With Financial Management Training from Sacramento Valley SBDC, Sonya Hernandez Is Ready for the Next Chapter of Her Business  

For Sonya Hernandez, helping others care for their hair has been a lifelong journey. In 2018, when Sonya was working in a medical office as a wig fitter for breast cancer patients experiencing chemo-related hair loss, many of her clients sought tips on how to promote hair growth. Drawing on her cosmetology training, Sonya worked with a chemist to formulate a non-toxic, plant-based product that would support hair growth. From there, Recover Restore Gro was born. Since launching in 2020, Sonya now offers a full line of haircare products designed for holistic hair health and works one-on-one with clients to support their journeys.  This year, she connected joined Sacramento Valley SBDC’s Women and Numbers Financial Management series to expand her skillset as a business owner and dive deep into her money management strategy.  

As an expert in hair care and product formulation, Sonya knew that business ownership was the best way to live out her mission—but business ownership also meant stepping into a world of administration with which she was unfamiliar. “I felt inadequate because I didn’t understand the financial documents that we had,” she says, reflecting on what led her to join Women and Numbers. “I didn’t have the expertise to get help.” 

Joining the training series, which was made possible through sponsorship from Wells Fargo, Sonya found a safe space to speak candidly with other women about bookkeeping, tracking cashflow, creating profit and loss statements, and how to approach potential funders. She also began working one-on-one with Alexadra Orzeck, the course teacher and a Sacramento Valley SBDC business advisor specializing in finances.  

“I had been looking for courses for a while, and when Alexandra connected me with this one, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Sonya explains, emphasizing that she has a better understanding of her company as a whole, with more organized bookkeeping practices. “I changed my whole outlook – I look through my financial records every week. Before, I was in hustle mode and afraid to check my numbers. But the workshop stressed how it’s the foundation of a healthy business.”  

Keeping her business healthy will be key as she plans for growth and expansion of her mission.  

“After launching my first products, my clientele grew to all types of people who wanted to grow their hair in a way that’s natural and safe,” she says. “Now I’m meeting new clients that have been referred by people I’ve worked with previously, and I’m getting tons of before and after photos from clients who survived cancer and think their hair looks better than it had before. It blows me away.”  

In the immediate future, Sonya is looking forward to hiring her first employee so she can begin creating jobs, and expanding the retail options at the salon space she leases to make her products more accessible. She also hopes to expand her educational efforts and provide guidance to mothers of biracial children properly care for their various hair types.  

“I’m excited to contribute to people’s lives and the economy,” she says, reflecting on the business that she’s built. “I’m grateful that I’m utilizing the resources available to me [like the SBDC] and not letting it go to waste—it’s saved my business. I thought it would be a dream that would dissipate, but now I feel like I can succeed.”