Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Rankine.
Paige, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was originally born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in America since I was four years old. I am currently enrolled in graduate school while owning my first business. My first love is health care, but I always had a passion for anything related to beauty. I take a lot of pride in taking care of myself and love to keep up my appearance. At one point in time, I was really into makeup and would spend hours practicing on myself. I was very close to becoming a makeup artist, but the desire wasn’t there because that was not my career goal. I had a job as a pharmacy technician and focused on getting into pharmacy school. Even though I am very intelligent with high expectations for myself and my future career, I found myself once again interested in the beauty industry. As a student studying pharmacy, I realized that I could develop my passion for beauty into a business while pursuing my career. I am thankful for the business classes I am currently enrolled in to guide me because I now have confidence within myself and the drive to be a successful business owner.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, this road has not been smooth. I am a full time double major graduate student. I am doing my Doctorate degree in pharmacy and a Master’s in Business. Since high school, my life revolved around math and science, nothing else. I was in my comfort zone and never had the mindset to run a business or do something that is not related to the healthcare field. I was under the assumption that taking other routes would not make me successful. I am the first person in my family to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree, so I didn’t have anyone else to look up too for guidance. No one in my family owns a business or has a degree. I learn by observing things I don’t want versus what I want for my future. I learned everything on my own with the only advice of “go to college.” I knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field since I was 15 years old and have been successful on the path by taking steps to get to the profession I plan to pursue. As a graduate student, I do not have the time to earn a decent income in school and work a whole 9-5 shift because of my heavy course load and hours dedicated to studying. I wanted to step outside of the box from school and figure out how I can supplement the time that I don’t have to work to support myself financially while putting myself through school for the next four years.
Please tell us about your business.
My business “Eyelash Ideal” is very new, and I specialize in mink eyelash extensions. After doing some research on the geographic demographics of the location that I live in, I found that over 60,000 people are surrounding the area. Atlanta is a popular location for eyelash extensions with over 500,000 people, and there are approximately five locations that offer eyelash extensions near me. Doing eyelash extensions can take up to an hour or longer, depending on the type of style you want, etc. On average, one person can do extensions on eight people per day. I am currently offering mobile eyelash services to people who don’t want to drive far or leave their house to go to Atlanta or further locations to get eyelash extensions. I am very proud of myself because I am stepping outside of my comfort zone, acquiring a new skill, and becoming the first person in my family to own a business. I am entering a field that is growing, and because pharmacists do not have to work long hours like a physician, I have the time to do other hobbies that I can enjoy. I have the advantage of doing a master’s in business, so I have the knowledge and information I need in order to start and run a business. I will be offering more services in the future and will eventually open a shop.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have started doing eyelashes when I was at my undergraduate school rather than just now in graduate school. I wish schools and society would encourage us to learn a trade skill to find our passion and what we are good at, rather than enforcing the idea that having a college degree will make you successful and is the only goal in life. Yes, we do need doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, etc. but school is not for everyone. Entrepreneurship has really grown within the past few years, and I am happy to see myself and others deciding to become our own boss, acquiring the lifestyle that we all desire and putting our mental health first. I think about my future a lot and as an aspiring pharmacist, I refuse to let any job mentally burn me out, overwork me, and not allow me to take days off. These are some things that have motivated me to start my own business. We never know how good we are at something until we put our mind to it and actually try. Most people assume if you only practice “medicine, pharmacy, etc.” you can’t do other things. Still, there are many healthcare providers who have other businesses that are not related to the medical field. I am proud to be apart of the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: eyelashideal.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/eyelashideal
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
