We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Trickeon Ruffin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Trickeon , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started sooner or later?
If i could go back in time and start my business sooner I definitely would have started right after high school. When I first graduated high school, I was working at a fast food restaurant. Always in trouble, not making the right decisions for myself, and just lost. The profession I’m in is lash extensions. Starting sooner would have been great for me and clientele because i’ve always been super popular and very renowned around my city. Especially with females, i’ve always known a lot of girls. I started my business during Covid so it’s been harder building clientele now than I feel it would have before Covid. But… the big but, If I would’ve started my business earlier would I have gotten all the opportunities I have gotten since i started during that time?
Trickeon , 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?
I am Trickeon Ruffin. I go by Trick. and i’m the best, # 1 Celebrity Male Lash Artist in Atlanta. I’ve worked with lots of the who’s who in Atlanta. You may have seen my work featured on Alexis Skyy, Jodie from fashionnova, Erica Banks, Latoya Forever of Housewives Atlanta and many more, I got into this industry by first selling lash strips. My marketing, packaging, and brand is so creative and eye candy it quickly starting booming. I would get request after request about actually doing lashes, so I took a leap of faith, got educated on lash extensions and started from there. It’s been a long journey but I just have to remain focused and disciplined for my goal. The thing i’m most proud about and will forever brag about is my ambition and networking skills. When I first moved to Atlanta I prayed that God would fulfill my dreams while i’m here. I prayed that I would be the biggest Celebrity Male Lash Artist in Atlanta and look at me now. I haven’t been year two years and i’ve worked with atleast 20 celebrities. I’ve been featured in interviews. magazines, red carpets. and even TV.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn is that I’m not the only one. I’ve found myself getting discouraged because of slow times in business. I’ve passed out atleast 8k business cards, free products, free lash sets, discounts, travel, and working with celebrities. It would discourage me that these women didn’t book an appointment or buy any products after giving away products and putting myself out there so much but I had to learn patience. I don’t think I should work with EVERY girl in Atlanta but I have put in the work to work with top name influencers and celebrities. And that’s my goal. To work with big celebrities like Nicki Minaj. I just feel like even though I haven’t been here long because of the work i’ve put in and the people I have worked with I should be bigger, more booked and busier.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy on building clientele for me is simply networking. As I stated before, I have given away lots of products from lash strips, to lash extension sets, to lash supplies, even my new clothing collection I just released. I have given out eight thousand business cards. I’ve been featured on red carpets and magazines. I have hosted and sponsored business events. I’ve used instagram ads and also branding my clothing with my business info. I’ve been to lots of celebrity events, being in rooms with women I want to work with. So I simply introduce myself, tell them about my business, give them a card, show them my portfolio and even give them free products.
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