Franchise Times: Honest Lash Is Next Adventure for Former McDonald’s Franchisee

Shortly after he bought 15 Sylvan Learning centers in multiple Texas markets, Jonathan Ellis, the founder and CEO of Honest Lash, was faced with a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic had hit, and he was forced to shutter the businesses for months on end, but he was still expected to cover payroll and other business expenses.

“It was dire there for a minute, I’ll be honest,” Ellis told Franchise Times. When he made the tough decision to sell the centers, he was able to offload 12 to other entrepreneurs in the area, but this left him with three active leases for vacant locations. These three former centers would soon be the home of Honest Lash. With existing real estate and climbing demand in the beauty and wellness space, Ellis saw an opportunity to build a business that would offer lash extensions, lash lift and tints, brow lamination, brow tinting and waxing, reinvigorating otherwise dead real estate.

As a third-generation McDonald’s franchisee, Ellis had a wealth of experience to inform his next venture. He considered the processes and business models that he experienced as a franchisee and leveraged this knowledge to build a business that could grow to be as widespread and relevant as McDonald’s.

With this, Ellis and his wife, Sarah, took to building a family-first business that would bring something new to the community while providing an attractive investment opportunity for hard-working franchisees.

“We’re going to find the people out there who want to roll up their sleeves and grind it out. And who won’t roll over when those hard times come,” said Jonathan. “Honest Lash is very much a life’s work of, this is who we are, this is what we believe in, this is where we’re going and do you want to come along.”