Conversations with the Inspiring Bianca James

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bianca James. She and her team share her story with us below.

Please kick things off for us, can you give us some background on Bianca’s story?
Bianca James, also known as Bianca J, is a young and gifted hair stylist behind her Convé brand. Bianca’s passion for hair started at a very young age. At about four years old, she begged her mother to teach her how to braid hair and it was uphill ever since. She would use her mother’s curling irons to play with all her Barbie and baby dolls hair and use finger paint to “color” their hair.  Times when she, her mother or grandmother would go to the hair salon, she would watch the stylist in the salon, absorbing how they could transform people to look beautiful and feel happy. Bianca began to study the techniques that she had seen the stylist in the salon do and began to practice braiding and curling hair at the age of nine years old.

Bianca always had an entrepreneurial attitude. At the age of sixteen, Bianca business skills kicked into high gear when she turned half of her bedroom into a hair salon and started to take her first paying customers. She would spend her summers working as a part-time assistant and in the evenings at a hair salon. There is where she picked up various techniques from a hair stylist in the salon. She, later on, attended the University of Missouri, where she built a great reputation for herself as being the best hair stylists in the area. Going from having a small desk in her dorm room, to having a built-in salon in her apartment with a large clientele. Bianca has also worked on photo shoots, movie sets and various fashion shows displaying her stylist talents.

She believes in putting her clients first and making them feel like a queen. She wanted to expand her brand by including luxury and quality extensions to her clients. Bianca also wanted to further her cosmetology studies by attending Pivot Point Academy. Bianca plans on expanding her brand Convé with the world by promoting self-love, teaching people about healthy hair and helping women Convé their inner queen.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, anything earned easily is not worth it and my journey must have the greatest ending. One of the biggest obstacles has been trying to become a big fish in a bigger pond. Having to think outside the box and challenge myself to market and brand myself and my company, so I can stand out in this heavily saturated market has really forced myself to get to know me and best version of me. Being your own woman and own individual is different within itself because we live in an era where following the trends and appealing to the mass is normal. Another huge obstacle has been to not let life interfere with business. There have been days where I have felt defeated and like doing something else will be easier but I know my purpose is bigger than me. I will tell other woman, do not let your age or your circumstances become your reality. Your reality is the life you make for yourself, not the reality others make for you. You have to take responsibility for your actions, emotions and thoughts so that you can understand your true potential.