Ask Me Anything: We're talking about Finding Bridal Henna Clients, Cultural Appropriation and Henna Artists, and How to Make Your Henna Business Visible in a Competitive Market
Ask Me Anything!
You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers!
In today’s Ask Me Anything!, we’re tackling the following questions submitted from hennapreneurs like you:
[01:48] How do I find bridal henna clients without paying an arm and a leg to advertise on popular wedding planning websites?
[08:08] How should someone respond when people say that henna artists are guilty of cultural appropriation for doing henna?
[16:21] Can I have more than one ideal client for my henna business?
[21:10] How do you stand out from others in the henna market when you're in a big city?
[28:45] Should I follow back the clients that follow me on Instagram? Would it be beneficial for my henna business?
[34:35] What I should wear when I do henna at South Asian weddings?
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By the way, you’re totally invited to join me and other high-aspiring henna artists inside of the private Hennapreneur Community on Facebook! There we connect about henna, about business, and about all things related to crushing it as a henna professional.
+ Read the transcript here
Chelsea: Hey, how are we doing, hennapreneurs? Welcome, welcome, welcome! We are back for another Ask Me Anything session. All right, give me just one second. I'm going to share this feed over into the Hennapreneur Community, and then we're going to begin. I'm really excited. This week, we have a bunch of questions that came in and all of them, really, most of them are business and a little bit branding related, and you guys know that these are the things that, like, excite me to no end. So I'm excited to jump right in with you. All right. So we got this shared over. If you are new here, if you're new to me, welcome! Hello, my name is Chelsea Stevenson and I am a professional henna artist and business strategist based here in Baltimore, Maryland. And I help other henna artists around the world to either start, grow, or scale their henna businesses using strategy.
And so, once a month— twice a month—what am I even saying?—twice a month. Twice a month, I come live here on Facebook and I answer questions live—all about henna, business, and branding. If it's your first time joining me for one of these sessions, I go through pre-submitted questions that are received from the Hennapreneur Community. By the way, if you're not in there, definitely join us! It's a private Facebook group. We'd love to have you. And so we start with those pre-submitted questions and then we move into any live questions if time allows for it, okay? So, today we've got a bunch of questions all related to business and branding, and I'm really excited about them. So let's jump into the first one. The first one says, "How do I find wedding gigs without paying an arm and a leg to advertise in The Knot and Wedding Wire?"
Excellent! Excellent question, queen! Okay. So you're wanting to— and let me pause here and say, hey, listen, guys! I want you to think about the answer to this question and how it applies to you. So even if you're not one of those artists, perhaps, who is looking to advertise or looking to get into bridal gigs, maybe you're looking for a different type of gig. Think about how I'm responding and see how it can apply to you, okay? So, of course, you're wanting to advertise your business and you want to get in front of the right people. If you're wanting to build your bridal clientele something like The Wedding Wire or The Knot are great resources, but you're right, they come with a fee. And worse than those are the fees for things like massive bridal expos and things like this, where you are paying really a high premium.
Typically, you'll find that the entry fee for things like this is something like, on the low end, maybe $900,000. And then when you get there, you're not even able to sell, right? You're only there to kind of present. And so when you're trying to explore different options for how you can advertise your bridal services without having to make those sorts of investments, here's where you get to get really creative. And I love this because this question isn't—. The question that we're asking is, how do we do this without using these different platforms? But the question that we're really asking is, how do I get myself in front of brides? That's what we really want to know, right? And so with having that underlying question, let's dig in there. So, if you want to get your eyes—if you want to get your business in front of the eyes of brides in your area, brides who you want to serve, then the very first thing that you need to do is have a very clear understanding of who your ideal client is.
Understand [that] if your ideal client is that bride who's looking for, I don't know, let's say she's looking for, like, hotel venues and things like this. She's looking for hotel venues versus if she's looking for, like, a farmhouse wedding, um, inspired thing, like, you have to know what it is that she's looking for. So you can start to show up in the places that she is going to frequent as well. So how do you do that, right? You have to know who she is. So not all brides are the same. Not all brides that want henna are the same. The bride who wants henna for, like, a traditional Bangladeshi wedding is going to be a different experience from that bride who wants to have henna on her feet for her beach wedding. And that's going to be different for, you know, from that bride
who's wanting to get her henna done prior to going on a destination wedding. All of those experiences are going to be very unique. And so as you are looking to get in front of the right eyes, and you're looking to get in front of those brides that make the most sense to you, those ones that you want to work with, the ones that excite you, right, then you have to get very, very clear about who they are and what they're looking for. Once you know what they're looking for, then you are going to reverse strategize, assist them to get in front of their eyes. So let's say, for example, running with the two examples here that we have. We have, you know, one side where we have a traditional South Asian bride who is looking for that very traditional experience.
