Editor’s note: For our annual Women in Business issue, we invited women in our local business communities to share insights they’ve gained through their work in Western North Carolina.
Trina Jackson, and her daughter, Kahlani, own and operate Asheville Pro Lash and Salon.
Xpress: What piece of advice do you wish you’d been told prior to launching your business?
Trina Jackson: I wish they would have told me about the many long hours that I would be spending and the sleepless nights that I would have running ideas through my head and figuring out a way to implement those ideas into money. The problem is we see the outcome of hard work but never the many hours and the amount of things that are tried to create a successful business.
How do you feel women in leadership experience their roles differently today than they may have in the past?
In the past, women were kept in a box and not able to experience many job choices or own their own businesses due to just being a woman. The fortunate thing about today is that we are able to be pretty much whoever we want and create the businesses that we want. I believe that women today are being embraced and uplifted in a new and important way. Our minds and bodies of work are being showcased and amplified and moreover respected in a greater way than in the past.
What is your most memorable experience as a business owner, and what have you learned from it?
The most memorable experience was to be showcased in the Black Enterprise magazine. I was called early one morning, and it was my best friend from second grade. Her husband is my mentor. He has created many businesses and has been on the NASDAQ. So, I respect his opinion very much. He was in the background of the phone call, and there was great excitement. I was like, “What is going on, guys?” And they said that they had seen our names, Asheville Pro Lash and Salon, mentioned in an article in the Black Enterprise. It talked about the mother-daughter team that we are and the work that we do at our salon! They were superexcited, and I was, too, knowing that in the ’70s and ’80s, the publication was a staple in our home.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.