Ramona Griggie grew up in Section 8 housing in St. Croix, and later moved to Atlanta, GA where she got married, had a child, and became a housewife. One day, she decided to give her son, who was graduating from Duke University, a gift of teeth whitening.

But this led to a whole new business opportunity for her. She launched Express Smile Home Teeth Whitening System, and generated $1 million in revenue within her first 60 days of business.

The winding road to success

Ramona's son spent years in braces, so the gift of teeth whitening was perfect. The problem was cost; it was too expensive to have the procedure done by a dentist. So she researched until she found a product that was affordable and worked. The product was so good that everyone wanted her to whiten their teeth. This led to her first teeth-whitening shop.

After a fall led to her closing the shop, Griggie changed her plans and found a way to work from home by offering her product online. She developed a web site, got a business phone, and then chose to market her product through Instagram. After just the first 4 hours on Instagram, $8,000 came in and her Instagram following went from about 500 to 10,000 followers. On her second sponsored post on Instagram, she made close to $50,000 in one day!

Celebrity backing

With the help of star-powered backing, including Amber Rose, the Kardashians, Kevin Hart and others, Ramona made one million dollars in her first 60 days! She continues her online business, and has also opened a flagship boutique in College Park, Atlanta. Here she works with celebrities like Blac Chyna, in a beautiful and elegant salon that offers one-hour treatments from certified technicians.

Her advice to other entrepreneurs

Ramona recently told Essence, that if "there’s any piece of advice that [she] would offer to other budding entrepreneurs, it would be hustle, drive, keep it simple, research, do your do-diligence and know that it’s attainable."

Regarding starting your own business, she comments, “Think about a product that people need and make it affordable. I was clear from the beginning that I wanted everyone to be able to afford to get their teeth whitened.”

Find out more about Griggie's teeth-whitening product by visiting her company's official web site at www.expresssmileatlanta.com or follow them at www.facebook.com/pg/expresssmileatlanta/