She Spent $200 on a Lash Class and Built a Multi-Million Dollar Empire

Jennifer Blair was a stay-at-home mom of four with no business plan, no investor, and no experience. She just wanted a way to feel like herself again.

She took a one-day lash certification class, ran a Groupon expecting maybe 20 sales… and over 300 people showed up. She almost quit before she even started. Instead, she leaned all the way in — practiced on friends' couches, opened a tiny studio, created her own training program, and built Deka Lash into a nationwide franchise with 125+ locations.

In this episode, Jennifer shares:
• How a Vegas trip sparked the entire idea
• Why her Groupon almost made her quit on day one
• How she created a training academy when the industry didn’t have one
• What it took to go from 1 rented chair to 125+ franchise studios
• The real talk on mom guilt, imperfect starts, and betting on yourself

If you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying everything and wondering when it’s YOUR turn — this episode is for you.

 Find Jennifer & Deka Lash:
dekalash.com — use "Find a Studio" to locate a Deka Lash near you

Jennifer Blair on LinkedIn — speaking events & more

Shop Deka Lash products at dekalash.com or on Amazon

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I'm Jenny Blackwood, a small town mom of four who refused to settle for a life that didn't light me up. When everything felt uncertain, I didn't run back to a nine to five. I bet on myself. I took a simple idea and turned it into an almost seven-figure business my first year, all while being a mom first. Now I'm here to help you trust your own power, chase the dream that keeps tapping your shoulder, and build a life that feels like you. This is Girl Why Not Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to another, very exciting episode of Girl Why Not You. I, as always, am your host, Jenny Blackwood, and today's conversation is going to hit home for so many of you. Because it's about being a woman who is doing all the things. Can you relate to that? You're showing up for your family, your kids, your work, your goals. And somewhere, somewhere in the middle of that, you start to feel like you've lost a piece of yourself. Not because you're doing anything wrong, let's make that clear. But because you're doing literally everything. And I think that so many women are actually carrying so much right now, but we carry it quietly. Today I'm joined by Jennifer Blair, the founder and CEO of Decalash, a brand that has grown to over 125 locations across the country. But what I love most about her story, you guys, is this didn't start as some massive business plan. It started as a busy mom of four. I can relate to that, Jennifer, who just wanted a simpler way to feel like herself again. And that moment turned into something so much bigger. Jennifer, I am so excited to have you on Girl Why Not You today. Yes. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here too. Ah, good. It's gonna be a great conversation. Oh gosh, I'm seeing that on if you're watching this on YouTube, I have to watch my shirt. We're getting a we're getting a little revealing down here. Um I'm so happy to have you here. Like your story is truly inspiring. I cannot wait to provide all of these juicy details to the people listening here today. What I would love to do is I would like for you to take us back to the time where you decided, you know what? I have an idea and I'm gonna do something about it. How did that idea come to you?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yeah, well, let's um let's go back um 2012, actually. So we're going back some a long time ago. Um and I was, I had I'm a busy mama four at that point. My kids were 14, 12, 6, and 3, I believe. So wow. You're in the thick of things when when that's happening. You know, you're running around if it's not sports, it's play dates, it's birthday parties, trying to find time for yourself. Um, my husband also traveled all the time, so he was a consultant. So he left on a Monday, came back on a Friday. So really I was left doing girl. I know, I know, right? Yes, how am I still here? How did I survive? But I did, and you can. Um but you know, so basically I was I was there taking care of everything myself all week long and and doing things. Um and I heard about lashes. So I don't know if you've, you know, when I would go somewhere special, like a wedding or go away for something, I would always do the strip lashes. And I felt like I was just put together. Like that was my favorite accessory. It just made me look awake, it made me feel polished or look polished and just I don't know, it was that finishing touch that kind of gave me my superpower. Yes. But then of course they only last for that night and then you're back to regular. Yes, then you're sad and tired again. Um, and I I I heard about lashes and I heard about lash extensions, and I wanted something that I kind of could feel like that all the time without having to do that all the time. So tedious work. Tedious work. And those strip lashes are so hard to put on. Like even if you attempt to it, it's impossible to do. And that's really how it came. I heard about lash extensions. I went to try to find somewhere to get them done because it was, it was more of a lifestyle than just like a one weekend lash. And I really had a hard time finding anywhere to get them done. Um, either they were super expensive or because I was a mom with four kids, inconvenient. Their times were limited, there wasn't really anywhere to go and get them done. And um, we ended up going