We were lucky to catch up with Sequoyah Matoaka recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sequoyah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

If I was to start over I would plan and make sure to have better marketing. When I first started out, I just started. No thinking, no planing, no marketing just started. I had a plan and a vision and I went all in. It worked out but it took some time. I realize that people have to know and trust you before supporting or shopping with you.

Sequoyah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started off nails as a hobby in 2017 to just feel pretty for myself. Well, after buying my first nail kit I knew this love was bigger than just me. After 2 years of fighting with no wanting to take clients I did and my life changed forever. I am a cosmetologist but I specialize in Freestyle Acrylic nails. My clients never know what they want and they allow me to have full control of their nail designs. That also set me apart from others because I also have my very own Acrylic System that I manufactured by hand and use on all clients. My clients love it because they feel “special” knowing their nail tech is using something she created.

I am most proud of my growth. When I look back on how I started and where I’m at now I am grateful. I’ve been a nail tech for 5 years and accomplished so much within that time. Teaching at schools, attending events, manufacturing a product line, becoming an educator and pouring into others. My goal is to teach nails while helping to change mindsets and bring people closer to God.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

How I built my audience on social media was going live on TikTok and creating reels. In 2022, I was about to attend one of the BIGGEST trade shows in the beauty industry; Premiere Orlando. I told myself, you have to get people to know who you are before you come out and then I took to social media to make it happened.

I was nervous at first about going live but I knew it needed to be down and now I just can’t stop going live. You have to get people to like you, trust you before they will buy from you. People also love hearing your stories about how you started and where you are now.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me is word of mouth. I started a loyalty program and a referral program for my clients. I also grab a young lady and made her my brand ambassador and she was heaven sent. Majority of my clients came from her marketing and because of that most of her sets (if not all) were FREE. We worked together as a team. She believe in me and poured into me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.goodvibesprettynails.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sequoyahmatoaka
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sequoyahmatoaka
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sequoyahmatoaka