Making house calls as well as working out of her home, Washington, a Lansing resident, uses the extra money she earns from braiding hair to help pay student loans and continue her education at Lansing Community College.

Washington’s business model is direct. Without a salon and formal advertising, she relies on the skills she’s had since she was 5 years old.

She advertises solely though word of mouth and the use of craigslist.com under the title of All Ethnicities Hair Braiding.

In order to communicate with customers and organize her appointments, Washington uses text messaging on her cell phone.

“People are more apt to come to me verses going to a shop where there are going to have to pay hundreds (and) hundreds of dollars,” Washington said.

She said not only is hair braiding helpful for her financially, she is happy she can give people nice hair styles for an affordable price.

“It’s just all about making sure that the client is happy with the outcome of their hair,” she said.