away on a trip for my husband's um birthday. Uh it was his 40th birthday, and we were going to Vegas, and I ended up finding someone to have my get my lashes done, and I absolutely loved the way that they felt. So I had the idea. Um, I was already teetering on going back to work. So I was a say-to-home mom for many years. And as the kids were all getting older, my youngest was now in preschool. I was thinking about going back to work. And I always loved beauty just for what it made me feel like and when I how I knew it made other people feel. Yeah. So I said to my husband, what do you think if I go back, if uh if I'm having problems finding something like this? It was a little more accessible in Las Vegas, but back in Pittsburgh, PA and most of the other places in the US, it was not. And I said, if I'm having trouble, other women are too. What do you think about me going back to work? And like a good husband, you know, happy wife, happy life. So he's like, what you want to do. And I really at that time was just try also looking for something for myself. Um to get out of the house, you know, to have adult conversation, um, and and just do something different than I had been doing. Not that I didn't like what I was doing, but it was just time for, okay, like what's next for me? Yeah. Next chapter, new start. Yeah. Yeah. So um I went and took the class um to be certified. So I grew up in beauty with my mom. She was always in the beauty industry, selling professional products, worked in the salon. So I was kind of familiar with like that as aspect of it. And um, I had a really good friend who owned a salon, and I asked if I could rent some space and I was gonna take this class, and this was what my plan was. And at that time, it was like lashes. Like, what do you mean? That's can't be a business, right? Like, how can you make a business out of lashes? And um, I didn't know either. So I decided to run a group on because it was the most inexpensive way. You know, we didn't have a lot of money to start a business and open a brick and mortar and do a whole build-out. And I was renting the space and group on was fairly new back in 2012. And I said, it was, it's kind of like a consignment. You run the group on and then they pay you after you do the service. So I really had no money into it except for paying to get certified and then buying the supplies. And um I went to take the class and they canceled on me. But the group on the I know, but the group on was already scheduled, and I didn't want to cancel it because it took so much longer to get back on the books, and there was lack of um attendance for the class. So I ended up convincing my mother to take the class with me because they needed three people, and she said, Okay, I'll take the class. And we we did the class and um the group on brand, and I had like over 300. I was hoping to sell like 20, you know, just to see if there was an interest. And it had sold out of over like 300. And oh girl, oh my, were you like in panic mode at that point? I said, I want to quit, I'm quitting, I'm done. This is not what I signed up for. I was going back to work to work around my kids' schedule, you know, bus stop, pickup, a couple hours, and I was like, I can't do this. Like, no. I I and the training class was one day that taught me absolutely nothing. But I had all these people that wanted the service done, and I was like, what am I gonna do? And um, it was actually my husband who pushed me. He's like, You can do this. I know you can. Yeah, I know. So um, so I just had any friends and family would come over and like lie on my couch to practice applying eyelashes and try to get myself ready to take on these clients that I had already pre-sold to. Um that obviously we were very interested in getting the service done and I didn't want to let them down, and I didn't want to, but part of me just so wanted to quit because it was way too, it was way more than I had signed up for at that time. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but that's really the start of everything. That was what so wild put me into knowing there was a need, there was a demand for it, um, like right out the gates. So that's kind of I just threw myself all in at that point and leaned into what had happened and was ready for the ride and what was what was to come next.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

So gosh, I'm getting this like weird visual as you're talking about, like, you know, these big machines out like mining for gold, and then all of a sudden they just strike gold on accident. They're like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. I for people who listen to this podcast regularly, I hope that you're seeing a common theme. You're seeing that starts are not perfect. They're not like planned. Or she's like, Yeah, I I I think I'd rather do lashes, so I have flexibility, so I have more time with my kids. I don't want a nine to five. Let me just see what this is all about. So she took a chance on something she knew nothing about. She had some interest. She started because she herself had this pain point where she was like, Can a girl get her freaking lashes done around here? Like, come on, right? And so you started from a pain point that you observed. And what we have to always say is if I'm stumbling across this pain point, surely many others are too, just like you did. And boy, were you like, holy smokes, when you put that group on out and you thought, I don't know, maybe I'll get like a few people that want this. 300 people later. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

