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

Jayda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve always been a big risk taker. It started when I was 16, I was living in Oceanside, California with my mom at the time. I couldn’t wait to make money so I started working at El pollo loco. I didn’t come from a wealthy upbringing so the idea of making my own money really excited me. After working there for almost 2 years and moving my way up to assistant manager, I got a second job at Panda Express. In 2019, I graduated high school a few months early so I could work both jobs full time. Although I was making decent money, it drained my energy physically and emotionally. But because of my living environment, work was my only outlet. I had to make a decision, what was more important? Making more money, or my mental health? I decided to work towards getting my own place. Once I got promoted to a shift leader at Panda Express, I quit my job at El Pollo Loco and transferred to a Panda Express in the Central Valley to live in a more affordable area. I moved in with my grandparents, who lived in Atwater, and decided to enroll in Merced College with a computer science major while I was there. After I finished my first year of college, I got on my feet and rented out a room in these new apartments in Turlock, California. Having my own space gave me peace of mind but was also a challenge since I was barely making enough money to pay all my bills. I got hired at Tesla in the Bay Area shortly after and quit my job at panda. I started working on model 3 teslas and I was making the most money I’ve ever made. I was working 12 hour shifts with a 2 hour commute there and back which made it almost impossible to focus on my second year of school. Because of this, I decided to pause school. I worked at Tesla from June 2021-August 2022 before getting fired for smoking on the property. I was devastated because I was one of the best workers and not only was I making good money but I was also so close to getting a raise. I was mad at myself for ruining a good opportunity. It wasn’t too long before I got back on my feet and got hired at Grainger. They paid the same as Tesla so I was making enough to pay my bills and put some money in savings as well. Despite making good money, I hated the job. The work environment was negative and like any warehouse job, I was just a number. I worked there for less than a year before getting fired for not hitting their rate quota. There I was again stuck in the same situation. What am I gonna do? I can work in the food industry again and serve hangry customers who treat workers like trash, or I can work in another warehouse job that will most likely fire me again when they don’t need me anymore? Neither. That’s a scam. Is there a way I can be happy and stable with work? Can I have both? I’m 22 and have been working since I was 16. I’ve always had trouble following authority because I saw myself as a leader and so did everyone else. I realized that in my situation, the only way I can truly be happy with work and have a stable job is by being my own boss. I decided to file for unemployment income and began looking into hustles that interest me. There was a few that caught my eye but the one that stood out to me the most was owning a beauty/spa business. I’ve always been interested in the beauty industry as well as mental/physical health and I figured I can start with something small like doing lash extensions. I started looking into what I need to learn and what I need to invest in. My go-to lash artist was offering 1 on 1 classes, so I decided to invest in a training. Once I completed my training, I received a certificate and a beginners kit. The kit came with a doll head that I used to practice on everyday. I started investing in all the supplies I would need to start my business which cleaned out all my savings. I knew this could go one of two ways, but I decided to take the risk anyway. Once I had all my necessities, I started practicing on my close friends. They started bringing me other people to practice on, and each day I got better. I created a lash page on instagram to create a portfolio showing all my work. My technique slowly improved and I began charging a small amount for a set. I started doing giveaways and sales to attract more people and got more and more customers through referrals and through Facebook/instagram marketing ads. I raised my prices just enough to be able to make profit. I’m currently going to California Beauty College to get licensed. I stay consistent with the hustle while constantly improving my skills. As of right now, it’s the beginning of December and I am almost fully booked out for the month. It all started by taking a risk, and it was by far the best decision I made. With all the progress I’ve made, I plan on renting out a space so I can offer other services like waxing, facials, and brow laminations, and eventually I would like to expand my business into my own meditative spa. This journey has not been easy but I learned that with determination, consistency and good connections, the only way to go is up.

Jayda, 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?

As of right now I only offer lash extensions. I include a lash bath and massage chair in my service, and I also have colored lashes that clients can add to their sets if they’re feeling creative. I think something I’m most proud of is the quality of my application. I make sure to apply a light application to the natural lashes so they are able to grow in a healthy way while the extensions are still on.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that connections with people are not significant. Growing up, I got let down by a lot of people that I really counted on. Because of this, I grew comfortable with being alone, doing things on my own, and not asking for help. When I started my business, I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked my closest friends to help me. They really had my back and started reposting all my posts and telling anyone and everyone about my business when they had the chance. Without my friends, my clientele would not be as big as it has grew. Not only that, but without making meaningful connections with my clients, they would not come back to get another service done by me.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started out by making an Instagram account and posting any work I did, even if it was on a doll head. I asked my friends to repost my work so it can get out to other people. I slowly gained more followers like this. When I started charging, I started utilizing things like giveaways and sales to attract more customers, and I used the instagram marketing ad feature to expose my work to a bigger, more targeted audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://book.heygoldie.com/Fetti-Lashed-You
• Instagram: @fettilashedyou