Meet Asia Carter – CanvasRebel Magazine

Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

We were lucky to catch up with Asia Carter recently and have shared our conversation below.

If I had a Time Machine absolutely I would have continued my journey rather than start sooner. Back in 2021 I made the impulsive decision to buy an online lash course and teach myself how to do lashes. Based on my research and the information I learned from the course, I went online and brought everything I needed to take clients. A massage table, tweezers, glue, trays, lash fan, tape, eye pads, etc. I made sure to work on my mannequin until I was comfortable enough to work on my friends. The mannequin was a struggle I could never finish a full eye in a day but it wasn’t baddd you know? So when I went to my friend’s house I was ready but boy…. Working on a human so much harder. After 5 hours my friend had 10 lashes between both eyes lol. I keep practicing on my other friends and whoever would let me practice on them. And I was getting better with my placement, styling, and even coverage but it was not getting easy at all. I ended up quitting and selling all my lash products because it was just too much and too overwhelming. At the time I had an e-commerce and that was way easier to maintain than doing lash extensions. However what I didn’t give myself was grace, time, and patience to truly master the skill. It was something new to me, anything new is not always an immediate catch on. If i would have continued my journey I think I would have been able to have steady clientele in my hometown and make a name for myself. I probably wouldn’t even be in Texas at this moment, I’d probably be in Miami taking regular clientele in my own shop or space. However I am a firm believer in God and I also believe that everything happens for a reason, and at this time in my life I’m right where I need to be. Because when I started my journey again here in Texas, it just picked up and went from there.

My name is Asia and I am originally from Miami, FL born and raised and been there my whole life up until November 2022. Before being a lash artist I had my own e-commerce business where I handmade my own lip products. I also sold beauty accessories and even false mink strip lashes. My e-commerce business was definitely doing decent for it being my first time ever having a business with 0 knowledge. During my process of running my e-commerce I decided I also wanted to learn how to do lash extensions. I brought an online course for about $200 and pretty much got straight to learning. However lashing was extremely hard so I quit because it was not getting easier for me and both me and my clients were in pain lol. In 2022 I decided to make the decision to literally move to Texas knowing absolutely no one here because I wanted to create a better life for myself and help my mom. Unfortunately my e-commerce business did not survive and I had to close that chapter that I worked so hard on. And although i did quit lashing I missed it deeply and decided that now I have my own space, my own home, I want to start again. At first it was rocky, I was on Facebook offering free sets and nobody was interested. I was discouraged but I didn’t give up. One day again I made a post offering for free lash models just so I can get back into my craft, feel comfortable before I start charging, and also just get some good new content to post. That last post I made got over 50 women interested in lash extensions, and after that I swear my business just took back off. Being located in Conroe I just knew it was going to be hard to get clientele. I wanted girls from Houston because I felt like that was my demographic however I am a good 30+ minutes from the city and I realized people here do not like to drive long distance. However my style of lashing and the fullness I provided set me apart from everyone else in the area doing lashes and having steady clientele. Now not only do I have clientele from Conroe and surrounding areas, I have even expanded my clientele to the city of Houston as far as Pasadena! I’m most proud of my ability to be resilient, to be focused and motivated, to be grounded and to push myself because I know that I’m capable of greatness and it’s only within arms reach. I want everyone to know that sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and take risks in order to be where you want to be. I moved to Texas in 2022 with $400, a plan, a dream, and some goals. Almost 2 years later I have not only accomplished 80% of my goals, but even accomplished things I never had planned. Including being blessed enough to have 2 articles now with VoyageHouston. Manifest, pray, work, and don’t give up!

Building my reputation and brand in this market was based off a few simple yet extremely effective strategies. First being outstanding customer service, I have an open door policy anybody can contact me at anytime to inquire about services, ask questions, or even other lash artists who may want tips, tricks, or any help. Second was my style of lashing. Anybody that books with me 9/10 books with me because they love the fullness and fluff I bring to every set. Although those are what I’m best at, that doesn’t mean I’m not versatile. I can give you any luck from natural and pretty to glam and dramatic. Third was my price point for services. Everyone will tell you lash extensions is a luxury and that is definitely true. However we have to consider today’s current economy and market. The minimum wage in Texas is $7.25. People can barely afford a roof over their heads and food on their table, let alone $150+ for services. And because of this girls usually end up having to choose between maybe hair and nails, or nails and lashes. I feel all women should be able to at least do something to make them feel and look prettier. Women should also be able too maintain their upkeep and not have to stress.

When I first started lashing again here in Texas I had a bunch of girls book, like some weeks I was completely booked to capacity. Everyone loved their sets, they loved the fullness, they loved how amazing they felt and look, and were excited to conquer the world with their amazing fullset of lashes. They would even refer me to their friends and family life was great. One day I received a text from a client about 6 days after her appointment who told me all her lashes fell off. She sent me pictures and videos, and she definitely had a few lashes left on her face. I sincerely apologized and offered her several options for me to either fix them free of charge, refund for the service, or give her money off her next service. She of course chose the refund and I happily refunded her with no issues. Later that same day I received two other texts from 2 other clients who either had all of their lashes fall off or noticeable gaps in their lashes. I as well offered them the same options and sincerely apologized. One allowed me to fix her lashes but the other wanted a refund. After this day I decided to check in with any and everybody who booked with me recently to see how the lashes were holding up, if they had any problems, issues, concerns, complaints. I kid you not at least half of those girls all had the same complaint and some even told me they didn’t want to tell me because they thought it was something they did or maybe they felt bad. It seemed like for weeks I was offering refunds or fixing people’s lashes. Some even had pain and irritation, and honestly I felt defeated and I pretty much decided that maybe this wasn’t for me and I should quit again. I cried many days and nights because not only did some girls unfollow me but some even had very nasty things to say. But what kept me going was the fact that some of those girls who had fallout allowed me to fix them because they said they loveddd how I did their lashes. Also although I had a handful of girls who had issues, I also had a handful of other girls who had no issues and in fact some girls were telling me how their lashes lasted a whole month! At that moment I knew that I just needed to maybe change the glue I was using. I immediately got on the internet and did my research. I learned about different glues and their dry times, I learned about different methods on how to apply the lashes, I even learned other steps I could include in my process to help increase retention. For about 2-3 months I sampled different glues, different techniques, and different methods. On that 4th month I had not 1 complaint, and in fact girls that booked with me before were not only booking again but were booking refills! From once struggling to get returning clients to having nothing but returning clients, was the best feeling ever. Fast forward about 8 months later every single one of my client’s have amazing retention, just about everyone who books with me as a first timer comes back regularly, and I have girls who come to me faithfully every 2-3 weeks for months now. In that moment I learned I wasn’t a bad lash artist, I just wasn’t using the right products.

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Rich Brat Minks