I was like, I was panicking. I I remember it's almost like a ticker that you're watching because when it sells, it's like it shows you on the back end. And I was like, what are we getting ourselves into? You know? Oh my god. It was excitement, but then scary at the same exact time.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Good thing mom went through the class too. Did she end up putting lashes on people also during that time?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

You know, um, it was she she was my support person after that. She never actually was able to, you know, never fully went into it. But yeah, um, she helped watch the kids on times when, you know, the evenings and all those kind of things as as life started from there got way crazier and busier than anybody would expect. Because, you know, after doing it for a couple months, that's when I realized like we're on to something here. Like this, we need to bottle this because this that we're this is something big. And as clients kept coming back and referrals, I quickly, quickly grew out of that one um studio that I was renting out of that salon and you know, needed to move on. So um yeah, that it was a pretty big life-changing moment for for us at that point. And that's, you know, when we realized so the the the next thing I did was we decided to move out and do like a brick and mortar. Um and we wanted to prove it, like, okay, can it stand on its own by itself? I'm in the salon, I ran the group on, I'm getting referrals from people that are getting their hair done in their nails and they're coming down. But what if I just opened up a standalone, just just dedicated just to lashes? Would people come for that? You know, was it would it be enough to support a business? And that was that was our next kind of evolution was like getting out of this one little room and building a place that was dedicated to just eyelash extensions. And that was that was the next test that we did. And we did it on a very tight budget. Again, four kids. That's okay. We you know, like we're we're on a budget because we've got a yeah, we had to be scrappy. And so it wasn't what it is today. Um, that's for sure. But again, it was just, you know, the thought was never to build anything like a big franchise and grow it. It was serving the purpose, what we needed right then and there. Um and then it continued to grow and learn from there.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

So you expanded or brick and mortar. At this point, are you like hiring other lash artists? Like, what does that look like? What's the expansion look like? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

So the next step really for us for expansion was when I went, I needed to hire other people because I was super busy myself and hated to turn anybody away, right? I mean, it's you just nobody wants to say no to business. Yeah. So um at an esthetician and cosmetology school, they don't teach the art of eyelash extension application. They may talk about it more so now, but not even now. But then they didn't. So to be able to grow and expand, I created my own training program where I would hire estheticians or cosmetologists and put them through a training. Um how to be, it was more than what I went through because I went through the one day. And they said, okay, you're certified. And I was like, no, I'm not. Like, I really am not. I I I I know I am on paper, but I don't think that I'm qualified to be able to do this. Um, hence all of my friends and family before I actually took anybody paying client. But we, you know, we really thought the only way to do that was to create our own training program. So we did an academy, um, hired, trained, and that allowed us to expand into three more locations. So we had four locations in Pittsburgh before we decided to take it outside of Pittsburgh. But it was that foundation of being able to have that training program and realizing there there was that gap. Um otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to hire anybody to to be able to do the services, to bring the clients in. The demand was there, but we needed people to do it. And so um, that was kind of uh we were at a little bit of a standstill just because that took a little bit of time for us to be able to figure that out, grow, you know, grow that piece of it, hire, train everybody. And then, but once we did, um, and we had the four locations going in Pittsburgh, that's when we kind of started to have a little bit more of a well-oiled machine. And well, it wasn't perfect by any sense, but we felt like it was it was a little better than what we had when we were just hiring the first like five people. You know, once we got into hiring like 40 or 50 people, we were like, okay, I can feel a little bit better about doing this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Wow. So how fast was this all unfolding from like you being at the school, getting certified to throwing out that group on to now you have four locations in Pittsburgh. What's that timeline look like?

