We recently connected with Olivia and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Olivia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I see success in a somewhat different way than most people do. A degree, or anything additional, is said by many to make you wealthy quickly. I believe that success requires both a clear vision and a special talent. Of course, having strength, discipline, and a strong drive are all important. When you discover your gift—a natural talent that you enjoy using and develop it into a business, you are successful. You’re able to get paid for your talent, and you’ll also feel some satisfaction. I’m succeeding in my talent, and because I have multiple gifts, I’ll always manifest that. It’s a great feeling to know that my talent gives others confidence, this is also a success to me.
Olivia, 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?
Who is Pretty Libby? I am Olivia, also known as Pretty Libby. A well-known braider who fell in love with the profession of hair care at the age of ten. I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. The city I now call home is Charlotte, North Carolina. I’ve tried working in the medical field, office administration, retail, banking, social work, and even became a Guardian Ad Litem appointed by the courts of North Carolina, but my interests were never really satisfied. It took me until February 2018 to finally decide to walk by faith, trusting myself with leaving my job to become my own boss doing what I love, despite the fact that I’ve had my Natural Hair Care license since March of 2015. Here we are five and a half years later, and I can honestly say that this was the best and biggest decision I’ve ever made. In fact, this is only the start of my brand Pretty Libby. I’ll keep being consistent with my work and brand. For PL, I’ve always wanted to create a thriving clientele community. I’ll keep coming up with innovative ways to run my business effectively and easily for both me and my clients. In the near future, I’ll also be introducing new, creative things that I’m passionate about.
This year will be the 2nd year I will be doing a back to school supply drive. Last year was amazing and we were able to give over 150 students school supplies. I pray it continues to grow. There’s so much more i have to offer to the world <3
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Yes. Since I was younger, I’ve had a side hustle doing hair. I began when we relocated from Baltimore, Maryland, to Philadelphia. I decided to give my dolls a break and get some real experience with real people. I began asking for the opportunity to style people’s hair. I would be paid as little as $2, as you may recall, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, $2 got me a lot at the corner store or the candy lady house. By the time I was ten years old, I was the neighborhood braider. In 2018, I made the decision to pursue it full-time. Why not use my talent as a career
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
What has helped me build my reputation is maintaining consistency with my brand and throughout my work. I always provide clean, neat and stylish styles to each client. I also enforce client policies and have guidelines I follow as well to make the service flow smoothly. Creating a personalized site for my clients has also played a huge role, making their booking process easier and more efficient and where they can shop some PL merch.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.prettylibby.com
- Instagram: @prettylibby___
- Facebook: Pretty Libby
Image Credits
Breonna Collier (the white outfit photos) EyeSunPhotography (orange fit pics)