EnTrends [ahn-trends] Taking a Look at How Modern Entrepreneurs Work & Live! |
| Alexa Prisco - The Glam Fairy- "Jerseylicious" |
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The daughter of a noted artist and a talented jazz musician, Prisco was doing makeup for clients out of her parents’ home at a young age, before she even venturing out on her own. EnTrends interviewed Prisco about her successful business and her role on a hit television show that premiers for a second season on September 5th.
Q: How did you start your business?
A: I was an English major at William Paterson University when I called Maxim magazine about an internship. When I first spoke to the staff at the magazine, I asked them, “If I get this internship, am I going to be a coffee grunt, or will I be getting actual writing experience?” The staff liked that I was so gritty and I received a lot of writing and research opportunities because of it.
However, it wasn’t long before I realized that I would be forty or fifty years old before I ever became the editor-in-chief of anything. I also found myself wandering around the photo department at the magazine, wondering why the stylists would choose certain eye shadow for the models and asking why I couldn’t be involved with the photo shoots. They were like, “Well, because the photo shoots are in Tokyo, and you’re just an intern.” So I was kind of at a crossroad with my career ambitions.
My parents had always told me that, whatever I did in life, if I could forget what time it was while I was doing it, then that’s what I should do for my career. So that’s why I began doing makeup for people. It was a timeless thing for me to do.
I first took part in a little bridal show in Staten Island when I was twenty-one years old. There were maybe eighty brides in attendance and I risked everything for it. I produced brochures, index cards, mailers, you name it. While I was there, I got to see how other bridal businesses worked. I realized, right then and there, that I could control how much money I was going to make.
In the bridal business, you start to develop a science. It’s a process of elimination. So I eventually found out that bridal shows didn’t work for me. The brides that tended to go to those types of shows weren’t the target market for the high-end makeup services that I wanted to provide. You have to find your own market in this industry. It can be a very hard thing to perfect.
I began to do makeup for clients out of my parents’ home. But sometimes my mom would try to put in her two cents while I was working, or my father would be teaching a music lesson in the other room and tell me and my client to be quiet. I knew then that I had to get my own space. So, I took all of my savings and I moved out. My father wanted me to take the car that he bought for me, but I told him that, if I was going to have something, I want it to be earned.
Q: Was it scary venturing out on your own?
A: Absolutely. It was totally a risk. I worked extremely hard out of my first place and I eventually bought my own car. And because I wasn’t doing bridal shows, I had to learn other ways to generate business. I really got interested in search engine optimization and I learned the importance of online reviews, message boards, forums, and things like that. Those are so critical because you have to make sure that every client is happy.
After about two years, I grew the business enough to start hiring other people and I moved into an awesome place in the Edgewater area. It has floor-to-ceiling windows and views of New York. I absolutely love it. Every time I have done something in this business, people have told me that I was taking too much risk, or that I’d never be able to do it. As you become more successful, you start to distance yourself from the people who don’t really believe in you.
Q: Where do you get that self-determination from? Do you come from a background of entrepreneurs?
A: Yes. Everyone in my family is self-employed, except for my brother. They’re not all as outspoken as me though. I would say that I am the grittiest. I have definitely had a few jaws drop when I said certain things. I just don’t always have time to insert “please” and “thank you.”
Q: So what do your current makeup services include, and what do they cost?
A: My individual makeup service runs a little bit higher than what other people who work for me might charge, but I wanted to create price points for different types of clients. So, we have some makeup services that start at, say $75, or a bride can have me trailing her for entire wedding day, for upwards of $4,000. There is a wide range of services. It’s really based on the makeup artist and the tier of artistry chosen by the client.
Q: Has your business been affected by the current state of the economy?
A: It really has not been affected negatively by it. That’s because my business directly correlates to one of the three B’s – babies, brides and bodies. If you can fuse your business into any of those three, then your business can be iron-clad. People are always being born, they’re always getting married, and they’re always dying.
That being said, everyone wants to look in the mirror and feel good. Even during The Great Depression, people were still buying red lipstick. When it comes to investing in their own appearance, people will always do it. My business has statistically grown every year. Even this year, we did better than last year.
Q: How did you become involved with the television show?
A: When I first moved to Edgewater, I received an email from a casting company. They already had a story line in place, but they wanted very specific types of people for it. They had seen some of my YouTube videos where I would talk about makeup and then go on a ten minute rant about some random thing that I can’t stand. They must have thought I was funny, so they cast me in the position.
