Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcia Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marcia, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
The risk I took was deciding to leave corporate America as a young single mother to follow my passion in beauty. I was young, yet too old as many thought to leave my corporate job to become a full time hair stylist. I had what most would think at the time, was a great job that offered the best benefits, great pay, amazing paid trips based around pharmaceutical product launches on some of the most important drugs on the market. Yet, I was unhappy in my soul. I would often run into a lot of my peers that I completed beauty school with and admired how they were still in the beauty business. I had limited support from family. My mother did not want me to be a hairstylist because she felt that it wasn’t steady income. I had my own home and car as I worked daily to support my son before switching careers. I knew if I decided to make the career change , I did not want to work in a basic salon. It needed to be elevated and multicultural. Oddly enough my mother met a manager of a brand new salon in the suburbs of Philadelphia (king of Prussia) and shared the info with me. So I scheduled an interview immediately. I remember the day that I gave my 2 weeks noticed and never looked back. My mom called me crazy and could not believe I would just up and quit a great job with benefits. It was a hard road of change and sacrifice but I was ready and willing. In the mist, I lost my home and car and had to move in with my baby sister until I could build my clientele and have consistent pay. It took many years and a fair share of ups and downs yet I have no regrets.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I got into the beauty busy because I was inspired by my maternal Grandmother. She was a licensed hair stylist. I am most proud of my tanacity to continue on through the most difficult times in my life.
MEET MARCIA WILLIAMS, FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF EMBELLISH BEAUTY CONCEPTS“TO ME, BEAUTY IS WALKING IN A ROOM AND OWNING IT, UNAPOLOGETICALLY.”— MARCIA WILLIAMS. THIS IS THE PHILOSOPHY BEAUTY MOGUL AND EVER-PRESENT FIRECRACKER MARCIA WILLIAMS APPLIES TO EVERYTHING SHE CREATES. IT’S THE BELIEF THAT UNDERSCORES EMBELLISH BEAUTY, HER SIGNATURE LINE OF CLEAN, HIGH- PERFORMANCE COSMETICS, NOURISHING SKINCARE AND PROFESSIONAL HAIRCARE, DEVELOPED TO AWAKEN THE BOLDNESS FROM WITHIN, ACROSS HER DIVERSE AUDIENCE. MARCIA INFUSES HER 20+ YEARS OF REAL-WORLD BEAUTY EXPERTISE BEHIND THE CHAIR, ON-SET AND ON CAMERA, ALONG WITH HER DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF WOMEN’S DAILY BEAUTY WANTS AND DESIRES, INTO EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT SHE DREAMS UP AND BREATHES LIFE INTO. THAT’S WHY EMBELLISH BEAUTY IS BOTH LUXURIOUS AND ACCESSIBLE, DESIGNED FOR EVERY WOMAN WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS AND ISN’T AFRAID TO GO OUT THERE AND GRAB IT. EMBELLISH BELIEVES INSIDE EVERY WOMAN IS A LIONESS, BRIMMING WITH BOLDNESS AND READY TO ROCK. WE’RE HERE TO UNLEASH THAT PROWESS AND RELEASE HER BACK INTO THE EVERYDAY WILD—ALL WHILE LOOKING AND FEELING UNAPOLOGETICALLY GORGEOUS.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When covid hit I lost my job at QVC as a platform hair and makeup artist. It was the most challenging time by far. The engine on my car died the week before. I literally had no income. I lost all of my bridal and special Occassion hair and makeup clients. This was a time that I had to pivot and really relaunch my lipstick line which some people may have thought was odd since no one was leaving the house without a mask. I really marketed the Lipstick effect which is a real term that you can google. This philosophy was used whenever there was an economic down turn and women did not spend money however they would splurge on a lipstick to feel good about themselves. I sold more lipstick and really pitched the fact that my lipstick was longwear and smudge proof. At this time, I was able to secure an investor for my brand. This gave me visibility and the ability to scale. I was in the NY Times, Forbes magazine and the TODAY Show.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When I started my business back in 2011 I completely boot strapped my business with $500 to start and I worked it little by little. I was just newly married with no money and just a vision.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.embellish-beauty.com also www.embellishbeauty.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embellishbeautymakeup or https://www.instagram.com/makeupbyembellish
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makeupbyembellish
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/embellishbeautymakeup/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/embellishmylook
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDQdpeQvPV-9RTXNueXOLFg
Image Credits
Bryant Sanders Photography