We recently connected with Haley Banks and have shared our conversation below.

Haley, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

Truly, I’m very proud of myself how I executed my business! Before fully opening my business, I took my time working for other people and companies to get experience in the field and educate myself on my crafts before provide services on my own. I primarily had past experience in makeup before, and had went to school originally to advance my knowledge in the makeup industry. After obtaining my license, it opened up SO many doors for me to become my own Jack of All Trades! I thought about starting right after I graduated, but it wasn’t in my cards at the time. I know why today and am SO thankful it played out the way it did!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been heavily interested in the beauty industry since I was a tween! I was one of the girls who wanted to look as pretty as my mother did, so I’d sneak in her makeup bag from time to time to make myself like her! I used to watch makeup tutorials and try to copy what the girls did until I got later into high school. I started wearing makeup everyday and focused heavily on my appearance because I had a passion for makeup, it made me feel great! I wasn’t permitted to go to Beauty school until after I graduated college, so throughout my college years, I practiced on myself and my collègues! As I educated myself and got deeper into the industry, I started exploring options that weren’t JUST makeup! I thought with my esthetician license, the opportunities of services I could provide are ENDLESS!
I took a year off after graduating college with a Bachelors of Liberal Arts and headed to Salon Boutique Academy and obtained my license in 2020!

This being said, the services I provide are not only Makeup Application, but Full Body Waxing as well as eyelash and brow services! What I believe sets my apart from others in my industry or doing the same things I do is my character and my willingness to go above and beyond for my clients! My clients aren’t just paying customers to me, they’re people I’ve established a strong relationship with, like friends! And like a friend, you have their best interest for them in every situation, so my clients know when I tell them to invest in something, it’s something they NEED!

I am BEYOND proud of myself for just taking the risk! I was beyond scared starting off with no clients and no experience that it wouldn’t work out or I wouldn’t get as much clientele as others in my industry have. That is a LIE! The industry ALWAYS will be in need of service providers and no one can EVER give YOUR same energy! If I had advice to someone starting off where I was is to just take the risk and roll with it! With hard work, consistency, and investments into your education/craft, you CANNOT be stopped!
If I can do it, anyone can!!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

It sounds kind of corny, but the most effective thing I could’ve done was be myself. People fall in love with YOU as a person, aside from the quality of the service you offer. I found that just providing the most authentic Haley along with providing quality work and educating my client on what exactly they’re getting into! When people fall in love with you, they come back to see you. When people fall in love with you AND what you do, you’ve got a client for life! Asking for reviews on how their visit was and having a referral program will keep people coming and keep the word of your business around!

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I always wanted this to be my career of choice! I started this career off as a side hustle hoping to turn it into my main career after some time. I got started working at a waxing chain company while also helping a friend with her small business clientele. I HIGHLY recommend working under someone else until you have at least 2 years of experience because then it gives you time to learn from trials and mistakes to be made. Trust me, I’ve made quite a few! Without failure, you don’t succeed, right? It’s easier to work under someone to gain experience than to try and figure everything out on your own from the start. It’s doable, but I found that the other route saved trouble! While I worked under others, I eventually had built such a good relationship with my clients that I had people specifically request to be with only me and who told other about me through reviews! This was the kick start to me planning out the basis of my business! I’m not even where I WANT to be yet, but I’m not stopping until I get further than where I want to be!

Contact Info:

• Website: banksbeautybar.glossgenius.com
• Instagram: @banksbeautybar.co
• Facebook: The Beauty of Banks
• Linkedin: N/A
• Twitter: N/A
• Youtube: N/A
• Yelp: Banks Beauty Bar
• Other: TikTok: @banksbeautybar.co

Image Credits
Image credits: Haley Banks