So you know that you are going to have to look around and find different venues. I'm sorry. Excuse me, different vendors, perhaps, who are selling the floral arrangements. You are going to want to get in contact with the vendors who are selling the different rental, the halls. Um, also the rental things for the actual, like, the Mehndi ceremony or for her Sangeet. You're going to look to get in contact with the photographers who specialize in South Asian bridal. You are going to get in contact with the makeup artistswho specialize in South Asian bridal. And you're going to network with every single one of those people. You don't have to be in Wedding Wire for that. You don't have to be a part of The Knot. In fact, you could use The Wedding Wire or you could use The Knot to go find who those people are, and then start to build a connection with them and start to build a professional relationship with them.
Why? Because once you have that connection with them, they're going to make referrals to those people who they like, right? They're going to make referrals to those people who they feel like would work well with their clients. And so when you start to connect with them and network with them, um, then it makes it easy for you because you guys are serving mutual clients. It makes it easy for you to say, "Hey, I'd love to refer to you. Would you be willing to refer back to me as well?" And it opens up a more collaborative space. So you're essentially creating the network that you would gain through The Wedding Wire and The Knot without paying for those things. On the flip side, let's say [that] you wanted to have those brides who are wanting, like, the farmhouse wedding or whatever, you would do that exact same thing, but you are going to instead connect with those vendors, with those service providers, with those venues, um, all of these resources, right,
that that bride is going to be looking for. You're going to connect with them as well, and you're going to build a network. Um, and in building those networks, you're going to find that it's going to make it much more easy for your name to pop up in conversation around what she's looking for. So, even if you're not involved in those spaces where you have to make those heavy investments, you're still going to be able to show up in her circle, if you will. One of the ways, I guess, that you can do this, uh, aside from networking with other professionals is even just keeping an eye on what's going on in social media. If you have a very clear Instagram—Oh, Instagram is amazing!—or Pinterest or Facebook strategy behind you, um, as how you build out your content and also how you're using those platforms for market research regarding your ideal client, it's going to make it so you will, you will create a system which will facilitate you being able to not only identify what are those things that they're liking, but you're also going to be able to identify what are the— where are those places that they're hanging out.
And so then you can go and start to build those— uh, start to place yourself in those circles, place yourself amongst those vendors and in those areas where they're looking. So really, it's a matter of showing up where your ideal client is. Um, and so, yeah, that's what I got. Hopefully that helps. Okay. Our next question, "You may have covered this already, but how should someone respond to the people that say we are guilty of cultural appropriation for doing henna?" Ooh, here's a heavy one. Look, I don't shy away from this question. I think it's a really good question. And it's one that's especially relevant today. So
let's take a step back, right? When we're thinking about, um, cultural appropriation, first, we have to identify what culture is being appropriated, right? That's that's the first step, what culture is being appropriated, because if we've crossed the bound, if we've overstepped a boundary, we need to be able to clearly identify what that boundary was, where that line was drawn in the sand, right? Okay. So when it comes to henna from a historical standpoint, right, an anthropological standpoint, henna has been used across so many cultures over thousands of years across the world and in a number of different ways, right? So, henna originates in Africa [and] spreads through trade, right? Spreads through trade from Northern Africa to Western Africa. Spreads through trade again up into the Arab States, uh, into the Gulf. Spreads furthermore into India and South Asia, right?
And with all of that, all of that spread, all of that, uh, exchange that's happening, there's culture exchange that's happening. There's trade that's happening. You start to find henna in all sorts of corners of the world. And today we know that henna has been used for thousands of years as far as West Africa and places like Senegal and The Gambia, um, Mali, Togo, Benin, uh, Niger, all of these areas to way beyond, right, into South Asia. And now, of course, we have, you know, areas like Singapore and so forth, right? We have also henna being used going North, going up into Europe. There's documentation about henna being used even in ancient Greece, right? Ancient Greece. Ancient Rome. And we have it also being used as we go down towards the South as well. And so if we're going to identify what culture is being appropriated, then you just created a really large map for us to choose.
