Women in Beauty You Should Know is a series on inspirational and entrepreneurial female beauty business owners and industry experts.
Chelsya Ashley is a marketing strategist who specializes in relationship-based marketing and data-driven strategies. She has an M.A. in Communications and over 7 years of marketing experience with over 350 companies, including large corporations like Stanley Tools, Proof Syrup, and KNESKO Skin. After working for 3 marketing agencies, she decided to start her own. Her agency’s mission is to help entrepreneurs feel confident in scaling their businesses and generating high-quality leads through authentic marketing.
Below, we caught up with Chelsya about her biggest successes to date— including how a recent campaign she led resulted in a 400% increase in revenue.
She also shares her tips on how to best market and scale a successful beauty brand today.
1. SO, WHO IS CHELSYA ASHLEY?
I’m a Marketing Strategist & Agency Owner for boutique brands who want to grow and scale through relationship marketing and growth strategies! When I’m not by my laptop working away, I’m either training for my half-marathon, cuddling with my puppy and reading my Kindle.
2. HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY?
It started with a few clients in the aesthetic space and then began signing and working with beauty brands to help them with their content strategy.
3. WHAT’S ONE THING THAT YOU WANT BRAND FOUNDERS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY?
Taking the time to map out true customer personas and diving into the customer journey from the moment they decide they want to purchase a product like yours to the moment they become fans who refer your products. This will be a game changer when it comes to creating strategies that help you stand out from the competition.
4. WHAT CAREER SUCCESSES ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? BRAG AWAY!
Beauty-related: a more recent Black Friday & Cyber Monday campaign I strategized & led for an online beauty brand resulted in a 400% increase in revenue for November compared to the previous month.
5. WHAT’S SOMETHING SURPRISING PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY? GIVE US THE INSIDER DEETS!
There’s so much creativity and inspiration and innovation involved — but there are also a lot of systems and organization that actually happens in the backend. At the utmost granular level!
6. WHAT ARE SOME KEY TRENDS OR SHIFTS YOU’RE SEEING FOR 2023 IN YOUR SPECIALITY?
Doubling down on 2 things: strong foundations (in operations, in marketing, in sales, in product development, etc.) and automating. It’s almost like, everyone is going to have to go back to basics to set themselves up for success. They have to pull back their bow and arrow as far as they can before they release and it launches as far as it does.
7. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOUNDERS FACE WHEN THEY’RE SCALING TO MULTI SIX AND SEVEN FIGURES?
I’d say the biggest challenge is that anything is open court. There’s no wrong or right answer to scaling a business. There isn’t just one way to market and scale and “go viral” (using this term loosely). And so I feel like founders who are scaling towards multiple 6 & 7 figures end up having shiny object syndrome to the point where they end up having analysis paralysis and don’t get to move the needle along. That’s where having operators and strategists is important. You can no longer wear all the hats because now it gets too much.
8. WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D LOVE TO SHARE WITH FOUNDERS WHO ARE LOOKING TO LEVEL UP?
Trust your gut, surround yourself with founders in a similar stage and invest in experts that truly care about your business. I can’t choose one, haha! I feel like all 3 go together.
9. WHAT’S ONE BOOK YOU RECOMMEND FOUNDERS READ AND WHY?
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by Brianna Wiest — it helps you reframe your thoughts, your beliefs, your presentation about yourself in business and in life without you having to lift a finger, except to turn the page, I guess, haha!
10. WHAT’S ONE THING ABOUT YOU THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS?
I studied French for 10 years! I used to be very fluent, and now, not so much.
11. BRONZER OR BLUSH?
Definitely blush!
12. TRAVELER OR HOMEBODY?
This one’s a hard one. I would say it depends on the season, but since it’s cold right now, definitely homebody.
P.S. Do you have the infrastructure, plan, and support in place to reach your next-level goals? Are you a beauty brand founder hovering around six figures per year and who’s looking for a group of like-minded entrepreneurs to learn, grow, and scale with? We’d like to invite you to apply to our mastermind. Check it out and apply today.
P.P.S. If you do not yet meet the six-figure criteria then consider getting on our waitlist for Conventional to Cult Status, it is our LIVE signature group program that helps early-stage founders build the foundations, visibility, positioning and brand awareness to reach six figures.