Providing Wigs 4 Kids

Auto-generated from the episode audio and lightly cleaned up. Expect the odd misheard word.

1. 0:02
   Wes Mathews

   This is the unfiltered truth about entrepreneurship. Raw, no BS, no sugarcoating. Welcome to Entrepreneur Intel. I'm your host, Wes Mathews. Each episode, we'll learn from experienced founders and uncover the top 5% learnings that led to their success in all things personal, family, and business. This show is sponsored by Stealth Consulting, delivering clear marketing strategies, ROI, and no surprises. I'm really excited to introduce our guest today. So her nonprofit has provided over 5,500 wigs to kids with cancer, 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. Hello, Wes.

2. 1:04
   Maggie Varney

   Thank you so much for giving me this wonderful opportunity and platform to reach out to your audience.

3. 1:10
   Wes Mathews

   Well, 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. I'm going to start by asking you this question, though. You've been doing this for 50 years. I mean, there's different varying degrees, but your experience is overwhelming. Maggie's Wigs for Kids is over a million dollars, and you've been doing this for 50 years. What's the most important lesson you've learned thus far?

4. 1:44
   Maggie Varney

   Wes, throughout my career and my life, I think the most important thing that I have learned is the importance of always having a mentor. 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 lawn, 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, family, and then, of course, everything else that it encompasses. I've always been very driven, and I always knew what I wanted to do since I was five years old. My very favorite memory of being with my mom is I was five years old and used to go to the salon every week with her, because back then women used to go and get their hair styled every single week.

   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, 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. I think that has been so important in my life and throughout my life as a mentor, as having a mentor, whether it was in cosmetology school when I got out of high school, and then I got married and ended up with two children and divorced a few years later.

   Thank God I had my license, because the most important thing to me in my whole life was being a mom, because I didn't have one, growing up without one. That was really, really important to me that I knew I had to work and make a living, but also, my priority were my kids. I could work my job around my life instead of the opposite. So, I could be room mother, and I could go to all their events. I remember my daughter was in seventh grade, and she said, Mom, would you please not sign up this time?

   I've never been on a field trip in my life without my mom, and I'm proud of that. That was the most important job I think I've ever had, and the most fulfilling one to me that was important. I have two beautiful daughters, and I'm very grateful that I had that opportunity, but my career allowed me to do that. So, I'm very 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 out of school, I had a career, so I knew it was me that I had to depend on, 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, 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 I just took that and found a need and filled it.

5. 5:34
   Wes Mathews

   Yeah, so at what point did you, wow, you went through a lot. I mean, at eight, and then 16, you have two girls. You're kind of doing your thing. 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 did the Maggie's Wigs for Kids really take form?

6. 6:00
   Maggie Varney

   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, 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 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 an 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 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 his dime in my time how to be a good business, to run a good business.

   And 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 learn, you take the good, and you also take the ones that you feel don't fit you, and you know you learn from those, and you adjust and do your own thing. 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.

   In our industry, 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 I tried out for these design teams, never thinking I would ever make it. I mean, how good are you? You don't know how good you are. You know, you know how good your clients tell you are, but you don't really know. And 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 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 give back to the community, because I was raised by my grandmother, and 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 how to dress for success, you know, and Emily Post books, and she started me real early on learning how to look the part as well as be the part. So I was really blessed, and honestly, entrepreneurship goes back in my family a long way.

   I'm a coal miner's daughter from the hills of Kentucky, and I remember 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, you know, so, and that's, and I'm telling you, all my family, all my family have owned businesses 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, to get them started, and you know, so I mean, entrepreneurship has been in my life my whole life, and my grandmother had a resale store, and we had transmission shops and gas stations, so I've seen been around this, so I think that's just natural when you grow up with that, you know?

   So I think that has helped me 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 transition from my working in my salon to figuring out what I really wanted to do with all this knowledge. My minister at my church, Jack Boland, 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 coat bottle, because I'm really good at cutting hair, and 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. We used to have wonderful speakers, and some of these you will recognize, like Agmandino, the greatest salesman, you know, and so I met these people.

   I did their hair and makeup, and they bought their books, and Les Brown and Wayne Dyer, and so we were really, and we had Dale Carnegie that was taught right, I went through the Dale Carnegie course, and so 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 so I was really blessed to have my wonderful minister, my, you know, who I used to do his hair and makeup for, 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, you know, I decided what am I going to do?