SPEAKER_01 14:16

So it was 2012 when I took the certification, was renting the space out. And then it was four years later. So it was 2016, is when we decided. Um, so my husband basically, I think in 2015, two or three years after doing it, he quit his full-time job. And so yeah, it was a little, a little nerve-wracking because I was always like, you have the real job, you know, you have it's consistent, you have the, you know, the health insurance, the 401k, you know, everything. It was like helping us do what he did. But, you know, it was really his idea like for to take it outside of Pittsburgh. I was content. I I was like, we this is this is I'm good. Like these four locations taking over Pittsburgh, like we're the last two. This feels like I've made it. I'm good here. Yeah. Um, but so in 2016, um, after he had already stopped working and started building some of the um infrastructure that allowed us to go out and franchise, reaching out to some of his colleagues, people that knew about franchising. We knew the business, but we didn't know anything about franchising. So that's where we had to surround ourselves with people who understood that side of the business so that we could now take it to another level after that.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

That is incredible. I really love how you have really showed us that your husband is a really great partner. You know, there seems like there was times where like you were kind of like the brains behind it. This is what I think, this is what we want to do. But there's times where we do start to kind of like go inward and go, I don't know, is should I even do this? This seems crazy. It or maybe I don't want to expand, but it seems like he's a really good partner for you in this because he's kind of showing you you can dream bigger. Hey, don't quit here. Or like, why you haven't come this far to come this far? Let's keep going, Jennifer. Let's keep going. And so you did. So what was the next state? You're learning all about franchising, which is its own beast. What was the next state that you expanded into?

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Um, our our next state was in um Utah, Salt Lake City. Very far away from Pittsburgh. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

How did that transpire? Like, how did you go? How did it, how did you even get this out to the people that you were franchising this? And how did like the first one start in Utah?

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yeah, I see franchising is a whole different animal. Like I did not realize either what what how what franchising was. You know, like you see businesses out there, and you don't really realize how many many franchises are actually locally owned people that live in their community that have bought into an idea because maybe they, you know, for what they have a passion for, they have experience in it, something. Um and, you know, so learning about franchising, we um worked with business coaches who helped people who wanted to be an entrepreneur, but needed a little bit of help doing it. So they wanted to own their own business, but they just needed that infrastructure to co to kind of like um plug into so that you know, the all the all the marketing and all those um operational things were already taken care of. And that's what we had built over the four years of kind of like that playbook per se. Um, and they go out and they talk to people who are looking to do that. So our first owners, which was um Steven Liz, and they he was an attorney, he was looking for his next opportunity, kind of get out of corporate world. He had two daughters, he loved the whole empowering women thing. Um, you know, what even though this is lashes and beauty, really it's about feeling good at yourself as a female and doing those little extra things that really make you feel better because when you feel better, you're more confident. When you're more confident, you're more productive, right? So all of those things play into like the empowerment of women and those little things that we do for ourselves that mean so much. And he really loved that story. It resonated with him, his wife, his daughters, and he was our first franchisee.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Yeah. Oh, I love that. Oh my gosh. Everything just falls into place the way it's supposed to be. And it doesn't necessarily mean that it's gonna, hello, puppy. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be easy. You know, falling into place sounds like, oh, everything just lined up perfectly and everything fell into place like it should. But you had to get through some different steps to get to that point. I I think that is so awesome. So I I you talk a lot about beauty. It kind of started when you were a kid. Your mom was really into beauty, and you've said that beauty shouldn't feel like another job. So when did that really like click for you? Did you feel like once this was up and running, you're doing something in the beauty industry? Has it ever felt like a job?