It was weird though, because I thought it was going to be more like the television show “The Hills,” where they would be following me around. But it turned out to be all about the Gatsby Salon. So, I really wanted to make sure that I, as The Glam Fairy, was personally being represented. I also wanted viewers to know that I didn’t work for the Gatsby, but that I was using the salon as a satellite space. I also wanted to make sure that my integrity as a business owner was not blurred. I think that came across on the show.
I think the producers also liked my grittiness. I am not someone who believes that the customer is always right. With my business, I’m not dealing with people who just shuffle in off the street. My clients make appointments, and I don’t tolerate abuse. Some brides think that they’re given a voucher to abuse people on their wedding day, and I’m not one of them. It’s funny, but this business model has gotten me really far. My clients don’t usually know much about makeup, and that’s why they come to me. And when it comes to the people who work for me, if you’re doing a job wrong, you’re doing it wrong. I am not going to beg you to fix it and do it the right way.
I think the producers were also were fascinated by the fact that I don’t want to be married.
Q: Speaking of, did you go on a second date with Ryan from the show?
A: Yes, we went on another date, and we still talk, but I don’t know. My personality is a very hard one to get and understand. I mean, I’m small, but I am an alpha. I know what I am doing, and that can be both a blessing and a curse. In terms of finding a great guy, it does kind of clip my wings. I can be intimidating and it tends to narrow down the pool of guys who won’t be intimidated by me.
Q: Is Olivia, from the television show, a part of your staff now?
A: As far as Olivia goes, you have to understand that the show is a “docu-soap,” so I am still waiting to see if I want Olivia to pan out with my own reality. I have given her some Glam Fairy opportunities, so it’s just a matter of making sure that everyone who works for me is fully prepared to handle a wedding. It’s not even so much about personality. It’s more about talent.
A: In terms of a milestone, I am only twenty-eight-years-old and I live in a building with extremely rich older couples. I am on a hit television show with viewership that went up 200% in its initial time slot, and our ratings are awesome. We also just got approved for a second season.
I really try to use this show as press for my business in the best way possible. I have done so many exciting things. I am doing things each week that most people would dream of doing just once. Whenever I do a press event, I log it. I have been interviewed for every type of press that you can imagine. Attending any type of event that is cancer-related and contributing to fund-raising for it also means a lot to me.
Q: What is your schedule like right now?
A: It’s absolutely insane, most days. For example, on Thursday, I woke up at 5 a.m. to prerecord an interview for a show that aired at 11 a.m. Then I was interviewed on a radio show at 9:40 a.m. Then I had to go home, sleep, and later that night I attended the Pink and Black gala for the American Cancer Society where Stacey London and all of the women from “The Real Housewives of New York,” were in attendance. That went until 2 a.m. The next morning, I had to wake up to do makeup for a client’s wedding. It’s just been crazy.
I am doing so many different press events, and you can’t wear the same clothes to any of the events, and they all tend to run super late. You also have to be conscious of every move that you make and every word that comes out of your mouth. I have never been so aware of the importance of a momentary pause, than now.
But the worst part of it all, is that I am constantly being stereotyped. I think, when you see me on the show, you realize that I am not an idiot, but when I attend these events, it’s very easy to think that I am just another idiot on a reality show. I was successful way before the show.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: I have been presented with a lot of opportunities since being on the television show. My words and my lingo are very catchy, so the branding is very important. But I am kind of a control-freak, so if I started franchising, and I had Glam Fairies all over the country, I couldn’t make sure that they were all doing what I would want them to do.
Q: So controlling the brand is more important to you than fast-paced growth?
A: Yes. Also, my business is very specific to this area. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and some parts of Pennsylvania is pretty, is pretty much where I work. That’s it for on-location bridal air brush makeup. One time I went to North Carolina because a Jersey girl had a destination wedding, but that’s rare.
Q: What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs starting out?
A: Don’t ever take advice from people who clock in and out for a job. You can’t go to someone who works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then comes home for dinner at 6 p.m. for advice. They will never understand what you’re doing. Ask other entrepreneurs for advice. Ask other successful entrepreneurs for advice.
You also have to realize that entrepreneurs often give up a social life for an extended period of time. For so long, I didn’t go out, or do anything for that matter, besides work. Being a business owner is compulsive. For example, if I don’t get back to a potential client within an hour, then that bride is gone. A lot of people who don’t understand my passion say to me, “Wow, you’re really getting nuts with this. You’re really getting compulsive. You’re losing who you are.” And I just say to them, “No, I am making myself who I am.”
I think I heard that Famous Amos was an absolute control freak. He never went on vacation. He wanted to do everything himself. I haven’t taken a vacation in six years. Don’t listen to anyone else and be prepared to lose everything too. Once you lose everything, what else is there to lose? |
Q: What are some of the major milestones that you’ve achieved with your business?