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

Hi Maria, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest parts of scaling a business is maintaining quality as you grow. How have you managed to maintain quality? Any stories or advice?

Maintaining quality as my company grows is extremely important to me. Once I reached a point in my career where I felt like my “quality” of work was being effected by the “amount” of work I had, I knew I had to scale back and reposition myself as a business owner and artist. I truly believe that maintaining quality work will keep clients coming back.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Honestly, the world of lashes fell in my lap when a friend gifted them to me for my 25th birthday. I never saw myself as a girl’s girl. I rarely played in makeup or with dolls as a child- so the beauty industry was never a path I thought I’d pursue. After that first time I had lashes applied on me, I was HOOKED. I wanted to know more. There’s a side of me that really enjoys tedious work. I know, kinda weird, right. LOL! But I truely love putting all the small things together to create the masterpiece. Now I understand it’s the reason my childhood room was covered in puzzles. So, in a way lashing is like a puzzle to me. Making people feel good and look good is a major bonus too. I have a Bachelors in Mass Communication with and emphasis in Production, so I love creating lash videos and editing content . I’ve always known I wanted to be involved with serving others somehow and today I’m happy to say I am able to do both of these everyday.
I am extremely proud that I have consistently provided work my clients love and have been able to evolve as an artist and business owner at the same time.
I truly believe that lashes not only make my clients look good, but they leave feeling refreshed and better than they were. Each client is provided a space where they can unplug, relax, laugh or talk. It is truly an experience, that I love.

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

Four things that I know help to build clientele are; 1. Consistent quality in work. Clients will rebook every time when they know they are receiving a quality service. 2. Professionalism. There is a fine line you have to walk when being personable and staying professional. You can do both and I promise you your clients will respect you and your policies for it. 3. Be on time. I rarely make my clients wait longer than 10 minutes in the lobby and I never cancel/reschedule appointments last minute. You have to let your clients know that you respect their time as well. 4. Customer Service. This should be number one, lol! From the moment they walk in to the moment they leave. “How are you today?”, “Can I get you any water?”, provide snacks, a nice waiting area. Clients see these things. In my opinion customer service is the life line to your business.

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

When Covid came about I was a year into working on my business 100%. I quit my “big girl job” a year prior and was just starting to get things off the ground when covid shut everything down. Being closed for two months was an extremely hard time. I wasn’t sure if I could financially sustain my business with ZERO clients. Everyone was scared to come into contact with each other which made lashing extremely hard. When I reopened beginning of April, it was like I was starting all over. I knew I had to stay consistent, so I locked into my craft and rebuilt a clientele. I ensured a safe clean space and followed CDC guiltiness to a “T”. Slowly the books started to fill up. Now I am proud to say I am booked solid here at Ria Lash Studio. It is a time I’ll never forget and it will forever be a reminder to never give up.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rialashstudio.com
• Instagram: @ria_lashstudio
• Twitter: @ria_lashstudio

Image Credits
Headshot and action shot with model shot by Katelyn Powell, IG @sonderphoto.co