We recently connected with Andrea Ray and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea.

Every great business starts with a idea. I came up with the cosmetic makeup artistry business from seeing the need in my mothers beauty salon. The goal was to be a one stop shop. There’s several steps you need to take when building business . First is to understand the need for your service , research about your business . Then you want to write a business plan. Its important to establish a solid business plan, there’s nothing wrong with staying in your mean’s not getting off track based upon others success. Set dates writing out your plan. Make your business official have all your certifications , training state and local licensing official by launch date . Finances are important but, not everything depending on your business .Always protect you business by holding the right insurances and business licenses. I had a idea for business wanting to service the clients need so they didn’t have to go far. I started out with eyebrows people started trusting me with simple make up looks eventually adding eyelashes , brow tint increasing the prices . It’s important to create the demand and services the needs of the people . My next step is brick and mortar . Salon Suites have become popular over the last few years, less over head. Salon leasing space in a suites are similar to a beauty malls . What I have to figure out , making sure I have competitive prices , keeping up with today’s trends and beauty must have without losing the love and integrity for business.

Andrea, 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?

My name is Andrea Ray the proud owner and operator of Drayafaces Beauty LLC based in Jacksonville Florida . I’m a freelance traveling make up artist who’s got her start back 2002 . I got my start after my father made me quite my job and help my mother at her salon after her assistant quit. It’s one of the best things I could have ever done . My gift of artistry has opened up so many doors, I can go anywhere in the world and make money. Its important to have discipline when building a business, there’s no quick way to build a successful brand without losing your integrity and core values that have made you successful . You always want to provide quality and professional service . I’m most proud of starting my own cosmetics brand of lipstick and glosses . Some of my work has been featured on KDKA a local new station in Pittsburgh Pa, MSNBC and Impact Network’s.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

What helped build my reputation within the market is my ability to travel to my clients in the privacy of theri own space . Having clients who refer their friends has helped in building business . Competitive pricing and promotional deals are also important with keeping up in today’s market.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was not having a set price and sticking to it . Its important to know the market around you and competitivly price based upon experience and level of expertise , never sell yourself short charge for your time and worth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: drayafacesbeauty
• Facebook: Drayafaces
• Youtube: drayafacesbeauty

Image Credits
Andrea Ray