We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful ElishaMonique .. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with ElishaMonique below.

ElishaMonique, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I took a risk over 20 years ago when I entered the beauty industry. At that time it was said you could never be as successful in the beauty industry as in the medical field, a lawyer or other business profession. An even bigger part of this risk was having a child at a young age and soon getting married to a military man. With each military move as a beauty professional, I would begin the journey of building a clientele over, at scratch, from the bottom up with much success.

In 2005, I made a decision, or took a risk and decided to open a salon. While opening a salon I also decided to see what other avenues this industry had to offer. This risk came with losing many clients and stylists. It was hard to find great professionals to employ that had the same work ethics and common goals as the salon culture at Defining Beauty Salon Suites. However, determined after 7 years of operations I became a 6 figure salon and fully staffed. Learning and making mistakes were a part of the risk and success was the reward.

ElishaMonique, 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?

“Experienced” is an understatement when it comes to my experience as a beauty industry professional. With a vast amount of experience in many different areas of beauty, I am also 20-year veteran master hairstylist, makeup pro, platform artist and educator who has seen it all and done it all.

I began in the beauty industry to make women beautiful one head at a time. My intention was to expand my career from behind the chair to other avenues of the industry. These accomplishments include becoming an educator for Matrix a division of L’Oreal, platforming at numerous trade shows, working in film and servicing celebrities to name a few.

With an overwhelming dedication to the beauty industry, I am now a published author and continue my journey with a new educational platform sharing knowledge to budding beauty professionals across the country, teaching them how to structure and grow their salon and beauty businesses to succeed in this competitive industry.

For the past 5 years, I have focused my career as a Salon Coach. I partner with salon owners and suite stylists to help build a solid business foundation to assist in building a team, opening multiple locations, hiring salon managers and retiring from the chair with ease and profitability.

My objective is to equip salons with the blueprint of the business and create a salon completely on autopilot. This removes them from working long hours behind the chair and spending less time enjoying life. I am most proud when fellow professionals complete my program with the utmost gratitude of learning, implementing and seeing the result they desire to make their vision come to life with the help of a dedicated coach.

I teach and consult other salon owners and beauty professionals through my coaching platform, Salon Business Blueprint Club (www.buildyoursalonbusiness.com), and continue to win in this ever-changing industry.

Building your salon business just got easier.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I ever made was to retire from the chair and focus on becoming an expert salon coach. This was decision made after realizing the major goals of my career were achieved and the desire to serve other professionals.

Before the pandemic I was employed at The Salon in Ulta Beauty. During this time I was able to employ a few marketing techniques I toyed with which allowed me the ability to build a loyal clientele with consistent income in six months. It typically takes an average of one to two years for the average professional to build and retain a clientele. After standing behind the chair for 20 years, moving to six different states I had finally crafted a marketing strategy and foundation to which salons and stylists could build a business in nine months or less. Uncovering this strategy was the pivotal point to fully becoming a coach to share with others a learned and proven system to build your salon business.

In 2017, I launched Build Your Salon Business which helps salon owners and suites stylists learn and implement business structure and strategies to create consistent income and a path to a six or seven-figure beauty business.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The biggest thing that helped me build my reputation was perfecting my craft by learning and implementing new strategies. I don’t rely on an education alone but on experiences (whether failure or success) to ensure the success of my business and clients. I pride myself on being honest and authentic about my ability to get prospects to build successful businesses.

Standing out from the coaches is what makes me an expert. An experienced individual ready to pour into other professionals or being able to say I’m not capable to help and offering valuable resources is what has built my reputation. You can find an unlimited amount of value on her Facebook business page, Instagram page, and YouTube channel.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elishamonique.com
• Instagram: ElishaMonique_educator
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElishaMoniqueSalonStylistCoach
• Twitter: elishamonique1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQ-wmBv1sVGC9Ael_TOiEQ

Image Credits
Class at iEducate Do You show. Celebrity R&B Singer Mya