Today we’d like to introduce you to Jami-Lynn Endsley.
Hi Jami-Lynn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a little girl, I got to watch my grandma make everyone beautiful. She never met a stranger and made everyone feel special. I dreamt of one day being just like her. When we would go to visit her at her home, I would get lost in her make-up, perfume and hair spray. She would find me, laugh and tell me how beautiful I was. I would get excited to go to work with her. I would sit and listen to the salon chatter and daydream of what life would look like when I would work there.
As the years went by and I had endless amounts of cousins and friends to better my talents on with school dances, date nights, proms and weddings. I graduated from high school and went straight to Paul Mitchell Cosmetology School in Orlando. I wanted to do it all and be very involved. I became my class president, joined the makeup team, moved up to Stage 2 (life in the real salon instead of school salon) and signed up for every event I could. I loved it. The energy was amazing!
After graduating hair school, I went to work side by side with my grandma until she retired. I put a lot of work into building my clientele and at that time, there was no social media, I had to really get out there and push the pavement to get my name out there. I wanted whoever that sat in my chair to feel special, to know they meant something to me. I wanted them to feel like they were part of my family.
I never once thought I would just be someone’s employee. My dream was to open my own salon. I never shied away from that or kept that secret. And if anyone knows me, they know I’m very strong in my faith. I knew when the time was right, God would open that door for me. It felt like it was over night-one night after my husband and I had date night; we drove the downtown area of Saint Cloud and there it was for rent. God literally swung the door wide open and I ran threw without hesitation. In September of 2017, Blush Boutique and Salon opened!! It started off with just me in a 2100 square foot building that was too big for me. Then there was three of us and now I have eight other amazing women working right beside me.
God is Great, he continues to open doors for me that allows me to touch others with my talents but most importantly, allows others to impact my life and for that, I will forever be grateful for!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Not at all. I had to really get creative with building my clientele. I started in the salon when our economy tanked. I had to work six days a week from 9 am to 6 pm and some days, I had not one person come through the doors. And if they did, I had 6 or 7 other stylist that came before me. I was the lowest on the totem pole. That was very tough to make no money.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Blush is a salon. But we are a salon of all entrepreneurs. Every lady in here is their own business. I didn’t want to be someone’s “boss.” I wanted to be a salon of equal ness. We are all in here doing the same hustle. Not one girl in here is better than the girl beside them. Each one of us brings a different but very special quality to the table. We are a family in here.
How do you define success?
Great question. Is success fulfillment? Is it happiness? I’m not sure. Is it making my childhood dream come true? Maybe. Honestly, for me, success is everything. Success can be the smallest achievement, like waking up before the alarm clock goes off, making a complete stranger smile, or it can be completely stepping out of your comfort zone and trying to come up with an answer to defining success. Success is growth, small or large and every size in between.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Blush Boutique and Salon
- Facebook: Blush Boutique and Salon