So, this is where things get tricky, right? Because art is something that's shared by way of cultural exchange like many things—art, food, music. When you have people from different backgrounds who come together, it is our way, right, to bond over different things. Art, food [and] music are three of the most common ones. Henna as an art form is then, of course, historically, and up until today, shared by way of cultural exchange. So, today, now we have henna used even, I mean, at this point we can call it a very long time, inside of even as far as here, North America, Europe. We have an emerging culture of henna and even a unique henna style so far as Russia, right? So we're seeing that cultural exchange happen. We're seeing that, um, that exchange of art and of style happen. And in that we're also seeing new forms of the art being birthed.
So for me, right, for me, when I think of cultural appropriation, again, I want to identify the line in the sand as an artist. If our work using henna is limited to the art itself, right? If it's limited to the art itself, and it is only a matter of, I am applying the henna to someone else, I'm offering the service to someone else, this is something that it's very difficult for you to be able to effectively say, "This is cultural appropriation," because there's not a single culture that you can point it back to. And it ignores the reality of cultural exchange. Um, even we could go so far as to say it ignores the reality of cultural appreciation, which is a whole 'nother topic. Um, and we don't even have to go there. We don't have to go there, like, um, the facts, if you will, presented there on, uh, around cultural exchange are significant enough that we didn't have to go down that rabbit hole.
But,
there is a caveat and this is where I get a little bit frustrated, right? Because sometimes people in an effort to want to maybe provide a good service, or an effort to want to stand out, or in an effort to want to fit in, or in an effort to whatever, sometimes you'll find that artists who are operating and doing henna as a service will adopt things beyond the henna itself. And at that point it will become cultural appropriation. For example, if you feel the need—. I had an experience like this. I was working at festival, um, and, uh, there was another artist who had no business being there, by the way, because I had exclusivity at the festival. So I had to have her removed. That's a whole different story. She was there. This person, for context, it's a white American young lady, um, definitely, like, Coachella vibes, [holding up peace sign]
um, was there doing henna, had something to say about starving artists and support of one another. Um, that gives you an idea of who I was dealing with. Um, and the only way that she felt it was appropriate for her to apply henna was if she was wearing this, like, very poorly draped,—not even a sari, but we're going to pretend that it's a sari—strip of fabric that she probably picked up at, like, I don't know, Michael's or some yard sale and, um, and wearing a bindi. And like, it just, it was really gross. It was really gross. At that point, it becomes gross. At that point, it becomes cultural appropriation. Why? Because you're taking those things from that, um, you could, one, you could easily identify. There is a culture that she was trying to emulate. There was a culture that she was trying to appropriate and, um— [coughing] excuse me.
And she was doing that in the interest of gaining more visits to her tent, in the interest of gaining more clients, in the interest of making a profit. At that point, that becomes cultural appropriation. Um, so that's kind of where the differentiation is. If it's just a matter of you offering the service, there's no argument, honestly, that can be had that stands solid. Um, but if you go beyond that, if we start to get into, um, what I'm going to call fetishism or Orientalism, if we start to get into those sorts of areas, now we're dealing with a different beast and cultural appropriation definitely comes into play. And at that point, that's when I just say, put the cone down. Like, it's better to just stop while you're ahead. So, there's my answer. I hope that it makes sense to you. Uh, this could be a really hot topic, uh, cultural appropriation.
And I want to be clear that I don't, um, I'm the artist that doesn't take any offense or doesn't feel any particular way about any group utilizing henna, but I do feel very strongly about the artist who finds it necessary to play dress up in order to offer the service because that's where we do have a hard boundary. That's where we do have a hard line in the sand crossing into that cultural appropriation. And that is something that we simply cannot cannot do. Okay. So, next question. Hold on one second, because mom duty is calling. Hey, children! Children! Littles, I'm on live, okay? Thank you. Okay. All right. So, next question. "I'm torn-" "I'm torn on my ide—" Wait, hold on. "I'm torn on my ideal client muddying the research angle. I'm leaning hard towards library- and community education-type group work and parties, but I feel like I'm supposed to find an actual person to speak to. The party hostess I envision is a different person from the librarian, so I'm not sure if I should try to speak to both.
