Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Hunt.
Ashley, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Wink Lash Company started from very humble beginnings. As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be my own boss. Honestly, I wanted to be THE BOSS, I never wanted to work for anyone else even when I was a little girl I would come up with ways to make some extra money Clean the house, I have a neighbor who I braided her daughter’s hair for extra money and people would always tell me I’m going somewhere and I’m going to make it and be successful at whatever I do. When I was younger, I had a very rough time adjusting just like the kids today I faced bullying (not fitting in with the people around me often about my clothes and shoes) and it was hard trying to adjust and as a teenager I stayed in trouble. I just didn’t want to follow the rules.
When I turned 19 I became pregnant with my son and during that moment, I realized that there was a decision that had to be made. At this time, I was working at the airport just working to get by. I had Epiphany when I spoke with one of my coworkers he told me I was way too smart to just be working at the airport and that I needed to pack up my bags and just go straight for the South and that same day I told my family that I was leaving St. Louis Missouri to go to school so I could better myself and to improve my son’s life. Literally the next week I packed up everything I own and was on the road. The only thing I had was maybe $1,500 a hope and a dream and my son. I enrolled in school and during this time, I was working three jobs. This was one of the most depressing times in my life. I never really fit in often I felt I was bullied but I always told myself what didn’t kill me will make me stronger. There were times that I couldn’t afford daycare and I have to make a sacrifice when I had class my son had class too and yes there were times I had professors who didn’t mind it then there were times I have professors that were totally against me bringing him to class and I was put out in front of the entire class so embarrassing right but I never gave up. After my first year of school, I had a 0.5 cumulative GPA at that point in my life I wanted to give up. I wanted to pack my bags and go back to where I came from but I knew that wasn’t the path that God had for me. Because my GPA was so low, I lost two of my on-campus jobs and I lost my financial aid but even though all these negative things kept flying towards me I never gave up.
In 2017 I realized I needed to make some extra income. I needed the extra money and it was like a light bulb went off as I was scrolling on Instagram I saw all these Black Women entrepreneurs with their own businesses selling hair selling lashes doing makeup and I ask myself why can’t I do the same thing. At that moment, I told my boyfriend that I wanted to start my own business selling lashes and I asked him to invest in my business plan. He agreed and he gave me $100 to start my business off. In the beginning, I truly had no idea as to how to run a business but I knew I had to keep the faith because Wink Lash Company was going to go somewhere one day. As time progressed, I have had the pleasure of selling lashes to people all around the United States from California to Texas even in New York. But Wink Lash Company did not stop there. I have grown my business to sell so much more we provide our customers with sleepwear, swimwear, jewelry, and so much more. Every time someone asks me about my company, I tell them that Wink Lash Company is here to provide quality products to our customers, which I also call the “wink lash crew” for an affordable price.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road for me as a new business owner. In the beginning, I ran into a lot of roadblocks. I didn’t know anything about running a business. I didn’t know about paperwork and taxes and making sure that you fail on time. It was a struggle. I had to learn the hard way from the very beginning. Some other challenges that I faced was just trying to get my name out there getting people to know my business and to trust my business which can be very hard especially when this is the beauty industry there are hundreds and hundreds of lash companies there are hundreds and hundreds of people that are essentially selling the same thing that you’re selling so I had to find out or figure out what could I do to make Wink Lash Company different from the rest.
Please tell us about Wink Lash Company.
Wink Lash Company is a company that strives to provide quality beauty products and items at an affordable price. We are known for our tagline “shop and get winked,” and you will hear that everywhere and see it everywhere on our website, on Instagram, Facebook it’s literally everywhere and that is what people know me for. Also, people know my car that I drive because it has lashes on it and when I need to make a delivery or house run, everyone knows the “Winkmobile”. I started off with lashes but I have opened doors to new beginnings. I am a plus-size model and oftentimes, I want really nice Accessories that I can fit but also I can afford and so by adding swimwear and even sleepwear to wink lash company I am adding more elements that oftentimes plus size women don’t have the opportunity of getting.
I don’t stop there. In addition to running the company, I am always helping young entrepreneurs who either want to start their own lash business or any business. Oftentimes I get people who call and ask for help or ask for advice and because I’ve gone through so many different things, I am always the person to kind of keep them from going down the same path that I went down if I made some type of mistake.
I think what sets me apart from other companies is that I am truly a business owner that has the mindset to help the next person get to their goal. I have people who own businesses that call me and stay on the phone with me for hours and we just talked about their business goals and their plans I’m the type of person I want to see people be successful if someone wants to start their own business I am behind you 100% if you want to start your own lash business I’m not the type of person to hate on you because no one did it to me. I have people who ask about vendors. I have people who ask about pricing and I’m the type of a person if it’s going to help you be successful. I’m here for you and I feel that is what makes me different. I am a true supporter of businesses, especially black business.
I think I’m most proud of Wink Lash Company because I didn’t think it would be as successful as it is today. Sometimes you just have to move in silence sometimes, you just have to pray about it and let it go. I want Wink Lash Company to become a household name. At first I would sell lashes once a week and now I have clients who call me and say hey I need you to send me a case of lashes because I’m doing makeup this weekend. I am truly a blessed. I am proud that I have people who believe in me who believe in my company and who believe that I can take this business so much further.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had a do-over, I definitely would redo the beginning of my business knowing now what I should have known back then I would not have just jumped headfirst into opening the business without doing more research.
Another thing I would definitely do over is there was a point in my business where I just wanted to take on everything all at one time I wanted to sell clothes, shoes, handbags jewelry the whole nines and I spent a lot of money on that and ended up broke. So I would definitely say if I could just do over the beginning create a true plan of action I would be way better off.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.winklashcompanyllc.com
- Email: winklashco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wink_lashco/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/WinkLashCompany/
Image Credit:
Makeup: Houseoflilies
Photographer: ElevatedbyCJ
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