​​​​​​​​​​​​​Hi, I’m Lirie!

This Is My Story​​

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I was born and raised in a small farming town called Bibaj in what is now the Republic of Kosovo (former Yugoslavia) which is located in the Balkan region of Eastern Europe. I am the first born of 5 kids and come from a hardworking family of farmers and entrepreneurs. We lived a simple life as the people of Kosovo attempted to regain peace and independence after the communist regime ended in 1990 and tensions arose from surrounding countries. Due to the growing safety concerns from the wars that ensued during the break up of Yugoslavia, my family was forced to leave our home, travel into the unknown and immigrated to Canada in May, 1999 just a few days before my eighth birthday.

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Growing up, I was a very shy but active kid who enjoyed playing sports, reading, doing arts and crafts or just simply being outside with friends. I became enamored with makeup from a very young age so I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me experiment with all kinds of beauty treatments, especially into my teen years. In my early 20's, I took a leap of faith by moving to Toronto and enrolling in the Business Administration-Finance program at George Brown College. Just over 2 years into the program, I came to the hard realization that traditional means of education were no longer serving me so I made the difficult decision to drop out of my business program and enroll in a certificate program for eyelash extensions instead.

 

This is when my passion for beauty was truly reignited. I have taken many other beauty service courses since; obtaining 2-3 x certifications for every service I offer and in 2024, I earned an accreditation via the National Association of Lash Artists.

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Let's go back to the beginning. In 2017, I started my lash business while working part time as a server/bartender. During the growing years of my business, I focused most of my time on marketing and re-investing into the business with the tips I was earning from my restaurant job. After gaining some experience working in a salon and travelling to clients, I decided to venture out on my own and rented a small studio space in 2018. I had very little exposure, being that my studio location was above a store front and not on street level so I had to attract new clients virtually by utilizing my creative skills and promoting my services on social media.

 

In 2020 and in 2021, just as business was picking up, we were shut down for a period of 14 months in total due to COVID-19. By maintaining a consistent online presence, I was able to retain most of my client list and gained a lot of new clientele which resulted in consistent bookings and tripled my sales from years prior. I plan to continue building this brand in hopes of being able to guide other entrepreneurs and beauty industry professionals in the growth and success of their own business ventures in today’s digitally advanced market.​​

Professional Experience

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Tech savvy, creative, beauty industry focused individual with key skills in digital marketing and operational efficiency. Passionate about sustainability, continuous education and cost effective business solutions. 

My professional experience includes operating and growing my own beauty business founded in 2017 at 25 years old with just $5,000 of personal investment. I manage the business virtually which helps to streamline operations and work efficiently; reducing costs and bookkeeping hours.

I believe in bootstrapping, self funding and taking a low risk approach when it comes to starting a small business. I have organically grown this business from the ground up; becoming fully operational and profitable by 2022 using the following fundamental values:
 

• Strong company organization & structure 

• Heightened focus on health & safety

• Participating in continuous education

• Added value via social media content

• Promotion of services online

• Search Engine Optimization

• Consistent 5 star review average on Google​

• Maintaining low overhead costs

• Utilization of virtual bookkeeping software

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My customer service and business management experience has allowed me to strengthen my organization skills and broaden my knowledge of balancing responsibilities in high demand settings. I have always been a quick learner; my adaptable and solution oriented nature has given me the ability to operate in unpredictable, fast paced and continuously changing conditions.​

 

On a more personal note, I am passionate about neuro-diversity and mental health advocacy. I hope that by sharing a little bit more about my story, I can empower other creatives in the pursuit of their entrepreneurial goals and aspirations. My hope is to connect and collaborate with other like-minded individuals, grow my network of beauty industry professionals and work with folks from around the world.

 

Let's connect! @beautybylirie​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​