Community Highlights: Meet Taylor Keeping Smith of Keeping It Glam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Keeping Smith.

Hi Taylor, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
I started my journey in 2019 when I graduated from Aveda Institute in Chapel Hill, where I obtained my esthetician’s license. Not long after I graduated, I started working at the brow bar in Ulta. 

As the months went by, I kept getting an urge to want to further my beauty career and try something new. That something was getting certified in eyelash extensions. 

I then started working at Amazing Lash, where I quickly became a master stylist and certified lash trainer. 

My husband and I planned on buying a home in Raleigh so we could renovate the garage and turn it into a beauty studio. After many conversations and a lot of thinking, we decided to move to Wilmington, NC, where we found an amazing spot in downtown. We have been there for 18 months, and we did a complete renovation floor to ceiling of the shop and officially opened up in 2022. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road at all, but that’s what makes being a business owner so rewarding at the end of the day. When you have your mind set on achieving your goals, sometimes you don’t really know the obstacles you will face until you’re faced with them. The service side of the business is a piece of cake, but building a team of like-minded individuals that want to grow just as much as you is hard to find. 

My husband and I had to work with contractors during the renovation, and we had never been involved with so many different businesses trying to build out our dream shop was very stressful, and we spent a lot of nights staying up till 5 a.m. getting everything ready. 

Bookkeeping and keeping everything organized was also a challenge, but thankfully my husband handles that side of things. We really had to learn how to work together and be each other’s support system because we were taking a huge risk doing what we did. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Keeping It Glam?
We are a multi-service beauty studio and boutique that offers a unique experience to our customers. On Friday and Saturday, we serve mimosas to our guests, and we have a shop puppy named Coopie. We are inspired to uplift and encourage women. 

What sets us apart is the atmosphere we have created in the shop. A lot of beauty shops have an insane amount of drama, and it’s very difficult to build genuine relationships sometimes. That’s not that case in our studio. We set all of the politics aside, and we look at every individual as an equal – male or female. Our brand is very important to us, and we want everyone to feel the effect of what it feels like to get serviced in our studio. 

Since we live in Wilmington by the beach, I wanted the logo and brand to represent a mermaid. Growing up I always loved to pretend to be a mermaid, and now the business that I run is based off that inspiration from when I was a child. 

Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
We always are looking to build and expand our team, but we are VERY selective with who we have working in our studio. Since it is a bit smaller than your average beauty studio, we have to be careful with who we let join the team. 

We are currently looking for a booth rental lash artist and hair stylist right now. You can easily reach out to us on social media @Keepingitglam or email us at [email protected] 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Keepingitglam.com
• Instagram: Keepingitglam
• Facebook: Keepingitglam

Image Credits
Brighter Light Media