Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Lopez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am so happy as a business owner. I would be lying if I said I did not think about what life would be like if I did not have run a business and be in charge of so much but I am quickly brought back to reality at the thought of not being able to control my schedule.

One evening after working a long day, taking care of the kids & the house I had a bunch of emails and phone calls to catch up on along with completing payroll. I remember sitting at the table just wanting to shut everything down and go to bed right then and there. I wanted to wake up the next morning and go clock in for someone else not having to worry about all the admin work. In that same thought, I was wondering what the weather was going to be like for the next day to see if I could set something up for my children to play outside. I know I would not be able to work a half day, get paid full time money & spend quality time with my kids all within one day if I were working for someone else.

Being a business owner is one of the most rewarding accomplishments next to being a wife & mom. My mission upon hiring my employees were to create a work environment where they are happy to come to work, make their money, spend time with their family & not feel mentally exhausted after clocking out everyday as I did when I had a “regular” job. I want them to know if they need a day off – I will make that work for them. Since venturing out of corporate world and expanding quite a bit I not only learned a lot in the process but I grown tremendously as a person which I am very grateful for.

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

My name is Ashley Lopez and I am a Small Beauty Business Owner located in Southern New Jersey. I have a Skincare Shop named The Luxury Lash Studio that offers luxury services to our community such as Lashes, Brows, Facials & Waxing.

I began my journey into the beauty industry after attending college for one year and dropping out. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do at the time my feet hit the college campus so after a couple semesters, I quit. I am big on not wasting time, energy or money.

I started beauty school in 2011 with my parents scared to death of me potentially not having a set pay. They were unaware of all the avenues there were to go down and as was I but I just wanted to do hair! I attended school in the evenings and worked full time throughout the week. I had quite a bit of ups and downs in beauty school and wanted to quit a few times but I ended up graduating at the end of 2013.

Long story short, I landed a couple jobs doing hair and was SO extremely excited to pursue my career. I finally felt like I was where I was meant to be until I started getting contact dermatitis on my hands. I tried everything under the sun for a couple years and seen a handful of dermatologists to try to come up with a plan so I can still do what I love but not have my hands be in pain all the time. I will never forget the day the doctor said I would have to change careers because there is nothing that can be done. Insurance would not approve any of the expensive shots since I was not covered head to toe and the creams that I was using only were meant to be used for a certain amount of time.

In the mean time, I continued to work front desk at where I was so I only did hair every now and then. I was hoping that not being behind the chair all the time, that would help my contact dermatitis. My manager at the time, who is now one of my closest friends, knew what I was going through so she took me under her wing. She taught me management skills and how to be a great leader. She gave me knowledge that no other boss gave me, the kind where she broke situations down and shifted your mindset, the kind where there was no competition with others just success, the kind where she did not get mad when you messed up but turned it into a lesson and she did not hide any “secrets” when you wanted to pick her brain. She made me realize I want to be in management, be a boss someday and hopefully create a warm, fun work environment like she did for us all. Shout out to Erin McGonigal!

2014 – Left my front desk job due to health reasons but I tied the knot with my Highschool Sweetheart near the end of the year, woo!

2015 – Ended up landing a corporate job with amazing benefits and pay. I saw potential for moving up into management and having a wonderful career there.

2016 – We had our first child.

2017 – I returned to corporate world not realizing how hard being a mom and going after a corporate would be without feeling guilt from one end. Remember how I mentioned I graduated? I never went to sit for my license. I thought at that point the license was pointless because I had this fantastic career that I was determined to be successful at. My parents pushed me to apply for the test and my husband + son motivated me. I took the test & I passed!

2018 – Ran into some issues with babysitting and I was having a difficult time missing out on moments with my baby. I ended up deciding to sacrifice my corporate career by going part-time & picked up some hair clients to make up the difference of my salary that I lost. By the end of August, I walked out of corporate world and never looked back! I worked in a salon for a month then decided to venture off on my own. During this whole time, I was testing out this newish thing called lash extensions and lash lifts. HATED extensions, loved lifts.

2019-2023 – I survived the pandemic shutdown, had 3 more kids, recently upgraded my studio over twice the size from 600 to 1385 sqft & currently going strong through a recession. I have 3 employees working for me that there is usually someone there when I am not.

Within the last month I launched a mentoring / shadowing program called “Simply Confident” to help up and coming beauty artists perfect their craft. I also help guide new business owners in the industry. While I am juggling all the things, I love that I am able to create my own schedule, be there for my family while making an income. My goal is to help other women be able to gain the same freedom and confidence doing what they love while not having to sacrifice everything.

I am in the process of teaming up with a local beauty school to help soon to be graduates learn about lash services and how to run a business if that is the route that would like to take upon graduating and obtaining their license.

What do I love most? I cannot really say because there is a bunch but I do love that I can go to sleep at night knowing I made people feel beautiful and confident about themselves throughout the day.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I believe one of the most recent times I had to pivot is when the pandemic hit and I had to shut my business down for 3 months in 2020. I remember scrambling trying to figure out how to keep my business afloat since I still needed to pay the bills and at the moment unemployment was up in the air for business owners. Thank God, at the time I did not have any employees that I had to be concerned about but I still had a family. My husband was thankfully still working full-time in a casino as security even though everything was shut down. The exposure was minimal so we were grateful he was receiving his paychecks which helped ease the anxiousness on my end.

I started making hand made strip lashes to sell for those who did not want to go without lashes, creating lash serums and at home facial kits so our clientele could keep up with their skincare routine at home.

I also became a wholesaler and created a small online shop to help supplement income which helped a great deal.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My number one piece of advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is to let them know they are appreciated. Actions speak louder than words and your employees need to know what they are doing is seen. I personally tell my employees every week that I appreciate them and they are doing a great job.

I am not strict with taking days off. I do not make holiday eves / holidays mandatory to work. Want to close your books so you can take a mental day and go to the beach? Go ahead. Giving my girls this freedom lets them know I trust them to not take advantage of the system and to request days off when their book is light or empty.

I want my team members to take care of their physical and mental health as well. I encourage for them to swap services with each other and to get massages monthly from a local MT without having to worry about paying for product cost.

I know when I use to work for someone and felt appreciated I gave 110% and did not mind. Create an environment that your employees want to show up for work and give their all. Do not forget to tell them how much you appreciate them because after all, you most likely would not be as far as you are without them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theluxurylashstudioxo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theluxurylashstudioxo
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theluxurylashstudioxo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-lopez-a395b5140/

Image Credits
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