I remember my daughter was in 7th grade and she said, Mom, would you please not sign up this time?

You know, I've never been on a field trip in my life without my mom. So, and I'm proud of that. That was, uh, the most important job I think I've ever had. And the most fulfilling one, uh, to me, that was important. And, um, I have two beautiful daughters and I'm very grateful. Uh, that I had that opportunity, but my career allowed me to do that.

So, I'm very, um, glad that my dad decided when I was 16 and I asked him if I could go to cosmetology school, he allowed me to go, and then unfortunately I lost him when I was 16. So, by the time I was, you know, out of school, I had a career, so I knew it was me. Uh, that I had to depend on and, um, and I'm so grateful because I have utilized this career not only to make a wonderful living and to be able to, you know, uh, have my own business, but to also do good.

serve and help others. Because really that's what I did behind my chair every day. People walk through my door, I make them feel good and look good. They walk out a little taller feeling a little better. And um, I just took that and found a need and filled it.

Wes: Yeah. So at what point did you, you went through a lot. I mean, at eight and then 16. You have two girls, you're kind of doing your thi Like, at what point did you have the vision for Maggie's Wigs for Kids? I mean, obviously your experience helped you, and you just stated that you like people to feel pretty, to feel beautiful, but, like, when, when did the Maggie's Wigs for Kids really take, take form?

Maggie: Well, my dream and my goal in my life was to have my own salon someday, but I made that decision consciously to not do that until my daughter had graduated from high school so that I could then focus on it. So at 40 I opened my first salon, but between graduating from high school and my first salon, I, I, This is where the mentorship came in.

I worked for other people and I decided that I would be the best employee they ever had. And, and my, my boss didn't do anything but go to the bathroom without me because he was where I wanted to be. He was a very successful salon owner. He was a, Uh, educator. He was a platform artist. He had won many awards and had the reputation and the respect and recognition of the beauty industry, which is a huge industry.

And, uh, he was very well known nationally. And I wanted to be where he was. So he was a great teacher. He taught me the importance of continuing education, constantly growing, being mentored, and also giving back. So not only do you take. But you give back. So then he made me the educational director of his large salon.

And so I figured I got to learn on, on his dime and my time, how to be a good business, you know, to run a good business. And you know, when you work for somebody else, there's always things that you see that you like and that you don't. So you learn from both, you know, you learn, you take the good and you also take the ones that you feel would not, don't fit you and you know, you learn from those and you adjust.

So I had a wonderful mentor, and I was very grateful for that. And so, then I decided I wanted to be, when I told you like him, I wanted to be a platform artist. And our industry, uh, When you become a platform artist, that's like the pinnacle of your career. Now you're teaching your peers. Then there's different levels.

You teach at a local level, you teach at a national level, and then you teach at an international level. And, um, I tried out for these design teams never, never thinking I would ever make it. I mean, how good, you know, how good are you? You don't know how good you are. You know, you know how good your clients tell you you are, but you don't really know.

And, um, I tried out for these national design teams and international design teams, and I made it. And I was a platform artist for many years. And now I felt that I had taken, now I felt I had given back. So when I reached the pinnacle of my career, I said, There's so much out there. There's, you know, that, that need, there's so many things that need help.

What could I do? And I was looking at homeless shelters and, you know, just to go out and get back to the community because I was raised by my grandmother and, um, we were always, you know, my grandmother, God bless her, she taught me values, morals, and work ethics. That's the foundation. You know, I said, it took three women to raise me.

My mother gave me the love and the nurturing. My grandmother gave me. You know, the love for the Lord and my values and morals. And my aunt Ruby took over when I was a teenager, taught me how to be a lady and, uh, how to dress for success, you know, and Emily Post books. And she started me real early on learning how to be, look the part as well as be the part.

So I was really blessed. And, um, honestly, entrepreneurship goes back in my family a long way. I'm a coal miners daughter from the Hills of Kentucky. And I remember my, my grandfather had a store and a gas station and his side gig was running moonshine through the hills of Kentucky, you know, I mean, so you talk about, uh, you know, entrepreneurship. So, and that's, and I'm telling you, all my family, all my family have owned businesses, uh, throughout my whole life, watching them. You know, they moved up here from Kentucky and because there were job opportunities up here for them. And before bed and breakfast was a word, my mother rented out rooms for people who came up from the South to, you know, uh, to get them started.

And, you know, so I mean, entrepreneurship has been my life, my whole life. And my grandmother had a resale store and we had transmission shops and gas stations. So I've seen then around this. So I think that's just natural when you grow up with that, you know? Uh, so I think that has helped me, uh, in my business.

And so I get to do what I love every day and I've been doing it for 50 years and I still love it. So my, my transition from my working in my salon to, um, figuring out what I really wanted to do with all this knowledge, I'm my minister at my church. Jack Bowen was going through cancer, and he announced that was there anybody in the congregation that knew how to work with somebody with cancer?

