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Host
What lessons you've learned as a female founder?
Jen
A lot of people think I'm like this rich person. I'm like, no, I have worked my ass off to get where I'm at. Like, I take less money than some of my girls do home sometimes, you know, and we've all been there where at the beginning. Sometimes you.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
You're not.
Jen
And I, I think with the women,
Jen's Friend/Colleague
entrepreneurship is just hard because of the haters.
Narrator/Intro Voice
Jennifer Wall is a pioneering, innovative and mentorship driven lash artist and entrepreneur and the founder known for her custom lash pads and apprenticeship program in Washington state.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
I put an ad out on a Facebook group and I just got eaten alive.
Host
Yeah, people love to eat.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
Just eaten alive, saying that she's a dumb bitch and just everything else.
Jen
And I'm like, I don't even. Like what? Like, I'm actually like the coolest boss. Like, I've never told anybody they can't take time off. I've like, literally hardly ever fired anybody. Like, I'm, I've taken like all my girls to Vegas. Like, I'm a pretty cool boss. I always try to be the boss that I never had. I think that was the hardest thing
Jen's Friend/Colleague
is just the females just, they can eat you alive.
Jen
Online.
Host
It spans the globe like a super high Internet Elvis.
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Host
Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.
Podcast Clip Speaker
It's not over until I win.
Narrator/Intro Voice
The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary.
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The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan Chicago was the lead. You said, Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
Host
Hello, and welcome back to another episode. I'm sat here with Jen today. She's an entrepreneur, visionary, product owner, innovator, just like all of us. And she has a very successful studio and product line of herself. And we're going to talk about her journey and what she does. So, Jen, welcome to the show.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
Thank you.
Jen
Thanks for having me.
Host
So let's talk about it from the ground up. You know, you've built this successful product line and business, but I'm sure it wasn't always that way. How did you tell us the journey? How'd you get into all this?
Jen
Well, funny story. My girlfriend was getting married and she said, let's go get lush extensions. And I said, what the hell's that? She said. She goes, well. And I, you know, YouTube was fairly new back then. I looked up the video and I was like, let me check it out. So I went on YouTube and I was like, because I was in dentistry. I go, I have those same tweezers. I said, I literally sit like that all day, every day for the last 12 years. I could do that. I was like, let me order some stuff. So order some stuff.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
It didn't show up because we ordered it from, like, China or somewhere crazy.
Host
Didn't have Amazon next day.
Jen
No, it didn't have Amazon back then at all. So finally found a place that was selling product. And in that short period, I realized, oh, you have to be licensed in order to order products.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
So, um, my boss actually at the time was a dentist. And she was really cool.
Jen
And she was like, yeah, use the dental chair and do your friend's lashes. And I was like, okay. So we just kind of whipped it out. And then she went to work the next day. And the next thing I knew, I was basically like a drug dealer. Everybody wanted to come and get lashes. They're like, can you see me? Can you do me? And I was like, yeah. And I'm like, I have no idea what to charge because there was only one other person.
Host
So this was really at the start of that, you know, big industry now, right? Massive industry. And you were really at the start of it all and doing that.
Jen
Yeah, There was only one other person in Washington state doing them. Crazy lady in Bellevue. And I looked at her prices, which were crazy expensive. And I was like, well, I guess I'll just do a bit less than that. A lot less than that. And then I undercut myself quite a bit. Cause the next thing I knew, I had people coming in out of my house all day long to the point where I was like, this actually could make me some money. Let me kind of dive into it and see what I can do. And then tried to quit my dental job, which I did forever. And she was like, you can't leave me. You're like my best assistant. So I kind of tried to do both for a while. And, um, she was kind of nice. She let me use a dental chair. Which I missed that, actually, because the chairs were really nice and the lighting was good. All that was great. So, yeah.
Host
And then fast forward to today. How's that grown into what you've got now?
Jen
Well, I had the first Lash studio ever in Pierce County. Super successful I've had. I moved from a smaller location to a bigger location now.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
Have lots of girls.
Jen
They're all booked out. We're very busy. One of the most well known Lash studios in Washington. So, yeah, I mean, it's been really good that. That part. It's running itself pretty much at this point.
Host
And now you have a product line, too?
Jen
I. I opened the product line in 2008, actually, right after I started doing lashes, because when I was trying to order product, I couldn't find anything that was decent. And everything was just very chintzy and just very plasticky and just. It wasn't good. So I was like, well, you know, it started to get more and more busy, and I saw people would.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
They'd come watch me and they'd stand
Jen
over with their friend and look what I was doing. The next thing I know, they were doing lashes out of their house, you know, So I was like, if you can't beat them, join them. Like, I might as well get a product line started. That way I could start selling to them once they're my competition, at least
Jen's Friend/Colleague
I could actually smart sell to them to, you know, can't beat them, join them.
