When we first laid eyes on #bossbabes, Marquis Bohannon and Marquel Javontei, it was right before their grand opening of Bovanti Cosmetic’s & Spa, at North Lake Mall (Charlotte N.C) in 2015.
The women glowed with an amicable poise and fortitude, as they approached their inaugural day, and who could blame them? The duo, both barely out of their twenties, secured prime real estate, turning it into a lavish beauty-bar, in the center of the mall.
Now, it’s a year later, and the same optimistic CEO’s are celebrating their anniversary.
Marquel said that she noticed many changes since they opened.
“Well, people know about us, which is good. We’ve gotten the word-of-mouth out there about Bovanti. It’s more growth in terms of, people know who we are. There is a large awareness about Bovanti, but we need to put more work in, to continue letting others know that Bovanti is here to stay,” she spoke proudly.
Having a solid strategy is one of the reasons that the store has run successfully according to Marquel.
“We continue to do our email marketing which keeps the customers aware of what’s going on in the store, specials, new products, tips, and tricks. We also have social media. We let them know through Instagram, Facebook, and our website(http://bovanti.com/)
We also have the new app that everyone needs to download. It’s a Bovanti app and it’s at the Apple Store as well as Google Play (#Bovanti the app).
The app is pretty much an online store that talks about the different makeup classes that we have coming up, and instore events. It’s kind of like Bovanti in the palm of your hands—you’ll find out what we are doing next, and what’s new... it’s a lot of fun things on the app.”
In case you’re wondering, Marquis and Marquel, are 2nd generation owners of Bovanti Cosmetics—they branched out of the Atlanta Market and actually opened their first store at the Four Seasons Mall in Greensboro, NC, back in 2010.
Although the girls are currently reveling their first successful year in Charlotte, the sisters are opening a third beauty bar at the Cumberland Mall, in Atlanta Georgia on October 5, 2016. This is separate from the home-office that their parents, Michael and Anita Bohannon, run in Georgia.
When asked how they felt about the new store opening, Marquel said:
“Well, it’s so exciting and it’s such a blessing because we’ve always wanted to be at Cumberland Mall, and to be in Atlanta, back at our home. This is giving us the opportunity to be in that location and be one of the only black owned businesses in Cumberland mall...This is a store and not just a kiosk, so it makes a big difference that we are a black owned business, in a store, at the Mall.”
With this amazing and momentous breakthrough, Marquis talks about their progress at the newest location.
“It’s the right timing for us as well. In order for us to embark upon or cover the store, we needed to set the foundation at the Greensboro and Charlotte store. These locations allowed us to grow and open a store in Atlanta, at the Cumberland mall,” she said.
As Marquis pinpointed, timing is still an important factor if you want to tap into a particular market for business.
“In the past, we had been trying to get into Cumberland for the past 3 years. We realized that we needed to create a secure foundation in Greensboro, before we could move to another location. When the opportunity presented itself in Charlotte, we felt good because we were able to move back and forth, commuting between Greensboro, to Charlotte.
Since we were able to get our foundation together in the two stores, and have managers that would be committed and loyal to Bovanti; we were secure, and at least confident that our team could stand, when we weren’t there. This allowed us to grow, and move to the next location,” she said.
Although the entrepreneurs are running several stores, they still make time to educate.
“We’re also doing mastering and makeup classes. We’re doing our in-store classes as well,” said Marquis.
“We do live, look, and listen classes, and we also do hands-on master classes,” Marquel finished the statement.
The girls recently hosted a make-up mastering class.
“This was a phenomenal experience because its a hands-on, make-up class, where you have 4 hours of intensive training and learning from our celebrity make-up artist, Marquel Javontei. Plus, you will be certified in the class and you’ll learn how to do the perfect brow, the smoky eye, and how to put on effortless lashes, switching your look from day to night. This is a must-have class that every girl should attend,” Marquis exclaimed excitedly.
Tutorial of #Bovanti Liquid Lipstick Matte in the Rum Cake & Midtown: Marquel Javontei
The women travel state-to-state, and do about 40 shows a year including the National Baptist trade show—the lady’s setup a makeup bar, and show other women different MUA techniques that they can apply by themselves, in the comfort of their homes.
The hardworking duo said that it’s been a while since they actually had a vacation because business is thriving, however, they plan to celebrate for Marquel’s birthday on October 20, making it an Autumn month full of nostalgic memories.
Marquis and Marquel share encouraging words with other entrepreneurs:
“Be confident in yourself, believe in yourself, cause when you do what you were created to do, no one can out do you. Just Know and be yourself—know what you were created to do.”
The Anniversary weekend for the Charlotte store kick-starts on September 30th and will end on October 2, 2016.