We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mariah Jenkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mariah, appreciate you joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
Growing up, I’ve always said i wanted to be a cosmetologist. I didn’t know what that took until i graduated hair school and started working in a salon. I had 5 maybe 10 consistent clients at the time. That was great but it sure wasn’t a full clientele, one that would support me financially alone. So i did what i had to do to provide for myself and still made sure my vision wasn’t lost. I started at the salon in September 2018. By November of the same year i picked up a full time job working 12 hour shifts 5 days a week which only left 2 days to work at the salon. Those 2 days at the salon were also booked. I made sure of it because this was what i wanted to grow, my clientele. So i only turned down a client if i absolutely didn’t have the time. 7 days total. 10-12 hours a day. 5 months later i was able to quit that job, had gotten myself an apartment, and was working full time at the salon. I haven’t had to pick up a job since. Scaling up is about your dedication and how much time you can put into growing. The more time you can put towards something it will position you to reach that goal pretty quickly. I also had a mentor who i learned under during the time i worked at the salon so i was learning at a faster rate and being able to retain the information and apply it. This is what kept me on a steady path and kept me focused.
Mariah, 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?
Hello everyone, i am mariah jenkins. A 25 year old Nashville native. I take pride in being a healthy hair care specialist. Owner and stylist at M.A.D.E. BEAUTY SALON we create the M.A.D.E. Experience through innovative styling and professionalism, educate on what healthy hair looks and feels like, build healthy hair habits and lasts a lifetime.
There are a lot of stigmas surrounding hair and practices that aren’t necessarily beneficial for our hair. It’s my job to teach my clients so those practices can be improved and you’ll see the difference in how your hair responds. This is what has shaped me as a stylist. I’ve been in the industry for 4 years licensed and plan to add many more years. I also plan to further my education to become an educator as well .
I think I’m most proud of the small things that i learn everyday. How my clients show up for me.
Everyone knows i peach health first!
Health, Style, Glamour.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
We can all agree that covid was a pretty bad time. It did help business though. During this time there was a lot of funding available for all types of businesses. I was able to get some of that funding because i had my business set up correctly and had certain requirements. This helped me get the salon up and running. I was able to get equipment, the space itself, and inventory.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I think the most effective strategy to building a clientele for me was my follow ups. Personally texting and calling clients checking on them, asking about their hair has been a game changer. I started this when i first started doing hair because i genuinely cared about how i performed on the style. I think it grew their trust in me.
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