We were lucky to catch up with Jasmine Dent recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jasmine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My mother Simone is my hero. She is the epitome of a Beautiful Black Woman Boss. I’ve watched my mom start from the bottom and hit the ground running to not only be successful but to do it while raising 3 children. I’ve learned to never be complacent and to have pride in what I do from her. Before meeting my fiancée Kelvin I was a single mother who wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with life. I attended Robert Morris University to achieve my Bachelors in Organizational Leadership when my son was a baby, but I just did not feel like it was what I wanted to do. My mom flat out told me to do what I loved and make a career out of it. So I did! I attended South Hills Beauty Academy, it took me longer to graduate because with being a single mom you never can catch a break. I met my fiancée and he has been my rock, without him and my mother I wouldn’t not have been able to preserve and achieve my goal of getting my Cosmetologist License. Once I graduated I rented a salon suite from a well known Chain and did well for a few months, until an incident happened where I broke my leg and hand to close up shop and take a 6 month hiatus. I was devastated, I had just gained my clientele and got my footing, so starting over was rough! Here I am 2 years later in a new salon space, a large clientele and a bit of a social media presence all while raising my children with a wonderful man who is my support along with my mother. She influenced me to never settle and work hard for what I want all while making sure my children see what a hard worker I am and understanding that mommy is doing this for them!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jasmine also Known as Issalookjazz. I am a 33 year licensed Cosmetologist from Pittsburgh Pa specializing in Braids ,Locs, Wigs, Custom Colors and extensions. I also am SPED educator, and a Mother. What sets me apart from some stylist is my ability to work with children of all walks. With my SPED experience and being a mother I posses the skill and patience to take on kid clients and making them feel comfortable in my chair. I like to get to know my clients and make sure my space is a safe space for everyone. I am proud of my journey and what it took for me to get to where I am today. Issalookjazz is more than my social media presence, it’s my brand, it’s my baby, it’s me!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first started my Hair journey it was during the pandemic. Not many clients would come to get their hair done due to the shit down but I was selling wigs like hotcakes. So I would post my mannequin photos and videos and use my hashtag #issalookjazz. While doing that I would do TIKTOKS and react to videos and use my hashtags to draw in more traffic to my page that way more people saw my work and my booking link. From then on my #issalookjazz has millions of views My advice to someone starting to build a social media presence would be POST POST POST! Make your own unique hash to use and include it on all of your content! Find your niche and promote yourself at all times!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What I think help build my reputation within my market is the fact that I put the work in to build a rapport with all of my clients and perspective clients. My family as well as I will pass out a business card or follow and dm a person my booking link in a heart beat. I have a big heart so I’ll offer major discounts, teach braid course of even off a free service to someone in need and my acts of service will do the talking for me .

Contact Info:

• Website: https://issalookjazz.as.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/issalookjazz?igsh=aW95eHRpMmtkNTFw&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Issalookjazzllc?mibextid=JRoKGi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-dent-349000a2?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@issalookjazz?_t=8pvEWIPzTHm&_r=1