We were lucky to catch up with Aiesha McKenzie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Aiesha, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I recently sat down to think about what my definition of success was for my business, so I could identify my goal. It boiled down to happiness. Yes, it would be great to earn so much money that I could quit my day job, buy a lavish house, and a Range Rover, but money was not the most important thing to me. As a mother and a wife, balance was very important to me. I wanted to be busy enough to make a profit, but not so busy that I could never take my kids to museums or birthday parties. I wanted to enjoy what I do; I never want my business to fell like a task instead of fun.

So, what’s my legacy? I would like to become the go-to fragrance designer for custom-fragrance creation. When someone gets engaged, I want the first thing that person thinks about to be coming to me for a wedding perfume, not the wedding dress, cake, or venue! I would like to make custom-perfume creation affordable, while still being luxurious.

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

It was a circuitous route arriving at custom-perfume creation for my business model. I started out as a fragrance lover. My sense of smell has always been strong- for better or worse. I quit my job to attend fashion school, and then graduated during the recession. I always said that if I couldn’t work in the fashion industry, I would want to work in the perfume industry. I never thought I could get into the perfume industry because I knew it was tight-knit and very competitive. However, it just kept calling me. One day, I saw a Facebook ad from a company that created perfume and thought, “If they can do it, why can’t I?”

I really wanted to do a perfume bar where people created their own perfume by mixing-and-matching perfumes that I created. I tried to find companies that would create the perfume for me, based on my specifications. However, there were high minimums, and I was given the runaround by one company! Long story short, that didn’t work out. But, I didn’t give up and I was able to find a way I could purchase perfume bases created by a perfumer that I could use to create perfume myself.

Right around that time, a new retail establishment was opening and they were looking for merchants. I decided that it would be a good opportunity, and that I would need a product to sell. I could not be there often, so the perfume bar wasn’t an option. Therefore, I put the perfume bar idea to the side and decided to create a line of perfume to sell in the store. Creating a perfume line was never really my desire. The thing is, I loved creating the perfume and doing the branding for them, but I like to create, not to sell products. I eventually stopped selling my product in the store and put them into stores that had a consignment model, but not being present to hand out samples and speak to customers affected the success of that distribution model (coupled with a weak retail environment).

So, I came full circle and decided that my heart was truly into custom creation. I decided to open a studio to have private sessions with clients to help them create their signature scent. Additionally, I decided to offer people not in the Atlanta area the ability to have me create a custom fragrance for them, working very closely with them throughout the process. Oh yeah, I ended up doing my perfume bar! I go to different events and offer people the quick perfume-creation experience.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I am honestly still trying to figure out the best strategy for growing my clientele. The one thing I can say is that it is not something that can be done quickly (at least for me). When I opened the perfume studio, I was paying rent and I needed clients to book appointments. The first inclination was to do social media ads and a Groupon. These things did not result in a deluge of customers. As a Howard University graduate who had a concentration in marketing while in business school, I understand the difference between an advertisement and a marketing campaign. Marketing takes time. It’s about building relationships and trust. Ads are just one aspect of a marketing campaign. All that said, I am not ashamed to say that I am still trying to figure it out.

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

When I started my business, I didn’t even have a personal Instagram account, and I had only started going on Facebook more because of being at home during the pandemic. Needless to say, I was like a fish out of water in the social media world! It was very difficult to build an audience on social media. Luckily, there IS a fragrance community on Instagram and we all support one another. I was able to follow others, and they followed me. The only issue with that is the community is worldwide; I have very few followers in Atlanta. So, one year I went to the Natural Hair Show and exhibited. I gave away free perfume pens to anyone who followed me on Instagram (yes, I know people can unfollow you easily). One lady came and she was perplexed about why I was giving away my product for free, then she said, “I see you, you are planting seeds!” She totally got it.

It is still a challenge to get followers on social media who will actually engage and/or make purchases. This is another one of those things that just takes time. I don’t put too much into social media. I try to be consistent and publish meaningful content, and not just create posts to please the algorithm.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mysignaturescent.net
• Instagram: @mysigscent
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysigscent