Cierra Couch

I think it was really initially the glue of it all is believing in myself. When you're pursuing a creative career that's not necessarily traditional and doesn't have a traditional path, that can be scary. Even when you have supportive parents, they might not see or understand how you're going to get to where you want to be, and it's easy to think that maybe you just need to get a real job or put this on the back burner until later. But the biggest thing that has helped me is that I have never stopped. I may have had delays from time to time, and I may not have known what clear direction I was going to take, but this has always been something that was a burning desire, and so I knew I had to make it happen. It didn't matter to me how long it was going to take, as long as I kept making those steps and strides toward making it happen. And honestly, once you start to believe in yourself and you do the things to show people that you're serious about your work and what you want to do, the support will find you from that point, and it'll become easier. That's really been the biggest piece for me, personally.

I would advise them to just try it, just go for it. I didn't necessarily grow up with the blueprint of running a business and starting a business, and it's been trial and error for a long time, but just doing it itself is something that is gold, because you're not going to get it perfect right out the bat. Do a lot of research as you go, and listen to the clients that you start to accumulate. They are going to be the people that give you the most inspiration, the most ideas, because those are the people who have the problem that you need to solve. Especially being a beauty entrepreneur, I would also just encourage girls to still go after the thing that they're passionate about. It's easy for a lot of women to think that the market is oversaturated, but the beauty industry isn't going anywhere. I don't want girls to shy away from it if beauty is something that they feel is their calling to get into business with. Nobody can do what they do, how they do it, and everybody's service is not the same as the next girl. Those things alone are what keep me going even now. It's just understanding that there are people who still value my work and what I do. And I guess the last piece that I would share is to share their personality and who they are, be themselves, because although there are a bunch of people who do a lot of the same things, people will come back because of the service that they received and because of the connection that they make with the business owner.

I carry a lot of what I do through my faith, so being a Christian has instilled so many different things in me now more than ever, especially as I'm growing into womanhood and fully embracing entrepreneurship. I understand that just being truthful, being honorable, being respectful to people, that's going to take me a long way, and then even just being humble, having humility, it's going to take me a long way. One of the things that I've experienced the most growth in is compassion. Being able to just kind of put myself in other people's shoes, because it's easiest for you to react to someone's behavior, but it's not as easy to take what they're doing and really internalize and think, maybe they're just having a bad day, or maybe they're burning a hole in your ear because maybe they don't have anyone else to talk to, or maybe you have an inviting spirit, and sometimes you just have to be there for people, even in the most unexpected ways. And they'll remember those things for a long time, and that's what keeps customers and clients coming back. That's what builds your loyalty, your brand loyalty, so I kind of carry that personally and professionally.