Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Teriah Whitlock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Teriah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
As we all may know, being a business owner is far from easy. We wear several different hats, such as marketer, accountant, and customer service rep amongst many other things. The life is tough mentally and physically, and some days I wonder if i’ve chosen the right path. I ask myself, is all the stress worth it? Would I be happier working for someone else and no longer dealing with the overhead that comes with running a business. I think about the operating expenses which determine how i am going to scale my business weekly monthly and yearly. But then I think about why I do what I do. I think about the freedom I have to run things as I see fit. I am extremely passionate about my goal and purpose as a business owner in my industry. My goal is to empower women, enhance their natural beauty, and make them feel sexy and confident in their everyday lives. I wouldn’t change what I do for the world. I’m committed at a really high level to dive deeper into the beauty industry and open a Beauty Bar where all beauty needs can be met in one place.
Teriah, 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?
My name is Teriah Whitlock. I am a lash technician and pmu artist. A lash technician is a beauty professional who specializes in the application of false eyelashes. We are trained to apply individual lashes to each eyelash. All lash sets are customizable to meet individual clients needs. PMU (Permanent make-up) is a cosmetic technique which employs tattoo methods of producing designs that resemble makeup, such as micro blading brows, powder brows, and lip blushing. My favorite part of being a lash technician is personalizing each lash set. I love when my clients give me free range to be as creative as I want when creating lash sets. I also enjoy my clients reaction when they see the final product for the very first time. They are always overjoyed and excited about their lash extensions and their experience with me. This gives me great pleasure knowing they absolutely love their new look and can wake up fabulous everyday. I also pride myself in having excellent customer service skills. I pride myself in creating the ultimate client experience by being hyper forced on their needs their wants and their desires which entails creating a clean, comfortable and safe space for every client.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Before becoming a business owner and working for myself full time, I was a director at a family owned learning center. I worked at the learning center which afforded me to fund my dream. After months of contemplating, I decided to just take the risk and jump out there. I saved up $650 for my 8 hour, 1 on 1 Classic Lash Extension training course. Afterwards, I did 1 client a day, after working at the learning center. The first week I did every set for free, so I could get my time down and build my client base. After that I began charging clients a reasonable price to draw clients in so i could build my data base. During the process of building my business, I still had to maintain my job at the learning center , which helped me fund this new opportunity.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy I use to build clientele would be social media & referral programs. Each client should be looked at as a walking advertisement. Social media has been a great driver in my business . I upload several reels and posts throughout the week to keep my audience engaged.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thextensionistlashbeautybar.as.me/
- Instagram: @thextensionist__