   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 thought that worked 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, 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 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 so I said well here's my card, you know, call me in a couple 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 Wigs 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, 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, I wanted to save the kids, it's not easy.

7. 14:35
   Wes Mathews

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

8. 14:41
   Maggie Varney

   Well, I had now worked with them during 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. Yeah, and then I started working with kids, and when it first started I'm so glad I didn't know the magnitude of the situation, because it's rewarding and heartbreaking, and gut wrenching, and challenging.

   And what do you do when, you know, I started out 560 square feet Wes, it's the size of a bedroom, you know, and on the side of a building with no sign and paint for everything the first seven years myself.

9. 15:43
   Wes Mathews

   So paint the picture, are you like now you meet your spark plug, and you are just like all in this concept? Are you sort of doing both?

10. 15:58
    Maggie Varney

    How it happened is she contacted me in a couple days, like I said, but I had a gentleman in my chair that I had helped his wife with a wig, and I usually don't take a phone call when I'm with the guests, and they told me she was on the phone and I took the call and I said, you know, why don't you schedule an appointment to come in, and she said, I don't have any money, 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 and went back to the gentleman, I was cutting his hair, and he finished it, 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 that? I said, $30, and 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, Tim, I don't remember, between $300 and $400, 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 $430 and walked out the door. 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, I'm the check. And he said, no, I didn't make no mistake. And right then the light bulb went on. And I said, 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 wigs, you know, are itchy and can be itchy and uncomfortable. And so, you know, we ordered, there's the all custom, the cap construction is special made for their heads and the density. You can't take a wig for an adult and put it on a six year old.

    It looks ridiculous, you know. So I didn't know any of this. I remember going to Benson's Medical Supply and getting plaster strips and doing it on a mannequin head and 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 the nonprofit 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 serve pediatric oncology because it was always my focus.

    But 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 and they know of a child with hair loss for any reason. And my God, Wes, 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 alopecia, trichotillamine, the obsessive compulsive disorder where they pull their hair out.

    So there were just like, it was wow, it was 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 am 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 I remember when, 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 to Detroit, you know, share Detroit and didn't 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 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 1% of all nonprofits ever received that. So I don't say that to brag. I say that because they taught me well.

11. 20:58
    Wes Mathews

    You know, 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. So know that dollars are going to what you're saying they are like, and people believe in you. 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 550 square foot to like where you're at now. And I want to preface that, 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. So talk about that. And then what that meant for Maggie's Wigs for Kids. Well,

12. 22:15
    Maggie Varney

    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, doesn't make sense to me, the 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 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 have no attorney fees. I'm just telling you upfront, you know, and my attorney is the same one who was from day one with me. My dietician is still with me from day one. 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 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, eight dollars 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. No, it's okay. So, um,

13. 24:15
    Wes Mathews

    and what, and what, and what year is this?

14. 24:17
    Maggie Varney

    Oh, that was our humble beginnings, like maybe two years into it, you know, like just like no social media,

15. 24:24
    Wes Mathews

    no internet, you know, this is all word of mouth, right? Right. We had nothing.

16. 24:31
    Maggie Varney

    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 talking, telling you the truth.

17. 24:49
    Wes Mathews

    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.

18. 25:02
    Maggie Varney

    And well, but I didn't know that right. Never do it. You do it because it's the right thing to do. And because that puts it on your heart to do it, you know, like he gives you a gift and you develop that gift. And then it's like tithing. You know, I was a single parent, I couldn't tie the lot, you know, so I would give some money and I would give him my talent. And that was how I gave him my talent. So, and I never expected people to come and help, but they did.

    And they still are to this day. Every day people walk 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. Oh, 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 business foundation is not good. It's not built. It's built on sand. He said, and, you know, as a donor, you don't want to keep giving money because if you stop or that resource stops for them, they won't survive. He said, so 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 can do tough, you know, so I mean, I had, I know how to do that. So anyway, you know, we're on the side of the building and I have a friend and I did her hair and she was sitting in my chair and I was talking about how I was trying to help the kids. And I said, I'm going to start a capital campaign for a building.

