Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Walda.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been a licensed skin care therapist since 2007. I started working in a beauty supply and fell in love with all things beauty. My husband and I took a leap of faith, got married in May 2010 and decided to open up our salon in that same month. We’re crazy, lol! It has been an amazing journey with plenty of blood, sweat, and tears along the way. I am proud to say I am a mother of two beautiful children and work full time doing something I truly love. As an award winning Skin Care Therapist, I love seeing my little mustard seed of a dream turn into the amazing salon & spa it is today. Owning a salon, being a Skin Care Therapist, a Mother, a Wife… it’s tough work! But it is equally just as rewarding and my clients and family certainly make it worth it. I am lucky to say that in the 12 years of doing what I do, I have never had a day of not being happy with my career choice. Being that brows are one of my specialties, last year, I decided to go back to school and add Body Art Practitioner to my resume and start offering microstroking. That has become an equally rewarding treatment to offer my amazing clients!
Where we opened in 2010, it seemed perfect at the time, but as time passed, we knew we needed a new place to call our own. I had bigger dreams for Beauty By Bee. We searched for years to find the perfect spot. One day, my husband wanted to take a drive to a location he had found online, so we got in the car for an adventure. Seeing this potential location, it had been left in shambles, to say the least. As we were walking up to the gates, I found a key in the dirt and I jokingly said, this is the key to the new Beauty By Bee! My husband laughed and said it was simply a key to a sprinkler box. When we actually got to view the property, it was in awful condition. But something inside knew, it was the one! There were so many ups and downs during this process and at one time, we thought we may have lost out on the opportunity. But again, something inside just felt it was too right to be wrong. That something inside was right! Fast forward a year, and it became ours. I still have that key. It’s framed in the front waiting area of our salon and its one of my most favorite stories to tell. The laws of attraction are a very real thing. I got to where I am today with the love and support of my amazing husband that has helped every step of the way. He has stood by my side through it all. I am so thankful for this life I get to call my own. Hard work and dedication to my passion pay off every day when I get to come to my little sanctuary, Beauty By Bee Salon & Spa!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been a smooth road? Haha! I would love to say, “oh yeah, totally!” I remember, when I was still working in Orange County, I worked in the back of a salon (literally, like a closet-size skincare room, my hot towels were kept in a crock pot under my bed that was smashed against the wall and you could hardly open the door all the way to get into the room. Clients and I enjoyed the sound of the towel bins and bathroom doors slamming every two seconds. It was less than glamorous, to say the least. My check came one time and it was literally $14.00. 14.00!? Gah! If that doesn’t crush your soul, I don’t know what would! I remember being so bummed but at the same time I knew it was still what I wanted to do. I had to make better opportunities for myself and so I did and shortly thereafter, found a struggling spa up the road and rehabbed it back to glory… no more $14.00 paychecks!
From there, I moved out to Canyon Lake area and at first, couldn’t find a place I could see myself calling home.
Again, it was starting to feel a little soul crushing but something inside me knew I needed to keep on! I took yet another leap of faith on creating a space for clients to enjoy and it blossomed into Beauty By Bee Salon & Spa.
Being a Skin Care Therapist has been hard! You’re a dime a dozen out there in a world full of people who think being in the beauty industry is easy! It kills me how many people ive talked to that have said: “I got my license… but I quit.”
I remember being with a client once for waxing and he said to me, “who do you know? You cant be successful in this town unless you know someone… “I moved from Orange County out to Canyon Lake without knowing anyone. I started from the ground up and never gave up. Whenever a set back would happen, It would be hard but it made me try harder! I do not give up.
Keep your fire alive! Do not let anyone kick you down!!! YOU will always be there for YOU! Do not let YOURSELF down! If your passion & drive are what lead you, you will be successful! Not every day is going to be easy, people are going to let you down, people are going to disappoint you. That’s okay, you cannot control other peoples actions, you can only control your own! You need to look inside of yourself to be sure the next day you just work that much harder. It feels so good to see how far Beauty By Bee has come. It’s crazy too, time flies when you love what you do!
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a Skin Care Therapist, Body Art Practitioner, Airbrush Technician & Social Media Manager at Beauty By Bee Salon & Spa (insert cheesy smile here), haha. I’m lame, I know, talking about yourself is harder than I thought it would be!
