Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Sales. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Julie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
The story behind my business name started from my family’s roots. I am mixed with Hawaiian and wanted my legacy with my business to pay homage to my heritage. My father has raised my brother and I on the mainland so I have never had the privilege of experiencing everything my culture has to offer. Finding different ways to include my culture in my business model has given me opportunities to not only educate myself but also my clients as well!
“Mahalo” in Hawaiian culture is used to express gratitude and respect. I chose the name “Mahalo Beauty” as a way to give my admiration for my clients support for entrusting me and everything my business has to offer them!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have always had a passion for makeup and everything related to the beauty industry! My husband has been my biggest supporter in following my dreams and during the pandemic, he encouraged me to get my esthetician’s license so I could open more doors of opportunities for myself in this industry.
While I was in school, my passion for lash artistry and skincare grew. After I built up clientele, I decided to go solo as soon as I graduated! I would not have been able to achieve this goal if it wasn’t for the love and help I have received from so many people in my circle who helped make my dream of owning my own business come true.
After a year of being open, I have had many success stories with my clientele base with Lash Extension and Skincare Services! I try to set myself apart from other competitors by offering clinical grade organic skincare and other vegan/cruelty free products with every service I offer. I value my consumers preferences and make it a goal to offer a variety of products and treatments for every concern!
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Before I went solo, Lash Extensions was my side hustle. I funded my business strictly through my main job put as much of my income as I could from my main job and through a contributions made through a few of my family members. I would work with only friends and family members to practice my precision, placement and speed while charging only for my time and supplies. The support I received from my family gave me the motivation I needed to advance into a salon.
My biggest difficulty before going solo was establishing a solid clientele base. When I went solo, I only had a small handful of loyal clients. I started advertising on social media and through word of mouth at the salon, my clientele steadily increased and I was able to leave my day job! My biggest milestone this year has been gaining so much support and love from my salon family and my clientele.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Using social media to market my business was a struggle in the beginning because I had to figure out the algorithm and the best times to post and engage with potential clients on the platform. Instagram has given me the best results for building an audience to reach potential clients. I took a social media class to learn the basics of social media marketing.
My biggest advice would be to post in the morning/early afternoon or around 6pm. I learned to give your clients something they need in order to attract them to your page and post in a sequence that can benefit your audience and develop a posting habit of 3-5 posts a day.
Social media accounts like Instagram have a great algorithm and offers a lot of benefits for small businesses! Definitely do your research and develop the best strategies for you and your business!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mahalobeautychs.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mahalo_beauty_/