We were lucky to catch up with Reona Harrison recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Reona , thanks for joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
I would say some of the biggest trends in my industry are creative styling , out-of-the box colors and top of the line photography and videography to showcase products or services. I have never seen the beauty industry as creative in whole as it is now. It’s honestly breathtaking to see the combinations that some artists come up with and I am happy to be apart of the movement.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
Well , My name is Reona I prefer to go by Ree for short. I am a mother of 2 beautiful children along with a beautiful bonus daughter and I am the owner of Blessed By Ree LLC. From the age of 14 I have been doing my own hair and I never thought to go into the beauty industry as a career. Growing up I wanted to become a nurse, I never once thought to use my craft to my advantage. In 2019 While working as a CNA I tried many hairstyles and would sometimes work on my hair at work during my break time. One day a high-school friend saw my hair and reached out for loc styling I serviced her with Goddess Loc’s in January of that year and she referred many family members to me. After that I was able to slow down with picking up shifts as an aide and focus on taking clients. I was also attending Galen at the time so it was easier to be in charge of my own schedule and be in control of the profit I was making. When June of 2019 rolled around I was working for myself full time and attending school full time while also being a single mother. I had with a Toddler that I had very little help with so I had to make things work in mine and her best interest . In 2020 I decided to obtain a Braiders license , hair wrapping license and my LLC. I decided I wasn’t going to go back to nursing school And I would work on myself and grow my business. For the first year I struggled because I’m self taught so everything was a learning experience but from that January I was able to get better and better with everyone that I serviced. I studied hard and gave it my all I also took constructive criticism and perfected my styles. Here we are in 2022 and I am a Master of Faux Loc services and a Loctician. I offer a variety of Faux Loc services , temporary loc styling. Permanent loc styling and the maintenance of all things natural locs. What sets me apart is the fact that I am very personable , loving and empathetic. I give all of my clients 100% no matter the status. I am most proud of my Growth in total. I am proud of the fact that even though my past is rocky I took control of my life and broke barriers and set boundaries. What you should know is that no matter what once you sit with me you become family. I care about hair and not just about the profit , I have “growing hands”and all of my clients can vouch for that.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think being consistent with every client I have serviced , having great customer service and being as transparent as possible has helped my reputation within the hair industry. I treat all of my clients with the same respect and importance’. I also care about what I do and I believe that shows within my craft. It was very hard starting out because I wasn’t well known so many didn’t want to support. I had to quit working a 9-5 so that I could put 100% into what I was doing to make others respect and support me and no matter what I had to become consistent.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I would say The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been utilizing social media platforms like Instagram Reels and Tik Tok and running ads between them both. Also posting content consistently everyday that is engaging and shows the process of what I do has increased my clientele over the years. Yearly I run specials/deals to bring in new clientele as well which has also been very beneficial to me. Whenever Business starts to slow down that is when you should be running deals and ads I feel like that is the most important marketing strategy that has helped me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blessedbyreellc.as.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reethebraider/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCO3Z0Wzks5Bjfoc3JH-T7Hw