We were lucky to catch up with Ashlee Sarai recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashlee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

In addition to my website which was the best idea ever, considering my business started from delivery and pick ups in my vehicle. The most Innovative idea I’ve ever executed was creating Eyelash Vending Machines! My best ideas come from late, At night. “Vending machines?” This is different but I want to put eyelashes in it and I can continue to give my local customers a fast, in person, convenient experience again. So, I found a way to do it. I have 10 Lash Vending Machines located in Shopping Malls! 8 of them are in Maryland. 1 is in Staten Island, New York, and the other is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania! They are super unique, convenient and hold 60 products! You can see them on my Instagram or website.

Ashlee, 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?

Mink Envy Lashes is a Maryland based Lash Brand. I am a former School Bus Driver that decided to Quit the Day job and Start the Day Dream. Mink Envy launched in November 2018 as a local lash brand in Baltimore, MD. We were recognized as “The Lash Uber” as we started out doing local pick up and deliveries in Baltimore city and county daily and traveling as far as New York and Virginia until early 2019 when the demand for our eyelashes increased so overwhelmingly that we had to hire someone to take over in-person sales. At this time, we launched our website. We started our website and have grown quickly ever since with over 50,000+ orders and over 105,000 Instagram followers. In late 2020 due to the continuous growth, popularity, and demand of our products in Maryland and other states, we decided to add New and Innovative Automated retail Systems to our brand. We currently have 10 Automated Retail Locations In 10 Malls in MD, PA, NY, NJ AND DE and plan to expand. Our mission is to provide High-Quality custom Eyelashes and cosmetics to anyone who loves eyelashes or wants to enhance their look! We take pride in making our customers feel more beautiful than they already are. We are incredibly overwhelmed with the amount of support and love that we have received in our business time. We want to continue to fulfill all lash and beauty needs to people everywhere!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My business started as a random idea from having a pair of the best eyelashes ever that I could never find again. To me finding a distributor to create them and this turned into my side hustle. I was a school bus driver and of course I could use some more income and what best way to do this than sell something I really love. But after falling in love with the idea of wanting the run my own business and be my own boss, I stayed consistent in selling my eyelashes until I discovered I made much more money doing what I loved than what I made at work, this didnt happen overnight, consistency, patience and accepting that things can not go as planned is NORMAL and NEEDS TO HAPPEN in order to be where you want to be! Consistency and dedication is huge. Learning that I had to keep going even when I felt like stopping gave me my big break, and learning that sometimes failure isnt failure… It’s decision making time and sometimes it’s just the beginning of something better. This is when my side hustle turned into my career and I quit my job. My business took off once I quit my job because I could dedicate more time to my business.

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

Something that helped my reputation within my market is giving the people what they really want. One thing many new entrepreneurs do with their businesses is offer things that only they think are good. You must be open minded. I have some products that aren’t my style at all but are the style of many of my customers. Many items or styles that my customers have requested, I actually listen. Small things like this will make a huge difference in how successful your business is. Customer satisfaction is my priority. One of my top selling lash styles is a style I would never wear personally but that style keeps many of my customers happy! When I became more open minded, my business became more popular and I made more money.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.minkenvylashes.com
• Instagram: @minkenvybyash
• Facebook: Mink Envy 3D Lashes
• Youtube: Mink Envy