Life and Work with Ebony Miller

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Miller.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ebony. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Industry Makeup Academy grew from what I saw as an underserved market in the southeast. Before Industry Makeup Academy, there wasn’t anywhere for prospective makeup artists to gain an in-depth education about their craft. The choices were either, go to school for cosmetology, which mostly taught about hair, and very little about makeup or learn on your own.

At the time, IMA was conceived in 2008, I was working at Sephora as a lead artist. I started hosting classes at the Perimeter location as an idea to counteract the frequent Sunday morning returns. Clients would come in for a group class and make purchases. Their purchases would offset the anticipated returns for that morning.
I was considering becoming a trainer for Sephora’s new hires, but as my journey would have it, I opened a makeup school, in January 2009. It was then known as Prostyle Makeup Academy. Soon, the rest fell into place. I started out with 2-day classes, which quickly grew to 1-week classes, then by April 2009, I offered a 2-week training program. We are now nearing the 10-year mark and are able to give a 5-week, in-depth certification program.

Has it been a smooth road?
I was fortunate to find a market that wasn’t oversaturated, like the traditional cosmetology school market. Although it took a lot of hard work and was very stressful, the journey was well worth it. The anticipation of being able to work for myself and be successful was a driving force.

My advice to other young women just starting their journey would be, don’t be afraid to start small and build up slowly. Believe it or not, I started this business with a $500 loan from my dad. This was just enough to cover legal documents and a small amount of marketing.

My 2nd piece of advice is, do something you’re good at. I’m naturally a communicator. I attended the University of Alabama-Birmingham for communications. I used the skills I learned to market my product. Also, since I had already started to develop classes while working at Sephora, it felt like a natural progression, somewhat.
Last, don’t be afraid to walk your own path. There will be doubters and people that can’t grasp your vision but push through. I was again, fortunate enough to have a best friend, Crystal Williams, that was more than willing to help come to teach a class with me on occasion. She is a licensed Esthetician, and now the owner of Bumble Bee Beauty in Smyrna, GA. I wanted so badly for her to partner with me. And although she wholeheartedly supported my vision, Industry Makeup Academy wasn’t her end goal. Until last June, I never had a business partner. That was until I met Renelyn Thomas, a longtime YouTuber and beauty Blogger (Makeup by Ren Ren). We quickly hit it off & became official business partners.

Finding a business partner took nearly 8 years! So, keep pushing with your own vision. It will come to fruition.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Industry Makeup Academy – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am 1st a Makeup Artist. So I know how much work it takes to be successful in this industry. There wasn’t a program for me to join to learn about my field, and when I often took the 1-day classes held by established makeup artists around town, I often left feeling like I had wasted my money. I didn’t feel like they were open to follow-up questions or that they cared about me successfully grasping the information they taught. It always seemed like a side hustle for them to make a quick dollar.

Therefore, when I developed this academy, the success of my students was 1st & foremost. To this day, I am still in touch with several of the students from our 1st graduating class. In fact, Industry Makeup Academy is the only school that offers a program that allows graduates to come back if they feel like they need more practice or guidance, anytime, free of charge. We understand that as an artist grows, new questions and situations will arise that the artist will need help on. Because of that, we have a closed group on social media that includes alumni and instructors. It’s great because previous students can have questions answered by instructors as well as their peers.

We know a great deal about our alumni & we have many that have achieved great success in this industry. That’s how we remain the 5-star top rated academy in Atlanta.

Who have you been inspired by?
I was always inspired by the successful women around me. The 1st was my mom. Although she has never owned a business, she always knew how to do something to earn extra money. Her number 1 goal was to be a great mother, and she did that. But I grew up middle-class and when my mom needed funds, she would do hair for people in our small town, or she and my aunts would have a fish fry or even a yard sale. She always let me know that when you want something, all you need to do is figure out a way to do it and give it a shot! No harm in trying.

2nd was my guidance counselor, Dr. Gale Satchel (now the Interim Superintendent at Colbert County Board of Education, in Colbert County, Alabama). She was very encouraging when I told her I wanted a career in music at the time. It’s the little pushes like those that helped me to believe in myself all along the way.
I had several teachers that led me to believe I could be great.

Any woman that has a growing business encourages me. Of course, the celebrities that I saw growing up had an impact and allowed me to dream, but the women closest to me really were my biggest inspiration.

Contact Info:

• Address: 948 Marietta St NW
  Atlanta, GA 30318
• Website: IMAATL.com
• Email: 404-539-3341
• Instagram: Instagram.com/imaatl
• Facebook: Facebook.com/imaatl

Image Credit:
Adriana Zamudio, Michael Crute, IMA Alumni

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