Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
Growing up, I was surrounded by parents (Dad, Step Mom, Mom, and Step Dad) who were incredibly hard workers. 3 of them being self starting business owners. My father worked for PepsiCo as a manager from the time I was 2 years old. My Step Mother was a business owner Cosmetologist. My Mother and Step Father are business owners in the security business. I was raised with adults who believed in working hard and always reaching your goals through hard work and perseverance. This impacted my career so much because I have had knowledge that working hard to achieve your goals will lead you to success. They all taught me that if I show up every day and offer the best I can be that regardless of the obstacles placed in my way, that my business will flourish.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Since I was a little girl I can remember wanting to make people feel beautiful. I wanted people to come to me and trust me to make them feel special. I would sit in front of my Mama’s bathroom mirror and pretend to sell and educate a fake audience on everything from blush to mascara and fake earrings. The beauty industry was my calling. For 14 years, I have been involved in some aspect of the beauty industry. My specialties are extension services, blonding services, hair styling, and makeup.
I pride myself on my attention to detail and client service. I want every client to feel an incredible experience in my chair and at the salon.
I cater to a wide range of clients that have one solid thing in common and that is that they want to feel appreciated, have a good conversation, laugh, and leave my chair looking beautiful.
I like to call my esthetic effortless glam and I am so proud of the clientele I have built based on these foundations.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
One thing I tell every aspiring cosmetologist is that word of mouth marketing is key. You can post 100 Instagram and Facebook posts, you can market on Google, you can make Tik Toks and while I am not saying that isn’t helpful, I am saying that there is nothing better than a happy client referring your services to their friends, family, etc. It takes one great client to refer you and you will wake up to a full book of business. I stress to every young entrepreneur that how you treat your clients is key. One referral can change your life!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Once Upon A Time, I was a healthcare accountant. It was a career I started in high school and became a way to make a pay check. It evolved into business school and account management and I found myself incredibly unhappy. In the background of my corporate career, I had my side business doing on-site formal hair styling and makeup services which was my passion. However, I found it so hard to transition from my corporate career to my passion. I had an awakening one day when my sons were young. I was being taken away from them to work a long schedule and was finding my time with them becoming so limited due to my corporate career. My awakening led me to begin work in a salon and walk away from my corporate career for the freedom of creating my own schedule to spend more time with my young sons and I have never looked back. I thank God and my young sons for that awakening because it led me to having the most rewarding and successful business.
Contact Info:
- Website: Asmithartistry.GlossGenius.com
- Instagram: @itisashleysworld