We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Largwe Jackson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Largwe, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?
I use to look at failure as something that’s unfavorable. Failure made me feel like I was inadequately fit for my purpose in life. As a person who’s always striving to grow, I found myself useless, and unworthy to continue a journey that no longer looked familiar. The year 2020 was an extremely hard year for me. Not having the mental, physical, and financial strength to function as I’ve known, I became lost in the vision God showed me. I gave birth to my daughter (who I love) on December 2019. My fuel had run low, and so was my finances. Due to my pregnancy diagnosis, I was semi-bedridden and unable to work. I had high hopes that 2020 was going to be my year to rebuild, and for a second things looked promising. I found the perfect Condominium Salon that was going to expand the brand of Graceful Touchez Bridal. The first week of providing in-service, and hiring contractors to start on the upgrades to the Condominium, the world was hit with a pandemic. I was forced to shut down what was just the beginning of a new chapter, and I fell right into depression. I was barely back on my feet and just that quick, everything I made, and everything I spent to invest in my business crumbled right in front of my faith. Yes, faith. I chose to keep the part of me that was spiritually grounded in my faith as soil everything else could grow from. But even that started to run low. I felt so defeated. It’s not like me to not have things figured out or a Plan B to fall into effect. Everything around me was unrecognizable, even myself. My daughter became the reason I couldn’t stop even in the midst of the unfamiliar. I had to stand up against the odds and speak life into my situation (Pro. 18-21). I give myself credit for shifting my mindset because that’s not always the easy part. Today I choose to look at failure differently. To me, it is the bridge between what I thought I want, and what I truly believe I can have. Failure teaches you to want more out of the journey than just arriving there. Taking a loss is hard but there’s a true reward in gaining better. Appreciate the process and hold firm to your faith. I am grateful to say that even though I’m considered a small, and growing business, Graceful Touchez Bridal is standing beyond what I’ve ever imagined.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
When I originally started doing hair it was only to be of service to my mom, and grandmother. I had no true intentions at heart in turning it into a career. If there was a need, and I could help, I’ll make an effort to be of use in order to benefit those around me. I would say I had a natural calling to serve people. I truly believe in, “what’s for you, is for you”. When it comes to having a gift, you can always tell by how a person operates in their performance. Graceful Touchez was a place that my clients trust to be a safe space of service, love, and care. That safe space created opportunities outside of the salon when it came to intimate occasions such as weddings. The demand for wedding services grew to the point I had to separate my in-service (salon) clients from my clients who were getting married. I had to create a plan and schedule in order to assist both needs. Graceful Touchez birthed Graceful Touchez Bridal into something I was not expecting. As most of my brides know, and have experienced, there’s a ministry in what I do and I truly believe that’s what sets me apart from being yet another artist. The feedback that I receive is always a rush of overflowing love and appreciation. My clients know that I aim to provide a level of comfort, assistance, accommodation, and service to meet their desires as much as I can. GTB is more than just a hair experience for weddings, it’s also a signature of class, and elegance and is a statement worth acknowledging. Though sometimes I’m doubted, by God’s grace I execute, and leave them filled with satisfying expectations. My mission is to serve and had it not been for the positive feedback, referrals, and love that I receive, I wouldn’t be here today.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I am a natural people pleaser within my own means and sometimes it can backfire and bring negative feedback to your business. I tend to overload myself with being of service to any and everyone in need even if it cost me something. Trying to balance a weight of overcapacity is dangerous to your mental, your business, and even your clients that are expecting you to show up and provide what you promote. You really have to tread lightly on the saying, “by any means necessary”. I had to unlearn that and learn to be okay with not being able to provide services to everyone requesting them. It’s something about letting people down that makes me feel like I’ve failed the mission. But truthfully, I had to learn to be okay with not being able to make room for what can’t fit. Spreading myself thin to meet the needs of others didn’t allow me to give more it caused me to lose more.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
My clients have been the best source for a lot of newcomers. Seeing is believing and it’s nothing like being able to show a live presentation of your work. I can honestly say that with every wedding I have serviced, there has always been someone inquiring about my work. Word of mouth and social media has brought significant business to GTB. Though I am a small business I attract a lot of attention from women requesting elegant looks, especially future brides.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/gracefultouchezbridal
- Instagram: Gracefultouchezbridal