We were lucky to catch up with Alisha Renee Caldwell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alisha Renee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?
I manage my own social media. It’s a bit overwhelming at times and I sometimes think of hiring someone to do it for me, then again I’m a perfectionist and if it isn’t how I want it, I won’t put it out.
Alisha Renee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Well, my name is Alisha. I am a professional hair braider. I began braiding hair at the age of 11. I come from a blended family and have 9 sisters and two brothers. With me being no-racial, I’m a blended family, I’ve had the ability to practice on a variety of hair textures. I think that helped me in developing my skills. I think what sets me apart from other braiders is my commitment to customer service. Before I made braiding my full time career, I solely worked customer service jobs from the time I was 15. Customer service is what will keep the client coming back, especially if it’s great customer service. I don’t know how many horror stories I’ve heard from past clients about poor customer service in the beauty industry and when I always get complimented on my response time to inquiries or my ability to work with the client if an emergency comes up.
One thing I am proud of is that in my career I have gotten to meet people in all aspects of life. I’ve done hair for NFL, NLB, & MLS players, CEOs, and more. I’ve made relationships with people that go beyond just doin their hair and that’s a reward in itself. Most of my clientele is from word of mouth so anyone out there that thinks that just because they don’t have the following on social media that’s doesn’t mean that you can’t reach door social media can’t even open. It’s all about being you and building that relationship with that person in the chair. My very first NFL client was through word of mouth from a friend of mine, & he ended up taking my business cards and giving them to his teammates and/or giving them my phone number himself. Ever since I’ve been doin NFL players hair for goin on 6 years, solely on word of mouth and building those relationships. That’s first NFL client, I consider him family, I even spent a Thanksgiving at his house. So remember, customer service is key!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I built my social media but constantly posting my work. All social media platforms have an algorithm which can be tricky to understand because they change frequently. As long as you’re putting your business/content out for the people to see, you will slowly attract an audience. Also, when posting content, hashtags are very useful especially location wise. When I started getting client from social media they said they used hashtags of my city and “braider” to find me and my work.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I started braiding as a way to make money when I was fired from a job. I lost my job back in 2015 and the bills don’t stop. Since I already knew how to braid I just made posts on social media asking people “who needs their hair braided” and what my availability was. All this, while I was actively looking for other employment. I did get a few jobs but they never last long and I was slowly growing my clientele. In 2017, while working full time at a call center, part-time in hair school, on top of being a mom to and active 5 year old, I was DRAINED. One day I received a call while I was at work from my NFL client asking me to come do his hair on my work break. I explained to him that I was at work and only got a hour lunch break so I wouldn’t be able to come during lunch because I wouldn’t make it back in time to clock back in. He told me “I’ll pay you $75 to come give me two braids.” I had already been at work half the day and thought “$75 is more than what I would make stayin the rest of my shift!” So I have my manager and excuse and left to do his hair. While doin his hair he told me “you might as well quit and do hair full time.” After he said that I thought long and had about it because my job was stressful and I HATED goin to work, on top of that I was already going to school to become a full time stylist. The next day at work, I couldn’t take the mental toll my job was having on me. So I called my mom and asked her if it was a good decision, because you know we got to have moms stamp of approval first lol. She told me that if it’s something I really wanted to do then I had her support. At that moment, I quit my job. I didn’t say anything to anyone at the job. I just gathered my things and left. Of course on the way home I have that nervous feeling of “WHAT DID I JUST DO?!” I had no plan, I wasn’t sure how I was gonna make things work, I just had faith. That weekend I make over $700 in doin hair alone and I knew right then I had made the right choice for me. Every since then, every time I felt nervous about a decision, I gave it God and he made a way for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: Bookalisharenee.as.me
- Instagram: @bookalisharenee
- Facebook: Book Alisha Renee