Starting a business was uncharted territory for Ashley Salai. She had been a full-time school bus driver for her three years and had no experience in her business, but the most important thing she had was a dream. She dreamed of doing what she loved and what made her happy. That was her love. “I love my lashes. I love how they look and I love how they feel when I put them on, so I started getting obsessed with creating the perfect lashes, creating the perfect pair, and making them last. From that idea came her first eyelashes, ‘Saray’, named after her, from which she began creating new styles, posting them on her Instagram page…and selling them. . Eventually, she took the plunge and quit her day job to devote herself full-time to her Mink Envy Lashes, a Baltimore-based business. From tens of thousands of orders to new ideas, Sarai officially launched her company in November 2018. Sarai had a delivery and pickup system in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, which resulted in daily trips to multiple states, including New York and Virginia. Fast forward to her three and a half years and the business has fulfilled her over 50,000 orders. With increasing demand for her business, Sarai found innovative ways to handle the surge in orders and provide convenience to her customers. At night, at 3 in the morning, ‘Vending machine? “I went from a side business of ‘I don’t know if this will work’ to an entire empire.” Customers can find custom lashes inside each machine at a very affordable price. styles, each with a unique name. Sarai creates the style of her lashes by painting how her own lashes look before sending them to the maker for her completion. She has over 100 styles of hers, each with a unique name. She also includes celebrities such as Venus, Serena her Williams, and rapper Cardi B. Some women consider themselves ‘brats’, so we created a pair called ‘brats,'” said the CEO. What does it look like?” “What kind of person wears these lashes?” And I just get a name.” Sarai believes in vending machines to add value to her business. Consistency is the biggest key to business, she said. She kept believing in the one person she bet on. For herself, Sarai’s business has been slow. She said it was all normal. She said there were times when customers didn’t show up, times when orders didn’t come, and days when she was in tears, but she remained consistent and believed in the one person she bet on: herself.It all works out. “Through it all, Saray took everything she’d learned in the last three years as a lesson. She said she doesn’t believe in the word failure.” “People are so afraid of failure. They’re afraid to start something because it won’t work. They feel like they’ve wasted their time,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t believe in failure. Failure is just a lesson, it teaches you something. It doesn’t stop when things go wrong. Try to remove failure from your vocabulary. And thanks to her determination, Saray went from selling her lashes on social media and word of mouth to being featured in magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. Several celebrities and influencers have connected with her brand and her business her Instagram page has earned her over 105,000 followers. “The fact that just looking good can provide women and everyone with a way to feel better about themselves feels really good,” she said. “Every stone I’ve reached and every obstacle I’ve broken through has shown me that you can come from anywhere and be exactly what you want to be.” “Some people feel like they left Baltimore to succeed, but they don’t. It’s all in you.”
Starting a business was uncharted territory for Ashley Salai. She had been a full-time school bus driver for her three years and had no experience in her business, but the most important thing she had was a dream. She dreamed of doing what she loved and what made her happy. That was her love. of eyelashes.
“I love my lashes. I love how they look and I love how they feel when I put them on, so I’m obsessed with creating the perfect lashes, the perfect pair, the ones that last, the ones that look exactly right. How did I want them to look at me,” Saray said.
That idea spawned the first lashes named after her, ‘Saray’, from which she started creating new styles and posting them on her Instagram page for sale. Eventually, she took the plunge and quit her day job to devote herself full-time to her Baltimore-based business, her Mink Envy Lashes.
From tens of thousands of orders to new ideas
Sarai officially launched the company in November 2018. She had a delivery and pickup system in the City of Baltimore and Baltimore County. This turned into daily trips across multiple states, including New York and Virginia. Fast forward to her three and a half years and this business has served her over 50,000 orders.
With increased demand for her business, Saray found innovative ways to handle the surge in orders and provide convenience to her customers.
“My best ideas come in the middle of the night, at three in the morning. ‘Vending machines? ‘ she said.
Sarai has followed up on her nightly idea, putting custom eyelashes and cosmetics in vending machines in 10 different malls in states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Maryland, with the first location in Towson Town Center. I put
“It was amazing. It’s the best idea I could come up with for my business. Just another example of how profitable your business can be,” said Sarai. I went all over the empire from a side business of ‘I don’t know if this will work’.”
Customers can find custom lashes inside each machine at a very affordable price.
Over 100 styles, each with a unique name
Sarai creates each style of lashes by drawing what she wants her lashes to look like before sending them to the maker to be completed. Even celebrities like Serena Williams, rapper Cardi B, and others have given themselves unique names.
“I remember all the names. The names were random. Some of the names I tried to pick words that made me feel whatever the name was. Some women describe themselves as ‘brats.’ I’ve been thinking about it, so I created a pair called ‘Kaki’,” said the CEO. “Basically, I look at styles and think, ‘What do these lashes look like? “What kind of person wears these lashes?” And I just get the name. ”
Sarai credits vending machines with adding value to her business. She also says the biggest key to her business is consistency.
“Definitely be consistent. You can’t stop what you’re doing just because it’s slow or you don’t get what you want,” she said.
She kept believing in herself, the one she bet on
Slow days are not uncommon in Sarai’s business. She said it was all normal. She had no customers, no orders, and some days in tears, but she remained consistent and believed she was the one she bet on, she believed in herself.
“In the end, one customer became two, then three, then four. It all worked out,” she said.
Saray has learned a lesson from everything she has learned in the last three years. She said she doesn’t believe in the word failure.
“People are so afraid of failure. They’re afraid to start something because it won’t work. They feel like they’ve wasted their time,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t believe in failure. Failure is just a lesson, it teaches you something. It doesn’t stop when things go wrong. Try to remove failure from your vocabulary. please.”
And because of her determination, Saray went from selling her lashes on social media and word of mouth to being featured in magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. Several celebrities and influencers have connected with her brand and her Instagram page for her business has earned her over 105,000 followers.
Sarai said it motivates her to see her customers and their reactions to using her products.
“The fact that just by looking good can provide women and everyone with a way to feel better about themselves makes me feel really good,” she said.
Sarai is also motivated by being from Baltimore. She said she doesn’t get into debates about the stereotypes people falsely associate with cities.
“Every stone I’ve reached and every obstacle I’ve broken has shown me that you can come from anywhere and be exactly what you want to be.” Some people feel like they are, but no, it’s all in you.”
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