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

Hi Octavia , thanks for joining us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

I love with family and friends support my small business. word of mouth is one of the biggest way to help a small business grow. Where I cross the line is when people ask for discounts and or freebies. That actually hurts the business financially.

Octavia , 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’m Tae I’m from Dayton OH. I moved to Columbus OH when I was 11/12 years old. My passion start when my mom used to do my hair. One thing she always kept was our hair done. I naturally grew a passion for hairstyles and makeup.

After high school I went to cosmetology school. Where I didn’t finish. I got burnt out and went to college instead. I didn’t finish there neither. I went back to cosmetology school as my passion came back and I graduated from Regency beauty school in columbus OH!

Since graduating in 2016 I took my state Boards and passed the first time. So since 2016 I have been doing what I love most. “ENHANCEING BEAUTY FROM WITHIN” by boosting confidence and self esteem through beauty.

What sets me apart is I enhance your natural beauty and promote healthy hair grown. As a women of color we face many problems with our skin and especially our hair! We work towards a goal thats tailored to your needs.

What I’m most proud of are all the happy clients that love coming back and seeing how their confidence has changed.

How did you build your audience on social media?

How I started was posting my pictures and videos on social media. I started doing tutorials on YouTube as well as going live on Facebook.

I made business pages on them same platforms. Staying consistent is key. Posting content on the regular basis will help build your client’s and traffic to your social media handles.

Be personable and just be yourself. Don’t listen to the hate, you can’t please everyone. DO YOUR BEST AND POST THEM PICTURES/REELS and TUTORIALS!!!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Social Media and word of mouth. I get a lot of messages from potential clients asking questions. I do my best with answering all questions. Customer Service is everything and so is your time management in responding to potential customers.

Build a positive representation of your brand and new clients will come. Smile and be kind

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ockboks-boutique-llc.square.site/
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ockboks_boutique_llc
• Facebook: OckBoks Boutique
• Youtube: Octavia Merritt

Image Credits
Charles Fitzhugh