Host
Good. And what's the, you know, what's the kind of biggest lessons you've learned from growing all this? You know, you kind of went from, don't trust anybody. Okay.
Jen
As I'm sure you know. Yeah, definitely been taken advantage of. More. More. I have a big heart, so, yeah,
Jen's Friend/Colleague
I definitely have that.
Jen
I think that's the hardest thing is
Jen's Friend/Colleague
just getting taken advantage of, especially in your business.
Host
Like you say, it's a people business, and it's kind of like hairdressing and stuff. People come in and out and start their own thing on the side.
Jen
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All the time.
Host
Shorts.
Jen
I've had girls that come in and spy and, yeah, they look and see what I do, and then they taking pictures and, you know, next thing you know, their studio looks just like mine, you know, which. Which now I take that as a compliment.
Host
Sure.
Jen
Back at the beginning, I would get, you know, upset about it, and I would. I would be upset. But now I'm like, well, you know, I'm successful. We're booked. I'm not worried about it. I've had employees burn me beyond no means numerous times. And then I see them not being successful, successful, and I'm like, yeah, well, you know, the biggest revenge is my success.
Host
Yeah.
Jen
So. And. But I do have a very good relationship with most all employees that I've
Jen's Friend/Colleague
ever had, which is awesome.
Jen
You know, there's a few people here
Jen's Friend/Colleague
and there that will burn you, but other than that, like, I've always tried to keep it pretty.
Host
And what about some lessons? You know, it's. I always think, great for everyone to hear. A lot of people are in There, like, hey, I'm doing the thing myself. Right. And then you eventually go, oh, my calendar is full. I'm too busy. I can't earn more than doing this. Right. There's only so many hours in a day. So you obviously got into that and then had that and then started bringing someone on and getting a studio, then a bigger studio. Talk us through that process and what you learned.
Jen
Well, I was. Put myself through school because I realized I had to have a license.
Host
Yeah.
Jen
So I was. I was doing lashes at my house
Jen's Friend/Colleague
just on, like, friends and family and friends of friends, you know, things like that, keeping it legal. And then I was in esthetician school, and it kind of blew up. And then I knew I needed a studio, like a place to do it at. And I remember my dad saying, like, this is just a trend, like, don't quit your day job.
Jen
Like, what are you doing? And then he came and visited, and
Jen's Friend/Colleague
he was like, you look like a straight up drug dealer.
Jen
He's like, you have girls in and out of your house, like, every 30 minutes. It's crazy, you know? So I told him, I go, I really want to open up the first Lash studio.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
And at that point, when he came to visit, he was like, yeah, I think you should. He goes, you guys, you should. And so I thought I needed a business partner because I wasn't legally licensed at the time when I was getting ready to open, you know, I was still. I was almost licensed at that point, which then I shortly got my license and realized I didn't need a business partner to own a salon. Which, you know, I was new. I was young. I was in my twenties.
Jen
I didn't know. I was like, well, I thought that's
Jen's Friend/Colleague
what you had to be, but no. And then open that. And then I hired a girl that was just kind of renting a bed from us. So me and her ended up becoming really good friends and close because we were working side by side together. And then me and her actually left together and opened up a bigger. A bigger place at the time, just. And that's when we started training girls. So I had a separate little location that we drive to, like in Bellevue, and we would train the girls, like, every week. And then we. Our training classes started getting booked up and more and more girls. And then we started selling products to them. And I had the product line before I had met her, but it was just convenient. So we kind of just branched together and just kind of did all that.
Jen
So.
Host
And what. What lessons kind of go in between all of that, you know, things you teach yourself or someone else that's going from trading their time to building out a team and a studio.
Jen
I always say take it slow. I feel like people try to put themselves, like they think they're bigger than they are. And that's how those. Those are the salons that have failed. I've noticed in the and where we live, it's girls just go, go, go. And I'm like, you have to build that repertoire with your clients and customer base. Yeah.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
And I've always tried to keep my
Jen
prices, you know, very affordable for anybody
Jen's Friend/Colleague
that could come in.
Jen
But I feel like so many girls
Jen's Friend/Colleague
see money, money, money, and they'd rather
Jen
see three clients and overcharge them, and
Jen's Friend/Colleague
then those people aren't going to stick with you for long term.
Host
Well, I think a big thing for local businesses too, which you've probably seen, is I think people have, you know, I see it here with restaurants. Restaurants on Miami beach open all the time. And I think they assume you open a restaurant and people are just going to show up. Right. And they, you know, I'm sure your competitors open a salon or a studio and people are just going to show up. But it's actually the hardest part. It's not the product or making the. Having the chef to the meals. It's marketing. That's why I became good at marketing, because I realized is like early on in my 20s, if you do that, you can do anything.
