Ashunta Sheriff Kendricks is an Emmy-nominated Celebrity Makeup Artist whose work has graced some of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces – Taraji P. Henson, Marisa Tomei, Becky G., Sean Combs, Alicia Keys, Zendaya, Molly Sims, Janelle Monae, Rihanna, Tracee Ellis Ross and many more. She is also the founder of Ashunta Sheriff Beauty.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
- You have to be a risk taker – To pursue being an entrepreneur takes guts and self-belief. You also have to know that someone will need what you offer. There are a lot of risks involved, but to me, it’s the most crucial part of success.
- Being creative is a major part of a brand’s success, as is thinking outside the box.
- Having a solid team and plan in place is crucial to a brand’s long-term success. On my team, we do quarterly two-day summits aside from speaking daily and emailing all day to ensure we are on the same page. No brand founder can succeed without a solid and amazing team. Putting yourself around other brilliant minds, and even those even more brilliant than me, are a key recipe to overall success.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
Our plans to grow are to move from online only to retail shops around the globe. We believe even with the very saturated market of beauty products we offer something very different in terms of our bold pigmentation with color cosmetics, reducing our carbon footprint by creating reusable magnetic lashes that are made from biodegradable plant fibers, which we are one of the only brands to offer this type of product. All coupled with over 28 years of experience in the beauty and entertainment industry, our products are rooted in my knowledge of how to create long wearing, waterproof, even life proof, products for customers.
Our brand is Black owned but created for the use of ALL. We are not a specialized brand for women of color only, but for all humanity from all walks of life, which ties into my work experience in the industry.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
I started my brand during the pandemic at the very height of it, not knowing if the TV/Film industry would return to work as normal. That was a major risk to take savings from my husband to invest into a new brand, but I was doing ZOOM tutorials and TV segments for lash applications for women holding ZOOM business calls and dates. I saw an opportunity to create something very niche to fit their needs. Yes, there were Magnetic Lashes on the market, however there were none that were biodegradable plant fibers that also were durable and reusable like mine. So I took the risk!
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
What sets us apart is my 28 years in the beauty and entertainment industry working with A-listers, blockbuster Hollywood films, and major publications that gives me leverage over brand competitors. Many of my products have been road tested on some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and seen way before they’ve come into reality within my brand. Offering customers products that actually perform and do what they say they will do is not just a gimmick and selling tool for me but rooted in actual facts based on their real-life performance.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
- My first brand failed because my business was not in order. You MUST have your paperwork in order period. Trademarks, contracts, etc. Be sure to have things in order.
- Take help! When I started my brand, it was just me and I am a headstrong person who would not take help. Managing both my brand and my career with being a mom and wife were almost literally sucking the life out of me. I was being offered help but was not trusting that anyone could do things the way I thought I could do them. However, that is furthest from the truth. Delegating responsibilities only strengthened my brand and gave me more time to be stronger at the things I work best with which is marketing and product development.
- Grow your brand but be strategic. Growth is great but growing without a plan or strategy can make a brand fall fast.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
When we have our summits, we create a brand strategy for marketing along with our PR firm KELZ MEDIA. The plan is multi-leveled from social media to TV coverage. It all has to be planned out and discussed strategically.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
The greatest challenge is gaining new customer trust. In today’s market, a lot of people just release products that aren’t rooted in real road testing, or developed and created for longevity but because they are famous, people buy into the products and overlook the actual brands founded by real hair or makeup professionals who truly have product knowledge, formulation and product application. This is a challenge but once people try my products, they are forever fans because they see “ok she truly does make a waterproof transfer-resistant product and it’s not just a gimmick”.
What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?
My first business idea was adornhats. It was a hat company created by myself and my aunt whose passed away. We would hand-make hats adorned with crystals, feathers, and all types of gems. We had a booth at the Black Expo in NYC in the mid 1990’s and we sold out our hat designs and expanded to T-shirt’s. I was about 16-17 years old at the time. The business kept going past the Black Expo and we did custom orders for a while. It was fun!
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’m learning now to be in competition with myself – to not look or compare to other brands or business models. A lot of business is learning as you go, and nothing is perfect along the journey.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
I wouldn’t do anything differently. I do not believe in mistakes are learning curves that help you to expand your business mindset and grow.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
The current tools I’m using to grow my brand are;
- Social Media: 85% of my sales for my brand come from direct referrals from my IG social pages
- Business News Daily offers amazing business tools and advice from all types of industries, and I’m a firm believer that I can learn from anyone’s success story – not just beauty brands.
- Income Fact, a social media page, is an amazing resource and wealth of knowledge.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
I’m an avid reader and researcher. I majored in Cultural Anthropology at Howard University, so I’m always looking for information and resources to help us grow.
I came across the website The CEO Library where I found a lot of the books that have inspired my journey into entrepreneurship like Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso, You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
If I have a laptop and unlimited Wi-Fi, that means I have all I need to build my own website, which I did when I began with Ecwid. I paid $14.99/month for the yearly membership for business level selling. Then I’d create my social pages, which are free of charge. Order one product and get the minimum quantity for customization. Probably half the money would be spent on this.
Find a professional retoucher on Fiveer and a graphic designer to create your logo for your brand, which runs roughly $50-100.
Lastly, shoot the product with your iPhone like I did, and then find a professional retoucher also on Fiverr to retouch images. Usually, you can get about 10-12 solid images for $100 as well. Then begin posting and creating content. That is the formula that I used, which lead me to having over $30K in sales in two days with Magnitieyes Luxury Lashes. Then just keep growing by putting in hard work, blood, sweat and tears.
What is your favorite quote?
“It doesn’t matter who you are. Where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you …. Always”
– Oprah
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
My advice is never give up. You may fail a few times before you have success but never give up. Sometimes those failures are just life lessons to better prepare you for the major wins life is about to bring you. Then you when you do become successful, remember those hard times and use that to encourage others when they are facing similar circumstances. Life is a series of ups and downs and it’s how we bounce back from those downs that helps become inspiration for others seeking the same level of success. So pay it forward!
What is your definition of success?
My definition of success is being able to provide jobs for people and create space for them to grow by helping them to cultivate their talents. Success is not about just having money and being on top alone, it’s about paying it forward and sharing your wealth of knowledge, experience, expertise to motivate others to attain the same goal.
How do you personally overcome fear?
I overcome fear through my faith in God. My relationship with the lord was implanted within me from childhood, and prayer is a major focus for me whenever I am in fear. The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear. This was a song sang often in church at Second Canaan Baptist Church and Abyssinian Baptist Church where I grew up attending in Harlem. Whenever I have moments of doubt or fear, I hum this song and I hold to those words, which encourage me that I can make it through anything.
If you can line you can lash…