Could they cut a wig? And I always say I can cut hair with a broken coke bottle because I'm really good at cutting hair. And, um, so I went to the office and spoke with them and told them I would be happy to help. So I volunteered to do his hair and makeup on his wigs until he passed. And then after he passed, I thought, because it was televised, And we used to have wonderful speakers in and some of these you will recognize like, uh, Ogmundino, the greatest salesman, you know, and so I had, I met these people.

I did their hair and makeup and they, you know, bought their books and Les Brown and Wayne Dyer and you know, uh, so we we were really and we You know, had, um, Dale Carnegie that was taught right at, you know, I went through the Dale Carnegie course, and so, um, I knew that if I was going to be successful, I had a lot to learn, and don't we always have a lot to learn?

And, um, so, you know, I was really blessed to have my wonderful minister, uh, my, you know, who, who I used to do his hair and makeup for, and I, and I used to say when I was doing it, you know, I would, we would share and he would mentor me and teach me and help me. So I've had, been really blessed with great mentors throughout my whole life and, but I seek them out because I think that's important for my spiritual growth, for me to be satisfied as a, my soul and also my motivation and my drive for business mentors.

So that, that's been very important. And so after, um, you know, I decided what am I going to do? So I went and took some special training through the American Cancer Society. for the Look Good, Feel Better program, and learned how to work with adult patients. And for 35 years, I have taught at local cancer centers and hospitals, adult patients to help them deal with appearance related side effects of treatment.

And anybody who has ever had a loved one that has gone through cancer understands that pretty soon you look in the mirror and you don't even recognize the person you see. So, I found that work to be very rewarding. It was all volunteer work. I didn't sell wigs. I didn't own a wig salon, and I would have them bring their wigs to me on Monday when I was closed, and I would cut them at no charge and help them, and then I would teach the classes, you know.

And it was through that class that a 16 year old came to my class. She was there with her mom, and I thought her mom needed the help, but it was her, and at the end of the class, I always ask, are there any questions, and she said, yes, what do you do when you're a kid and you need a wig, and I said, I don't know, don't you just go to a wig salon and buy it?

I had never worked with children. I had no idea, you know, the amount of children that, right here in Michigan, there's 500 newly diagnosed cases of kids with cancer every year. And, um. But I didn't know that. Thank God I didn't know all that when I started this, you know, it'd be too overwhelming. And, uh, so I said, well, here's my card, you know, call me in a couple of days and let me see if I can find a place for you to go and get the help you need.

And that is how Wakes for Kids got started. She was my little spark plug, and I realized that when I called around there was nothing available, and I said, You know, we, we, somebody has to help these kids. I didn't really want it to be me, Wes. I have to be honest with you. It's not like I woke up one day and decided I was Mother Teresa and wanted to save the kids.

It's not easy.

Wes: Because how many years, so, in how many, so how long have you been working with the adults when this happened?

Maggie: Well, I had, I've now worked with them for about 15 years, about 15 years. I'd already worked with adults and I always say, Wes, that God was really getting me ready to work with children. Because as adults, we are just kids in big bodies. Little did I know I would need all those skills to be able to handle the children and their families, you know.

And so,

Wes: experience.

Maggie: yeah, yeah, and then I started working with kids. And, uh, what, you know, when it first started, I'm so glad I didn't know the magnitude of the situation. Because, uh, it's rewarding and heartbreaking. and gut wrenching and challenging. And what do you do when, you know, I started out 560 square feet west.

It's the size of a bedroom, you know, uh, and, um, on the side of a building with no sign and paid for everything the first seven years myself.

Wes: So paint the picture, are you like, now, you meet your spark plug,

Maggie: no,

Wes: and you are just like, all in this concept?

Maggie: no,

Wes: both? Or, talk a

Maggie: I'd like to tell you that, but that's not how it happened. How it happened is she contacted me in a couple of days, like I said, but I had a gentleman in my chair. that I had helped his wife with a wig. And he, and I usually don't take a phone call when I'm with a guest. And, and they told me she was on the phone and I took the call and she, and I said, um, You know, why don't you schedule an appointment to come in?

And she said, I don't have any money. I can't, I can't come there and get a wig. And I said, I didn't ask you if you had any money. Just get on my schedule and come in and we'll talk about it. We'll see what we can do. And when I hung up the phone, I went back. To the gentleman, I was cutting his hair, and he, and I finished it, and he went up to the desk, and he went to pay for his haircut.

Now, remember, this was 21 years ago, and he said, how much is it? I said, 30. And, um, he wrote the check, and he said to me, will you help my wife Pam? How much was her wig? And I said, oh gosh, uh, Tim, I don't remember, between three and four hundred dollars, it was a synthetic wig, not a custom human like we provide to children today.

And he said, oh, and he wrote the check for four hundred and thirty dollars and walked out the door.

Wes: How awesome.

