FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I base my pricing system on my expertise. Because I have been braiding for approximately 21 years, my standard prices are top dollar with the lowest being $30 and the highest being $210. However, I offer 10% to 50% off to accommodate everyone. I now offer Groupon for purchase every four months for repeat clients'.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
At first encounter with a new client, I like to feel the texture of their hair and ask them what type of processes they have experimented with on their hair. I then proceed to ensure how they wish to have their hair styled, whether natural with no extension or with extension; and how big, small, long, short, wide or narrow they would like the braids. Before I start styling, I make sure that they are comfortable with the pricing and if they have embarked on my variations of discounts. Throughout the process, I have them check my work in my oversize salon mirror. I chat with them. I listen to them. I embrace them.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I started braiding at the age of 10 in 1995 on my dolls. I began working at AfroCentricity at the age of 15 in Norfolk, VA 2010, now known as Pina's Hair Palace under new ownership. After joining the United States Marine Corps, I began working at a salon in Jacksonville, NC. in 2004; I forget the name of it. After leaving the military, I then attended Starz Braiding Academy in Norfolk, VA in 2006 for three months. I had a hard time gaining my licensing in hair braiding due to that Academy's sudden close. So, I enrolled at Saidah's Braiding Academy (SBC) in 2008 in Norfolk, VA and finalized my braiding license. Braiding license is no longer needed in the state of Virginia, so I continue to educate myself and immerse in learning new techniques to keep up with the current trends of today. I launched Braids by Jessica in 2009 designing my own website from scratch and became, first, a work-at-home braider. I am now a mobile braider able to offer major discounts due to not having a brick and mortar building with all the overhead.