I'm just a fledgling. So I have too little experience to say if I prefer working with one type of client or the other." This is beautiful! This is beautiful. I love this question so much. Okay. So, you have an idea for two different ideal clients. Both of these ideal clients are really solid starts, okay? We have, one, party hostess. The other is a community education. So we'll call it that librarian. Now, if you're unsure if you're supposed to, like, um, we're saying that I'm not sure should I speak to one or the other because I don't know yet if I can choose. Absolutely. You can speak to one or you can speak to the other, or you can choose to speak to both. Honestly, if you're that early on and it's just a matter of starting to build out your client base, then absolutely you can select one.
Uh, you can just select the other, or you can try to speak to both. You can speak to both. And I think that it's very easy, honestly, for you to be able to speak to both, uh, from a service perspective, right? So, for me, if I were, like, starting out in this beginning stage and have these two ideas, I want to kind of see which one I like and which one interests me most, I would probably approach this from the aspect of just, like, I do parties and events. Parties and events is my specialty. That's my niche, right? And so we'll start there and we'll start creating content around, what the experience is like at a party [and] what the experience is like at an event if there's any differentiation between the two. So that might be that for one, like,you might start to create content that's like more celebratory looking, and then you might also create content that, like, shows events. And of course your experience in the library setting or an education setting is going to look a little bit different, right? So, um, for me, when I'm working in a library setting, it's like a presentation style. So you might set that up. Hold on one second. Children! This is going to be—. Listen, this is number two.
Okay. I see daddy has called them on the phone and I see daddy is here live. Daddy for the win! Thank you. Thank you, daddy. Appreciate it. All right. So— [laughing] So, when I do, um, when I set up events in the library, it's a presentation style, but even at the end of the presentation, I provide henna designs to those people who attended. So, here we have an intersection of content that you can create for both the party space and the event space as it fits into the library or educational system, okay? So you can start to build content around, like, this is what it looks like to work with me. This is what it looks like to have this experience. This is what it looks like to learn about henna. And you can sprinkle in educational pieces. You can sprinkle in details that relate to henna: the history of henna, henna safety, all those things, right?
You could sprinkle those things in. When you start to sprinkle those things, you're leaning into your expertise as an educator, right? Um, so when the librarian comes across that content, she's going to appreciate that, "Huh, okay. This artist knows their stuff." At the same time, visually, you're creating content that is speaking to the event setting. You're creating content that's speaking to the party setting and you're allowing people the opportunity to imagine what an event might look like with you for them because, remember, your party hostess is going to vary, also. Your party hostess one time might be the party— the person who's putting together a ladies night and another time, it might be someone who's putting together, like, a sweet sixteen, or it might be someone who is putting together just a, like a birthday party for themselves, or it's going to be different.
So don't feel like you have to be super, super specific if you're still not sure what service you're going to offer. If you're still not sure what service is really going to have your heart, right? Um, so be e— give yourself a little bit of permission to test things. Um, but in terms of doing the research and muddying the waters, as you said, and creating content to attract both of these two different ideal clients, I think that there's enough intersection there available that you can do it and you can do it pretty seamlessly, to be honest, um, until you define where exactly it is that you want to go and where you'd like to really focus your attention, okay? So I hope this helps. If you have any follow up questions for me about that, just let me know.
And I'm happy to address it further in the comments. Okay. Next! "How do I stand out from a market in a big city like London? I am specialized in Moroccan henna. Many thanks." Great question. Okay. So listen, one, I love the fact that you already have a niche. Okay. So any time you're wanting to stand out in the market, first of all, are you enrolled for class on Thursday? Let's start there. Are you enrolled for class? If you guys didn't know, there's a masterclass. I'm hosting a master class [on] Thursday evening. Um, you can enroll. I'll put the link in the comments. You can enroll. It's a free masterclass. It's online. And I'm going to be explaining, inside of that class, how to build a profitable henna brand. So if you're not already registered, make sure that you save your seat because you're not going to want to miss it.
Now, this is something that we're going to be talking about in there. In fact, many of these things are things that we're gonna be talking about in there. So if today's questions are resonating with you, register for the class. It's go—. It's for you. Okay. So, any time you're wanting to stand out in the market, there are three things first that you have to do. First, right? First, you're going to identify your niche, right? You've done a great job of doing that. "I specialize in Moroccan henna." Perfect. So you have your niche. Then you're going to have your target market underneath, right? We're kind of coming down like this [outlining a "V" with hands]. Um, once you get to your target market, that's where you're going to identify who it is that you're wanting to serve. And this is in a broad sense. A general sense, right?
