“No heavy makeup. Enhance your beauty, don't cover it.” That is the motto of Larry "Mann" Ball of Mann Brow. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Larry has always had a sharp eye for beauty, from his soft brush technique to his blending styles. He started his career as a personal stylist working with private clients in 2010 before branching into higher-end retail with Betsey Johnson, where he did $1.5 million in sales in just six months. It was going behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week that led Larry to fall in love with makeup and within a year he was freelancing with the PRO Team at popular makeup brand MAC Cosmetics.

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In 2017, Larry decided to spend half his time working for MAC and half his time working on his own business, The Face of Paint. Fast forward to June 2020, and he was ready to go it alone and launched Mann Brow in Miami, Florida. From Love & Hip Hop to the Basketball Wives Miami, Larry has worked with some of the entertainment industry’s finest stars. But he doesn’t limit his clientele to one industry or sector – instead he does makeup and eyebrows for anyone and feels everyone is a celebrity in his eyes.

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“I started to see how beautiful people look once they got their makeup done and it intrigued me to the point where I wanted to start doing makeup professionally,” says Larry Ball, Owner of Mann Brow. “So I really took the artistry of makeup seriously and went under a mentor to learn the fundamentals of makeup. I always loved how brows looked when I would do makeup, so about two years ago I started focusing mainly on brows and felt it was time to go solo with Mann Brow. I registered the business and trademarked it, brought all of my freelance clients over, and since then, I’ve just been continuously networking with the connections I built from a decade in high fashion.”

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A Professional Face

In starting his own business, Larry had three main goals – to make his clients feel comfortable, to give them confidence, and to become a household name. Early on, he found there were three things that stood in his way: scheduling, consistency, and visibility. Larry knew that he needed a solution that would give him a professional presence with clients. He considered Square and Acuity but did not like how ‘normal’ they looked, referencing the bland, cookie-cutter websites and booking experience. Instead, he wanted a business app that would help him and Mann Brow to shine.

Larry then visited his brow mom, a mentor who owns Brows by Juliana. She was using GlossGenius and showed him around the platform. Larry instantly liked the look and feel of GlossGenius, the gorgeous custom website, the seamless client booking experience, and the fact that the app helps business owners understand their business metrics at a glance. He particularly liked how the website felt polished and sleek – perfect to elevate his personal brand.

“I try to be myself as much as possible, so people around me can see that I'm relatable on the business and the personal aspect – I am the face of it all,” says Larry. “And I’m huge on client satisfaction – I love it, I live it, I breathe it. So I needed a system that spoke to me while also providing the best experience for my clients. I tried Square and Acuity and they both offer a lot of features, but I absolutely couldn't stand the visual standpoint and they were really difficult to customize. Then I was getting my eyebrows done by my brow mom, Juliana, and I saw the checkout process with GlossGenius on her iPad. It looked so user friendly, and she showed me the back end and how GlossGenius helps her see what she has booked, know what's coming up, and understand how much money she's made quarterly and year to date. That is phenomenal to me, because I feel like you shouldn't have to search to see what you've earned.”

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Growth and Expansion

Today, Mann Brow has clients in both Miami and Detroit, and Larry relies on GlossGenius to handle booking, follow ups, and marketing. He uses GlossGenius’ text message marketing feature to stay in touch with his clients and has started to build out his email marketing, too. When GlossGenius released its stunning card readers, Larry preordered his, and says both he and his customers love the convenience. And when GlossGenius released its Teams functionality, Larry was able to put his whole team on the app, delegate booking, and let them show who they are and the services they offer.

Thanks to GlossGenius, Larry managed to grow Mann Brow by 30 percent in its first year and estimates that he saves 16 hours a week by not having to manually follow up with clients. With his policies clearly stated on his website, Larry has seen far fewer cancellations and no-shows, and has ambitious plans for expansion with the time and money GlossGenius saves him. He intends to spend more time training people in his makeup artistry and brow techniques, grow into the Houston and Dallas beauty markets, and expand his product line and make it all available for purchase using GlossGenius.

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“I truly love GlossGenius, it’s freaking phenomenal, and I started to see the benefits of using it immediately,” says Larry. “I only have great things to say when it comes to GlossGenius’ customer service and the way they handle all of their customers. I would say GlossGenius has supported my core objectives, it gives me professional visibility, and then it also gives my clients an easy way to see and book the services I offer. It's just more professional and makes it seem like you’re a bigger business than you are because GlossGenius is like an always-on assistant. I feel like it gives your business a boost when it comes to boutique style, when it comes to luxury, and when it comes to setting the bar high – it doesn't look like any normal app and once you contrast there's no comparison. What’s more, when I make suggestions, I feel like GlossGenius really listens and understands what our needs are as business owners. With the app behind me, I am confident about expanding my business into new markets.”

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