Jen
Exactly. That's so true. So that's a good point. Yeah. A lot of the girls, when they're newer, they. They think like, oh, Jen's has a salon and it's pretty and it's pink and it's fun. She's so busy and she's so book. What they don't see is me. I've done everything myself behind. Exactly. And they don't realize that I've been on Google to 4am all night making my keywords and doing all my searches. And these girls open up a thing and all they have is Instagram. And I'm like, that's cool. That'll get you so far. But. And if you don't have a Google page or you don't have a website or you don't have any YouTube or
Host
any anything hundreds of reviews use.
Jen
I take very seriously. If I've ever had a bad review, I.
Host
You have to for a little.
Jen
I fix it within seconds. You know, I reached out to that customer and figure out what the issue is. And I feel like so many girls are just like they say they see money, money, money and they don't focus on that client. Yeah, you have to, you have to
Jen's Friend/Colleague
have that relationship with them.
Host
Yeah. You know those businesses, hairdressers and everything, they're their long term reputation businesses. Right. Like restaurants too. Right. Like a restaurant does well here in Miami beach because it has 2,000 reviews on, on XP, you know, experience or the, you know, Yelp or Google. Right. And yours is the same. And I think it's great that people want to go out and start local businesses, but they have to realize if they don't have a marketing plan, how are you going to get hundreds of customers to leave the reviews and to fill it and cover your overheads and all of those things.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
Yep. And I tell all my girls that
Jen
like do lashes, like you're doing your sister's lashes for her wedding. Because you never know who that person knows. You don't know who that person is. You don't know who they're going to talk to when they leave here. You don't know they're going to go home and their sister does do lashes and they're going to check your work. So you always have.
Host
And it's a referral business a lot of the time.
Jen
Right. You're a walking billboard.
Host
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Jen
And I always tell the girls that when I, one of the things when I first started, I never made a website in my life and I was like, whatever, I'll figure it out. Like I've done everything myself, so. Watched a few YouTube videos, figured it out. I made myself a website, made myself some cards and the way I branded
Jen's Friend/Colleague
myself at the very beginning was. Cause you gotta get your word out there. Right. But there wasn't a lot back then. There wasn't like a lot of social media really. It was pretty new. So I would take a stack of like 20 cards and I would write
Jen
their name on the back of all
Jen's Friend/Colleague
my cards, each client and I would hand it to them and I would say, anybody that comes in with your
Jen
name on the card, they'll get a, you'll get a free fill.
Host
Oh, nice.
Jen
I had a lady, I'll never forget her, she was a yoga instructor. She literally brought me the most business because on her like teaching she would hand out my cards so they would come get a full set. Which made me, you know, the biggest amount of money, you know, in the lash world. And then so she'd get a free fill. That girl never paid for a frickin fill. I think for like two years.
Host
She's your Top sales rep. She was.
Jen
She was. And, like. And so I've told, like, the girls that, you know, when I first hire them, I'm like, you got to cut some deals. You got to make some deals to put yourself out there. And so many of these girls, I think, oh, my work is the best. I'm not going to. I don't want to work late at night or I don't want to do a deal.
Host
And I'm like, it's the instant gratification thing, right? Yeah. When I was a personal trainer at 17, 18, and I became one of the busiest in my gym because, yeah, I'd be there all day trying to sell and. But I would do tons of free sessions and buy one, get one, freeze, and tell people to bring a friend. And that's why I've always done well, because I hustle, you know, And a lot of people, they don't. They don't want to hustle. Right.
Jen
There's a sign in my bathroom says hustle.
Host
Okay, there you go.
Jen
Definitely.
Host
So. So last few questions here, we talked a lot about the salon and lessons there, but what about female entrepreneurship and women in power and what lessons you've learned as a female founder?
Jen
You know, being a female, I think, is harder in a sense. Like, there's a lot of haters, I
Jen's Friend/Colleague
feel like, in the female world than there is.
Jen
Like, no one really, like, just hates guys. I feel like they do, like, for girls, like, if you look cute or if you're successful or a lot of people think I'm, like, this rich person. I'm like, no. I have worked my ass off to get where I'm at. Like, I take less money than some of my girls do home sometimes, you know, and we've all been there where at the beginning. Sometimes you.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
You're not.
Jen
And I. I think with the women,
Jen's Friend/Colleague
entrepreneurship is just hard because of the haters online. You know, I remember I put an ad out on a Facebook group, and I just got eaten alive. Yeah, people love to just eat alive, saying that she's a dumb bitch and just everything else.
Jen
And I'm like, I don't even. Like, what? Like, I'm actually, like, the coolest boss. Like, I've never told anybody they can't take time off. I've, like, literally hardly ever fired anybody. Like, I'm. I've taken, like, all my girls to Vegas. Like, I'm a pretty cool boss. I always try to be the boss that I never had.
