I walked into Noir Lash Lounge on South Granville for an interview with Joyce Cajucom, the owner. The store was simple and glamourous with lots of pink and black. Joyce, ready-to-go, was friendly, and very positive. And, she had nice lashes. It wasn’t that long ago that Joyce was driving around giving ladies some extra POW! to their lashes.

And, for free. Things changed, and Joyce got really popular. In a blink of an eye, the first location of Noir Lash Lounge opened in Yaletown, in December 2008. Then, the newest Noir Lash Lounge on South Granville opened up recently in February 2010. Let’s just say that Joyce is a powerhouse that packs a pretty business punch.

How would you describe yourself at a personal level and an entrepreneurial level?

Inexperienced. And, pretty much (I) did the things on the fly. It’s not like I planned anything, it was just like everything kind of happened. It happened as it needed (to). Like, when I first opened the Yaletown store, I was just renting the two couches from Blo and it was just cash, because I wasn’t going to lease the space. And, as volume increased, they were like, well, do you want to lease the space? And, I was like, “Oohhh! I guess so!” And then maybe, it was time to hire more people.

I’m very, very positive. You know, a lot of people would weigh the risks and things like that. They make sure they have X amount of money before they do something. Whereas, I’m like, “Let’s just do it!” Worse case scenario, no one comes, and you close the doors. Really, that’s the worse case scenario. It’s not like I took out a loan, and I’m going into debt. Let’s open doors.

What were you doing before the lash business?

I graduated with a double major from UBC in Life Sciences and English Lit. I used to work in a hospital until literally, April 2009. And, that’s what I think a lot of people don’t know, is that I had two other jobs while I was opening Noir. So, another thing to describe my personality is optimistic overachiever. I thought and tried to do everything. My days when the company first started: I worked 8:30am-1:00pm at the hospital, then I’d come down to Yaletown, work around 1:30-6:00/7:00pm or 8:00, if I could push it. Also, I worked as a tutor for kids. I’d work from 7:00pm or 8:00pm onwards until 10 or 11 at night. Then, on weekends, I’d spend the whole day, like 8-12 hours down at the store.

What motivated you to make this big switch?

I thought it was a unique concept. It was something that I had been looking for. It started off because my mum and I used to get our lashes done. But, we’d get it done out of this lady’s house, and we could only get it done one person at a time. Where could we go in Vancouver where we could get lashes done at the same time? A place where it’s not just one lady at the back of a nail salon who knows how to do lashes. So, why not have place that can just do this? I mean a lot of the people I knew were getting this done, like my mom and her friends. My friends were getting it done. But, it’s so hard. I heard this person was good, I heard that person was good, but they were charging a lot, up to 85 bucks to sometimes, 120, and in someone’s house. So, I thought it was a bit much. I wanted somewhere that was cheap, chic and fun.

Tell me what Noir Lash Lounge is in two words.

Young and innovative. We are definitely different. People categorize us along with Blo, but you know, we are really a young company compared to them. We’re still learning things as we are going.

We are the only company that is just doing lashes in Canada. Other companies say, ‘Oh yes, we do lashes.’ But, if you look at their menu, you think, ‘No, you do eyebrows, you do facials, you do waxing. Hmm, you do everything that a day spa does! Only, you are trying to say that you do lashes,’ whereas, if you look at our menu, there is literally…lashes. And, that’s it. There’s just that one service. So, that makes us really unique.

What is behind the whole look and feel (comfy black lounge chairs, slick black chandeliers, gothic-like black frames) of Noir Lash Lounge?

I’m just obsessed with that pattern. That’s it. How the company concept came about was pretty much, ‘Hey, I did this home-based, wouldn’t it be cool if we did this in a store with more couches?’ The reason it looks like this is because it looked like my living room! Literally. As I made the transition from my condo to Yaletown, a lot of clientele went, “Hey, this looks a lot like your condo, Joyce!” So, in a sense, it’s a combination of my apartment and the pattern that I like.

Why expand from the Yaletown location?

Yaletown, especially during its busier times, reached its max. I mean, it’s not the biggest of spaces. There are only 5 couches in there. And, you can only do 5 people at a time. That’s it. That’s not a lot.

How did this happen, and how far back does this expansion plan go?

I only agreed to do this February 1^st. And, then I had renovations and everything done within ten days. Everything has been on the fly! It’s a little sparse, but hey, let’s make it pretty, functional and we’ll work on the little details. It’s definitely been my style of business. Let’s make sure that everything can run first, and then I’ll do everything after. I know a lot of places are like, ‘Let’s set aside this amount of money, and decorate it all like this. And, have all this.’ I’m just like, ‘Let’s just open doors first!’ The Olympics was a big part of that pressure.

