We recently connected with Monique Hamil and have shared our conversation below.

Monique, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you manage your own social media?

I manage my businesses social media account and let me tell you, that’s a job in itself. I have done tons of research about Instagram. When you finally think you understand, it changes. They are constantly evolving, which is good, but makes it hard to keep up with. I create all posts, stories, videos and even dance funny for Reels. Social media is the mecca for advertising your business and even yourself these days. I honestly don’t understand why businesses wouldn’t utilize something so powerful when it’s FREE. On the other hand, it’s very time consuming, so I can respect if someone just doesn’t want to do it.

Monique, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been in the beauty industry for over 23 years. I started out as a receptionist in a hair salon when I was in college. I had no idea that that job would charge my entire career path. I also had no interest in being a service provider in “beauty industry.” Within 6 months of being a receptionist, I became the manager of that salon. I was already going to college for business and that’s honestly who I am at heart. I fell in love with the business aspect of salons. Plus it’s a fun industry to be in. There’s nothing like it. After that hair salon, I stayed in the hair salon industry for over 12 years. At the very last salon I was offered an opportunity to learn lash extentions. I remember thinking “who in their right mind would let me hold tweezers near their eyes.” I wasn’t a service provider. I had no experience on this side of the salon business. And let me tell you, once I took the class, I thought “there is no way I can do this.” It was HARD. Not only did I learn a new skill, but now I had to be confident enough to sell myself to clients. It was a complete change from what I was used to. But I was not going to let “lashing” get the best of me. I was determined to master this skill; because you know what I found!? I absolutely loved the relationships I was building with my clients I enjoyed the one on one time with them. And wouldn’t you know, I even developed a passion for lashin.. It took years for me to become confident in what I was doing, but with tons of practice and trial and error, I got there. Not only do I get to personally build my clients up but I get to help them feel beautiful and confident in their own skin. It’s amazing how lashes can simply make such a huge difference.

One memory that will never leave me is when I had the opportunity to do a woman’s lashes after she just fought cancer. She called the salon and said “I just finished chemo and I don’t know if I have any lashes, but PLEASE get me in.” I had never done a clients lashes after chemo, so I had no idea what I was getting into. She laid down and there were maybe 20 TINY lashes on each eye.. There was no way I’d be able to make her happy, but she begged me to get and I was determined. When I finished and handed her the mirror she began to cry and said “this is the first time I’ve felt like a woman again in so many years.” We cried together. I’m actually crying writing this now because that woman made a HUGE IMPACT on me. We became close friends and I continued to do her lashes. Even when she moved out of state for work, she would fly back to get her lashes done. Unfortunately cancer came back and she lost her battle to it. I got to know one of the most incredible ladies I’ve ever known all because of lashes. She had such a vibrant personality with a huge heart.

After a few years of doing lashes out of the hair salon where I had been, it was time for me to go on my own. I was still running that salon while taking clients. I was falling out of love with the business side of things and I didn’t want to manage anyone anymore, I was exhausted from doing both the business and lashes. I wanted to be by myself. I just wanted to focus on MY clients (not everyone else’s) and my relationships with them, as well as my craft. Terrified out of my mind, I rented a little salon suite. I worked around the clock to build my clientele. Within the first 3 months I was booked solid. I remember a new client calling and yelling at me when I told her I had a 2 month wait. That stuck with me. I had never been yelled at because I couldn’t get someone in. With confusion in my mind, I vented on social media that I didn’t know what to do. I was only one person and I definitely didn’t sign up to get yelled at or let anyone down. That’s when a friend replied and said “it’s time to expand.” Oooh boy, did I get defensive. Uhm no! I just got here; to my little sanctuary, all by myself with just my clients. No managing anyone. He must of been crazy……….well he was right.

A year after going on my own I decided to expand. This is all thanks to my hubby for pushing me to “jump..” I even had friends and clients who said they would be interested in working for me iif I expanded. So there i went and have been here ever since . Coming up on 10 years in business .”

Yes, lashing is my craft and I absolutely love it but my favorite is the relationships that my girls and I get to build. with our lash dolls. I also started this business to provide great, honest, clean work..

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2017 I lost my entire salon, home and vehicles to Hurricane Harvey. I had a 5 month old newborn who was sick and had just been released from the NICU a few months earlier. Not only did I lose my salon, I also lost my staff. Only one lash artist stayed and with her I completely rebuilt my salon from the ground up again. I remember thinking, “there’s no way this is going to work.” I was going day by day and asking God to show me the way. I really thought it was time to close my doors after 5 years. I just kept telling myself that God would let me know if it was time to move forward or not. By the grace of Dr. Jackson, I was able to continue my business. She reached out after the hurricane offering a room to work out of. She was actually a client of ours and the owner of a med spa that was around the corner from where my salon was. She flooded as well, so she knew everything I was going through. Doors continued to open and clients continued to call. Here I am, 5 years later, with 5 employees and I was able to expand. I honestly put all my trust in God at that time. There’s no other explanation as to how I got through all of that. I think I was numb from the experience and felt comfort in knowing He would lead me and my business in the direction we needed to go. Funny, I do remember the salon phone ringing a couple of days after the hurricane (its a cell phone). I missed the call and a lady text that she was wanting to get her lashes done asap. My salon was still under water, so I text her back letting her know that and that i was not sure when we would be reopening. Her reply was “darn, I don’t have any scuba gear to get to you so you could do my lashes.” All I could do was laugh. Just the thought of a client coming to us in scuba gear. Looking back, I feel like that was my sign that my business would survive.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

When I first opened my business, word of mouth was my biggest form of advertisement for me. Which is great because it’s free and shows client loyalty and trust. As I’ve expanded into having employees, I’ve recently found that social media (mainly Instagram) is now our biggest source of getting new clients. Marketing/advertising has drastically changed over the years. I remember doing yellow book ads for salons I used to run back in the day. Those are long gone, and thank goodness. Social media has opened new doors for so many businesses, especially small businesses, to put themselves out there. It’s easier to connect with people. You can show pictures of your work regularly. You can educate people about your services. The possibilities are endless if you work it right. The only downfall is that it’s a whole other job on it’s own to run a successful social media account.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lashouttx.com
• Instagram: @lashouttx

Image Credits
Photos by Kaylyn Marie Photography