We recently connected with Kelsey Vu and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kelsey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

When I first started to do lashes I practiced on my friends and my sister. I made a page on instagram and posted my work on there the day before I went on vacation. My friends and sister were all so supportive and reposted my work encouraging people to book with me. I wasn’t planning to take clients right away but to my surprise the week I was on vacation I got a handful of dms from people wanting to book appointments. I was nervous to work on people who weren’t my friends/ family but excited that I was able to start my lashing career. When I got back from vacation I started to take clients and business took off since then.

Kelsey, 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?

I’m a lash tech based in the DFW area. I started doing lashes at the time because I was trying to do nails but I wasn’t very passionate about it and it wasn’t a good fit for me, so my friend and I traded supplies. She had lash supplies and I had nail supplies so we traded crafts and lashes suited me a lot better. I provide eyelash extension services, specializing in full dramatic looks but I can also do natural sets as well. What sets me apart from other lash techs is that I can provide color lashes, lash decals, bottom lashes, and extra long mega volume sets for the girlies who like to be different. Some of my clients are rappers and other music artists and they love being able to have dramatic looks with whatever colors and add ons they want to have a unique customizable look. I love making my clients feel beautiful and making their visions come to fruition. Another thing that sets me apart is my attention to detail. One thing about lashes is that you have to be meticulous with isolating the natural lashes so that it doesn’t hurt the clients lash line. I take pride in my isolation skills so that my lashes are able to be worn comfortably and without damage to the natural lash. What I want my current and future clients to know is that I’m grateful for all of them and thoroughly enjoy being able to see them feel and look confident and beautiful after each set. It brings me joy every time my clients look in the mirror after I get done with a set and love how they look.

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

When I started doing lashes I was in college full time and had a full time job. Once the pandemic was ending our classes were no longer online, we had to go back to in person classes, so I couldn’t keep my full time job due to conflicting class times. I was thinking of what I could do that would allow me to work around my class schedule and doing lashes was the perfect fit. I had gained a clientele fairly quickly and by the time I graduated it became enough to be a full time job. When I graduated college I decided to pursue doing lashes full time instead of going into the field I got a degree in.

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

I would say posting on instagram has been the most effective way for growing my clientele. I don’t use any other social media platforms to promote my business and have been able to grow my clientele just from that. At first I gained clientele from my friends and family reposting my work on instagram. Once you get a good amount of starting clients your work does the promoting for you. When people see the lashes on my clients walking around everyday, my clients give them my instagram page.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://knvlashes.as.me/schedule/6540199d
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/knv_lashes?igshid=MWdpeTF6cXF1bDR2dg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: Website: knvlashes.as.me Instagram: @knv_lashes @thekelseyvu

Image Credits
@knv_lashes