We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yesenia Carrasquillo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Yesenia , appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
I was going thru a very difficult time in my life; I had recently lost some very important people in my life so I was down down.. Me and my current partner Jean were talking and I told him that I was thinking about starting to braid and that I wanted to take clients and open a social media page on Instagram. He said let’s do it and he opened my page, we changed the name about three times within a week, it was Braids By Jessy first and then we changed it a couple of times and finally decided on Braided By Jessy. I had a full time job at the time so in the upcoming days I started taking people I knew like one or two clients a week. I started posting on Instagram Daily even with my full time job I would literally spend my days at work posting and Jean would answer my messages. I started getting more clients by word of mouth and we would spread my name everywhere I went. We sacrificed everything, going out to eat, having a social life all of it! This was new to us because we were always the type to be out, but I just saw a bigger picture! About a year later after opening my instagram I landed my first out of state influencer. That was the turning point that took my career to the next level..
Yesenia , 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 always say there’s a lot of braiders out there, Great braiders, very skilled but everyone has a different style. I like to get creative with my brand. Im going to braid at one of the biggest festivals EDC LAS VEGAS I have clients coming from all over to get braided by me even Canada ! That’s a blessing! I host braid classes locally in Orlando and throughout the United States. This is my second year having a Braid Tour, I travel to 10 different cities and host a one day master class, this year I have added three day and one week classes to my tour as well. This is the most fulfilling when I teach mothers, girlfriends, woman and men a skill that they can then turn into a business, for many that opportunity can be life changing! I have seen some of my students that didn’t know how to braid at all take this skill that they learned from one of my classes and start their own journey and take off! That’s amazing especially because I know first hand it’s not easy but with hard work anything is possible and that’s what I see through my students and that motivates me to keep going pushing those boundaries because I know I’m paving a way for many others that’s coming behind me !
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
There was a time I had nothing My partner would work and he would pay all the bills so I could save my money from braiding to be able to buy products for my clients and save money so that I could eventually expand. My first class was in my living room. Now I’ve taught in some of biggest cities. It took a lot of confidence in me, I would literally wake up early to mediate and just think what am I gonna do to get to that next level. I would wake up my partner at all hours of the night to tell him my ideas because I needed someone else to tell me im making sense because at times I would even think to myself is this really possible can i do this and i needed that reassurance ! I would have this big white board where I put all my ideas! The hunger to succeed would literally stress me out at times but I just knew I had to keep going no matter what !
Have you ever had to pivot?
A few weeks ago I closed my salon The Braid Lounge, it was such a hard decision for me, because at one point I always thought that was what I wanted to eventually get a larger location that was the plan, but as I continued to travel and grow my classes I seen a bigger picture for me. I don’t want to be stuck at a salon I want to teach and grow my brand, travel to different cities and braid for different festivals! I have now moved into a smaller suite so that I can focus more on the growth of Braided By Jessy the brand and what’s next for me. I’m also focusing on my hair growth oil “Braid Juice” , I’m currently working on trademarks and patten’s for my products in my hair brand so I can eventually put them in beauty supply stores and hopefully Walmart one day ! When one door closes another one opens that’s how I had to look at it!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Braidedby_jessy
- Facebook: Braided By Jessy
- Youtube: Braided By Jessy
Image Credits
Photographer: Stephanie Gonzalez