So you have your target market. For you, um, that may be those, uh, perhaps it is specifically to the Moroccan community or the Moroccan heritage community. Um, it may be beyond that. Um, if—. And of course that's also going to vary with what types of clients are, like, are you doing weddings? Are you doing—. Is this mostly parties? Are you doing events? Like, what does this look like? Are these everyday appointments? What does that look like for you? Um, and so your target market is going to be a little bit more, uh, vast. Um, what is, um, you know, are you serving, uh, largely women? Are they parties? Are they—. Where are they from? What's their age? This is, uh, like, we're going to kind of just get, like, general demographics and then we're going to bring it down even closer to the bottom where you're going to identify that ideal client like we talked about in the previous questions.
So you have your ideal client. Your ideal client is going to be super, super specific. It is one person that you're thinking of as you're creating content and as you're starting to build your brand, right? So why is this important? If you're going to stand out in the market, you have to have very targeted messaging because you know, like when you have maybe like a birthday, you're having a birthday, or you're having, uh, like you're throwing a party, right? And you know, when people give you cards—they give you cards—and you can always tell when someone went to the store and like, you know that they thumbed through every card to find the right one to give to you, right? Like, you could feel it. You know it. You get that card and you're like, oh, this was—. Like, oh my gosh!
And memories come back to you and you get the lump in your throat. And you're like, this was, you know, this one touched me and you know that card was for you. And you value that card more. Maybe it's just me. I know that I'm like, I'm super sensitive. I love stationary. When people give me cards, like, I have cards from when I was a little. I saved them. Um, but you know, you get that card and you're like, oh my God, this person they really spent the time. Like, they really—. This is for me. This is for me. This message was for me, um, from the message in the card to the message that they put, like, this was for me. And then there are those people who—. [laughing]
There are those people who come to the, you know, get to the party and they hand you the card and when you open the card, you see that their name is, like, scribbled inside. And it says, like, something really generic. Like, "may you have another great year" or "happy birthday, love you always". And like, and then that's it. And then you look at the card and you're like, I'm pretty sure that they just, like, hit the dollar store on their way over here and just picked one. Like, oh, this one looks cute! Pick one and just scribble their name of the card and, uh, and brought this over. And it's not to say—. It's not to say that, uh, like, you know, it's the thought that counts and all that. Whatever, we can be on that. But you know, here [points at heart], like in your gut, in your heart, you know that that message wasn't really meant for you.
It was something that someone just kinda tossed together and said, "Hey, it's your birthday. I like birthdays. Here, happy birthday!" And it doesn't feel the same. And you don't value it the same. And you don't connect with it the same. When you want to specialize, when you want to stand out in your market, when you want to set yourself apart from your competitors, your job is to become the hennapreneur with a business strategy behind you that allows for you to show up on social media, in person, [and] on your website with a message that's so clear to your ideal client that they are there and you want nothing more than to serve them. Just like that card tat was perfectly selected. That has a message that speaks to your history together. That caused you to get that lump in your throat. That feels customized just for them.
You don't care about everyone's birthday. You care about their birthday. And they know that you care about their birthday because you're talking only about those things related to their birthday and what you like about them. And it's all about them today, right? I think a lot of times we, um, and I'm going to mention this because you lead with "I specialize in Moroccan henna," which again, I think this is beautiful. You need to have your niche. This is a part—. This is part of how you start to separate yourself from the rest of the market. This is great. However, if you want to set yourself apart in the market, it's not enough to have just a specific style. It's not enough to be known just for your line work. It's not enough to be known for how beautiful your paisleys are or how wonderful your Fessi style is.
