The global beauty industry is growing at up to 7% a year, with makeup products grossing more than $18 billion. Makeup artist Joi Mebane, founder of The Look by Joi, is out to get her piece of the pie. With fearlessness and determination, this Georgia Peach became a part of an industry that would change her life while she was just a teenager in high school.
Mebane began developing her skills through the help of her high school friends. She was always that young lady that did her friends’ makeup before they went out, she says. Growing up, Mebane didn’t recognize the artistry of makeup as a potential career path. She was always taught that you have to be a doctor or a lawyer or a nurse if you want to be a successful professional, she reflected. But she found that she had a knack for eyebrows and began to really hone her skills. Although Mebane didn’t have any formal teaching, she had her most inspirational teacher right at home, her mom. “So, funny story, I used to have this lady in high school do my eyebrows and it took forever. And so one day my mom left me at the shop. She was just like, ‘You’re going to have to walk home.’ So I walked home, sweating,†she laughed. “I got in the house and she said, ‘That’s what you waited two to three hours for? Well let me show you how to do that, then you can just follow the line when it grows back in and just practice.’†From there, Mebane honed her craft and had a profitable future right in the palm of her hands.
Mebane discovered her newfound passion was an easy way to earn money. In college she would do eyebrows of girls across campus, getting all the practice she wanted and earning her expert status. While working at a cosmetic counter one summer Mebane learned a few more tips and tricks of the trade from a passerby who admired her work. Those techniques, with a little refinement, along with everything she’d picked up along the way was all the training Mebane could ask for.
Having worked with makeup up for years, Mebane had a well-rounded knowledge of what was available and on the market but something was missing and that’s what inspired her to develop her own cosmetic line. “… There were certain tools, certain looks, and certain colors that I wanted … I just saw a need and developed it.†Mebane’s line, The Look by Joi, is available online and at her retail location in Atlanta where she grew up.
Find out more about how Mebane is expanding her brand on the next page …
Mebane’s luxurious product line was only a stepping stone to an empire she sought to create. She launched her first book, Glam Executive, earlier this year. It was a project two years in the making. Mebane describes herself as a note taker and those reflections were the foundation of her
book’s content; industry nuggets that she learned along the way which she refers to as “Joi’s Journal.” Her book serves as a manual for entrepreneurs or anyone interested in breaking into the business of beauty. Glam Executive, the manual of beauty, was a long process, a learning process, and another notch on Mebane’s proverbial belt of success.With the accolades piling up and her aspirations growing, Mebane has no plans of slowing down. She has hopes of seeing her makeup line sold in commercial stores such as Target, Ulta, and Sephora as well as booking speaking engagements, mentoring, and educating people on business itself. She looks to inspire others and hopes her story will serve as a cautionary tale that others can learn from her mistakes. She advises new business owners to first find an accountant and a lawyer. Owning a business can be tricky she says, people do what they love and forget about the business aspect of it. “It’s going to be a hassle, but at least when things come up they won’t deter you from losing your passion and the reason you started.â€
Mebane prides herself on thinking outside the box. She’s known as a bride professional, an entrepreneur, and now an author with a number of titles on the horizon. “The beauty industry, just like any industry, is competitive. Find out what makes you different … make it specific to you … and be able to articulate that. What makes me different is that I’m a business woman first and that’s where my passion lies. I’ve tried all kind of businesses but beauty is the business I fell in love with.â€
Author Candace Mitchell (@loveCandyV) is co-founder and CEO of Techturized Inc., enabling hair care personalization capabilities in the market for female consumers around the world. As a computer scientist and fellow coder, she spends her time in the lab working on the company’s first product, Myavana— a mobile social platform for black hair care, available on iOS and Android.