Denise Aquino: Hair's a way to do business

In 2010, Denise Anne Aquino opened Tokyo Posh in Rockwell, a salon dedicated to hair extensions. Besides doing all the marketing-related activities, choosing employees, payroll, finance, designing ads, and bonding with her clients, our bachelorette also attaches the extensions herself. Sport a bouncy ponytail for tennis then display your curly locks at work — with Denise’s skill, it’s possible to let your hair match your action.

Today, our bachelorette, 27, continues to have her salon in Rockwell, another in SM North Edsa and is preparing for the opening of her third salon in Eastwood Mall.

How I got started: I think I’ve been entrepreneurial ever since I started designing and making prom dresses for my friends in high school. In college, I designed bags and sold them at bazaars. I guess that was when I realized that I really wanted to have my own business someday.

My first step two weeks after graduating from Ateneo, I went to Tokyo to pursue my passion for fashion. I received a scholarship sponsored by the Japanese government and became the first Filipina to study fashion design from Japan’s Bunka Fashion College. Yohji Yamamoto and Kenzo Takada are both products of my school.

Been working on it since… Being in Tokyo made me realize what fashion truly means. Fashion for them is not only in the clothes they wear or the accessories they use. Fashion is literally from head to toe! Unlike Filipinos, where we usually have one hairstyle for a year (or more), the Japanese consciously change their hair daily … this truly amazed me!

What made me want to start was my fascination with my classmates’ hair in school every day. I always wondered how they find time to fix their hair. After a couple of months living in Tokyo, I chanced upon this wig/ extensions store in Harajuku, and tried them on myself. I think I fell in love in an instant and decided to bring them to Manila. I remember going back to my dorm and starting to draft a business plan.

What they do for us… Having a business is a lot of fun. I am able to meet celebrities and love that they eventually become my friends.

My proudest moment was when I got an e-mail from my client and she said, “You just don’t know how much your extensions helped me get my confidence back!”

If I weren’t doing what I do now, I’d probably be a fashion designer making wedding gowns. When I was studying in fashion school, I really wanted to be like Monique Lhuillier. I wanted to be a part of every woman’s most important life event.

What makes me happy is the fact that as my business becomes bigger, I get to provide more jobs for Filipinos, including PWD in our third store.

The grooming basic I cannot live without is my curling iron! I should have perfect hair all the time. I also realize that when your hair is very nice, you don’t need a lot of makeup to look beautiful.

The books I’m reading now are books that help me become better in business: Likeable Social Media (How to be liked on Facebook), Branded Beauty and Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

The best advice I received was from my dad. He told me that trying your best, giving your all in whatever you do and making the most of what you have are what truly matters. If in the end you aren’t successful, there’s nothing to regret because you learn something valuable in the process. 

A quality that I have been working to address is accepting myself for who I am, loving myself in every possible way, and being happy and contented with what I have. 

The thing I’m hoping to buy next is a luxury watch or bag. Everyone’s telling me that I deserve to get one. I’m very thrifty when it comes to purchases for myself.

If I had to limit my travels to one city I’d visit Tokyo over and over again.

In my fridge you’ll always find chocolates! I can’t live without chocolates; they make me happy!

After being in business, I realized there’s so much to learn from people around you. Immersing yourself with talented people in your industry is worth more than any kind of degree.

The sport I do the most is boxing and extreme conditioning.

The last time I cried was a few weeks ago when someone let me down.

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E-mail: babycamp2@gmail.com.