We were lucky to catch up with Quon Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Quon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job

Before becoming a business owner, the most important job I had that helped me as a business owner was serving as the Promotions & Marketing Director for 93.9 WKYS-FM, Radio One DC.

I was incredibly blessed; I was hired by Radio One several months before graduating college. I started in the radio industry during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis; large and small businesses suffered tremendously as many people struggled to keep their homes or, in some cases, lost their homes. With such a devastating crisis, consumer spending was down, which meant advertising dollars suffered, especially for urban stations. My small promotions budget for my department became nonexistent. Despite not having a budget, my PD and GM still expected incredible promotions and events from me.

Around this time, the Beyonce Single Ladies record was big, and my PD wanted an event for our station to capitalize on the excitement of the record, but again we had no money.

At the time, NFL player Lavar Arrington had a popular sports bar and restaurant named The Sidelines. I reached out to them to see if they would host the event for free for us, and they agreed. With the venue secured, I began working on the event.

To turn the Beyonce record into an event, I secured a jewelry partner to serve as our event partner by donating a diamond ring for our grand prize. I then went to Costco and purchased two large containers of ring pop rings.

We gave a ring pop ring to every man who came to the party, and we told the women who attended the event to collect as many ring pop proposals as possible to win our grand prize diamond ring.

For entertainment, I secured dancers from my former college to perform the Beyonce Single Ladies choreography, and I was able to get two of our record reps to bring Ace Hood and Musiq Soulchild to the event for a small performance.

The event was a major success both on air and in person. It was the hottest event ticket in town, and the only way to go was to win by listening to our station. Producing the event on a $0 budget taught me that there is always something to be made from nothing, but most importantly, nothing is still something so let nothing stop you.

Quon, 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 am Quon Wilson, the creator of Quon’s Eyes lashes and beauty. I am a makeup artist and television beauty expert.

As a beauty expert, I have appeared for feature on morning shows: Let’s Talk Live (ABC 7/8), Great Day Washington (WUSA 9), Good Day DC (Fox 5), 93.9 WKYS-FM, and 96.3 WHUR-FM in the Washington, DC market. I have also appeared on NBC 4 in Washington, DC, Fox 45 in Baltimore, and Essence.com. I am a graduate of HBCU, Bowie State University, and a mother of one.

I am often asked, how did I come to create Quon’s Eyes? I created Quon’s Eyes in the middle of my bedroom, in the middle of a failing marriage — a major blow to one’s self-confidence!

All I can remember of that time is desperately wanting to regain my self-confidence again. I found my solace in my lifelong passion for beauty, and I began making my own false eyelashes. I remember one thing very clearly from that time — I found it hard to be sad in a gorgeous pair of lashes.

From that point on, I became even more passionate about beauty and the beauty of all women. I created Quon’s Eyes to remind women, men, and myself of the power we possess within our unique beauty.

In a world with so many voices, and ever-changing definitions of beauty, if you don’t know who you are and what you possess, it’s easy to forget just how incredible you are.

Every woman and every man deserves the ability to define their beauty and the freedom to live in it. I am driven to create products that will allow people to own their beauty and command it.

My deepest desire is to help you enhance, expand, redefine, and celebrate your beauty! I hope our consumers embrace unapologetically commanding the room with their unique beauty — never compromising on the freedom of simply being who they were created to be.

Through our brand, we create amazing lash, beauty, and skin products and offer makeup services. Our high emphasis on consumer product education sets us apart from other brands. To this end, we provide free lash application help to our customers. If you buy a pair of lashes and get stumped on the proper way to apply them, you can contact us to schedule a video conference call so we can help you.

During your call, we will walk you through the proper application steps, so your false lashes don’t work against you in compromising the health of your natural lashes. When applied correctly, false lashes can serve as a “protective style” for your natural lashes.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Two of the most significant lessons that I had to unlearn is to stick to what works for you and to start from where you are. When you are launching a business and looking to cut through the market, there is a lot of temptation to look to your competitors. The key to success and getting ahead is to stay true to yourself and allow your authentic self to shine through your brand. When you do this, your intended consumer base will be able to find you, and you will weed out the customers that aren’t meant for your brand.

The other important lesson is to start right now from wherever you are. Often we feel immense pressure to be perfect before launching, as we miss out on incredible opportunities. There is no time like the present; you can accomplish every dream that is before you.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Success begins and ends with you. Your team will go as far as you show that you are willing to go, as long as you maintain your enthusiasm.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.QuonsEyes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quonseyes/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quonseyes/
• Other: Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/stores/QuonsEyes/Homepage/page/8360AE2E-1E75-4C6C-8CB5-C8A965718353

Image Credits
All photos are the original and creative content for Quon’s Eyes captured by Roy Cox Photography.