Maggie: And, and the receptionist said to me, oh my god, Maggie, he made a mistake. And so I ran to the door and I said, Tim, you made a mistake, honey, on the check. And he said, no, I didn't make no mistake. And right then the light bulb went on and I said, Tim.

If one person will help me to help the kids, there'll be other people that will help me, and I'm going to use this money to help this kid, and then I'll figure it out later. I had no clue, you know? I had no clue about making custom wigs for children, you know? And, you know, their little head size changes every single year.

They grow, so they have to have a new wig every year. And, and wigs, you know, are itchy and can be itchy and uncomfortable. So, you know, we ordered theirs. They're all custom. The cap construction is special made for their heads. And, and the density, you can't take a wig for an adult and put it on a, on a baby.

Six year old. It looks ridiculous, you know, so I had, I didn't know any of this. I remember going to Vincent's Medical Supply and getting plaster, uh, strips and doing it on a mannequin head and, uh, trying to figure out how I was going to make a plaster mold and figure out this kid's head size. You know, it was just, it was crazy and I knew nothing about plastic.

The non profit world. So, for those seven years, I was busy trying to figure it out, getting connected with the hospitals. Now we're connected with all eight hospitals throughout Michigan that service pediatric oncology because it was always my focus. We get calls from Phoenix Burn Society, U of M Burn Center.

All the dermatologists, the schools, the churches, they reach out to us now when they know of a child with hair loss for any reason. And my guide was, I've been in this business a long time and I didn't even know there were so many reasons why children lose their hair. You know, lupus, and sometimes it's from the medicine they take for the disorder, like lupus and diabetes and blood disorders and hydrocephalus, you know, where they have water in the brain and, um, alopecia and trichotillomania, the obsessive compulsive disorder where they pull their hair out.

So there were just like, it was, wow, it was, um, a little overwhelming. I have to be honest with you, but I just like, we just figured it out on the fly, which we're really good at. as visionaries, I'm definitely the visionary because I had no clue. You know, in my mind, I knew what I was doing, but how it was going to happen.

I wasn't sure. And, uh, I remember when, uh, you know, we were, Moving along and I was learning and I was taking classes every week, you know, like I told you I had wonderful mentors and they were guiding me, go take this class, go, go to Detroit, you know, share Detroit and take this and, you know, so you can learn the round table sessions, you know, about the nonprofit world, right?

Go back to school, you know, because I, you know, even though you think of business, you think of for profit and nonprofit, it's like apples and oranges. They're both fruit, but they're completely different. There's different laws. There's different rules. There's, you know, how was I going to figure out how to make a living?

And because I sure they didn't, we didn't have any money and, and still raise money for a nonprofit so you can't have crossover of monies. And so I went and took an eight hour IRS class so I could learn All the rules and regulations and thank God I learned them well because I'm very proud to say that, you know, we are, you know, our audits are stellar and we are on GuideStar.

We have the highest ratings, you know, platinum ratings for the last seven years and only one half of one percent of all nonprofits ever received that. So I don't say that to brag. I say that because they taught me well, you know,

Wes: No, I, I, I think, I think you should brag. I mean, I think that, As an entrepreneur or anybody, quite frankly, when they're, you know, thinking about donating, right. I mean, I think that's a badge of honor for you. I mean, I think you've worked really hard to do that, to know that dollars are going to what you're saying.

They are like, and people believe in you. Um, I want to talk about going back to your point about starting in like a 550 square foot. I don't recall exactly when we met. I don't know if it was that office or another one, but you have a really great story about from the time I met you. Until the building you're in now, which I think, you know, you are like just a scrappy entrepreneur.

You talk about taking an eight hour class, like. That to me is just, you, you take action. Like you have a problem, you're going to, you're not waiting for anybody to take action for you. Your background, like you, you're just like, I got to do it. I need to learn this knowledge. I'm just going to take care of it, which is, which is a rarity these days.

But talk about that, you know, from, from the five 50 square foot to like where you're at now. And I want to preface that the facility you're in now, not to take away from anything from where you were is, is breathtaking. It's, it's unbelievable. Talk about that, and what that meant for Maggie's Wigs for Kids.

Maggie: Well, um, as we had this little area, but it was big enough for me to accomplish and do what I wanted. You know, what I needed to do, but as I was listening to the children, I realized that their wig is what gave them the confidence to go back to school and out in public and look and feel normal and fit in.

But they had all these other needs, like the social, emotional, and psychological issues. And I'm, and they would have to go to so many different places to receive this. And I thought, why? It doesn't make sense to me. You know how we are. You know, it doesn't make sense to me as a visionary, like, why is there not a place where it's all under one roof where they can just come because they're so sick, instead of having to run all of these different places to get these services.

And, uh, so as I'm listening to the kids, I'm saying, so I go to all these hospitals that I had volunteered at, and I said, I need a social worker, but I can't afford to pay you. I need an oncology pediatric dietician, but I have no money. I need, whatever I needed, I need a lawyer, I said, but I, I have no attorney fees.

