Be The Woman in Charge.

By Chantel Lewis 

Last week, ZARE had the chance to catch up with Kacey the owner of Beauty By Kacey and spoke about the challenges and rewards of being a young black woman in charge.

What made you want to go into the beauty industry? 

I didn’t know what I wanted to be or the industry that I wanted to go into. It was a rough few months as I was working my butt off for a manager that was extremely uptight and rude at this small French café to make money whilst going to every possible networking and social event I could to try and get my foot in the door but still getting no response.
After seven and a half month of stress and anxiety of me failing at life, I decided that I was  good at and enjoyed make-up and that was the industry I wanted to persue. Whilst everyone was going to university I decided that I wanted to go to cosmetology school to become a qualified beautician.

When you first decided to go cosmetology did you have any concerns or worries being a young black woman?

I definitely had some doubts about whether I was good enough to even attend a beauty school and I definitely doubted my craft and what I was capable of but that is why I am so happy that I have a great support system in my friends and family and their support has been amazing. I also felt like would find it hard to fit in but that was something I was overthinking, I definitely made some good friends.

Being from a minority background did you have any issues where you found it hard to be accepted within the beauty community?

Being a young black woman, I defiantly found it hard especially in cosmetology school because I was surrounded by many beautiful white women that defiantly made me feel intimidated and anxious, as I wanted to do well and fit in. Before cosmetology school, I hadn’t worked with lighter skin tones and that was very stressful for me especially because a majority of the models that were brought in were white. However, I also found out that this was also a bonus as I was more prepared and experienced when working with a black model as I knew what products were great for a darker-skinned model.

Is attending a cosmetology school a necessary step in creating your brand?

Of course, I didn’t have to go to a beauty school and I did know a lot about make-up and make-up is my passion however, I wasn’t comfortable doing other people’s makeup. I feel as if it’s one thing doing your makeup every day and knowing your facial features and how to enhance your own beauty but it’s something completely different with other people and it made me feel uncomfortable because I didn’t know how to enhance other people’s face shapes and features. So that was the main reason why I wanted to go to make-up school.  Another reason I wanted to go was that I wanted to build a brand that was accredited and could  1000% be trusted by people especially if I was going to be charging them for a service. Another reason was that I wanted to better my skills and learn how to do a range of makeup looks for example stage make-up, wedding make up. I think versatility is very important in a creative industry such as beauty.

Being a young black business owner how important do you think it is that more women from minority backgrounds are becoming entrepreneurs? 

I think it is super important as we need more minority women to help set the bar for the younger generation because when I was growing up there wasn’t anyone to look up to. I think that it’s important for us women to build each other up as we are the future and there’s honestly nothing better than women who come together to achieve greatness. I also think it's about time we show the world what we can do and what we can achieve when we support one another. 

What made you want to open up a salon?

It was round about the time I was on my third course, I had previously done makeup, and eyelash extensions and they were doing well, I had a good reliable client base that would come to my parents’ house and I would provide these services in the spare room that I had set up like a salon. It was beginning to get too busy and hectic for one person so I decided to use this as an opportunity to expand opening up my first salon in Crystal Palace. I also wanted to open my salon because it felt like I didn’t belong anywhere as there wasn’t a salon offering more than service, currently, at my salons, I offer many services such as hair, Nails, and Make up.

What advice would you give to young girls that want to become entrepreneurs?

The advice I would give to young girls who want to have their own businesses, and call all the shots is to find what they love and work hard, there’s nothing better than perfecting your craft and being the best at what you do as there’s one thing people will become loyal too and that is consistency if you’re the best then people will pay for all kinds of money for your services. Another piece of advice would be that rejection is a part of growth and always stay positive. 

What are your plans for the future?

I am currently expanding the Beauty by Kacey brand to East London. I also want to branch into cosmetics as I have always had a love for science and the creative process behind creating makeup, another plan of mine is to branch into movie makeup as I enjoyed learning it back in cosmetology school and would like to continue doing it.