Today we’d like to introduce you to Miara Bryant.
Miara, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began doing lashes for one simple reason: I wanted to earn a little extra money aside from where I was working at the time. I was in school at Georgia State University studying marketing and the passive and oh so common narrative of being a “broke college student” was never something that appealed to me. I did a little research and found that I could make over six-figures yearly if I was able to get good and build my clientele.
I was born a hustler and I didn’t mind putting in the work and investing a little money on something that I could see a future in. I registered for my certification course back in December of 2018, completed the course, and immediately began practicing on my friends and family out of my home. At first, I was absolutely horrible and I actually hated doing them. I looked up to so many lash tech’s in Atlanta and I really began to get discouraged because I just couldn’t grasp how they were so talented. Despite losing a lot of motivation, I was still determined to get better. The more I practiced and the better I got, the more I began to fall in love with not only doing lashes but with the idea of actually running my own legitimate business. As stated before, I was studying Marketing at Georgia State at the time and I realized my true passion was in marketing, PR, and brand development.
In my final semester at Georgia State, I decided to really apply all the principles I studied in classes such as Marketing Strategy and Managerial Decision Making to take my business to the next level. My overall career goal is to eventually own my own PR firm that specializes in improving and developing brand images for companies and personnel that are entertainers, athletes, and public figures. I figured rather than go work a low paying internship, I can use the experience I gained from developing my own brand as a strong resume builder. I moved The Lash Vault from my home to my own suite located in Buckhead, Atlanta back in October of 2019. I established The Lash Vault as an LLC on January 22, 2020.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road to where I am now has been rocky and full of detours and U-turns, but nothing that’s worth something comes easy, and anything that’s easy probably isn’t worth something. I faced the biggest challenges with developing The Lash Vault because of my health. In March of 2019, I had begun to notice I was really losing a lot of weight. I thought maybe my body was just changing. I also began to count how often I was stuck in my bed because my stomach was constantly hurting. I went to urgent care in early March because I was feeling extremely sick one day and couldn’t bring myself to stand for more than 30 minutes at a time.
I was misdiagnosed and given some antibiotics, which helped the pain go away for the time being, but it came back and was much worse one day in mid-April. I went back to urgent care and insisted that the doctors do a little more research. A CT scan on my stomach revealed a tumor larger than a grapefruit sitting on my pancreas. I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few days later. My whole world stopped. I was 22, in my final semester of college, and just found out that I had been living with cancer for anywhere from 5-7 years. My cancer specialist at Emory required that I had surgery to remove the tumor, my spleen, and half of my pancreas within the next month.
My business was finally starting to do really well and I was set to graduate college in two months. The surgery would leave me in the hospital for a week and on bed rest for about three weeks. I was forced to drop three of my five classes and my business was put on hold for about two months. I was depressed and honestly just wanted to give up. I chose to seek therapy to help how I felt, but I found a great deal of confidence in praying and reading the bible. I was able to recover at such a rapid pace, my nurses were actually surprised. Today I am cancer free! I finished my courses that summer and business slowly but surely began to pick back up. It was a struggle for sure, but today I feel as if I can overcome anything.
Please tell us about The Lash Vault.
The Lash Vault aims to provide high-quality beauty products and services at an affordable cost. I am a certified eyelash technician and I specialize in hybrid and volume semi-permanent eyelash extensions. I have had countless terrible experiences in the beauty industry, so my goal is to be nothing like that beautician that you are used to. I want each client to feel welcome and appreciated.
I aim to always be on time and never keep clients waiting. I have also recently begun to offer 1-on-1 training/certification courses for those who are looking to earn extra money while making their own schedule. The Lash Vault also offers 3D and 5D mink strip eyelashes for those who may not like to wear lash extensions. I have 14 styles and counting. These styles can be shipped directly do you all over to country, or you can schedule a pick up if you are in the Atlanta area. The overall goal for myself and for The Lash Vault is to simply make women feel beautiful. I will eventually be offering more products and services as well.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Lash extensions is a trend that continues to grow, and I don’t see it coming to an end any time soon. Microblading is a trend that is also really growing, and I want to add that service to The Lash Vault’s list! In the next five years, I plan for The Lash Vault to be much bigger than just a suite. I plan to purchase my own shop with several different stations for other professional and friendly eyelash technicians, to work in as well. I also plan for The Lash Vault to house a makeup artist, microblading technician and an esthetician so it can be a one-stop beauty shop. In ten years, I will most likely become more of an owner rather than a consistent eyelash technician so I can focus on building my career.
Pricing:
- Full Volume Set: $120
- Hybrid Set: $100
- Classic Set: $80
- Fill Ins: $50-$70
- Mink Eyelashes: $10-$15
Contact Info:
- Address: 175 W Wieuca Rd NE, Suite #120, Atlanta, Georgia
- Website: www.shopthelashvault.com
- Phone: (678)-435-1735
- Email: thelashvault.shop@gmail.com
- Instagram: _TheLashVault
- Twitter: _TheLashVault
Image Credit:
Personal photo shot by Trey Eckles (Instagram: @eralphia3)
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