Support for other surrounding business has been big in the opportunities that you have taken (ie. retweets for other Yaletown businesses – Goldfish, appearances at Yaletown events, customer appreciation event with gift ideas featuring Sugar Lime, Blo, Society, etc). How important is that to you?

I didn’t even think of it that way. I was just thinking, ‘Oh, my clients are coming to that location. They should know what is going on in that neighbourhood because they will be walking around and parking.’ I think Yaletown generally, as a business group, is very supportive of each other and we promote each other. A lot of our clients and the same for the South Granville area, are going to park and they’re not just going to go to one place, they are going to come here, they are going to go next door, they are going to across the street, they are going to hit up a lot of places for their two, three hour parking. You might as well promote everyone else while you can.

It’s a bit harder (at the South Granville location) because the only one that really tweets is Blo and no one else really does because these companies are big, American companies. American Apparel, Pottery Barn, and Chapters. So, I’m the little girl in the big neighbourhood here.

What kinds of people lash out here?

Busy women. Women who want just a little something extra, a little pretty perk-me-up. Mostly women who work and busy Moms who don’t want to bother with makeup, don’t have the time to curl their lashes and put on mascara every morning. It’s a put it on and off you go kind of thing. We have a wide range of clientele; we’ve got girls who are pretty young…you know, in their early twenties, students up to seniors. You know, if you get older, your hormones change and you start to lose your lashes as well. So, it makes you look a lot more youthful when you’ve got a little bit more of a thicker lash line. Obviously, we get our Asians as well. Asians are not genetically blessed with long, luscious lashes. But really, we get quite a range, which was surprising. I was just thinking it was going to be a bunch of vain girls like me!

What gets someone to come back and have her lashes done again at Noir Lash Lounge?

They are happy. That’s part of the business model as well. I mean, we don’t advertise. Almost all of our clients have come back because someone has come here previously and told them about it or they’ve seen it personally. So, the power of word of mouth has really driven the company.

There has been a bunch of specialty services. Blo, Pure Nail, Bombay Brow Bar etc. pop up. Why does the specialty concept work here in Vancouver? Why does yours work?

By default, we’re the best at what we do. Because if that’s all you do everyday, then in one day, we’ve done more than what a small spa has done in terms of lash extensions. And, when you are doing something with the eyes, do you want to some lady who has done nails all day? “Oh sure, I’ll do your lashes! Just come back here!” You know, nail chemicals and nail polishes are pretty harsh chemicals. People question what products you are using. Ask not what they are using, but what were they doing before.

Give us the dirt on your normal kind of day.

Emails, emails and more emails. Receiving and sending emails, on some days I’ve done over a hundred. If it’s going to be a big press release, we are looking at 300-500 emails.

I take care of my own Facebook and Twitter. I do the social media as well. I update the website myself as well. So, my day is usually full of boring admin stuff. And, then there are all the supplies. We need more lashes, and it seems all I do is get more supplies and drop them off. It feels like I’m an e-mail and an errand girl. You know, everyone says, “Oh, what a glamourous life!” No! I’m like the store’s little bitch! Seriously.

What would be the dream? That one dream?

The focus right now is to see where I can do with having the two locations. I mean, I’m either going to double my clientele or half my clientele, right? And, double my expenses. So, at this point, I’m not sure. But, I mean, obviously my goal would be to see a Noir Lash Lounge in every major city across the world. However, reality is, it is a small local company. It’s got a pretty big presence in Vancouver. Who knows how it will all take.

Do you love it?

I do. I do. It’s amazing to watch something physical come from out of your imagination. Seeing something in the flesh that started out as an idea in your head is something that I’m very lucky to been able have. Who knows what the future holds? Who knows how this economy will do? The fact that I’ve just been able to do that is enough for me, and I’m happy with things. No matter what’s happened, no matters what happens, I’m happy. I’m thankful for things. I’m happy because I’m thankful that the doors are still open, that everything is still here. And, people still want lashes.

What advice would you have for other young entrepreneurs?

The one thing that a lot of people are afraid to do is to actually do it. Everyone thinks that you must need a lot of capital; you must need a lot of this and that. No, you’ve just got to have the willingness, the idea, and the drive to it. When I first started doing this, it was my third job. Who starts out a company as their third job? If you really want to do something, you can.

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Judy Lee

Judy has an orange bag. In it, she has her essentials including her MacBook, shiny iPhone, and Moleskine. They are her must-haves because she is always on the go. Living the Vancouver life, she is passionate about working out, eating out, and hashing out strategic plans for good marketing.

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