    Now, you know, someday we're going to get a, not a building, a storefront, a store. I just wanted a storefront. We were on the 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 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, 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, where are you, what you want to do, how you want to let, 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 so I got an architect and guess what he built? Churches. You know, it's like churches and salons. This is what this guy built. He's wonderful. So I get, God just sends me the right people at the right time. And I'm so blessed and I know it. And it's not about me. It never has been about me. It's about the kids. And so I, you know, people just love kids and all of us have been a kid.

    So most of us can relate and most of us have had loved ones who had cancer. So it's just a, a no brainer, you know? So I got a lot of, found, you know, a storefront and, and, you know, we had a wonderful ribbon cutting ceremony and we went from 560 square feet to 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 and the storefront. Now we got tons of media. Thank you to us. 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 Google $10,000. 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, and then helped us with the grant.

    And suddenly now, 21 years later, we received like 18,000 hair donations from 68 countries around the world. We are this little place in St. Clair Shorts. 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 us that you guys believed in us and have supported us all along. 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.

19. 30:21
    Wes Mathews

    No, it's been great 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.

20. 30:35
    Maggie Varney

    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 going to help us to redo our website. 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. Then we got this grant and I'm like, Oh God, we don't know what we're doing here. So we need professionals. Yeah.

21. 31:19
    Wes Mathews

    And the grant you're referring to. So Google, right? 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 for clicks. 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 I 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 take my team, like not a lot of time to fix it. Like one click of the dial, right? Can change everything. 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 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.

22. 32:27
    Maggie Varney

    Yes, yes. 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 that.

23. 32:38
    Wes Mathews

    I mean, so I think oftentimes that 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.

24. 33:04
    Maggie Varney

    What you wanted to know about how we got to this, where we are now, our new buildings. 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 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 serve. 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, I'm 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 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 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, maybe, 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% debt free. That's amazing. Yeah. And that happened. Why? Because, you know, I wasn't going to take loans and bridge. Thank God, because West, that's when we were building that when COVID hit. Yeah. Which was a blessing, 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 government 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 so now we have a beautiful 4500 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 chucky cheeses and places like that because their immune system is compromised. 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 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 their friends, like if it's a beautiful kitchen built a, our wonderful lions came and not Detroit lions, our lines international came and built a race therapy garden. And we have a beautiful therapy garden now where we grow our own vegetables and our dietitian oncology pediatric dietitian works with meal planning and cooking classes. And we have a beautiful memory garden for our angels.

    As a matter of fact, we're in the middle of putting it from the back to the front because unfortunately we lose about 25% 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 and just our little private area. And so we are excited about that.

    And again, I've been working with stealth, you know, for a while now trying to a few months and trying to improve some of our business policies and procedures and goals and dreams. And thank you, Wes, to you and your company for helping and guide us. You know, I'm very excited about the changes we're making because now one thing we do lack is we don't have a onsite 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 never stop learning and another set of eyes and another, you know, somebody who is so well in business like you are yourself and successful and all the people you interview. I listen to every one of your podcasts. Oh, thank you. I learn. I listen to them twice. The first time I listen to them and the second time I take notes, you know,

25. 38:58
    Wes Mathews

    so I appreciate it. I mean, it's really it's about who I have on as the podcast that they cast. I mean, I was really excited and thankful that you're here because I see your facility as like a safe haven for these kids. Oh, 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? We do.

26. 39:35
    Maggie Varney

    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 which I recommend it. I mean, you'll you'll be changed. You have to see it for yourself. 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 companies that are making these programs for the children are listening. So the kids come here and they can get the Oculus two or three and they get to learn about, you know, they can take these with them then to the hospital when they're actually receiving treatment and to help them right in their hospital beds.

    And they can take it home with them when they're recovering and our kids in wheelchairs can use them. And so we do so much more than provide the wig, although that is our core mission. But that is just an example of a new program that we that we added last year and how 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 they get to come here and get their nails done because they can't go to a regular salon and they can get their wig styled and they can get a facial and this is all at no charge because these kids miss this.

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

27. 41:42
    Wes Mathews

    So I've known you now for about a decade, I think. So again, like I as an entrepreneur, talk about like the badge of honor with, you know, the accolades of the non-profit. Like 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 because until you until you feel it, you'll feel it. I just don't know how you can't meet you in your location and not feel it, but I want to get very clear and specific on how people can help because 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 want to know how what's a good ask for you guys right now.

    Correct me if I'm wrong. Is it $1,000 all in for one child's wig?

28. 42:41
    Maggie Varney

    Wig and also support services.

