Today we’d like to introduce you to D’Arian Stevenson.
D’Arian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always been interested in beauty for as long as I could remember and very business savvy. My very first business started back years ago in college when I started my very first business selling raw Indian hair bundles, I didn’t know much about business I just knew I loved the beauty industry and I wanted to make money from what I loved. Well, that turned out to be the wrong mindset because, as soon as my business started, it came to an even faster end. Now lets fast forward a few years later to 2017, I’m not longer in college, I have much more knowledge and way more wiser. I researched a whole year on how to start an online business, how to find wholesalers, how to make a website, how to market, and how to build a brand from the ground up.
October 8th, 2017 my brand “Gorgeous Me Lash Extensions” came to life, from the ground up all done by me, no extra help and no handouts. I started off only selling Mink 3D eyelashes and offered eyelash extension services in a beauty salon. I put all my free time into my brand, sleepless nights and early morning. And that definitely paid off but I still felt very incomplete. A year later and “Gorgeous Me Lash Extensions” transitioned into “Gorgeous Me Beauty”, it wasn’t easy but I knew my heart desired more, bigger challenges, bigger dreams! “GMB” is now a full beauty business offering Raw Indian hair, full lace wigs, custom units, closures, frontals, mink lashes, and much more. February 2020 has wrapped up one full year of us providing “all things beauty” and with consistency, dedication, and hard work we have been very successful.
Now we are here it’s 2020 and I been living in Atlanta for the past seven months, I decided to pack all my things and left my small city to chase my dreams in an even bigger city. This was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but we all know Atlanta is the city of beauty so it was NOW or NEVER. I took that leap of faith and been trusting the process ever since. I’m here to change my dreams into reality.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, it has not been a smooth road. My favorite quote is “nothing worth having comes easy”, this quote always reminds me why I go so hard because the most worthy things in life aren’t given to us and when I say things I mean success, passion, self-motivation, financial freedom, happiness. The small things we tend to overlook but are very worthy, these things aren’t just given to us. We have to work and grind for them day in and day out.
My biggest struggle for me was the “what if” factor and if the “what if” happened, then what would people say about me? I struggled with the thoughts of failing often, but what I’ve learned is when you really love what you are working for and you have a passion for it. YOU CAN NOT FAIL! Your spirit will not allow it, you are so in-tuned with it, it is now apart of you, your lifestyle. Things may get slow, thing may get uneasy, things may get uncertain but remember to continue doing your research, stay consistent, and don’t give up, you’ll remain successful.
How your 9-5 works you, make sure you work yourself just as hard, if not harder for the thing you want and/or the things you love the most. And for the second part “what will people say”, it doesn’t matter because nine times out of ten you are doing something that’s in motion, that they only dream of doing and if they are already doing and are more successful then you, that’s okay let them talk but your time is coming. What I’ve learned is people are always gonna have something to say whether you are doing good, bad, or better but that is not for you to carry. Remain humble, remain graceful, and keep your eye’s on your own journey.
Please tell us about Gorgeous Me Beauty.
I am an eyelash extension artist who also makes customs units. My specialty at the moment is making custom closure units using hair from my business “Gorgeous Me Beauty.” I’m known for having my own online business with the best sellers of 3D and 5D Mink Eyelashes along with our Raw Indian Deep and Body wave bundles. What I am most proud of as a brand is that not only do I have a brand but it’s really a lifestyle. I incorporate my business with everything I do on a day to day basis and I believe that is something that sets me apart from others, and a lot of people love it! I’m also very educational when it comes to products or any services I have to offer, I answer questions openly and freely, and people love the honesty.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think the biggest barrier today for female leadership is people not wanting to be open or share knowledge with others or when they are sharing a little knowledge they are overcharging dollar amounts for someone to receive it. I believe with being a leader, you do have to share wisdom or at least want to share and it shouldn’t always be a cost for it.
What about the little girl who is not as privileged as us, who has no clue on even how to do the basics like research or don’t know how to search for the proper websites. And on top of that, she doesn’t have any money available to spend on a 5-page E-Book. Those are the little girls or females who have dreams but are getting left behind because we are choosing to be selfish with our ways or our thought process. I feel like there is enough out here for everyone and we do not have to be stingy with our wisdom.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gorgeousmebeauty.com
- Email: gorgeousmebeauty@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/gorgeousmebeauty?igshid=muio93hoqr7v
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