We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jaliyah Ross a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jaliyah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?
I love this question because honestly the power of hurrying to act on an idea I feel I am/could be great at is how this all came about and it’s something I do often. Being that I grew up into all things art (dancing, singing, drawing, baking, and photography in my early high school years) makes who I am and what I’m becoming make sense. For instance, when it came to me becoming a makeup artist, I first started off obsessed with having perfect eyebrows my freshman year of school. I would fill them in with a brow pencil then shape them up nicely with an eyebrow razor either before leaving out for school or in the bathroom at school. Once people noticed, they began to ask me to do theirs….yes at school. I would pack new razors, brow pencils, concealer and lotion (to lubricate the skin before using the razor) do the group of girls at my lunch table brows during breakfast or lunch in the bathroom until I realized I could be making money from this. Aside from my artistic background, I’m guessing this was the thing sparked the cosmetic and fashion art side in me. I had already been the brow queen from the start, and now come the middle of junior year I found myself dressing business casual, I would wear my button up or blazer, jeans, a nice enough pair of shoes with my natural curls and I would always have my classmates tell me “you look like you just came from a business meeting” or “I thought you were an administrator” and I always seen these statements as compliments because who don’t want to be seen as a businesswoman? While all of that was happening at school, at home I was trying to figure out how I could make this into something bigger, the fashion, the eyebrows. Now I would always watch and see videos of makeup looks, photographers, and models online, but now these things weren’t just online things, it actually seemed like something I could just as well become a pro in with no problem. With my perfectionist and artistic attitude I told myself “if you can paint/draw and create sharp clean brows, you can do a full glam” and let me tell you, once I tell myself I can do something and do it well I don’t hesitate to prove that to myself, it was game time. I began to practice makeup looks by doing what I felt was “common sense” and of course brows were a piece of cake. I just used my “does that look right technique” until it actually looked right. Before you know it I was now wearing different makeup looks to school and people were actually interested in knowing who did my makeup, you GOTS to know I was excited to say “ME” but did I mention I signed up for photography class that year I believe during 2nd semester so not only were people wanting me to do their makeup, but during photography class I wasn’t only learning how to work a camera, I was also building what I’d call a “just in case” portfolio where I’d model which showed my makeup skills and my business casual fashion. Once I seen people were willing to trust me to do their makeup the first things that came to mind were homecoming and prom, I could literally do makeup during those seasons! I went home and instantly asked my mom if she could help me make a logo so I could create business cards. Once I got those cards, now each time I wore makeup to school, dressed up nice and got my photos taken I was wearing and promoting my brand. With every makeup compliment I gave a business card until people began to schedule appointments. Now yes acting on my ideas had gotten me this far but what also kept the fire burning was my support! My mom and grandma began to fund my vision until I had just enough equipment and product shades to take clients. This was truly the start to something so great, the start to Liyah Beats (makeup, photography, modeling, etc). When you have a genius idea, and a gut feeling you could be great at it, do it immediately and passionately.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a 23yr old entrepreneur, I’ve been working for myself since I graduated high school (I still have yet to work a 9-5 which amazes me because this economy is no joke) but let’s be honest, this all really began I want to say when I was like 5yrs old. Laughing but serious! I first had a huge love for hip hop dancing and ballet to the point my parents gifted me a ballerina tutu w/a leotard, shoes and bag to match and I would dance around the house literally all day. This wasn’t all though. I was into singing, music in general (Lauryn Hill was a favorite for sure), drawing, and I could watch food network allll day, I’m convinced I’ve literally watched every Chef Ramsay and Cake Boss episode, lastly I was a Bratz girl so of course the passion for fashion was there! By my preteen age I was googling dessert recipes and baking as well. By high school I was stepping into my fashion, cosmetic and photography/modeling artistry era. I feel like all of those things I found interest in at an early age has played a fundamental part in my makeup business, photography business and my Snaps & Jazz poetry nights, honestly it plays a part in even the other artistic things I do for fun (guitar, bake, model, vinyl shop, etc) Full time I provide makeup & brow services, with photography and poetry night event planning on the side. With my esthetics business I get to enhance people’s beauty make them feel good and create a safe enough space to have heart to heart conversations. With photography I get to express my jazzy old school style by capturing and editing in a way that connects with my client in a nostalgic poetic way. With the poetry nights I host I’ve been blessed enough to create elegant safe spaces for artist/poets to come share their artistry and guests to come be inspired by the art of jazz and soul while dressed elegantly and formally. What I feel sets me apart is my authenticity and my passion. In a world that is widely based off of opportunism and money, integrity and love is something I keep as the foundation of everything that I do, if my heart and mind isn’t in it I don’t feel right to do it nor benefit from it. I believe my clients and supporters feel every bit of my truth whenever I provide them a service or host a poetry night because they don’t hesitate to tell me! What I can say I’m most proud of is the fact that nothing I do is a money grab, everything is genuinely done or like I said, not done at all and as I always say, if life expenses weren’t a thing I would honestly do it all plus more for free. When I tell my clients “I love what I do” I mean that from the bottom of my heart. This is my art, my truth, how I express myself and connect with the people, how I connect with MY people! I’m not a perfect person, I make mistakes and I have slow days, but I stay true to my clients/supporter and true to me and my craft. I am truly grateful.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
This may be a cliche one, but it’s true. The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been word of mouth/reviews. As a business owner people would expect YOU to be the one to promote your business because well, it’s YOUR business. Of course you’re gonna vouch for yourself right? But it’s different when people see/hear OTHER people (especially people they trust) going to you and recommending you! I believe it’s more of a psychological thing that when majority is recommending you it makes people want to try it for themself to see what the hype is about. Just like you can see a food ad time after time but you won’t really feel the urge to try it until someone says “they’re food is sooo good I recommend you try them”. It’s the same with my business. There has been times where I’d wax a client’s eyebrows and when she leave my chair and refer me I gain 4 more clients…yes 4 new clients just from 1 client recommending me! Basic promoting does work but it can start to feel like routine at times. Word of mouth is by far my favorite. It’s nice to know even when it’s not business hours someone is out there putting your name in rooms.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect has been meeting all of the wonderful people I have met especially other fellow passionate creators. The togetherness and love that fills the room when I give someone a service or have a poetry night. There’s nothing like joy, love and togetherness in a world that can be full of chaos. As long as God gives me breath I will continue to be the change within my age group that promotes all things good. Just knowing I’m an inspiration truly inspires me to keep going with everything that I do.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Shauntae.Dayvon
- Facebook: Liyah Beats
- Other: Makeup Instagram
@liyah_beatsPoetry night Instagram @Snaps_andjazz
Image Credits
Zach Adams