Today we’d like to introduce you to Zakiya Brown.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Zakiya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The most beautiful thing about my story to me is that it’s just getting started. That God and I stand hand and hand as the author and co-author and seem to be creating a masterpiece so far. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, a family full of hard-working individuals who have instilled so much into me over the years. So many values, so many morals, so much determination, and most importantly so much love.
I grew up in a not so big city in North Carolina whom I will forever thank and have endless love for molding me into the young woman I am today. That city has allowed me to grow, to dream, to prove myself, but as we know, there are seasons in life and times in which we must part from what’s comfortable and fly to a destination that is far greater than what we are accustomed to in order to fully grow and reach one’s full potential. I knew at a young age that that was nowhere for me to expand my dreams as a model and actress or my big goals as an entrepreneur. My dreams went way farther than ‘the boro’ formerly known as Greensboro, NC.
Since a little girl, I knew that the first chance I got I was leaving and my new home would be Atlanta, GA. It was just something about Atlanta that captured me. I have always been in love with the big city as well as the many opportunities of success it offers the African American community. The energy you get here is simply unmatched and it makes you want to work 10x harder to get where you want to be.
So fast-forwarding to August 2018, once graduated from High school, I made that jump to not only move to Atlanta, GA but to attend my number 1 school of choice Clark Atlanta University. Moving to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta was apart of the plan all along but I knew I was going to maximize my time while I was here and take the proper steps to accomplish everything I ever dreamed of. Though one of my main focuses during this time was to maintain and uphold my grades as a college student, I knew it was so much more I wanted to do with my time since I had finally made it to Atlanta. Like most college students, my parents didn’t want me to have a job during my freshman year because it would interfere with school.
I was doing side modeling jobs and acting gigs when the opportunity presented itself just to make a little extra money, but I knew I wanted to do something else. I began thinking things over and start thinking about things that I either enjoyed to do or wear with hopes of maybe starting my own business. I have always been entrepreneur-driven and absolutely in love with being my own boss and, of course, in love with making money. I wholeheartedly have my mom and dad to thank for that, in fact, my mom started a business for me at the young age of 15 by the name of Zee’s Tees and since that very moment, I knew I wanted to work for no one but myself. Growing up watching them both be successful entrepreneurs taught me all I knew and only made we want to follow in their footsteps and tap into my inner boss.
After considering my many options of entrepreneurship, it came to me to start my own luxury mink eyelash business. All based off of my love for entrepreneurship and my knew found love for eyelashes. Not knowing too much about the industry at this time, I took the information I did know and jumped into it. One thing about me, I will never fear failure because I know for a fact it is the greatest teacher and one of your best stepping stones in any industry you enter.
With many trial and errors to come, I made the jump of faith and started my business Blinks Of Royalty Luxury Mink Lashes. My business was started in my freshman year dorm room with literally on $60.00 if that, which covered only ten pairs of lashes, business stickers, and business cards. This goes to show it doesn’t take much for you to start. Just start. Start broke, start scared, start unsure, start with doubt because this very same business could be the one that changes your life and someone else’s. The support shown from the students from Clark Atlanta, the city of Atlanta, and people from my home town was simply unbelievable and only motivated me to keep going.
Three years later, my business has grown so much and I to have also grown as an entrepreneur. There has been so many lessons and so many detours but I am beyond grateful for each and everyone of them. My goal since starting my business had been and will always be to empower, to impact, and to motivate in all I do. To show if I did it so can you. You just have to be willing to take the first step and START.
Today, my business has helped many young women like myself launch their very own lash business through Blinks of Royalty Luxury Lash Wholesale market. This newest business venture has been a true blessing to me and young women who aspire to be their own boss. The idea of me starting my own wholesaling business came during the time I needed it the most, my business was at a standstill and I was desperately praying and asking for what was next for me and my business. While nobody knew the current status of my business, I went on a business meeting with my Pastor and this conversation gave me my fire for entrepreneurship back and through this process, my wholesale business was birthed.
I say all of this to say there is so much power in just starting. Starting where you are and not being afraid to fail, that is and will forever be your greatest teacher. After all… who says you will fail? Nobody will ever know if you don’t just start. If I haven’t learned anything through my 20 yr long journey on earth, I’ve for sure learned the power of not being afraid to jump. The jump may scare you, you may question it, it may make you uncomfortable for the moment, friends and family may question it but I can promise you you’ll look back on it and be grateful you did it. Start now. The world is waiting…
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has definitely not been a smooth one but I constantly remind myself that nothing worth having comes easy. Anything that you want to be great at takes work in whatever line of business you’re in. Some of biggest struggles with being an entrepreneur is to just simply keep going even when I don’t feel like it or even when I’m not motivated and to also not stone myself when I do feel this way because at the end of the day, I am human.
Another great struggle that I would say I have faced so far is starting my own lash business with absolutely no blueprint of how to affectively run a lash business. It has definitely been a lot of trial and error but hands down so rewarding when I look at where my business is now. Its a beautiful thing to watch your business grow from the ground up into something beautiful.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Blinks Of Royalty Luxury Mink Lashes story. Tell us more about the business.
Blinks of Royalty Luxury Lashes… is simply a lifestyle. To be blinked with pure Royalty is to only want the absolute best for your lashes. Blinks of Royalty specializes in everything lashes. Strip lashes, lash adhesive, lash tweezers, lash packaging, individual lashes and we can’t forget about our wholesale options for the lash bosses. Offering a variety of lashes to choose from we have 25mm mink lashes, 3d mink lashes, 6d mink lashes, Siberian mink lashes, and silk lashes.
The Blinks of Royalty brand has come so far as a whole and it is such a beautiful thing to watch as it grows each and everyday, adding more and more things for our customers to love. I feel what sets us apart from others would simply just be the royal feeling. Everything about this brand exudes royalty from the customer service even down to the packaging. It is truly an experience like none other. Pure royalty.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I feel the beauty industry is something that will always be timeless and always around and evolving and I plan on evolving with it.
However, I’ve learned that the most precious gift given is time. Time is such a beautiful thing and so many great things can happen in a year’s time. So each and everyday, I trust the process and aim to be greater than I was the day before and continuing that process I can’t lose, it has no choice but to keep getting better.
The plan for my business is to keep expanding with new material, continue to impact lives, and to change the way the world view women in high positions or view women who happen to be the CEO as we like to say. Within the next years, I plan to not only expand blinks of royalty but to start other businesses in the process. I am all about generational wealth and multiple streams of income. It’s essential.
Contact Info:
- Email: blinksofroyaltyminklashes@gmail.com
- Instagram: @blinksofroyalty, @iamzakiyabrown
Image Credit:
photographer 1: @westanmedia
photographer 2: @rev.kdjwalker
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