29. 42:44
    Wes Mathews

    Okay, so $1,000 for the wig and support service.

30. 42:48
    Maggie Varney

    For the year, right. And that includes whether it's therapy or they attend the gala, they pay for nothing, you know, 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 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 a sense of community as well. And 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 his property every year, and he finally put a for sale sign up.

    And I said, don't you dare sell that property. And he said, baby, 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 continue 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.

31. 44:41
    Wes Mathews

    Yeah, 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 quality and the art like your craft, like you, you know, 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, you know, you're given the kid an opportunity.

32. 45:06
    Maggie Varney

    Well, to them, it's a prosthetic. It's just, you know, it's not about just wig and hair and how they look at how they feel and gives them hope. And 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 helped 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, your moms don't know what to do.

    So we work with them and teach them.

33. 45:36
    Wes Mathews

    So a couple things. You mentioned Agala. Yes, that's something that, you know, local businesses and people can get involved with or what's a good ask? You know, what's a good opportunity there?

34. 45:50
    Maggie Varney

    Corporate sponsorship for Agala is great. And you get a lot in return, believe me. But you also get, you know, we put you up on a website, and we have you at the program, and you're acknowledged there all throughout the night, you're, you know, showcased. And, and I think that, you know, we are really blessed that we do a good, and if you want to visit our website, www.wigs, with the number four, not F-O-R, 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 like at our gala, we use 80 volunteers to set up. And that's going to be September 10. And it's going to be at Pena's of Sterling Heights. And so we set up on Monday the 7th, we need 80 volunteers for that. And we need 80 volunteers at the day of the gala. And but 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 1000 guests there, and about two to 300 are 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 looks like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. And so you can imagine how much fun they have. And 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 and it is it we're calling that lucky 21 because it's our 21st annual gala. And again, that is in Sterling Heights at Penn is and on September 10. 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 and we would love to sell out again, because we last year we capped it at 450 because of COVID was still around. But this year, we'd like to open it back up because we used to have 800 to 1000.

    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.

35. 49:04
    Wes Mathews

    Yeah, you know, a lot of time energy and effort and you focus a lot. Yeah, 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.

    Because again, if this cause, you know, kind of pulls at your heartstrings, it's amazing. 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. But, you know, 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 because 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 1000 bucks? Obviously, if it's more, that's great. But $1,000 takes care of a kid, all the amenities. Can they do that on the website? What's the easiest way to get from point A to point B with wigs for kids?

36. 50:10
    Maggie Varney

    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. Yeah, 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. And Maggie will find something to do for you. Exactly. And every day, it's different.

    You know, every single day, it's different, whatever the need is at that point. But we are always striving to move the organization forward. And we are so good stewards of the funds, and so diligent about, 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 van loads of toys to cops for kids, and Angie's bottomless toy chest, and, you know, Children's Hospital.

    So, you know, 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 appreciate, you know, your you may have a like you us 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 weeks, because we get all that here.

    So, you know, people say, Well, I don't know what I could do, contact me, I'll figure it out.

37. 51:56
    Wes Mathews

    You know, Maggie's good at figuring it out. That's for sure. Well, no, hey, Maggie, I really appreciate the time you're doing amazing things. And people can reach out to me too, and talk about the experience or, 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?

38. 52:15
    Maggie Varney

    You 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.wigswitha number four kids, fill out the application, submit it, we call you that day. There's no waiting, we get you in probably that week, unless I'm booked, then it would be the next week. And that's most important when I get this chance is to reach more kids.

    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 these kids are from Michigan, we only have children in Michigan, you know, and they're all our kids. And so your hair is walking around in our community. And so that's what makes it so personal and real. These are our kids that go to our schools and, you know, our churches and 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 have reached back and helped us.

39. 53:59
    Wes Mathews

    And I'm very grateful for that. Well, I'm hoping this reaches a lot more. It should reach a lot more. And, 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 I encourage check it out. It'll change your perspective. Maggie's got a lot of opportunities for you to take advantage of. But Maggie, thanks again so much. I want to let you go because you're going to go out and serve the kids today and get right back to doing what you do.

    So thank you so much for the time. Thank you, Wes. God bless you. This has been another episode of Entrepreneur Intel. Thank you for joining us. For show notes or other episodes, please visit us at entrepreneurintel.com. Until next time.