I'm just telling you up front, you know, and my attorney is the same one who was day one with me. My dietician is still with me from day one. You know, my social work psychologist is still with me from day one. So all these hospitals that I went to and said, I've been servicing your, your adult patients. I now need help with kids.

I didn't even know how to do a fundraiser. And we had our first fundraiser, spaghetti dinner fundraiser, 8 a plate. We had 200 people inside and 200 people lined around the building in the rain. Because they had now heard that I was working with kids. So all the people that I had helped, you know, the families that I had helped, the adult patients came out to help me. Sorry.

Wes: No, it's okay.

Maggie: So, um, that was,

Wes: And what year is this?

Maggie: oh, that was our humble beginnings, like maybe two years into it. You know, like just

Wes: It's like, no social media, no internet,

Maggie: You came later. We

Wes: this is all word of mouth, right?

Maggie: Right, we had nothing. People, because I've been in this community for a while, and I've helped so many adult patients for 15 years in the hospitals, so they came out to help me get started with my kids, and my clients would come in, and I would color their hair.

They'd be sitting there with color on, stuffing envelopes, making calls for me. I mean, I'm telling you the truth.

Wes: Well, it's amazing that you put in the 15 years working with these adults. I mean, you're doing it, you're giving that time, expecting nothing in return. And here it kind of comes full circle back, where now these people are rallying for you, and,

Maggie: but I didn't know t you ever do it. There's n You do it because it's th and because God puts it o it. You know, like he giv develop that gift and the You know, I was a single You know, so I would give some money and I would give them my talent. And that was how I gave them my talent. So, uh, and, and I never expected people to come and help, but they did.

And they still are, to this day. Every day we go out through my doors. But, so we're on the side of this building, this little building. They taught me how to do this fundraiser. And then, you know, I'm going to classes and learning about, you know, the laws and rules and setting up the business structure and building a board.

My God. Who knows all this? You know, I ran a business, but I'll tell you what, Wes, if I had not had 15 years of business under my belt, I would not have made it. I do not believe we would have made it. I am telling you, I mentor now because my key donor said to me, Now, I'm sending organizations to you. I would need you to mentor them because they do great work, but their, their business foundation is not good.

It's not built. It's built on sand. He said, and you know, as a, as a donor, you don't want to keep giving money because if you stop or if that resource stops for them, they won't survive. He said, so I'm, I'm going to send them to you for you to help them. That's another way of giving back mentoring, right?

Because he was mentoring me. And believe me, he was not easy. He was tough, but he was good. And I'm okay. I, I can do tough, you know, so I mean, , I had, I know how to do that. So, um, anyway, you know, we're on the side of the building and I, uh, I have a friend and I did her hair and she, and she was sitting in my chair and, um, I was talking about how I was trying to help the kids and uh, and I said, I'm gonna start a capital campaign for a building.

Now, you know, someday we're going to get a, not a building, a storefront. I just wanted a storefront. We were on this side of the building and you couldn't even see us. We had no sign. And I said, I just want a storefront where we can have a sign and people know about us. So we did that. And, um, she, she wrote a check for a thousand dollars as seed money.

She got up out of my chair. I did her hair, wrote a check for a thousand dollars for seed money. I didn't even know what seed money was. You know, I had to look it up when she was telling me. So that's, that was the beginning of our capital campaign. So my key donor, who has been a friend for 40 years, said to me, Um, you raise enough money, and I'll match it.

Whatever you think it's going to cost you, and you figure out where you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to live. I designed the whole, you know how we are, visionaries. I saw the whole thing in my mind, how it was going to happen, I had no clue. And um, so I got an architect, and guess what he builds?

Churches. You know, it's like churches and salons. This is what this guy builds. He's wonderful. So I, I get, God just sends me the right people at the right time and I'm so blessed and I know it. And, uh, it's not about me. It never has been about me. It's about the kids. And so I, you know, people just, you know, And all of us have been a kid, so most of us can relate.

And most of us have had loved ones who've had cancer. So, it's just a no brainer, you know? So, uh, I got a low, uh, found a, you know, a storefront, and, and, you know, we had a wonderful ribbon cutting ceremony, and we went from five hundred and sixty square feet to five 2, 500 square feet. And that was like the Taj Mahal to me.

I thought, oh God, we'll never outgrow this. Oh my God, we've arrived. Well, I was there maybe three years and realized that I had to start another campaign because we were outgrowing it already. Because what happened was, we opened June 10th in the storefront. Now we got tons of media. Thank you to Wes.

Thank you to HLM. You guys put us on the map, high level marketing, because that was we just had moved into our new center and you guys came along and we had this, uh, Google 10, 000. Um, it's a campaign management. We needed campaign management. I didn't even know what it was. And you guys helped us with our website.

