How Bryonne Beauty came to be

I never imagined I’d be going to fashion weeks or competing on a national level.

I originally started my business as Beauty and Grace Salon or Esthetics by Aisha. I went through about five name changes, vibe changes, and rebrands in just two years.

I started at 19 by taking an evening nail technician program while still working my retail sales job. Eventually, I took over a desk in my mom’s small salon. There definitely wasn’t enough room for both of us, especially because it was the tail end of COVID-19 and there were still plastic dividers everywhere.

    Our first space - 2021

I was building my clientele by finding random people off Facebook. I do background checks now because one night I convinced my mom I’d be fine working alone and of course, my client showed up high out of her mind and kept falling asleep on my nail table. Being so young and new to the industry, I hadn’t fully learned that I had the right to refuse service. Instead, I gave her the chunkiest, lumpiest, ugliest nails I’ve ever done in my life.

She eventually woke up, paid me with cash from her bra, and happily told me she’d send all her friends to see me. I’ve never blocked someone so fast in my life.

I didn’t realize how hard running a business would be. My mom had made it look so easy over the years doing it from home or traveling for clients. I quickly blew through the savings I had set aside for a car, and in full honesty, my bank account sat in the negatives for the first three years. And if you’re wondering how long I’ve been doing this, it’s year four.

I decided I wanted to continue my education, so I went back to school for esthetics and hairstyling. I took about a 2 week break between the 2 resulting in the most stressful year of my life. Funny enough, I don’t really do either of those things now. I used a portion of my student loans to help start up our current space a shiny 3,000-square-foot salon.

But again, financial reality hit me like a truck.

Still working retail, trying to grow my client base, and helping at a mechanic shop in the mornings, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. workdays became my new normal. I remember one time I was coming up short on rent, so I did what any desperate person does and went on my town’s cash job page.

$20 for whole backyards of dog poop cleanup.

I’d never been more embarrassed in my life. To make it worse, I now live near one of those houses and relive hand-picking up poop every time I drive by. 

But my dreams never shrunk. It’s hard to quit when you’re constantly surrounded by other business owners and people building something for themselves. Somehow, I’m still not hitting the “normal” esthetician milestones grow your client base, work, make money, take time off, repeat.

My path has looked different. I’ve competed in a national nail competition, gone to Vancouver for a fashion show, sold press-on nails to people around the world, and now I’m on my way to Toronto as a vendor for Fashion Art Toronto.

I’m not sure where life will take me next, but I hope it never slows down.