We recently connected with Liliana Alexe and have shared our conversation below.

Liliana, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

At Alexe & Co., creativity and business savvy dance hand-in-hand in a delightful entrepreneurial ballet! Over the past decade, our humble beginnings as a makeup-focused company have blossomed into a full-scale creative agency. We’re talking photography, videography, hair, makeup, and a sprinkle of that “extra” magic in everything we do.

As a kid, creativity wasn’t just an activity; it was my playground. From busting a move at dance competitions to belting my favourite tunes and creating up crafty masterpieces, creativity runs in my veins, all thanks to my beautiful mom. I was no stranger to running businesses, my mother and I co-operated businesses together all throughout my childhood, from creating beautiful jewelry to running children’s birthday parties

Although I loved running my business, I didn’t dive into business full-time at first, I worked in the finance world post-university, crunching numbers by day while moonlighting as a beauty biz owner on evenings and weekends, but that all changed with the whirlwind of 2020. Amid burnout, personal loss, and a world on pause, I took a breather to pivot and regroup.

Once known as the go-to glam squad for “I dos,” Alexe & Co. has since evolved. Our connection with our bridal beauties went deeper than the last swipe of lipgloss on their wedding day, and we yearned to journey alongside them beyond the big day. Enter stage left: photography and videography. These weren’t just add-ons; they were the passport to bonding with our clients across a mosaic of life’s moments and milestones.

Fast forward to the present, and it’s with a heart bursting with joy that I say, Alexe & Co. has strutted onto the international stage. Here we are, not just a company, but a story, a friendship, and a brand that knows no borders and I could not be more proud of where we have come.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Alexe & Co. is a creative agency that offers more than just hair, makeup, photography & videography. We focus on capturing life as it is with documentary-style storytelling.

While dealing with the grief of losing my father in 2021, I began to really value photography, looking back on photos of past memories with my dad became a core part of the healing process for me. Because of this, my style of photography changed. With our clients, we focus on capturing beautiful, authentic moments, and really appreciating the everyday interactions with one another.

We work with a number of business clients across different industries to capture the authentic story of the business, everything from capturing the essence of the business when you walk through the door, to how a client feels after they are done interacting with the business.

With our families and couples, we focus on creating memories that you will look back on and smile at forever. Our photos are created by creating movement and authentic interactions between our clients to get the smiley photos that everyone wants looking at the camera, as well as beautiful candid photos that truly showcase the love and story of each client.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Pivoting from the world of corporate finance to becoming a creative business owner was difficult, but looking back now it was exactly what I needed. I had been running a successful “side hustle” for years while working full time, often working 7 days a week – Monday-Friday in finance, and booking myself with makeup & hair styling jobs on the weekends.

Looking back now, no wonder I experienced such terrible burnout.

When my father passed in 2021, I was able to take some time off of work to grieve, and during this time I took a look at my life and what was truly causing my burnout…

I realized then that I had to make a change…

When I came back to work, I was determined to transition out of finance and put 100% of my effort into my business and creating a life that allows me to do what I love. After an in-depth conversation with my husband about the vision, with his support & encouragement, I was able to turn my little makeup business into the creative agency it is today.

The journey isn’t linear, it requires so much personal and professional development. The stresses that come with being an entrepreneur are different than working in the corporate world, but I find them to be more rewarding once I overcome the stressful moments.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My love for makeup started in my competitive dance years, when I was 13 I started doing my sister’s makeup for dance competitions, and friends would often ask me to do their makeup too. In university, I got an assistant job at a hair salon in my first year of university, and that is where I realized that beauty was a career that I could pursue.

I was able to be a part of a number of hair styling classes while working at the salon and shadowed the salon artists whenever they had clients, I took the opportunity to learn everything I could about the beauty world while in university.

My first paid makeup job was the wedding of one of the stylists at that salon. She loved the makeup I would do on myself and asked if I would do the bridal party’s makeup, when I was done with the makeup at that wedding I was hooked and decided that I wanted to do this as a side gig.

I picked up the odd makeup job here and there, worked for a number of companies, and even partnered with a local hairstylist to work on larger wedding parties. Once I left the salon, I continued the makeup “side business” and added hair styling to my service offerings.

When I graduated from university in 2014, I went straight into the corporate workforce, all the while doing hair and makeup on the side.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alexeandco.com/
• Instagram: @alexeandco_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexeandcoartistry/

Image Credits
Alexe & Co. for the image credits.