And, and amazing that, uh, and then helped us with the grant. And suddenly, now, 21 years later, we receive like 18, 000 hair donations from 68 countries around the world. We are this little place in St. Clair Shores. And that is what the internet does for you, and that is what social media does for you, and thank you.

Thank God, and thank you, Wes, that you guys believed in us and have supported us. And I'm so very honored to be on this program today, but also to be your friend and, you know, have your love and support for our program.

Wes: No, it's been great, uh, being with you guys. I don't, and I can't quite recall how we met or why. And either you had that going or you didn't know about it. I don't remember the details, but I remember that.

Maggie: We reached out to you. We reached out to you because we needed, you know, I researched, I didn't know what I was doing, but I wanted, high level marketing sounds like a pretty good name. You know what I'm saying? And I needed somebody, I needed somebody who was gonna help us to redo our website. Now I did, I did a website with a friend and we actually won an award for it, believe it or not.

It was my very, I had no clue what I was doing. You know how we are, we just go and do these things, but I knew that to get to the next level. I needed it professionally done and that's why I reached out to you guys and you loved our program and reached out back to us because then we got this grant and I'm like, oh god, we don't know what we're doing here.

So we need professionals

Wes: Yeah. And the grant you're referring to, so Google, right? You, you can, there's pay, pay per click advertising on Google, right? So the company high level marketing, we were a website design, digital marketing company. And if you're a nonprofit and you're a good nonprofit in Google's eyes, they will actually give you 10, 000 a month. And again, I don't remember if it was already deployed for you guys and it wasn't working, or if we introduced it, it really doesn't matter. But I remember, I remember looking at it. This is why I love being an entrepreneur. Like totally bought into what you guys were doing and how hard you're working. And then you guys had this problem.

And when we looked at the problem, I'm like, this could, this could take my team, like not a lot of time

Maggie: oh,

Wes: Like one click of the dial, right. It can change.

Maggie: oh. And it did.

Wes: and that's what it was. And I think for us was really cool to see like all of a sudden hair donations coming in, you know, so that was really cool, but I, I want to go back to your story and not take that, which is the tenacity you had to get your final location or where you're at today.

Yeah,

Maggie: But the hair donations are so important to us because we can't make the wings without them. If we had to buy the hair, we would never be able to afford to do

Wes: you guys are, I mean, so I think oftentimes if people hear about it, like, Oh, it's wigs for kids and it's this, and they come in a box and like, but I guess there's a two part question. I want to wrap the first one because I think it's a great, a great visionary story, but there's a lot of work and resources in these wigs and you need the facilities to do these and you're putting in the labor, time, energy, effort to do all the work.

Maggie: what you wanted to know about how we got to this where we are now, our new building. So that was our second building. Okay. And the day we opened and cut the ribbon there, this vacant lot was here. And I called the owner and said, If we clean your lot, can we use it for parking for our grand opening? And he said yes.

I said, oh, and by the way, before I hung up, don't sell that lot because I'm going to need that someday. And he started laughing and said, aren't you moving in next door? And I said, oh yeah, but someday I'm going to need that lot. Okay. So now we stayed there. Now we moved in in June, June 10th. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in July.

And by September, I was dancing with the kids at the gala, but I remember after I was diagnosed, you know, I remember we were out, I had saved enough money, good business plan for six months based on our previous kids that we served. Well, now we got all this media attention, and they were coming out of the woodwork.

I mean, they were, they were coming from all over Michigan, and I'm like, oh God, what do I do? And I remember kneeling down by the dryers in the back saying, God, on planet Earth, we need money, you know? How am I going to help these kids? So there have been some lean times, you know, and, um, So, and thank you, thank God it happened and so we made it past that and I was dancing with the kids in September at the gala and we serviced every child and ever, no child has ever had to wait.

No child has ever been turned away, and, um, so we're very grateful for that through the kindness and generosity of the community and people like yourself and all your listeners that wrap their hearts around our program and, you know, give us this wonderful platform to reach more kids, which is always most important in my mind.

So we're there for 10 years. I had to start that capital campaign after three, and by five years, my board said, Maggie, are you going to start building? And I said, no, I'm not building until we have the money. And they said, well, Maggie, you know, it's going to take time. I said, I am not going to chase the dollar.

I'm going to focus on the kids. So when we have the money, then we will build it. And we did. And we are debt free, 100 percent debt free.

Wes: That's amazing.

Maggie: Yeah, and that happened. Why? Because, you know, I wasn't going to take loans and bridge loans. Thank God, because Wes, that's when we were building that when COVID hit,

Wes: Yeah. Oh,

Maggie: because everything was shut down.

So I could, you know, I was still seeing the kids though. I never did shut down. I did continue to see the kids the whole time. I just locked the door and let them in individually. You know, and I just, you know, wrote the governor of the state, and I said, you know, I'm going to continue to see the children.

I'm not open for business, but I am going to continue to see the children. The hospitals kept sending them to me, and I did. And it worked. So nobody had to wait. They still got their wigs, and we took care of them, and uh, so now we have, uh, a beautiful 4, 500 square foot building. And not only do we offer that to support the children with the emotional, social, and psychological, but we have now added a beautiful little tea room where they can come and they can have social activities because our kids can't go to Chuck E.

Cheese's and places like that because their immune system is compromised. And we have dinosaur parties for the guys and we have, You know, ice cream socials for the teenagers and tea parties for the little ones. And, and, uh, so that room is really, for camaraderie and, you know, and they enjoy that. There's no charge and they can bring up to like 10 people and, um, their friends, like if it's a birthday celebration or whatever.

And then we have, now we have a beautiful kitchen, built a, uh, our wonderful Lions came and, uh, not Detroit Lions, our Lions International came. and built a race therapy garden and we have a beautiful therapy garden now where we grow our own vegetables and our dietician oncology pediatric dietician works with the meal planning and cooking classes and we have a beautiful memory garden for our angels matter of fact we're in the middle of putting it from the back to the front because unfortunately we lose about 25 percent of our kids and each one leaves such an imprint on your heart and we never forget them and they watch over our center and watch over our kids so we want to always recognize them so we're putting our memory garden in the front now so everybody in the whole community can enjoy it not just our little private area and uh, so, We are excited about that.

And again, um, I've been working with Stealth, uh, you know, for a while now, trying to a few months and trying to improve, uh, some of our business, um, policies and procedures and, uh, goals and dreams. And thank you, Wes, to you and your company for helping and guide us. Uh, you know, I'm, I'm, Very excited about the changes we're making because now one, one thing we do lack is we don't have a on site storage, which we are now going to build and have for our sustainability.

And so that's what I meant when I said mentors, you know, you all, you never stop learning and another set of eyes and another, uh, you know, somebody who is. So well at business like you are yourself and successful and all the people you interview. I listen to every one of your podcasts

Wes: thank you.

Maggie: I learn, I listen to them twice.

The first time I listen to them and the second time I take notes, you know, so,

Wes: it. I mean, it's, it's really, it's about who I have on as the podcast as the guest. I mean, I was really excited and thankful that you're here because I see your, your facility as like a safe Haven for these kids.

Maggie: Oh, it is.

Wes: Um, you know, there's like a process, right. Going through, And with that building, like you were relentless to this guy. Like he didn't want to give it to you. He didn't believe in you. And you were just like, you would not take no for an answer. And like, here you are in your chair on that building, which is, which is in St.

Clair Shores. Now, do you allow the general public or businesses to come in to take a look around,

Maggie: we do. You can walk through our doors anytime and you'll be greeted warmly and given a tour if you'd like to take a tour of our

Wes: which I recommend it. I mean, you'll, you'll be changed. You, you have to see it for yourself.

Maggie: You can't really describe it because it's so much more than wigs for kids. Like you said, it's a safe haven for these children and families, and so they come here and now we've added so many new programming components like our VR program we added last year. We were working with just our kids with cancer and now we've been able to expand it to all of our other children in the program with all the other disorders and our Jennifer is in charge of that.

She does such a great job and unfortunately her daughter became a patient and so she's like, she tests everything for us and gives us all the feedback and the The companies that are making these programs for the children are listening, so the kids come here and they can get the, uh, Oculus 2 or 3 and they, they get to learn about it.

You know, they can take these with them then to the hospital when they're actually receiving treatment and, um, to help them right in their hospital beds and then they can take it home with them when they're recovering and our kids in wheelchairs can use them. So, we do so much more than provide the WIC, although that is our core mission.

But that is just an example of a new program that we, that we added last year and now it's growing this year to benefit all of our kids. But we also, they come here, you know, they can't believe it. It's like a They get to come here and get their nails done because they can't go to a regular salon. And, um, and they can get their, their wigs styled and they can get a facial and, and this is all at no charge because these kids miss this.

They miss out on this as they're growing up and teenagers. Cancer doesn't, you know, for a child, it's two to two to five years minimum. This is their treatment plan. So, you know, but they can, and they feel like they own this place because they do when they walk through the doors, they're very comfortable.

You know, and they know that they're going to just get loved and supported here by not only me, but my whole team. That's our purpose.

Wes: So I've known you now for about a decade, I

Maggie: Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Wes: So again, like I, as an entrepreneur talk about like the badge of honor with, you know, the accolades of the nonprofit, like how, how can other entrepreneurs or people in general, like what are, what are some needs right now, or what's a good way to support Maggie's Wigs for Kids?

Number one, I personally recommend go there. Meet Maggie, see it. Cause until you, until you feel it, like you'll feel it. I just don't know how you can't meet you and in your location and not feel it. But I want to get very clear and specific on how people can help.

Cause I think it's overwhelming for times for entrepreneurs or people, or maybe this isn't enough, or how do I go about it? Or, you know, so I, I want to know how, what's a good ask for you guys right now. And correct me if I'm wrong, is it 1, 000 all in for one child's wig?

