We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dawn Aisha a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

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

I’ve always loved makeup. I remember being in 10th grade during first period ( history class). I would have my books open and then I would pull out my sister and I makeup and start doing if while still participating in class . I did this every single day. My teacher didn’t mind because I was a good student, always participated and I passed with flying colors.

Fast forward, after graduating high school , I was living with my younger sister and we would go hang out with our friends . I was the one to do me and my sister and I makeup .

2003, through my old Manager, I met her friend who was a Makeup Artist and was getting paid to do makeup for over 150 weddings a year, with a lady by the name of Hilda Kershman. I was brought to Hilda’s makeup studio, I was given a makeup trial to do to see how much I knew about makeup and my skill level . I was invited to join the team of 5 other ladies to do makeup and hair for weddings . I was trained to do wedding hairstyles as well . I continued to work with this team for a year or so . We traveled to the majority of our wedding parties doing hair and makeup . This made me become passionate about doing makeup, making others feel beautiful .

It was after that experience, I started advertising, started getting clients that paid me to do their makeup at their homes, businesses. It really just took off from there . Here I am 19 years later .

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dawn but for those that know me , I also go by Dawn Aisha . I’ve been a Professional Freelance Makeup Artist since 2003 . I am a certified Semi-Permanent Makeup Artist as well .

I provide professional makeup services for any occasion. I also provide microblading services .

What sets me apart is that I am a mobile Makeup Artist, I travel to all of my clients which provides them a convenience . I have knowledge and experience in doing makeup for all races/ethnicities and genders.

What I’m most proud of is the exclusive experience I provide to my clientele, signature looks and not just following the latest trend . I love to make my clients look and feel beautiful inside and out .

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A major lesson I had to learn is all money isn’t good money. Starting out, I was doing makeup for $50 and ran into clients that were super difficult and wanted everything for nothing . As I started to increase my fees and realizing my worth, I noticed that I started attracting more serious clientele that was more appreciative and realized my worth as well . Clients that realized the quality of my products used, my skill level, time and gas. This is when I realized the true definition of quality over quantity.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Majority of my business comes from word of mouth and me being the industry for so long. The rest of my business comes from social media. It’s simple. I simply post before and after pictures of my clients makeovers, create flyers and ads. When business gets slow, I would get on live and do my makeup, I started a Youtube channel or just simply do my makeup and post pictures. I always make sure I post 2-3 times a week, sometimes I post more . If people comment on my pictures, I always engage even if it’s a simple “thank you “. Engaging is super important! It shows people that you are relatable and down to earth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dawnaisha.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/muadawnaisha
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dawn.aisha.77
• Youtube: YouTube.com/user/dawnaisha

Image Credits
Makeup by Dawn Aisha