Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stefanye Williams . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Stefanye, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?
I manage my own social media for my brand. Reason being I am an indie brand. I would loose my authenticity if I let a company manage my vision. Not to say a company wouldn’t do a great job but I connected with my audience organically and I want to keep that genuine sense of who I am with the brand and beings it’s owner.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a professionally trained makeup artist out of Chicago. I began doing my own makeup back in 2016 and started to promote it on social media. This was during the rise of the “beauty influencer” if you will. I would go live do tutorials and had a Youtube channel and the whole 9. Where I began professionally was in 2018 when I began to take clients and eventually that led me to working on professional TV show sets and other indie films here in Chicago.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I funded my business in the beginning stages with my own money. Knowing what I know now I would not and please to whoever reads this DO NOT DO THAT! Take the time to learn the market and do extreme due diligence. There are resources for you. Apply for business grants, seek opportunities for business loans, seek investors and create a business plan. I made it work but where I am today I am in a better place financially with my business but I want to just encourage smarter planning especially with starting a business.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
To be totally honest I am always pivoting in my business. The makeup industry is forever changing and trends are always happening. I’m constantly coming back to the drawing board based upon what’s needed and what to omit in the next quarter. My most recent pivot is how I plan to market my current inventory. People want more these days. They want to know ingredients, is it vegan, is your brand inclusive, cruelty free. Am I who I say I am. It’s an interesting time in the beauty industry to say the least.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maryaicosmetics.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/maryaicosmetics
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/maryaicosmetics
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/maryaicosmetics
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/maryaicosmetics
- Other: Pinterest: Maryai Cosmetics
Image Credits
Stefanye Williams