We were lucky to catch up with Ayianah (Pressure) Dugar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ayianah (Pressure), appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
2017, I started my business name as “District36 Eyelashes”. When I started this business I was strictly selling & applying Lashes. Two years later, I changed my business name to “District36 Beauty”. I changed my name to that because I had just Graduated from Esthetician school & was interested in Facials , Lash Extensions & waxing at time. Further along the line, I realized I just wanted to sell/apply lashes & do hair & sell Beauty products .. ( Sugar Scrubs, lash Glue etc.) when I first started my business, it was hard .. I was a senior in high-school & barely had support .. I was promoting all day & night & barely was making sales. I just needed one person to believe in me so I can take off. At the time, I was the only one selling lashes so everyone was coming to me with no problem, when Covid started in 2020, everyone started a small business & took off & left me dry. People didn’t take off with the business as when Covid lifted so it brung my business back at number 1 in Covington,Ga. As today, I’m booked and busy. I barely promote & random people just book me,call or text me about appointments or the hottest lashes I have in. I tried to keep up with everything that’s in style & that’s how my business continue to stay on top.
Ayianah (Pressure), 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?
I first got introduced in the industry by my mother Toni Dugar. She gave me the Idea to start selling lashes. I was wearing lashes everyday to school & everyone was loving them & kept asking where I got them from. I now Sell lashes, apply lashes & Retwist Loc’s. My business is different from others because I’m in love with what I do. I would never want to work another 9-5 a day in my life again so it’s important I go 100%. I’m proud of my growth. My business made me grow as a person, without it I wouldn’t know where I would be today at the age of 23.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One lesson I had to unlearn was family will support you. Strangers will be your number 1 supporters. Family never show up when it’s time to show out & that’s ok. It’s other people in this world that will go 10000% for you,
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
At the time, I was working 2 jobs. I would literally save $50-$75 from each check & by my lashes every payday. During that time I was selling out so fast I couldn’t get my lashes in stock & now that I’m caught up, I will never be soldout again.
Contact Info:
- Website: Http///District36.storenvy.com
- Instagram: @District36Beautyllc
- Other: Http://Linktr.ee/District36Beauty