It can be beautiful, but it doesn't change the fact that that's not enough to set you apart. To set yourself apart, you have to connect with your people. If you want to set yourself apart, you have to make that heart connection, okay? You have to let them know that you're there for them specifically. And once they feel that, once they see that, then it becomes a no-brainer. Why would I go to someone down the street who, like, sorta specializes in something that I might like versus that artist whose whole business is built around serving me and people like me? Does that make sense? If so, like, give me a like. Give me a heart. Because I know that the co— like, I feel like many times we hear this and we're like, "Okay, so... But it's about the henna." And it's really not. It's not. Connecting with your ideal client,
standing apart in the market, comes down to a whole lot more than that. That comes down to brand recognition—your brand's message, your brand's voice, your brand's values. And all of those things are defined through the lens of your ideal client so that you can build that custom experience for them, okay? All right. So, next question! We've got, uh, "Should I follow back on Instagram the clients that follow my page? If I follow them, is it going to be beneficial to my business? And if so, how?" Really good one. Okay. So, okay. Rule of thumb, I feel like a lot of times people, people, uh—. I'll get this question. I'll get this question: "Chelsea, someone follows me. Do I have to follow them back?" Like, "Is it appropriate for me to follow them back?" Um, the answer is, no, you don't have to follow them back.
You can follow them back if you'd like to, but it's— there's no, you know, it's not the end of the world if you don't. The beauty about this question is that she was specific. "Should I follow back my clients?" My clients. My clients. Mmm. So the answer is going to very much depend on how much you liked those clients, okay? Because you want to build—. Let's, let's take a second to, one, we have to recognize that Instagram, if you're using it as a business tool, is a social network, but it is a business tool. So when you use Instagram for your henna business, you're only liking, following, doing things on Instagram, on that account, that speak to how you're going to connect with your ideal client. Are we seeing a trend here today? I am so loving this session. You don't even know.
Okay. So, Instagram is a tool that is providing you with insights regarding your— regarding those people who you follow, right? So when you follow someone, right, you choose to follow someone on Instagram, you tell the Instagram algorithm, I like this person and I like people like this person. Okay? I like this brand. And I like people like this brand. And the more you do that, the more frequently you do that, the more regularly you do that, Instagram starts to gather insights about those people. And it gathers insights about you. So, if you follow—. That's why, for example, if you follow, I don't know, like a bunch of health and fitness things, you are going to end up with things in your newsfeed, or on the discovery page that are all related to health and fitness things. People that you've never followed before.
You've never seen them before. You don't know them from Adam, and yet they're on your feed. That's because Instagram is delivering you with content that it thinks that you're going to like, okay? So if you're using Instagram for business, it would behoove you to follow those clients that fit well with your ideal client profile. Why? Because the more of those you have, the more data it gives the Instagram algorithm to say, okay, she likes people who behave like this. Birds of a feather. Where can I find other people and brands that behave like this? I'm going to deliver that to their newsfeed. Not only that, if you're able to, if you're following your clients and it is that client that you're wanting to connect with further, if that person is a good representative of who your ideal client is, then you can start to use that for market research.
So following them on Instagram gives you tons of insights. What are they like? What brands are they shopping? What memes are they, like, sharing? All of those things, they seem super, like, okay, great, it's information, but think about it. Okay? What does that tell you about their lifestyle? What does it tell you about their spending habits? What does it tell you about their style? What does it tell you about how they identify themselves? You have to understand, people go on social media and what people like to do is self-identify, okay? So when I go on Instagram or when your ideal client goes on Instagram and she's scrolling the feed and she comes across a meme posted from your account, or she finds this, you know, notices this comment that you wrote and it's coming from your account and she resonates with it, what's she going to do? Double tap.
Why? She can't even help herself because she agrees. Boop! [pressing invisible button] Yeah, I hear that. Boo-Boop! [pressing invisible button] And so, if she's doing that across multiple, um, if she's doing that on the platform and she's doing that across multiple other accounts, she's engaging with other brands, she's engaging with other people, and she's double tapping, double tapping, double tapping, Instagram is going to show you also that information in your feed. You just have to go look for it. And so you start to build a better understanding of who your ideal client is, right? And this time, you're doing it based on fact. You're doing it based on seeing, witnessing them do it and it's no longer conceptual. So does it benefit your— is it beneficial to your business? Absolutely. Absolutely. But you have to do the work. You have to go find that person and you have to pay attention to what they're doing.