My specialties are my facial treatments & microstroking (microblading… tomato, tomato) 🙂 I have clients that drive hours for their facials and have flown in to get their brow microstroking. How cool is that?!
Skin care is very near and dear to my heart. When I was younger, I struggled with acne and nothing from the drug store or dermatologist ever seemed to work, only make it worse. My grandmother was always my go-to for beauty help and she could see how much I was struggling with it so she took me to a little beauty supply, and this skin care therapist recommended a cleanser. At that moment, life changed. It was the first time I felt someone listened to me and cared, and lo and behold, my skin actually liked the product and started to do a 180! This was one of the reasons I went into beauty retail. I loved the idea of being able to listen and truly help people with their products and skin care concerns! Plus, getting my hands on all the latest and greatest in the industry was an amazing perk that still helps me to this day! I always tell people that are thinking about getting into the industry to start in retail because one, you get so many hands-on with all sorts of products, and two you get to figure out how to work with people that will be similar to your future clients! People, I feel, have been more at ease with me when we first meet when they tell me they use xyz skin care and I can actually talk to them about it because I used to work with it myself. Trust is so important in the treatment room! I’ve cried with clients, laughed with clients, done happy dances with clients over their skin progress and success!
Microstroking has been my OCD love. I admit, im a bit of a perfectionist… and a lot a bit of an OCD freak so brows are literally therapeutic for me. Creating a whole new shape and the freedom of a clean palette are just the greatest. Watching the strokes transform into a beautiful brow is memorizing and when it is complete, watching the client with happy tears in her eyes, make it one of my most gratifying treatments to offer.
With any treatment on my end, the client makes the service. Their happiness give you life in your treatment room!
I am most proud that as a business owner, I have been able to defeat the odds, go beyond the expectations and even surprise myself with what I have been able to create with my business. I feel the biggest thing that sets us apart from others is that we are real and want you to feel like YOU. You instantly feel welcome and want to be with us, not just like a number. Our whole emphasis is on the clients and that we want to be an escape from the hustle and bustle of life! We love that clients tell us that from the second they get out of their car that they already feel relaxed! With almost 200 5 star reviews online our clients tell us that we are giving them all they want and more at a place for all their beauty needs.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
I would have to say the woman that has been the most inspirational to me is my grandmother. She and I have always been very close. She always tells me about when I was born that she would call my mom and say, “Im coming over, I need my Britty fix.”
Even as a teenager, grandmas house is where I wanted to be. She has been with me every step of my life, good and bad. While my parents went through their divorce, she was always there for me. I shared a lot of woman firsts with her, haha! She shaved my legs for the first time, bought me my first silky bra, my first pair of heels, my first trip to a makeup counter, bought my wedding dress… you get the idea.
She always presents herself very gracefully and put together. What her favorite thing to do is? Thursday morning, beauty shop. Literally, the world revolves around her weekly Thursday morning hair appointments at the Beauty Shop. I love it, at 84 years old, she wears her perfectly pressed slacks, her gold necklace, watch, pink lipstick, Estee Lauder perfume and drives to the beauty shop for a few hours with the ladies. I pray that when I am her age I still get to the Beauty Shop too!
She was a single mother for a long time and stories she has told me will stay with me forever. She is a strong woman and not in a harsh sense. My grandma is very forgiving and soft. Some mistake it for weakness, but I think she is very good at choosing her battles. But bet your bottom, if you mess up chocolate chip cookies, that is a battle she will choose. If you’re going out in public and you look like a train wreck, she’ll definitely call you out, haha!
She and I have always had a special bond, and for that, I am so thankful. It makes my heart so happy to talk to her about Beauty By Bee because I can see her light up just hearing about it! She has been my best friend as long as I can remember. She has always been that one person that I could go to cry, to laugh, to scream… I remember countless times as a little girl calling her up to come to pick me up to spend the weekend with her. She would, Every time. She is my rock and means more to me than I can ever put into words.
Pricing:
- Brow Microstroking- $600.00
- Diamond Tip Crystal Free Microdermabrasion Treatment- $75.00
- Brow Shaping- $20.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BeautyByBee.com
- Phone: 9516034375
- Email: brittany@beautybybee.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/beautybybeesalonandspa
- Facebook: facebook.com/beautybybee1
Image Credit:
photos 2 be desired, deserie akes
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