SPEAKER_01 18:55

It has. It has turned into a job, but at the roots of it is still not a job. So I always say there's no better place than I love is still being in the studio where I can hear all the ooze and the ahs and the thank yous and oh my god, I feel like myself again. You know, once they look in the mirror at those, because lashes are like a instant gratification. Like you notice the difference right away. Um, so I love being in there. Um, I love the fact that we have this training program and that we are giving girls, um, women, young women, out of esthetician school and cosmetology a career path. Like to me, that is so important to be because they really come in and are able to build a career. And like I said, we have a different avenues for them to go so they can become a trainer, a manager, a regional manager. Um, we have like a um committees that they can sit on with corporate and meet with myself. Um and there's many times where if a lash artist is leaving one location, maybe moving from one state to another and there's a decalash, almost always they reach out to that owner and they want to still stay within decalash. So for me, I feel like something is good. Like the culture's good, the the environment's good, the products good. So that really makes me feel good. But there are times where with anything, you know, we're trying to innovate. Um, we want to make sure we're staying relevant. Uh, there's numbers to meet, quotas to there, yeah. That part is there's is a job to all of this that makes it all work and run. That is so freaking cool.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

I mean, seriously, I'm also a mama four. So when I think about all that you did and built in such a fast amount of time, wow, you know, motherhood was your number one. I think that is incredible. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

And you know the the balance of it all. I mean, I tell people, and even people when they they're coming in to think about like owning a Decalash or a franchise. And you have to have a support system behind you that's so important. And my family was always so supportive of me. There was times I had to miss games or practices, or I was late picking somebody up. And, you know, and it but I think everybody knew that I was doing something that I loved. There was a reason I always made it known, like there's my job's not first, you're not first. Like this is all of us together. Um and a fun fact, Deka's named after my first my daughter. So the first initials of me and Carly. So the the the D E and the K I come from them. But um yeah, I think I'm lucky because we just made it a like a family affair, and everybody knew that we had to work together to make it all work because otherwise it it wouldn't have at all. So their life wouldn't have been easier, neither would mine.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

It's very true. You know, sometimes there is short term sacrifices for the long term gain. And I think many of us who do go the entrepreneurial route as women, as moms, there's a lot of guilt associated with that too, in the building phase, because it does, it requires a lot of you. And There's a lot of things behind you and your brand that require you. You know, you can hire people in certain places, but it wouldn't be decolash without Jennifer, right? Powering the whole thing. So I think that being able to understand that if you want to build something, there is gonna be games missed. There are gonna be those things, but you're having like a short-term pain point for a long-term, absolute glow-up of your life and your family's life and your kids' lives. And so it's hard. It's hard to accept that sometimes. But I'm proud of you that you got through that part. And I know, you know, I don't know you other than this lovely conversation today, but I would guess to say your kids probably never felt that. You know, they probably never felt that it skipped a beat with your relationship with them and and what you poured into them. So good for you. So you start in Utah, you blew up, now you have over 125 locations nationwide. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

We we had, you know, it's really about those first um few franchisees that help you build the system afterwards. Um and so 2000, it was really like 2018 and 19 were our really honestly, like we were on a rocket ship. Like it felt like we were opening studios like monthly, traveling so much, going out to openings. Um and it was fun. It was. I mean, that part of it was exciting, and but there was another part that was also very exhausting. And you you know, so it it was it was a balance, but luckily there was a lot of like fun things that were happening, and you felt like you were making the world a better place. You were helping people get into a business, you were hiring and training, you know, women to have careers. So there was like a lot of good feelings, I think, that was able to offset some of that guilt, as you said, that you know, just naturally comes. And I think we we all feel those as moms. It's it's just you always feel like you could have maybe done a little bit more. Yeah.

unknown 24:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

We're always beating ourselves up. We're so good at that.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

I'm late. I'm can I was consistently late. But I was like, that's not just because of dad. And I was like, that's just unfortunately me. Um I've gotten better about just because the kids are older and I don't have as much going on. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

