We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashe’ Alexander a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashe’, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

First, I believe you have to define what success actually means to you and what that looks like. Society describes success as what type of job you have, the amount of money you possess, the type of car you drive, the clothes you wear, etc. However, that may not be what YOU define success as. I’ll admit that at one point, I equated success to the material things I listed above. Although, they all are a necessity, to some extent, it does not define success to me. As I’ve grown personally and professionally, I define success differently and because of that, not only can I say that I am already successful in more ways than one, but I am still working towards being successful at the same time. I am successful because I am a business owner. A career that I have prayed for in my early 20s. Being a business owner, means freedom of my time, having the ability to spend more time with my son, taking time to cater to my mental health, and simply just the opportunity to live on my own terms. I am successful because I am healthy. There is a saying that “health is wealth.” As long as you are in good health, anything can be achieved! Think about it; if you are not healthy, then what level of success can you possibly attain? I am successful because I am a learner. We should all be students of life! There is no glass ceiling when it comes to growth for me. I am always open to learn a new skill, pick up a new hobby, take a new route, read a new book, etc. We must always be willing to acquire a new skill and pursue knowledge. If you lose the willingness to learn, then you’ve already given up a huge part of your success. Most importantly, I am successful because I have my faith! I know for a fact that where I am today is not just of my own doing. Of course, I put in the work, but there were days I just didn’t feel like it, there were days where I thought, “what’s the point?”, and there were also days where I questioned my skills and if they were good enough. The days I made it through the negative thoughts and self-doubt, I knew that it was no one but God, my Lord and Savior, that carried me through! Lastly, success is also not being afraid to start fresh! As an entrepreneur, I’ve started many projects, wrote down may ideas, and tried many things. If they did not work for me or the timing just wasn’t right, I was never afraid to start over or rinse and repeat. This aligns with being a learner. You are learning what works and what doesn’t work for you, trial and error. It took me a while to realize and understand that, it doesn’t matter where you are in life, you are free to start over, there is always somewhere or something to begin. We were all born to contribute and to be of service, it is up to you to find what that is and start where you are and meet yourself there. You might have already reached your level of success, look around and count your blessings.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is She’ and I am a professional hairstylist located in the Twin Cities! Although I am multifaceted, I specialize in the art of braiding. I strive to protect my client’s natural tresses of my clients hair, while promoting hair growth with low manipulation styles. I got into the beauty industry, when I was a sophomore in high school, studying cosmetology as an elective. I was always intrigued by different hairstyles as a teenager. Keeping up with what was in at the time, was definitely my thing! It was a form of self-expression for me. I studied both cosmetology, in high school and college, where I completed my studies in 2012. At the time, being a hair professional was more of a hobby, than it was a career. I worked jobs that weren’t aligned with my purpose and some how, I always found my way back to my passion. Fast forward, to 2018, I was back doing what I loved! I still didn’t have the courage or time, to fully pursue being a hairstylist as a career, however, I jumped in head first and did what my schedule allowed. I remember promoting on social media, that I was taking clients and my pricing was as low as $50-$75, for any style, regardless of duration! The goal for me was to improve my skill, while still being compensated for my time and materials. My clientele grew immensely! I was shocked! I knew then that I could quit the job that I so desperately wanted to leave anyway, and become a full time stylist. I was determined, dedicated and persistent. Here I am, 5 years later and not only am I a professional, experienced hairstylist, but I’ve also managed to maintain a physical location for 4 years, surviving 3 of those years during a pandemic! I am extremely grateful and would not have imagined being where I am today. To think that I haven’t hit my peak in my business is even more exciting! Much gratitude to my amazing clients over these years for their continued support and of course my Lord and savior. Discipline and determination played a huge part in where my business is today. There were no classes I took to enhance my skills. Just YouTube University and practice on my clients. Being a self-taught braider, made the journey even more sweeter. I am proof that if you work hard at your craft, have a passion for learning, dedication to growth and discipline to stick to whatever it is you’re pursuing, you can truly be the best you can be and become what you’ve always manifested!

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

I would say what helped me build my reputation starting out would be my determination, affordability, and demand. When I began to take being a hairstylist seriously, a braider to be exact, one thing I was always determined to do, was produce great work and make women feel great about their hair. Now looking back at those old photos of my work, would have me second guessing lol , but hey, at the time my clients appreciated and loved my work. That’s the beauty and true definition of watching your craft grow right before your eyes. I also wanted to ensure that because I was just starting out and sharpening my skills, that I was affordable to everyone, regardless of the style they were receiving. When I first began braiding, my prices were all under $100. At the time, I didn’t want to be overly charging clients for what I was still working on perfecting. Lastly, demand also played a role in building my reputation. I studied my idea client at that time, I asked questions and learned the needs of not only the clientele that I already had, but future clients as well. I wanted to know what was needed and what they looked for in a stylist. For example, most women wanted a stylist available all year around, specifically during the winters in Minnesota and consistency as well. All of these factors each played a major role in building not only my reputation but my credibility as well. Might I add, very important factors.

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

I really love this question! When I first began my first Instagram account for my business. it was all over the place. No theme, no color, no nothing. Business mixed with personal, all kinds of craziness. At the time I believe I had about 127 followers! I struggled to get to 200 for some reason lol. My picture and camera quality was horrible. I honestly don’t think that 4k quality was even a thing at the time. Inconsistency would probably be another reason why I was having a hard time building my online audience. With balancing motherhood, adjusting to leaving my full time job and just jumping out on faith, it became difficult to engage consistently online. Moving forward to 2023, I now have over 2k Instagram followers! That’s super exciting to me and a long way from the 127 followers I initially had! The advice I would give to business owners, in regards to building an audience on social media, would be to constantly show up for you, your supporters and your brand. I don’t care if you have 10 followers, show up for those 10 loyal followers, consistently, through out the week. That could be with reels, stories’, lives, carousels, etc. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing if you do not have the capacity to do so, but if you schedule your content, that would help take pressure off to post daily. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE NUMBERS! I believe these days, people get so discouraged because they focus too much on how many likes this post got or how many views this video got, who’s following and who is not, etc. STOP NOW! One day you might receive 900 likes on a post or video and the next you might only get 9. Either way, it’s ok. Don’t stress yourself, keep going, keep posting and keep engaging! Comparison is the thief of joy! And so is algorithm! Always remember, someone is always watching. You are motivating someone! You’re next client may be watching and waiting to book their appointment with you! Focus on the art and not the numbers!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.slebyshebeauty.com
• Instagram: @slebyshebeauty
• Facebook: @SleBySheBeauty