We had the good fortune of connecting with Joi Mebane and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Joi, how do you think about risk?
Life is all about taking risks. When I first opened my beauty bar in Greenbriar Mall 19 years ago, it was a risk! I put everything I had into opening my business, but I was confident in what I could create. When I realized that my risk was worth it, I started seeing taking risks as business opportunities. This made me get more educated about the things I was doing so that it would be more predictable instead of just an all in risk.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I inspire the lives of everyday women through beauty. My business The Look By Joi has been providing brow and makeup services for over 19 years. Soon after opening my business I realized that others in the beauty industry could benefit from learning and adding brow skills to their services and from there I began teaching people how to make more money in their business doing eyebrows.
In December of 2020, I wanted to create a way to inspire and empower people and help them build pandemic and recession proof businesses. Seeing how many people lost jobs and closed their businesses, I knew I had to figure out a way to share what I know about this billion dollar beauty industry with others. I teamed up with Artistry Brows and The Perfect Brow Stencil to offer my Microblading to Microshading Tour classes for $1,000 off.
I wanted to offer my classes at a price point anyone could afford to invest in. I have taught over 1,000 people how to make money doing brows and permanent makeup services, even in a pandemic.
Since 2020, I have focused more on helping people in all industries start, market and grow their businesses. I realized a lot of the business practices I use in my beauty business can be applied to any business. A lot of people either never start their business or they give up quickly because they don’t have anyone to mentor them. I want to change this narrative and be the mentor I never had when I started over 20 years ago!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I was to show someone around the A for a day, I would start with walking the Belt Line. There is so many unique spots on the Belt Line to check out. For lunch, we’d head over to Krog Street Market. After that, I’d take them to Dekalb Farmer’s Market. This is a staple for me! I love going to the farmer’s market and exploring everything! Then we’d hit Greenbriar Mall to shop a little bit and check on my beauty bar (shameless plug, lol). To kick off the evening we’d hit Barcelona Wine Bar for dinner and drinks before heading to Mercedez-Benz Stadium to watch a game!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom has always been a HUGE source of love and support. When I first started my business, my mom quit her job and started working at my beauty kiosk. I knew she was happy working with me but I was determined to get my business to a place where she could retire and enjoy her life stress free. In 2019, she was able to fully retire!
Being able to do that for my mom made me feel so proud and fulfilled knowing she would be able to live life on her own terms. If the beauty industry could help me retire my mom, I knew it could help so many other people reach their personal and financial goals. This inspired and motivated me to help as many people as I can find success in the beauty industry.
Website: thelookbyjoi.com askmeaboutbrows.com
Instagram: instagram.com/thelookbyjoi
Twitter: twitter.com/thelookbyjoi
Facebook: facebook.com/thelookbyjoi
Youtube: youtube.com/thelookbyjoi