I get it, girl. You know, we all have our shining qualities, we all have things about us that could improve. That's just being human. But I do think it's important that we kind of emphasize here what you did, that you really had such a beautiful butterfly effect on so many other people. Because without you starting this, so many other people's lives would not have been impacted. And that is, yes, people who started the franchise, yes, the lash artists themselves that you gave them a career path, but it's also people who just felt more beautiful and more confident. And it's like there's really a true trickle-down effect from everything that you've built. And that is something to be so freaking proud of. Everything you've done is worth being so proud of. So for you, you know, I mean, you've gotten to this place, like it's a well-oiled machine. Like you said, like you're just people are popping up all over the place. What's next for Jennifer? What's next for you, my friend? You've hit such beautiful high levels already. I'm curious.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Um, you know, I it's it's still just working on improving what you know, what we have, really. Um, I'm still here to stay and be in the business. Um, we've started expanding a little bit. So we are, you know, in the beginning when I talked about we were always dedicated to lashes, and that's where we, you know, hung our hat. We were the experts in eyelashes and we did it really well and we honed in on that. But over the last couple years, we've listened to our clients and they wanted some other, they wanted other services. They were already getting other services and they wanted to be more convenient. So we added skincare on um in the last few years in about a little over half of our locations. And now we're starting to add in some other services like metasthetics. So some of more the Botox type appointments, some microneedling, and some of those other things that, you know, really just focusing from the neck up to add. And then the whole idea in the very beginning was to make things um convenient, right? Because I had that, I couldn't find somewhere to go and hours were fragmented. And it was um also to to be um affordable without like compromising what that quality would be. So this idea of adding more services under one roof, it just kind of still leans into that because it's still convenient, you know, when you're go running around trying to get your nails done and your hair done and uh, you know, the other things you need to get done, it's kind of like a part-time job, you know, driving around all these places. Yes, trying to trying to get the, you know. So I you know, the idea is like being that convenient one-stop shop where you can come in real safe um and have like a nice experience and get multiple things done so you can continue to save time and spend it elsewhere where where instead of running around all the different places to get ready. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

Convenience, convenience, convenience. That is everything today, right? We are consumers who want convenience. And it's like you said, I mean, you'd already mastered the lash aspect of this business. So yeah, expansion. What can we do next? What can make this a better experience for people? That's how entrepreneurs think, everyone. Um, so for you, I wanna just dial back to who you were before you ever got here. Did you ever see your life going in this direction? Did you know you were gonna be this massive, badass power woman with this huge business behind you?

SPEAKER_01 28:02

No, you know, I didn't, I never really thought that far out. Um my husband and I got married pretty young and I started having a family right away, and that really took over most of my time, and that's where where I spent my energy. And, you know, so there really there wasn't any room for thinking about that. I supported him and his career and what he was doing, and him going back to get his master's and everything that he was, you know. I I was the CEO of the house. That's that's what I was doing until, you know, there was that time where I said, okay, like now, now it's my time and what am I gonna do?

SPEAKER_00 28:38

So yeah, this wasn't where you saw your life going necessarily, but you took a chance. Like you were needing more. You needed something, but never in your wildest dreams, I'm sure, did you imagine that it was gonna grow into this nationwide, unbelievable corporation? I am so proud of you. I mean, I I there you I just can't even tell you how inspiring it is. And think about how many people are listening to this today, maybe going, man, you know, all I ever feel is buried and I could never get there. But why the hell not, people? Why not you? You know, and and so I ask you, what would you tell somebody listening to this now, a mom, a woman, anybody who's like, uh, how did she do that? I want to do that. Like, what would be your words of wisdom to somebody who's sitting on an idea but hasn't quite gotten to the action part yet?

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Well, I think it's, you know, don't wait around for the perfect time because there's not gonna be a perfect time and then you're not gonna have everything figured out, you're not gonna have, you know, the all the pieces in place, you're you're not gonna have all the funding in place that you need to grow something like that. It doesn't in a perfect world, maybe that would happen. But if you wait for that, then you're gonna let your dreams or ideas go by without it, with, without it ever coming true. So I would say if you're thinking about doing something, take small steps. Don't stand still. Just take small steps to where you want to be, and you'll be surprised how things naturally will start to play fall into place, especially if they're meant to be, right? Um if you find something out there that you're passionate about, that's that's the biggest thing because it's so much easier when you're passionate about something, when you're not just running after it for the dollars. Um because that makes it even harder. So, like when you're, you know, kind of got that, you're grinding and you're, you know, you're putting in the long hours and you're pulling your hair out and you're putting things on credit cards to get by because you know, you're you need to buy more things, it's leans back to that that passion that what you're doing um, I think is what helps. And then just like taking, like I said, just keep moving forward um and don't wait for that right moment because if any of us wait for that right moment, time's gonna pass you by and we don't have habit to wait.

