Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Adams.
Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Palestine, Texas, and from a young age I was surrounded by the beauty industry. I grew up in our neighborhood salon a large home my God-granny owned where she ran both a store and a beauty shop. That space shaped my creativity and confidence. Years later, her daughter sold me her entire salon’s furniture for just $100, and that blessing became the foundation for my first salon during COVID. At 32, I still carry that legacy with me every day.
I learned a lot in the early years through trial and error. The only business experience I had was my previous role as an operational manager at UPS, which ultimately ended in me being fired. At the time, it felt like a setback, but it became a pivotal moment. Losing that job forced me to rely on my creativity, resilience, and ambition and pushed me fully into the beauty industry and entrepreneurship.
My professional journey took off in 2019, when I started my lash business. I attended beauty school twice to become a licensed eyelash and nail artist, determined to master my craft even though I had very little business financial literacy or planning experience. I learned everything through grit, persistence, and a willingness to keep growing.
In 2020, I opened my first East Texas salon about 600 sq ft location.
By 2021, I secured a small Dallas salon suite model on a second floor as a test.
In 2022, I landed the DeSoto storefront salon suite location that allowed my team & brand more ground exposure to expand and serve more professionals.
As my business grew, I noticed a serious gap in the industry. A shortage of licensed beauty professionals and graduates completing beauty school but still unprepared or underemployed. To change that, I opened ALA Beauty Academy in 2024, focused on real-world training, professionalism, and entrepreneurship. I wanted to create a pathway where beauty professionals could not only graduate but actually thrive in their careers.
Today, my work is bigger than a hustle. My recent why is about access, opportunity, and empowering the next generation of beauty entrepreneurs with the tools, confidence, and education they need to succeed.
Every stylist, braider, or beauty professional who walks through my doors is stepping into a future that might once have felt out of reach and that’s what keeps me going.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. In the early years, I had very little formal business knowledge no training in financial literacy, business planning, or operations beyond watching my grandmother run our family soul food business. My previous role as an Operations Manager at UPS taught me productivity, results-driven management, and how to run multiple locations efficiently skills I’ve applied to managing my East Texas and Dallas locations on autopilot while living in Dallas throughout this season of building my business. Coupled with trial and error and personal investment, these lessons have shaped how I strategically grow and operate ALA Beauty Studios & Academy today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I began my beauty career offering eyelash extension services. But over the last six years, as I desired to grow my business, I realized there was a larger gap in the beauty industry professionals needed more than services. They needed affordable space, structured training, financial knowledge, and real career pathways. That realization led me to create ALA Beauty Studios & Academy.
Today, I specialize in building a full 360° beauty ecosystem that supports both aspiring and established beauty professionals. ALA offers pre-furnished salon suites, a beauty academy offering 4 Texas State Approved licensing programs, mentorship, business development, and a community that keeps beauty pros inspired and on track. We exist to help beauty entrepreneurs not just work but thrive, build wealth, and create long-term stability for themselves and their families.
I’m most proud of the intentional growth I’ve committed to as a founder. Completing business accelerators like Goldman Sachs 10KSB, the VWECs Dallas Strategic Growth Accelerator, and others has strengthened my leadership and expanded ALA’s impact. Winning The DEC’s Female Entrepreneur of 2025 and being nominated for Dallas Weekly’s 2025 Best in Black Dallas: Best Lash Artist are reminders that my community sees the dedication I’ve poured into this business, brick by brick.
What sets ALA apart is our mission. We are not just a salon suite brand or a training academy we are a launching pad. Our approach combines education, entrepreneurship, and access, giving beauty professionals the tools to build careers with confidence. ALA is committed to developing the next generation of beauty entrepreneurs and elevating the industry from the inside out.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe luck shows up in moments, but purpose and persistence have carried me the furthest. I’ve experienced both good luck and bad luck on this journey. The “bad luck” often came as unexpected setbacks—lost leases, delayed timelines, financial obstacles, or people not showing up the way I expected. At the time, those moments felt like roadblocks, but looking back, they pushed me to problem-solve, grow stronger, and build my business with more intention.
My “good luck” has usually looked like alignment, being in the right room, meeting the right mentor, or having someone speak my name in an opportunity I didn’t even know existed. But even those lucky moments came because I was already doing the work. I was prepared, consistent, and moving with faith before the opportunity arrived. I always say “You have to be present to win!”
So for me, luck is really preparation meeting purpose. The beauty industry has shown me that things don’t fall into place by chance—they move when you’re moving. Every setback refined my direction, and every blessing confirmed that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. And I’m grateful for both.
Pricing:
- ALA offers four affordable licensing programs under $6,000. Our salon suites start at $175–$250 weekly, with flexible payment plans available.
- Classic Lash Extension Full Set $125
- Hybrid Lash Extensions Full Set $140
- Volume Lash Extensions Full Set $175
- Lash Extension Refills $85 & up
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.linktree.com/alashaffect
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queen_in_a_deck?igsh=MWxsOGJkeDFwa3F0dA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17amK5SbsM/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-adams-617010184?
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