We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ajia Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ajia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

Every job I’ve ever had has helped me become a great business owner. Customer service is key. We underestimate jobs like McDonalds but working with the public in a service related industry is an awesome foundation for owning your own place of business. Running a salon and barbershop, I meet and hire so many different personalities. I believe a love for being of service makes the best leaders.

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?

I first started in the beauty industry at 17 years old as a makeup artist/brow tech at a local salon. Eventually I worked as a makeup artist for Glamour Shots & MAC. During this time I assisted my big sis in the hair salon and that started it all. I got my natural beauty license and the rest is history. We opened our first salon in 2014. I also started my natural beauty product line the same year. I created a butter for hair growth that my clients began to use it for all sorts of things including healing dry skin, eczema and psoriasis. We moved to one of the busiest corners in my city in 2019 and opened a barbershop next door in 2020. I am a few hours shy of my instructors license now and can’t wait to teach all that I’ve learned. I’ve helped dozens of people start their own business through my coaching program and became a certified life coach just this year.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I created my first product, coconut mint balm for my daughter. I had a Nivea chapstick in my purse and she just learned to read. She said “harmful is swallowed.” I immediately wondered why the hell would something that is supposed to protest your lips be harmful? That’s when I did my research and found that the majority of makeup sold in stores is full of metals and chemicals that are actually banned in other countries. Eventually I took my entire beauty routine into my own hands. It grew from making a batch for me and my kid to me and my sister and all of our clientele. Over two dozen products later I can truly say I feel confident that my products don’t just make people look better they actually heal and make us better. I also love that I’ve influenced women in my community to take a healthier approach to beauty.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn following the rules. Beauty is art and art has no rules. There is no how to manual for business owners that covers creativity. There is also no perfect esthetic, only preference. I had to learn to trust my own perspective because that is my super power.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.zbeautique.com
• Instagram: @ajiaz
• Facebook: Ajia Perryman
• Linkedin: Ajia Johnson
• Twitter: @ajiaz
• Youtube: Alchemy with Ajia Z.

Image Credits
Photography by @Ziare251