Maggie: wig and, and also support services. That includes support services.

Wes: 000 for the wig and support service per

Maggie: the year, right? And that, that includes whether it's therapy or they attend the gala, they pay for nothing, you know, um, and anything that they need or want, they're going to get it anyway. You know, whether they give it that thousand dollars or not, no kid is going to be turned away, but that helps.

us with our sustainability. And then the good thing is, the child writes a thank you letter to Wes to thank him. Then he, they know that it was Stealth Consulting that sponsored their wig. So they understand that businesses and people in the community care and Stealth Consulting receives a before and after picture of the child and a handwritten thank you note from the child.

So I think it builds, uh, a sense of, Community as well. And uh, it also helps with the sustainability of the program so we can continue to serve more children. And you asked me about this property that we're sitting on, you know, God is good. And when I used to call this guy to own this property every year, and, and, and he finally put a for sale sign up and I said, don't you dare sell that property.

And he said, Maggie, do you have any money? This is a lady with no money. And I said. Not this time. I wrote a grant and I competed and it was throughout the whole state of Michigan and we got it. And that's what we used to buy the property, you know. So, you know, it was a vision. There you go again. It was a vision that I had when I moved in next door that someday we were going to need a building if we continued to grow.

Because the need is great. Unfortunately, it doesn't go away. And isn't it nice that these children have some place that they can go and the families. They could never afford these wigs. Adults couldn't afford these wigs. You know, these wigs, if you had to pay retail for them, they would run about 6, 000. We

Wes: they're unbelievable. Like I don't, again, and that's why I recommend going to see it because it'll, like looking at these wigs to your point of like kids, smaller heads. I mean, they're, they're amazing. You know, the, the quality and the, and the art, like, your craft, like, you, you know, you, you mentioned, like, you can cut hair with a Coke bottle, like, until you see the wig, it's not like a wig.

It's like a, you know, you're giving the kid an opportunity.

Maggie: Well, to them, it's a prosthetic. It's just, you know, it's not about just wig and hair and how they look. It's how they feel. It gives them hope. And, uh, that's, and wellness gives them a sense of wellness. And I mean, that's invaluable. It's not just hair, like a lot of people think, you know, plus we help them.

You know, when you're a kid and you lose your eyebrows and your eyelashes, you don't know what to do. A lot of times the moms don't know what to do. So we work with them and teach them.

Wes: So, you, couple things, uh, you mentioned a gala. Is that something that, you know, local businesses and people can, can get involved with? Or

what, what's a good ask, you know, what, what's a good opportunity there?

Maggie: Corporate sponsorship for our gala is great, and you get a lot in return, believe me, but you also get, you know, we put you up on our website, and we have you at the program, and you're acknowledged there all throughout the night. You're, you know, uh, showcased and, um, And I think that, you know, we are really blessed that we do have good, and if you want to visit our website, www.

WIGS with the number 4, not FOR, that's in Ohio, we're not related to them. It's maggieswigs4kids. org and you can look at our corporate sponsors on there who currently are supporting us and what you get at different levels of your sponsorship. And if you're interested in contacting us, we'd be happy to send you a full packet of information as well.

Most importantly, I would really like to invite your guests to come by and visit and you don't need an appointment. The thing is, if I'm with a kid, I may not be able to meet you if you just walk in. But if you want to make an appointment, then I can set the time aside so we can meet and talk and see how you can get involved.

We have other opportunities for a lot of corporations have days where they'll pay their employees to go volunteer in the community. You know, we need great volunteers, and um, like at our gala, we use 80 volunteers to set up, uh, and that's going to be September 10th, and it's going to be at Pinnas of Sterling Heights, and uh, so we set up on Monday the 7th, we need 80 volunteers for that, and we need 80 volunteers the day of the gala.

But our, our fundraiser is a lot different than most fundraisers and everybody tells me that. When you come to it, you will see it is, it is about, it is really about the kids. When I went and reserved the hall, the owner said to me, you mean there's going to be kids here? And I said, well, of course, that's what it's about.

And she said, well, a lot of organizations come in and it's about the kids. They say it's about the kids, but I never see any kids. They go, oh, no. Ours is all about the kids. So we have about 800 to 1, 000 guests there and about 200 to 300 our kids and we have wonderful tea party going on and princesses and superheroes and gifts and, you know, we make it all about them and we have a huge, huge, Sweet treat area.

It looks like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. And, um, so you can imagine how much fun they have. And, uh, we let them in first. We don't even let the adults come in for like a half an hour, you know. So, they get to have fun. But, um, and it is, we're calling it Lucky 21 because it's our 21st annual And again, that is, uh, in, in Sterling Heights at Pena's and on September 10th.