Host
Okay.
Jen
You know, so it's.
Host
It's.
Jen
I think that was the hardest thing. It's just the females just, they can
Jen's Friend/Colleague
eat you alive online.
Host
I, I think other females, you're saying.
Jen
Yeah, not the guys. It's just mostly females. Like, being a female business owner, I feel like it's just really hard because everybody assumes you're rich and everybody assumes you're a. So.
Host
Well, a lot of it just like any mink bullying as a kid and haters online, it's often jealousy. It comes from right there, probably doing something they don't like or, you know, and so sad, sadly, they translate that and transfer that onto to you.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
I have to, I have to tell myself that. Or else, you know, you, you have to drive yourself.
Host
Any business owner, male or female, you know, I still, I have crazy red hair and red offices and, you know, wear red coats. And people say I might look like a drug dealer or a pimp or whatever.
Jen
I've been called the drug dealer.
Host
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You laugh it off. Over time, you might learn to laugh it off.
Jen
So I, I, I, you know, I used to, I feel like as I got older, it makes like, like it's worse now. I don't know why.
Host
Okay.
Jen
I think ever since COVID like, ever since my salon got shut down, there were so many, like, haters out there that it's just, it was really.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
That was a tough one. So I'm always like, you know, you're
Host
more sensitive to it maybe.
Jen
Yeah, I think so. But before I was just. Especially growing up, I never gave a.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
What anybody thought about me.
Jen
And I'm like, why do I care now? You know? But I think people are just. I think the social media people are just so mean on there, and they're so judgmental that it can really. It's like I always said I'd never want to be famous because I just, I couldn't.
Host
You have to have a certain. You know, I, I'm not famous, but I'm well known in my industry. And you definitely have to. I work with a lot of very famous A listers.
Jen
Sure.
Host
You have to have a certain. You have to do that. Yeah.
Jen
Because my daughter even said that.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
She goes, mom, you're like Pemos and Bonnie Lake.
Jen
I'm like, I don't want to be. I, like, walk through the grocery store with my head down. I'm like, I don't want to see anybody because I feel like everybody.
Host
Yeah. You know, I live on Miami beach, and I'll be out walking or running and someone will stop me. You know, this is funny because you're always on almost. Right.
Jen
Yeah.
Host
You get to that point. So. So last question. People want to learn more about you, learn from you, watch what you do, follow you. Where do they find you?
Jen's Friend/Colleague
Where do they find me?
Jen
Well, for my salon, obviously they find
Jen's Friend/Colleague
me, find me online. I feel like I'm pretty well known in the.
Host
In the website, social media.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
Lash Diva Stay Spa in Bonnie Lake for to do if you want to come in and get lashes. And then if you're an actual licensed esthetician or a cosmetologist, then exotic eyelashes.com is the where you buy the product.
Host
Great. And one last tip for you know, whether it's a female founder or a founder in general to start in or launching or growing that business, what would you say?
Jen
Just take your time. Build, build that clientele, build the relationships with the clients. I feel like that's the biggest thing in this type of industry is having word of mouth and having people like your product.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
And I think not only your product, but you know how the end results are. And that's going to speak volumes. But you definitely need to definitely take the time to have relationship with the clients because the clients are what pays the bills.
Host
Love it.
Jen's Friend/Colleague
And the clients are what's going to bring in their friends.
Host
Good. Well, there you go, everyone. That's another episode in the Wrap. Hope you enjoyed today's discussion and learning about the amazing businesses you built and the journey through it. Right. The ups and the downs, that's what it's all about. Check her out. And of course, keep working hard yourself and make an impact. I'll see you guys soon. Take care.
Podcast: Living Your Legacy
Host: Rudy Mawer
Episode: From Single Mom to Lash Empire Builder
Date: May 11, 2026
Featured Guest: Jennifer Wall (Jen) – Lash studio founder & product innovator
This episode features Jennifer Wall, a pioneering lash artist, innovator, and founder of one of Washington State’s most successful lash studios and product lines. The conversation dives deep into Jen’s journey from working in dentistry to launching a lash empire, detailing both the personal and professional challenges she has overcome—especially as a female founder. The episode offers rich insights into entrepreneurship in the beauty industry, from navigating online hate to building loyal client relationships and expanding from solo service provider to mentor and business owner.
Jennifer Wall’s story is packed with no-nonsense wisdom for aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs alike, especially those in the beauty sector. Her journey speaks to the grit required to build a legacy, the importance of building relationships (not just clientele), and the necessity of learning every aspect of your business—from technical skills to marketing and reputation management. Jen’s candidness regarding online hate, industry copycats, and the hustle behind the “pretty” business provides both inspiration and practical advice for any founder determined to leave their own legacy.