Um, I have a rule in my business. So, um, if you, like, check out Cardamom & Clove Henna, my Instagram, I will, I will follow. I follow my ideal clients. If I have, um, people, like, those cli— especially those clients who are very long time to me. Like, if they've been seeing me for years, you better believe I'm following them. That's someone who has a high, uh, value, right? That's a client that has a high value. I want to know everything about how they operate. I want to know everything about how they think. I want to know everything about where they shop and why they're shopping there. Why? Because that's a great, great start and I want to be in with their circle. And so that's exactly what—. Follow. Get the insights. And then you start to create your own content that speaks that same language. And then next thing you know, you've got a great match because they're seeing the content and it feels like that birthday card that was curated and selected just for them. Ayy! Like that.
Okay. Last question, um, "I always wonder what I should wear to South Asian weddings. I don't want to be a creep. I do love my saris though. Um, as a rule of thumb, if you weren't invited to wear cultural apparel, um, don't. [laughing] So, uh, personally, um, when I go to work gigs, um, I wear all black. So—. And like, even when I work with other artists, when I hire other artists, I have them do the same. Just wear all black. Um, and so, one, it works well. You know, you get henna on you. You're gonna get dirty, whatever. It washes out, whatever. But also there's a certain standard in the service industry, um, that people would wear, uh, black or, like, black pants and a white shirt. Um, and I'm not gonna wear a white shirt with henna, so I just wear all black. Um, and this can, I'm not saying that you have to, definitely do what feels good for your business, but, um, rule of thumb, don't want to get caught in that crosshair of cultural appropriation. Unless you are specifically invited to wear cultural apparel, don't
Just, just say no. Just pass.
Okay. With that, that's all we've go—I think—today, for live questions. I don't know if you guys have any other additional live questions. You're welcome to drop them in here. Otherwise, I just want to remind you [that] if you haven't already registered—. Ah, let me go ahead and put it into the comments right now
because, because I should. Um,
if you haven't already registered, this Thursday, I am hosting a live masterclass and that masterclass, it's titled "How to Build a Profitable Henna Business". "How to Build a Profitable Henna Brand." Um, I am going to be, let's see, brand builder masterclass. Here's the link. Um, inside of the masterclass, we're going to be—. We'll be live together. It's a private masterclass. It's not here on Facebook. We'll be on a, uh,
on Zoom.
So it's a private master class. You'll be able to connect with me still, um, there, and inside of that class, I'm going to be outlining five different things that you need to know in order to build a profitable henna business. So I'm going to talk to you guys about the single most important shifts that you must make in order to position your brand appropriately in order to stand out from your competitors. Didn't we talk a little bit about this today? Ayy! If that's a question you've got, make sure you register for the class. We're going to talk to, uh, we're going to talk about how you can find your people. So I'll be teaching you about how to connect with those clients who are going to value you, who are going to pay your rates, who are going to come back, they'll send you referrals, all of that, and people also who you love working with.
So if you're not sure about your ideal client, if questions today made sense to you, if questions today made you go, "Hmm, I'd like to know a little bit more about that," sign up for the class. I'm gonna tell you—. I'm teaching about it on Thursday. I want to talk to you guys also about the, no kidding, social media strategy that you need so that you can show up every day and you can represent your brand like a boss without having to worry about what to post. Like, you don't ha—. Let's get rid of that stress. Like, what do I post? Are people gonna like it? Is it going to get me clients? I'm going to teach you how to know the answers to all of those questions. Um, I'll also be teaching you how, well, one single very, very powerful habit that you need to start implementing right now in order to grow your following on social and also your client list, i.e. your revenue.
And then, uh, at the end, of course, because you can't do all of and then just like, sit on it. Like, what's the point of having a massive following, or what's the point of having a connection to your ideal client and a beautiful brand if your bank account is empty, right? So I'm going to also teach you how to build a service suite that makes sense, um, and that leads into profitability first, okay? And then at the end of the class, we'll have a live Q&A session just like this, but specific to the class content. So it's, it's, it's going to be a beast and I think you guys are going to absolutely love it. So if you haven't registered already, be sure to go to the link and register and save your seat. Um, and we'll be connecting again on Thursday. All right! Oh, by the way, the giveaway! The giveaway, they, uh, Accelerate Your Business in 2020 giveaway, it ends tonight at midnight. So if you haven't already entered into the giveaway, be sure that you do that. Um, because once, tonight at midnight Eastern standard time, the giveaway closes, I'll be live tomorrow, at three o'clock to announce who the winner is, which I'm super surprised about. Okay! With that, we're all set. I'm happy to share with you guys. Thanks for joining me! And I'll see you guys later. Bye!