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

Ashley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea of FE Salon & Wax for my passion in the beauty industry. I wanted to combine both hair care, full body waxing and skin care making it a one stop shop for my guests. I have 17 years of experience as a hairstylist and a year in a half of experience as a wax specialist. I’ve always had one foot in and one foot out in the beauty industry. I’ve struggled in Corporate America trying to find my niche and was never satisfied. The beauty industry has always challenged me to be creative it allows me to freely express my passion through knowledge of my experience, offering a top tier customer experience and building rapport with my guests. After nine years in corporate, I’ve decided to go solo and open my own suite located in Owings Mills, MD. When solving a problem I wanted to create an experience where you can book multiple services for all your beauty needs. My idea of going solo that gets me excited is being able get back to my craft, connect with guest, network, attend beauty/spa events and create daily.

Ashley, 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?

How I got into the industry started at the age of 14 when I attended a cosmetology magnet program in high school where I practiced my craft, took on an shampoo assistant role, completion of state board hours which led to passing my exam and becoming licensed my senior year. The types of services I provide are hair care needs such as shampoo, blow dry, curl, and trims. The other types of services are body waxing for women and men. The problems I solve for my guests are helping them look and feel good about themselves. I’m most proud of my ability to start over it’s been since 2018 where I stopped doing hair and decided in 2021 to become a wax specialist. The main things I want my current and future guest to know about my brand is the customer experience. I strive to provide an at home feel, great conversations, a place to unwind and gain a repetitive clientele.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I turned my part time wax specialist job into a full time business. I started by working for a waxing company for a year perfecting my skills and I saw how easy it was to gain rapport with my guest and their trust with such a personal service. My experience is how I scaled to what is is today by taking a chance on myself and saw I no longer wanted to deal with the over head or a company controlling what I can make financially in the beauty industry. Some of my key milestones were to see my clientele follow me once I left, regain self confidence and the power of prayer.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

What illustrates my resilience is the ability to start over from scratch. Taking the clientele I built in hopes of them following me. I’m very passionate about the beauty industry at times when my results aren’t going as planned I get impatient during the process. Trust its not easy, but remaining consistent is a way to get the results.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://FESalonWaxSuite.as.me/
• Instagram: fashion_hairess

Image Credits
Image with silver dress, clear shoes and sunglasses – Iconic Image Photography LLC