"Don't allow the money to drive what you do" with Tiffany Shelly

Tiffany Shelly is a Jamaican native who moved to America at the age of four. She is now living in Chicago, IL, as an ambitious mom of two beautiful little girls. Tiffany is a licensed cosmetologist working in the beauty industry for over ten years and is now the owner of a budding start-up, Last Minute Hair. Last Minute Hair is leading the charge as the first on-demand delivery service exclusively for the beauty industry through a mobile app. To view more information, visit their website, www.LastMinuteHair.com.

I start my career wanting to be a high fashion, fashion designer, still considering adding it to my portfolio. I studied at Columbia College and the International Academy of Design and Technology as a Fashion Design major in Chicago, IL. Along my journey of discovering where I wanted to be in life, I started to gravitate towards legitimizing my skills as a hairstylist. I took off one year from becoming a Fashion Designer to pursue my cosmetology degree. I attended Steven Papageorge Hair Academy to achieve that goal. After I obtained my license, I was off to the races. I used the same marketing knowledge I gained while pursuing my fashion career, to build my clientele steadily in the beauty industry. 

 After working in the beauty industry, for roughly 5-6 years at this time, I started to observe a common problem. It was a problem that not only was I dealing with by my co-workers as well. I would be on set for a photo, video shoot, or working backstage at a fashion show and watch the mental breakdown of people, both working and being serviced, due to this problem.

The problem, not having or running out of specific hair or cosmetic items when it's needed the most. I have witnessed tears over the wrong foundation with no way to get the right blend. Someone would yell at "Where's the closest beauty supply store?" " Is there anyone who can run to the store for me?". It would become a legit madhouse. I started to think about how I can help them? How could I help myself and my clients? And then it came to me, clumsy at first, but clearer as the years rolled on.

 What if there was a way for us to get the beauty products we needed when we needed it. I thought to make it an app to simplify the ability to locate these products when you are in a bind. I thought about how beneficial it would be for local beauty supply stores to demonstrate what items they have in stock more efficiently. Overall, create a communication portal for local beauty businesses and beauty consumers. My company's headquarters are in Chicago, IL, but I am working on expansion plans to offer this service if other cities and states. 

 I started Last Minute Hair by first researching my market. I surveyed a few people in my industry and used my industry knowledge to build out solutions for specific pain points I saw. I then joined an incubator called the 100K incubator founded by a marketing strategist, Arielle Loren. With her recommendations, I started to build out the foundation to legitimize my company. I registered my company with the state, file for my E.I.N., secured my web domain, and opened a business account with my bank. After coming across an I.P. attorney, I saw the importance of securing your brand and "...not building on land you don't own.". So I invested in getting Last Minute Hair registered with the USPTO. 

 Next, it was the matter of educating the public that Last Minute Hair was the company to fix their beauty blues. I started with guerilla marketing, which to-date has been my most effective form of marketing for me, especially as a bootstrapped start-up. I entered pitch competition and created incentives for people who pre-registered to the app as we build it out. With that said, this has not been an easy process, with Last Minute Hair being the first in its market space for this niche there isn't much software to assist with the wireframe of the company. So, in turn, I am building everything from scratch. This way, I can customize the system to solve targeted problems and ensure that it is the company, and our processes are beneficial to the users of the app. 

 To stay focus on these goals, I created the company milestones. I compartmentalized my company and hired employees that would solely service that part of the company. Doing this helps me process what section is having what issues, and I am not getting an overload of feedback from one person on multiple concerns in multiple areas. I also meditate to retain focus and limit how much feedback I process. Remember, everyone has an opinion that doesn't mean they will work, make sense, or align with your vision. I tell myself to stay the course until it's time to pivot. 

 It was important during the development stage that Last Minute Hair was able to stand out from the competition, whether directly or indirectly.

Because Last Minute Hair solely focuses on beauty-related goods, users of the app don't have to be concerned with find anything not related to their specific hair or cosmetic needs. We deliver on behalf of local beauty supply stores allowing users to receive their beauty products within one hour or less from the time the store completes their order. I based my company on what myself and others experienced during my going on 13 years in the industry. 

Some feedback I would leave for aspiring, and new entrepreneurs, don't allow the money to drive what you do. Allow your desire to want to help people be your motivation. From there, you will easily create a marketing strategy to create content and a solid business plan that will produce results. When you are only lead by how much money you want to make, your marketing will come off selfish, and consumers can become very turned off and less responsive. Lead with emotion. How do you want someone to feel after using your business?

  This venture has introduced me to a few new books that have helped realign me. One main book being John C. Maxwell's The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, it's focusing on self-growth and forming your mentality as one of action and recognizing your calling and not just following what you see others do. From this book, I was able to understand the kind of leader I want to be and how to accomplish that by addressing the shortcomings I have. Two apps I was able to hone my content, making skills through apps like Over and Canva, the pro subscription is worth the investment to open unlimited content possibilities. Through research, I have grown an admiration for Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, and Courtney Adeleye, owner of The Mane Choice. They both possess this silent control temperament that is alluring to me. Also, I respect their practice of doing things in their business that some people may feel is going against the tide or "trend," and they make it work.

Further supporting my theory of making your own rules, everyone is taking educated guesses along the way. There's no one way to build a business. The only common core principle is to make sure your foundation is secure. The rest is you defining how you want to be seen in the world and what mark or impact do you want to leave behind. Build on that.

 Although it seems I work around the clock, there are a few things I do to decompress. I love to create art pieces, jewelry, or painting. I would consider my self a natural-born mason as long as I am building something I feel at peace. Art, to me, is like recreating your soul into something tangible. 

Over the next six months, we will be working overtime to help get these local beauty supply stores onboard our platform and servicing their customers again, efficiently. Notably, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses all over are on shaky grounds. However, the beauty industry is home to me. So, my company is here to help maintain the economic growth of the beauty industry during this extremely volatile moment in time and many years to come.

Our mission is to help local beauty supply stores market their inventory through our mobile app. Beauty consumers will be able to locate their specific hair and cosmetic items, and our delivery drivers will pick up and drop off to the consumer. With our process, we can reduce the gathering around beauty supply stores and help keep intact social distancing and slowing down the spread. For anyone interested in adding their store to our database, inquiries can be submitted by clicking this link https://lastminutehair.com/benefits/beauty-supply-virgin-hair-suppliers/

to set up a virtual demo and register. The Last Minute Hair App is close to completion, to get updated for when it's time to download text HairNow to 888111 or visit https://lastminutehair.com/consumer/. For any direct question email Tiffany@LastMinuteHairLLC.com