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

Ashley , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I love this question. I actually just changed my business about 2 months ago, after years of pondering about if it was the right decision to make. So I started my business under the name “Lashes by Ashley” because it was simple and described the service industry I’m apart of. As I continued to grow, I started thinking about how I planned to expand and I no longer wanted my business name to limit me to lashes. I wanted a name that would catch the attention of my target audience (women), but still represented me, so I came up with the acronym B.A.E. It stands for Beatrice (which is my middle name). Ashley (my first name), and Esthetics (which is the type of services I offer). To me it’s cute, catchy, and personal. Also, I love the attention and desire to know more that I get from women just from the name alone! :)

Ashley , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Yes, so I’ve always been a creative and had a love for beauty since age 12, so it was only a matter of time before I entered the industry. I started doing hair at a very young age, no one taught me it just came naturally, so by the time I was 14 I was doing it as a side hustle whenever I was out of school. Later in my mid 20s I heard about this new thing called eyelash extensions and I was intrigued. This was a new beauty enhancement that required no makeup but could transfer the appearance of women’s eyes by making them more youthful and attractive looking. I was amazed with the whole process/technique and decided I wanted to learn how to do them. A few years later i had saved up enough money to take a training class and at that point I decided I wanted to take a leap to start my own business offering that service. Since then, I have serviced hundreds of women transforming their appearance, helping to boost their confidence, and making lifelong connections. I have taught training courses for others that want to join this industry and I have created a lifestyle for me to live on my own terms. I’m most proud of my self for having the confidence and self believe to continue this journey even when it gets hard. I’m proud to be an inspiration to others and I want those who come from nothing and have no blueprint of where to start to know that it is still possible! Never give up on yourself, work to improve yourself daily , even if it’s just one small thing.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

So initially to start my business I had very little income to fund it, but I did have a plan. I was working a job that I was very unhappy with but it had good benefits, so I stuck it out. In the meantime i was planning my exit and saving money from my tax refund, since I am a mother I received I couple thousands which was perfect for me to at least get started. Later, I quit my job and received a nice payout from them, which I combined with my tax refund and just went for it! It was enough to pay for my training class, get an LLC, and purchase some of the supplies that I needed to offer my services so that’s what I did. It was slow at first of course, but I just kept going and utilizing the free resources I had like word of mouth, social media, etc. to get noticed more and eventually I had a full clientele.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think showing integrity, educating my audience, and staying in my own lane helped build my reputation. Sticking to my core values and producing quality work has gotten me very far and built that trust with the public. Also educating my clients and keeping an open line of communication is very important to me and I see how others really appreciate that. Lastly, the lash/beauty industry can become very trendy and I’ve done my best to keep up with what’s new but still stick the what’s me. It’s easy to fall into what everyone else is doing and kind of loose yourself in it, but I’ve been very intentional about keeping a balance and sticking to what I’m good at.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bookbaesthetics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baesthetics.__?igsh=MTZ1aDA4a2xzNjh3OQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: Baesthetics__
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-whitney-49bb23272?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: N/a
• Youtube: N/a
• Yelp: BA Esthetics
• Soundcloud: N/a
• Other: N/a