We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Cervantes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andrea, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I never imagined owning my own business. In 2016, I gave birth to my youngest daughter at 26 weeks. Given her life-threatening circumstances, I basically lived at Texas Children’s hospital for the first 8 months of her life. The need for a career that allowed me the flexibility to be present for my baby, led me to take a chance and build a business of my own. I made a hard decision to quit my 8-5 corporate job. With my background in the beauty and lash industry, I knew I had to put it to use somehow to be able to provide and be there for my baby. With the perfect timing of me just leaving my corporate job, I was given the opportunity to rent a private suite at Glamour House Studios where I was able to be my own boss of Lash Glam by Drea and grow my clientele.
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 always knew I wanted to be in the beauty industry since I was little. I remember in 5th grade it was career day and I dressed up in all black and made a name tag that said visible changes with my name on it. Once I graduated high school, I went straight into cosmetology school. In two years, I had my Texas cosmetology license and applied for my first real job at Visible Changes. I had my dream job! My first passion has always been hair and I loved making people feel beautiful. In the first months working there I had my son. I worked late nights and weekends. After 4 years I decided to put my dreams on hold for my family and got a corporate job. During that time, I still kept my cosmetology license up to date which allowed me to continue my training. That’s when I learned to do Lash Extensions, which at the time was an upcoming trend. In 2017, I was hired as a manager at Glamour House Studios in north Houston that is owned by my cousin Electra Solis. After I became certified in Lashing, I had the opportunity to rent my own suite there to build up my clientele. I have now been offering my services for 6 years and offer private Lash training as well. I feel so blessed to be a part of a company that promotes female Latina business owners in the beauty industry.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Working with Glamour House Studios has allowed me to network with many beauty professionals within Houston. I participate in various pop up shops and special events throughout the year inviting the community to come see what I have to offer. Every woman that runs their business within Glamour House strives to lift up other professionals by sharing their services on social media. I also participate in community outreach by visiting various high schools around the Houston area to offer Lash training. Many of these girls may not have had the opportunity to be exposed to a potential career path and it allows them to graduate with a set of skills to help get them started. My ultimate goal in this industry is to not only continually grow my clientele but to be an advocate for all women in the industry.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Although I am becoming successful in my career path, I have had many hurdles that I had to work through along my journey. I became a single mother at 19 and in 2016 gave birth to my 3rd child that was premature. In 2020, I was starting to build my clientele and then COVID hit. Not only did the world shut down, I had a major health scare that resulted in the removal of a cyst and partial hysterectomy. I felt totally defeated but with the continuous support of my family and my faith, gave me the determination I needed to keep going. The best advice I could give anybody working towards their dream, don’t give up. Things may not happen in your time but it will in God’s time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @lashglamby_drea
- Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/lashgalmbydrea?fbclid=PAAabEj4Stw0rIFW-G2e-_Vb7eR3iJuIdqkR4psfbh5Ik2Eg__yu86VGTJWR8
Image Credits
@lzurmndvisuals