We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yehia Alaw. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yehia below.
Yehia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
The state of the economy greatly impacts my industry. Getting a tattoo is a luxury that a lot of people who are struggling to meet the basic necessities costs today are unable to afford getting a tattoo.
Tax return season used to be the busiest time of the year for us, but now most people are using the additional funds they receive from their tax returns to catch up of bills instead of treating themselves to a new tattoo or anything else, and that has had a huge impact on the profitability of our industry.
Yehia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a tattoo artist in Rowlett,Tx . I specialize in anime style tattoos, but I also do a little of every other style of tattoos as well.
I offer a safe and professional environment for my clients to get tattooed and try my best to make them feel comfortable and cared for.
I choose anime as my main style because like many of my generation I grew up on it and I have a strong attachment to the stories and characters from my favorite childhood shows, and I wanted to be an artist that a fan as big as myself can come to and be assured that I’m just as passionate and excited about doing the tattoo for them as they are excited about getting it done.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’m originally from Syria, I went to dental school there and graduated with a bachelor degree in prosthodontics, and I moved to the United States in 2015. I work as a dental technician for a while and it was a good profession and a great source of income, however it was something really repetitive and draining and it always felt like something was missing.
I tattooed my way through college in Syria but never saw my self doing that as a career because the demand on it in Syria was extremely limited and it was more of a hobby than a job.
But when I discovered how massive the tattoo industry was in the states I decided to make my way back into it and once I did it felt like I found my way through the world, something that I greatly enjoyed and also provided a good enough income for a good and comfortable lifestyle for me and my family and I never looked back.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
During my transition from being a dental lab technician to going back to tattooing I have to establish my self from scratch and in the beginning I was definitely not making nearly enough money to sustain myself, so I had to keep my job and work on establishing my new career path at the same time. I worked 12-16 hours per day, 7 days aweek for almost 2 years straight.
Then I continued working the same work schedule for another year but only as a tattoo artist to strengthen my standing in the field.
No going out, no vacations, no time off, no social life, it was work, eat, sleep, repeat.
And that was the the best thing I’ve ever done for myself, and I would do it all over again if it meant I would have the life I have today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john.alaw.tattoo/