Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Coleman.
Alicia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started my brand in January 2015 with a brand new camera that I just received for Christmas. I honestly had no clear niche for my channel. I had no real strategy on how to grow my following; I just knew that I had a story and I wanted people to join me along my way. I always had an interest in beauty but I was too afraid to lead off with that because I still had a small fear of rejection. Within in my first year of having my channel I began to see the influence I really did have amongst my subscribers and that’s when I realized that I wanted to take my brand (that had become more lifestyle) to my true passion which was beauty. The only thing is I wanted to show young women that beauty was not skin deep.
Though my love for makeup is out of this world, I always see the beauty in people’s roots (the soul). After that, I began to make videos where would do my makeup but also chit chat with my audience about the importance of having a relationship with God, self-love and more. Now I am in the transition of moving my brand from just the beauty in regards to makeup but also focusing on physical health. Just recently I started an accountability chain to get people to hold one another accountable to go to the gym and it took off. I’m happy to announce that I will be introducing a brand under A.Coleman called Beauty and the Beast! To continue my message that beauty is not and will never be limited to makeup. Beauty is how we choose to live our lives! That’s what my brand represents.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has certainly not been a smooth road. I am Liberian and creating a channel/brand where you are choosing to be transparent about certain things in your life is looked down upon….A LOT. Often we are told that we must look “put together” but that constant pressure to look put together helps no one. It certainly did not help me. I knew that if God gave me the talent to do makeup and catch people’s attention I wanted to be authentic. I never wanted people to believe that my life was perfect because we all experience life whether we want to display it or not. Needless to say, it was tough trying to have a channel that was my open journal and also having family have access to it.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about A. Coleman – what should we know?
My brand A.Coleman is a lifestyle/beauty brand. I create beauty content on both my Instagram and Youtube and also blog my everyday life here and there. What I am most proud of is that I have a community of people who value my opinion when it comes to beauty advice on what products to use and they trust me. I think the biggest thing that sets me apart from other beauty influencers is that allow people into my life. Not just the good stuff but that the struggle parts too. I do my best to be in my community and to present not always through social media but actually listening to my subscribers and meeting up with them to talk about what’s going on in their lives. I am still small in the youtube world so it allows me to have such a genuine impact with those that do follow me.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
If anyone deserves credit, it would have to be my friends. There’s been many times where I felt like my brand wasn’t moving fast enough and I wasn’t getting anywhere and I wanted to quit it all, but constantly reminded me that I have an influence whether it three subscribers or 1700 subscribers. I had people who listen and who want to hear what I have to say.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aliciacoleman989.wixsite.com/acoleman/blog
- Email: Therealacoleman@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_acoleman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AColemanAC/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/THE_ACOLEMAN
- Other: Youtube.com/AColemanAC
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