ArtistryByRonnie: Braiding it Up and Locing it Down!

Braiding it up or locing it down, you can depend on Ronesha Whitfield to get the job done to your satisfaction. A licensed cosmetologist and certified make-up artist, Ronnie, what her friends call her is one hardworking and dedicated woman. She has been slaying people's hair for years. Having a true passion for what she does, she strives every day to become better at her craft. Her journey to become a hairstylist wasn't easy, but never giving up and believing in herself, she made her dream into her reality. Urging others to keep going in their quest to conquer their dream.

Whitfield is no stranger to this hair business. Both her grandmother and aunt were hairstylist. She grew up watching her aunt do hair in her salon. Seeing her grandma and aunt do hair, she knew right then and there, that this is what she wanted to do when she got older. Moving forward, when Whitfield graduated from high school, she enrolled in school to be a licensed cosmetologist. Being on her own for the first time, she became distracted by the everyday responsibilities of living life as an adult, "I wanted to be grown" Whitfield said while chuckling. She eventually took a 3-year break from school to help her figure herself out.

During her 3-year hiatus, she knew that hair was truly where her heart was and went back to school to finish and gain her cosmetologist license. Finding work at Macy's Cosmetics Department, Whitfield had to start at ground zero and buildup a customer base for herself. She went on to become the Business Manager for the cosmetics line Shiseido, moving to Dillards and then to Nordstrom where she spent 6-years. It was at Nordstrom where she gained the most knowledge about growing her clientele and how to run a business. Knowing that doing hair was her ultimate goal, she worked at a salon part-time. She took a leap of faith and began working at the salon full time, leaving Nordstrom for good.

That was 3-years ago, now Whitfield has a chair at Revamped & Revived. A salon that a good school friend of hers opened up. While learning the in's and out's of running a business and growing, she faced challenges like getting people to take her seriously, "One of the obstacles was just, you know, getting people to take me seriously. Take my brand seriously. For a while, I mean especially with social media, I wasn't getting any likes or I wouldn't get any bookings" she explained. But Whitfield did not let that deter her from her goals, "I came up with a plan. Me and a couple of my friends, we actually had started doing these photoshoots together where we would pick out random girls online. We would meet up with them and we would do their hair. We would do their makeup and we would take their pictures. And that really started, you know getting people's attention" Whitfield said.

Having moments where you can feel discouraged is something that comes along with the territory of having and growing your own business. In times like these Whitfield, can count on people like her little sister, "She doesn't care what nobody says about me. She thinks I'm wonderful. She gives me that extra push, especially when I am feeling low. Like oh I can't do something, she is always that extra voice" she says. It's no easy task running a business, but the reward after getting over the humps are all to worth it, " I learned you can do anything that you put your mind to with hard work and dedication. I mean it was somedays I stayed up late at night, work my butt off 7 days a week to the point I literally I would say I'm going to wear myself out," she continues, "If you put in the work and dedication you're going to get there." she says.

The goal is to always progress and think bigger and that is exactly what miss Ronesha Whitfield is doing. She has plans to open her very own storefront Lovelee Beauty Parlor, Launching September 2020. It will be a Beauty salon, beauty supply, and V-steam spa. Yes, Whitfield's future is shining ever so brightly, with her passion, creativity, dedication and drive she is sure to succeed. She believes others can do the same with persistency and consistency, " You can't fail, you can't fail if you work hard at it. It's going to happen, it has to "she says.