Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kami Hill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kami, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?

Upon opening Pure Lash & Beauty in 2015, I was the only trained lash artist in a booming industry! The demand for lash extensions continued to increase, so I shared my knowledge with a coworker who became a very talented lash artist. We worked together to accommodate the demand for the service and continued to grow.

When I created the vision for Pure Lash & Beauty, I was unaware of how much the lash industry would develop; I just knew that I loved what I did and had a deep passion for it. The demand for lash services kept increasing, so I began hiring and building a team. Our growth was rapid, and we had 10-15 full-time lash artists with a full clientele. Having a team that size was the best, busiest, and most stressful time I have ever experienced as an entrepreneur!

With so many triumphs, failures, and lessons learned, the biggest takeaway being that I was grateful I took the risk and started! I learned and pivoted along the way, paving new paths after every mistake, and because I never gave up, no matter the challenge, the business and the team continued to grow and develop into what it is today.

Kami, 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?

The past 18 years of my life have been devoted to learning, working, growing, and educating in the lash and brow industry, focused on business building. My career in beauty began as a cosmetologist, apprenticing to learn the art of hair care. It was then that I realized the importance of learning and growing through the guidance of a mentor.

Shortly after starting in the industry, I discovered eyelash extensions and decided to make that my focus, as I loved the art and the results it created. I saw how adding lash extensions enhanced natural beauty, thus empowering women. Dedicated to offering the best service, I enrolled in every course, training, and educational opportunity I could find to improve my craft. With the knowledge that I had collected, I opened my own business in 2015.

After countless hours providing lash services and building the brand, I took education courses to become a professional trainer and have since educated hundreds of other artists. As my business continued to grow, I developed skills to become a mentor and found joy in helping others learn and grow in the industry. Education and professionalism have always been top priorities for any decision I make, setting the salon apart through a dynamic learning environment.

I am most proud of the team that has developed over the years and the community that has grown since the inception of Pure Lash & Beauty. It is now a collective of beauty professionals passionately sharing their talents and boldly operating their businesses within the salon.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Anyone who is or has been an entrepreneur takes great risks to chase their dreams and fulfill the vision of adding value to the world. This requires having massive resilience, discipline, fearlessness, and thick skin. There are so many moments in my journey where I look back and realize the obstacles that I overcame.

The most prominent one for me was the beginning stage of opening the business when it would have been easy to give up before it even came to life. I tried for months to get funding to begin construction of the building, being told no time and time again by nearly every lender in town. As a first-time business owner, I was told that I didn’t have the knowledge, experience, or assets to begin a business and that it was too high risk.

I would show up with my business plan at each meeting in hopes that someone would believe in it as I did. Going through that process, hearing rejection after rejection and feeling helpless, took a lot of resilience and belief in myself. Regardless of how many no’s I got, I kept trying, knowing that if I never gave up, I would get a yes. The day that I was approved for the construction loan was a day that I will never forget! Finally, after months of trying, the vision of the business would begin to come to life. Going through that made me even more driven to ensure that the business was a success.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

When Pure Lash & Beauty opened, we were the only salon in the area specializing in lash extensions. This gave us an advantage, and it was important to deliver high-quality services to keep and maintain the flood of new clients seeking what we were offering. We turned away a lot of business in the beginning because there weren’t enough trained artists at the time to do the services properly. The art of lash extensions is a skill set that takes a lot of time to develop. Instead of trying to rush the process of educating to take on the demand of our services, I implemented an apprenticeship education program that typically lasts 90 days and is full of training and mentoring to learn the skill properly. This attention to detail and formula created a team of professionals that delivered quality work I was proud to stand behind. Quality over quantity is truly a test of time and a business model that works! I was also very particular with the products I chose to work with, spending more on quality versus trying to cut corners and save on supplies. Offering premium products, having a great education program, and being appreciative of our clientele, was the formula that made our work and reputation stand out.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.purelashandbeauty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purelashandbeauty/@purelashandbeauty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purelashandbeautyportage
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kami-hill-99a53b114/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pure-lash-and-beauty-portage