Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Brown.
Hi Jasmine, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
While attending the prominent HBCU, North Carolina A&T State University, a friend of mine who had locs, needed his hair done for an interview. He walked me through his retwist steps and I found it to be an intriguing and almost effortless process! Shortly after, I started doing my closest friends hair for free to be a help, which then led me to doing hair for so many people on campus. I remember doing hair for as low as $25 in the beginning. These appointments helped me pay my bills. I did hair in the kitchen of my college apartment up until I moved to Houston.
Locs for a very long time had a negative stigma as being “unprofessional” or “unkept” and I hated that. Locs signify strength, wisdom, and so much more… They have a journey or their own. This crown represents a person’s style, uniqueness, and whatever image they want to portray. They’re more than a trend.
I kept doing locs because it was time to shut down the negative connotations. This has allowed me to express my passion and creativity, while providing customer satisfaction. Throughout my career, I have been blessed with learning many techniques that have helped me diversity my clientele and meet the needs of those who trust in me to serve them.
When I moved to Houston after graduation, it was July of 2020, covid rates were continuing to rise and I stopped doing hair for a year. In the summer of 2021, I decided to revamp my business and start back up as a mobile stylist. Having no idea that my business was going to take off the way it did, I went from overlooked to overbooked. I went from 0 clients, to doing hair for music artists, professional athletes, promoters, and more.
Yes, I was driving all over Houston doing hair. After three months, I knew I had to do something different. I was burned out, stressed out, and I wasn’t able to serve as many people as I would have liked to. By October, I began transitioning my business into a physical location. I moved into Muvaland Beauty Plaza, which is where I currently serve my clients! I also travel out of state to provide services where I am needed.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This journey has not been easy. Entrepreneurship is not for the weak. When I started back doing hair, it was a rough time mentally and even financially. Think about it. I was coming out of college, I was in a new city and I only had one family member here. At times I could have listened to those closest to me telling me I had a whole biology degree I could be using instead of being an entrepreneur, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I loved the idea of making my own hours, being able to live a certain type of life, and being in Houston pushed me to grind harder. Houston is filled with so many successful black businesses and I knew if I worked hard, I could make it. The grind and hustle is in you, not on you. I told myself I wasn’t going to do this to prove others wrong but to prove myself right. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was possible by faith. I was trusting God and God only.
The first challenge was building clientele in a new city. I didn’t know anyone. I used the previous skills I learned from network marketing to build my business brick by brick.
I used social media as a vehicle to grow my business. In my first 90 days, I was moving with pure business intention. Every single appointment I took photos and videos to make reels via Instagram, as well as videos for TikTok. I posted every single day using proper hashtags. I carried my business cards everywhere I went and I also sent out DMs to promote my work to anyone who came across my feed needing their hair done.
My business page went from 166 followers to 1000 in those three months. In month one, I only had 11 bookings, by month three I reached 87 bookings, 4 of which were celebrity clients.
Being a mobile stylist started off as a breeze when I barely had clients. As the bookings began rolling in, I was driving from Pearland to Conroe and everywhere in between. I was stressed out and so was my car. I had to step out on faith when I decided to transition from being mobile to having a physical location, I feared that I wouldn’t have enough clients to be able to afford booth rent or that my clients wouldn’t want to come to me if the shop was too far from them. When I sat down to weigh the pros and cons, it made the most sense to be in the shop. Before I could only get 2-3 clients in a day depending on travel, I now max out at 6 in a day and my clients love the shop!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a loc stylist, I specialize in the overall care and maintenance of locs from beginning stages to mature locs. I perform repairs for thinning locs or locs that may have come out by crochet work to reattach them. I also provide detoxes to cleanse the hair properly. I am known for my transformations and styles. My clients can literally show me a photo of what they want and I’m able to do it. I’m never afraid to try new things to satisfy my clients and exceed their expectations. I’m most proud of the growth and goals I’ve hit on and offline when it comes to my business in just a year. I moved to Houston not knowing anyone and built my clientele off of social media and in-person networking. What has set me apart is the experience I provide from start to finish. I often times over-communicate so there’s a solid understanding. I’m also very flexible with early or late appointments, so I can make sure everyone gets in. I have clients in a variety of industries and this helps them get taken care of no matter what time it is.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Locs are now becoming more of a fashion and a trend. It’s crazy, but we’re seeing more loc extensions and ways to speed up the locking process. More and more people every day are locking their hair. In my first year I’ve started the loc journey for 55 people. I personally look forward to teaching more individuals how to provide proper care. I believe there will be more shops with multiple loc stylists under one roof. Almost like walk in style service to take care of more people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=19276149
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazzgotmetwisted/?hl=en
Image Credits
Professional photos: @theredwyne | @draperboymedia
