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

Nelia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’ve made a full-time living from my work as a creative since 2017, and I continue to earn more opportunities to earn a better living as I grow. Hair braiding has been my greatest passion since I was a child and has always been something I’ve actively pursued. Once I moved to Dallas, TX from Indiana, I put a strong effort into learning social media, the demographics of my area, and what people were looking for in Black hairstyles. I can remember using breaks at my day job to answer texts and emails for potential new clients, leaving at 5p to get my then 7 year old son, going to my salon suite to take new clients until 1a or 2a, and then turn around and do it all again the next day. I would pack my son’s dinner and bag with entertainment and books so that he was comfortable while I worked at growing my business.

The sacrifice was huge. I tirelessly worked to build a name for myself until I was comfortable enough to quit my day job and go full-time with what I loved to do! I finally took that leap of faith on February 3, 2017 and quickly found myself thriving, gaining new clients weekly. About a year later I booked my first celebrity client, rapper Mike Jones. To this day, I still braid his hair bi-weekly. Along with reality TV stars, professional athletes, models, and music artists, my name and brand was becoming even greater. I had built a reputation for precision work and great professionalism. In 2020, I booked my first A-List celebrity client: Julius Randle of the New York Knicks. I’ve now had the opportunity to style him for the 2021 NBA All-Star game, TV commercials, and of course nationally televised basketball games. Recently, I’ve become a paid content creator on social media as well and highly recognized educator.

I firmly believe that my strong passion is the driver behind my continued growth and success. As with any business venture, there have been some mistakes that I’ve taken as lessons moving forward. But I tell my students often that passion is required to succeed. The money, the living, the perks and traveling will follow if you pursue your career and artistry with PASSION.

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

Believe it or not, my Christmas gift at 8 years old was my first mannequin head and hair accessories. I’ve been styling hair since I was just a little girl, with aspirations to move to Texas when I became an adult to open my own hair salon. I was a color specialist in Indiana until I moved to Texas. I had always braided before, but it wasn’t my focus. I began to braid regularly in Texas because it was high in demand and I began to make a name for myself pretty fast with my technique. So I stuck with it!

I offer a variety of braid style services as well as digital products for braid classes and business classes. Recently, I became a brand ambassador for EBIN New York, so I use much of that product line for my work. Lock N Pomade, their new setting mousses, 24 hour edge tamer, etc.

My passion has been so deep for so long, so the integrity of this industry is very important to me. My discipline in how I hold myself accountable to run a sound and professional business has been half of the reason why I’ve been so successful. My brand, the identity that my clients and the public have given me, is that I’m professional and precise. We live in the tech era and I believe that service, customer engagement, etc. has been lost amongst generation Z. Being a service provider includes a great experience just as much as a satisfactory service and I understand that concept very well. I also work diligently to maintain a professional image such as a professional website, booking and secure payment system, social media posts and engagement, etc.

The other part of my brand identity is my precision in my execution. I take pride in knowing that I deliver exceptional results with very clean and polished work. Comments from social media users and clients are often acknowledging recognizing my hands and videos and real life clients in public. One thing I’m very clear about is my challenge with being able to create something totally new, but getting inspiration from something totally new and putting a spin on it. But even so, my ability to execute flawless braid styles is recognizable all over the world.

I’m most proud of relocating across the country on my own and building my business from the ground up. I moved to Texas in 2015 with nothing but what all I could fit in my car. I had no money or job, but I was determined to get to where I wanted to be. After a year of working a salary job while building my name and reputation for hair braiding, I finally quit and went full-time with my business. It’s been 7 years and I’m doing work and reaping rewards that I had never dreamed. I’ve serviced A-list celebrity clients , become a paid and recognized influencer on social media, and soon will be managing a large salon in Dallas, TX. I set goals, and exceeded them. I couldn’t be happier.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I first began, I only had 300 Facebook friends and no Instagram page. I was also new to Texas from Indiana, so I didn’t know very many people. I took the time to study social media. I quickly learned that people sought their information and referrals from social media. So I put myself in a potential client’s shoes and spent time searching and studying different social media platforms. Within 1 year, I gained 10k followers. By the end of the 2nd year, I earned 50k more followers. By the end of year 3, I had over 100k followers on Instagram. I have over 11k followers on Facebook and that number is growing exponentially due to the reels feature.

My best advice for those who are just starting to build their social media presence is to be persistent, authentic, and ENGAGE. My following grew organically because I was ME and I presented my work as a reflection of me. So the followers who came along are there to see what I truly have to offer. Engage with your comments, respond to DMs, partake in the reels and stories features, etc. It doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s imperative that you’re persistent.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love waking up to create! My business doesn’t feel like a job; it feels like I’m doing whatever I want to do every day. Because my passion drives my focus and allows to me pour 200% of myself into my career at all times, I’ve been afforded to live and provide comfortably for myself and son. I’m able to be a full-time basketball mom in addition to running my business. I’m able to travel the world and see places I never would’ve likely experienced. Opportunities present themselves that I hadn’t even imagined before, such as now being a paid content creator on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.braidsbymsnelly.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/braids_by_msnelly
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Ms.NellyDFW
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/braids-by-msnelly