BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) – Braiding, weaving and dyeing. It’s what kids love these days according to Lauren Jackson, owner of The Hair Hive on Fillmore Ave in Buffalo.

This is where she also runs her nonprofit, The Learning Lab.

“We had a lot of young kids come into our store and said, ‘Oh, I want to have one of these stores someday. We decided to start the learning lab where kids can come in and learn new hair techniques, ”Jackson said.

Students aged 12 to 17 can come after school for a six-week program where they learn all about hair, but they’re there for more.

“None of them really want to be a hairdresser, but they want to run their own business,” Jackson said.

This is how it all started for Jackson and his two sisters. They opened Hair Hive in 2020, the first black-owned beauty store in Buffalo.

It started as an idea and now they are successful after almost two years in business.

“Thanks to the community, we were able to expand our store,” said Jackson.

So they share their business tips with their students at the learning lab to teach them how to be successful.

“We teach them how to write a business plan and we teach them how to do the finances of a business, so we shape their business plan according to their idea so that they can go out and execute that plan when they leave our learning lab. “Jackson said,

Students receive the tips, tools, and all lessons for free.

“We want to integrate beauty and business into the minds of our children, this is the goal, this is our mission. We want to make sure kids have what they need to come out in the world and do it and be successful, ”Jackson said.

The Hive Learning Lab has sessions throughout 2022, click here to register.

These are Mondays and Wednesdays after school from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. And once you ‘graduate’ you can always come back and learn new skills.