So if anybody's interested, the tickets are on sale. We posted it yesterday. Get your table early because believe it or not, we sell out, but, um, and we would love to sell out again because we, last year we, capped it at 450 because of COVID. We're still around, but this year we'd like to open it back up because we used to have 800 to a thousand.

So we'd like to see that sold out again to help the program. We only do one fundraiser a year. Because I don't have time. I'm busy with the kids, you know?

Wes: of time, energy, and effort, and you focus a lot of your time on kids, but, yeah, so I think there's a couple things. One, if people want to get involved with the gala, they can go to the website, they can contact you, but I like what you said about, like, and I recommend as, as an entrepreneur, small business, like, if you have a smaller team, I encourage you to reach out to Maggie, Wigs for Kids.

Go there, get involved, take a look at it. Um, because again, if, if, if this cause, you know, kind of pulls at your heartstrings, it's amazing. I, like I said, I've known Maggie for well over 10 years. And again, she works harder than anybody. I know she works way harder than I do. I know that. Um, but you know, what, what's a clear ask.

I mean, I, my goal for a podcast, I normally wouldn't talk like this, but I'm going to, cause you're here. I mean, I have a lot of entrepreneurial friends and people that. You know, want to do more, talk about it, but like, I'd like them to take action. And is it go to the website, make a donation for a thousand bucks?

Obviously if it's more, that's great, but 1, 000 takes care of a kid, all the amenities. Um, can they do that on the website? What's the easiest way to get from point A to point B with, with Wigs for Kids?

Maggie: You know, Wes, they can also take a virtual tour. If they can't physically come here, it's not the same, but at least they get an idea of a little bit more about Wigs for Kids. So, yes, they can donate their time. their talent and their funding, their treasure. So, and, and I always say, people say, well, what kind of volunteers do you need?

And I say, if you're breathing, I can find a job for you.

Wes: And Maggie will find something to do for

Maggie: exactly. And there's every day it's different, you know, every single day it's different, whatever the need is at that, at that point. But we are always striving to move the organization forward. And we are so, uh, good stewards of the funds and so diligent about, uh, you know, giving back and helping others.

Not only because so we get an abundance of something that we don't need, we help all the other nonprofits too. Like at Christmas time, we, we gave, oh my gosh, you know, truckloads of, of, uh, van loads of toys to Cops for Kids and, and, uh, Angie's bottomless toy chest and, you know, children's hospital. So. If we're blessed from all your wonderful, you know, people and donors and friends and colleagues out there that hear this message, honestly, we, we appreciate.

Everything, you know, there is nothing that's too small and nothing too big, you know, that we would, uh, appreciate. You know, you're, you may have a, like you, Les, whenever you came to us and helped us with our website and put us on the map. I mean, my God, that was life changing for us. And that's how we've been able to provide these wigs because we get all that hair.

So, you know, people say, well, I don't know what I could do. Contact me. I'll figure it out. You know,

Wes: Maggie's good at figuring it out, uh, that's for sure. Well no, hey Maggie, I really appreciate the time. You're doing amazing things. Um, and people can reach out to me too and talk about the experience or how to get that over to you. But again, just before we log off, what's the best way for people to contact you again just so they have it?

Maggie: know, Wes, my final message to your, your listeners would be, if you ever know of a child in need of our services, please contact us. We help everyone. We charge nothing. We turn no one away. We make it really simple. They go on our website at www. wigswithanumber4kids, fill out the application to be submitted.

We call you that day. There's no way we get you in probably that week unless I'm booked. Then it would be the next week. And, um, that's most important when I get this chance is to reach more kids. You know, we do our very best to try to reach who we can, but within your listening audience, and I will let you know when I hear from them, within your listening audience, someone will reach out to me that knows a child that needs our service.

And that has been worth this time. And that's what it's all about. And I really appreciate that, you know, we, there's more kids to serve, there's more kids to help. And so we need your help. We need your help, you know, with your talent to bring it to the table. Help us to continue to do the work that we're doing.

And it's amazing 21 years and look at how many children, all of these kids are from Michigan. We only help children in Michigan, you know, and they're all our kids. And so you're here is walking around in our community. And, uh, so that's what makes it so personal and real. These are our kids that go to our schools and, you know, our churches live amongst us.

So thank you to all of you and to your friends that you brought over from your EOS group that you brought over that day. God, I had the chance to meet such really nice people and they reached back and helped us and I'm very grateful for that.

Wes: Well, I'm hoping this reaches a lot more. It should reach a lot more and, uh, well, Maggie, I really appreciate the time and what you're doing and the kids do and the families that you touch and involve in Maggie's Wigs for Kids. But, uh, uh, I encourage, check it out. It'll change your perspective. Um, Maggie's got a lot of opportunities, uh, for you to take advantage of, but Maggie, thanks again so much.

I want to let you go. Cause you're going to go out and serve the kids today and, uh, get, get, get right back to doing, doing what you do. So

thank you so much for the time.

Maggie: Thank you. God bless you.