SPEAKER_00 31:08

So, so true. Everybody listen to her words, listen to it on repeat. This is somebody who truly literally thought they were signing up to do a couple of people's lashes and throw a group on out there. And now, Jennifer, would you mind sharing with the listeners what's your business valued at today?

SPEAKER_01 31:27

Well, um, I I'm I I actually don't know exactly what the volume of what the business is. I I I apologize that I don't know what that is.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

I feel your PR person gave me a very impressive number. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Yeah, I would I would say it's it's definitely, yeah, it's in the in the several digit million dollar business. So but that's a safe, that's a safe way to say it.

SPEAKER_00 31:52

I have goosebumps. I have goosebumps. And what I love about you is you're so humble. You are like the coolest person ever, and you have built something massive. And this is like for having me to share the story.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

I, you know, I I love sharing my story. Um, I love reminiscing too, because life is at such a fast pace that you're always thinking forward and what's next? What can I do? What what's the next mountain I have to climb? And not even just in business, uh, you know, personal. It's you know, so still juggling the the kids. They're older. I still have one in school, I have one in college, I have one that's getting married. So, you know, nothing, nothing is slowed down really. Um then you you have your friends and trying to, you know, I still want to have a social life. They're my friends are important to me, my family, my mother. So it's, you know, there's still like a lot of stuff going on. Um, but it's all things that I think help you continue to grow as a person and not stay, you know, stagnant either. As a um emotionally and professionally, there's still just always something out there that keeps you going.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

So true. And what I'm hearing from you is you didn't have to sacrifice what meant the absolute most to you in your life. You still were able to build this on top of all of it. So I think that's where people have like a really big misconception, is they think it has to be one or the other. You know, you're either the powerhouse CEO and you're not there for your kids, you don't have kids at all, or you know, you're the opposite. You're at home, you're stay-home mom, and you that's all you are. Which by the way, if anybody ever says that's all you are about a stay-at-home mom, we'll cut you. But seriously, you know what I mean? Like that is what I think the the very common misconception is. And so Jennifer is here to tell y'all, you can do it all, people. You can absolutely do it all. And I I think you've opened a lot of doors on this call for people potentially. If anybody's interested, maybe somebody is out there going, I would like to open a deca lash lounge. We are gonna give you the information on how to get a hold of Jennifer. But maybe you're somebody who's just like, you know, I've been looking for a great place to get my lashes done. And I would like to find a deck of lash lounge to get my beauty services. There's that too. So, Jennifer, yes, tell us how do we get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_01 34:11

Yeah. Well, um, we have on our website, we have um, when you go to the decalash.com, there's find a studio. So you it'll pull up any studio, you can type in your um zip code, it'll help you find a location. Um, we have everything else. You can check my LinkedIn for some activities that I do. I go into shows, I do some different speaking events. So there's more some things on that page about me. Um, but we also have products. So if anybody's interested in just looking at our product line, that's something that we did develop along the way is um something that's specific to Decalash. And we have on our website there's a shop products or like an e-com site. But then we also are just launched on Amazon like a year ago. So we are on there as well.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

Oh my goodness, you have given us all a lot to think about today. We are all going to reevaluate our lives and try to be the next Jennifer Blair out there, just absolutely crushing it with your dreams. Something that you love, something that you're passionate about and impacting so many other people while you're building your empire. So thank you, Jennifer, so much for being here today. And everybody, if you need to listen to this over and over again, do it. There is no, God doesn't have favorites, okay? All of you are capable of these things. You just have to make a decision, you have to find something you're passionate about, and you have to be willing to take risks and see it through. Jennifer, thank you so much for everything you've shared with us today. I am impacted. I know, but everybody else is too. I hope you have the best rest of your day, everybody. If something in this episode made you sit up a little straighter or dream a little bigger, don't ignore it. That's your future nudging you. I'm living proof that you can start messy, start scared, start in the worst timing, and still create something beautiful. Thank you for listening to Girl, Why Not You? Now go take one small step towards the life you've been craving. Hit subscribe, leave a review if you feel called, and share this with someone who's ready for more.