Balancing a full course load, extracurriculars and a business can be difficult, but some students are up to the task.
Although not an easy route to take, the benefits of owning a business are evident as business owners can take full creative control of their brand and be a self-made boss.
Georgia State student Megan Christie works in overdrive to balance being a full-time student and a multi-business owner.
She owns Tres Chic, a cosmetic company focusing on selling mink lashes and lash glue. She also runs MeganBrii LLC, which helps women start businesses from the ground up through branding packages.
Both business ventures are vastly different, but they share a common theme of women’s empowerment, whether through beauty or being a girl boss.
Her vision for these businesses was only the start of her journey; outside support from family and friends pushed her to set everything in motion.
“I received lots of encouragement, which gave me a boost to pursue my businesses,” Christie said. “I also prayed and asked God to guide me and to send me to the right customers.”
Support was an imperative aspect of her launch, but investing in herself and her business knowledge was the step that she took to further her brand.
“The biggest accomplishment for my businesses was getting my LLC and taking courses to enhance my knowledge on the branding and beauty industry,” Christie said.
The successes also came with some setbacks. As a relatively new business owner, she struggled with low sales and a lack of initial support from clients. The difficulties served as motivators to improve her brands and focus on getting attention from potential customers.
Marketing became her focus, and a trial and error process ensued to determine what would work best.
“I market by using different apps such as Planoly to keep up with my content,” Christie said. “I also use Photoshop and Canva to create flyers [and] videos. I tend to use different marketing strategies from the courses I took and put them to the test on my social media platforms.”
Her efforts were successful, as she received clients from the Georgia State community and other parts of the country.
Homecoming season played a role in her garnering clientele. She noticed a jump in sales throughout that time.
“My clients span from the [Georgia State] community to beyond it,” Christie said. “My lash business saw success during Homecoming last year, as I received many student clients. However, for my branding company, most of my customers tend to come from up north.”
While Christie prides herself on her brands’ successes, she is still a student first and foremost. Finding a healthy balance between both has been crucial to her personal growth.
“I’ve learned to set aside time for both school and my businesses,” she said. “I’ve developed a healthy balance by keeping a planner and choosing which days to accept clients and focus on doing homework. However, now that we are mostly online, it [has] been easier to balance both.”
The healthy balance between being a student and a business owner has allowed more time for her to set goals for her brand.
One of those goals is to increase the online presence of both brands. Christie also seeks to increase the number of clients she can help with her brand consultations.
Although this semester continues to be online, she looks forward to focusing more on her brands and seeing her hard work pay off.
