Twenty-one-year-old lash tech Ashley Sanchez opened up her business, Lashed by Ashley S, in her home in East Elmhurst Queens in September of twenty-twenty-one.
Source: Ashley Sanchez
"I've always been interested in the beauty industry," she says. Lashing caught her attention during the summer of twenty-twenty one, and she ultimately decided to pursue her interest.
She took a two-day course in lashing and is currently certified.
Sanchez explains how her experience in this course has helped her create her business page and gain clientele. She learned from lash artist and educator Jamie and was taught the basics of lashing. She learned about various products, what materials are recommended, how to take proper care of the lashes to avoid infection, and practiced on mannequins as well as real people. Jamie also assisted with the process of creating her social media platform. Sanchez decided to use Instagram and is currently thinking of creating a TikTok account, but that is a work in progress.
"Social media is a big platform right now," she says, "there are going to be more than ten people who are going to see your page."
Social media plays a significant role in the success of her business. People she doesn't know in real life contacted her to book appointments because of her Instagram page. She continues to gain clients through referrals, family, and friends.
"I feel like my business has grown from a year-two years ago," she says. "I started from zero — I even thought about stopping because I didn't gain clients, but of course, since I was new, I had to gain them. My business has improved because I get recommended to other people, and they contact me."
Sanchez gets inspired by her clients in addition to other lash techs. Feedback is critical to her; she uses these comments to improve her business. Her favorite part of the job is seeing the results. "If I like the work, and the client likes the work, they'll come back for a refill — it is all about the loyalty of the client," she says.
While Sanchez is a lash tech, she is also a full-time student with a part-time job and an intern. Her clients are understanding of her time and appreciate how dedicated she is. Sanchez aspires to branch out her business once she is ready to take on more responsibility. She stated that she would also like to do eyebrow services, which include micro-blading, waxing, and threading.
As a woman in a small business, Sanchez shared her biggest struggle — being compared to other women. "I saw it more at the beginning," she says, "girls will compare your work to other lash techs, and that's how they decide where they want to go — it's based on their work and the amount of time they have in lashing. People want to go to the one who has more experience." She explained how this had happened to her, but it didn't stop her. She still continues to do her best for every client.
If you are a woman striving towards creating your own small business, Sanchez advises consistency and having friends and family share your business page.
"Just go for it. It doesn't hurt to try. I feel like it will work out someway somehow," she says.
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