This Is My Story ...
I entered the Lash Extension industry 7 years ago - you could say I was a little late to the party. What I mean by "late" is that I started a brand new career at the age of 48, after being a stay-at-home mom for more than 20 years. I was a homeschooling mom - kindergarten straight through high school. I also helped my husband build and operate his after-school tennis program and summer camps. I guess you could say I worked from home before working from home wasn't even a thing.
I started a new career under pressure. We had just made a move from the west coast of Florida to the East coast of Florida. I came to Delray Beach with an attitude! An attitude of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and negativity. The cost of living is quite different on this side of the state therefore; I knew I was going to need to find a job right away.
We also moved to Delray Beach with an embarrassing amount of debt. We came here hoping for more business opportunities for my husband but those opportunities would also need some time to develop. Like many struggling families, we were broke, I was a bit discouraged but hopeful doors would open.
My middle daughter did 2 things that would forever change my life. One: she bought a Groupon for eyelash extensions and talked me into going to the appointment with her. Two: she promised my mother-in-law she would bake grandpa's birthday cake when he turned 80. My mother-in-law was planning a big celebration at her church for family and friends. For the sake of time, I will leave out many details and get straight to the heart of my story.
I went to the lash appointment with my daughter -- I didn't even realize eyelash extensions were a thing. During the appointment, the technician caught me by surprise. She turned to me and randomly mentioned she was also a teacher and if I ever wanted to learn how to do extensions she could teach me. I smiled and replied, "oh wow, thanks". I thought to myself, "that was weird, I didn't even ask, but oh well."
Moving forward, it was time for my daughter to make the cake - which meant it was time for ME to help. We had white fondant icing on the cake. The flowers and decorations were done and now it was time for the last part. I needed to carefully pipe the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB. Very simple. It was the last detail of the decorating. As I'm finishing up, my husband, son, and daughter were loading up the car as we had a 4-hour road trip ahead of us. Well, something disastrous happened. Happy Birthday Bob was crooked! Not just kinda crooked - very crooked. That's it, game over. The cake was ruined!
I yelled for my daughter to run upstairs and bring me my tweezers. I thought perhaps I could lift up the bright blue piping from the white fondant and try again. It was a risky move, but I had no other choice. She brought me the tweezers, and with very steady hands I lifted up the piping, very carefully put it off to the side, and started again. OK, my plan worked, so what???
We load up the car and began our trip. Midway, the light switch came on and I heard the words of the technician say "if you want to learn, I will teach you." That was it! I realized when I was lifting the piping, my hands were incredibly steady. Also, holding the tweezer felt comfortable and natural. I began to think - "maybe I can do this? Maybe I can learn to put on eyelash extensions". The entire weekend I played out many conversations in my head. Needless to say, Monday morning she was my first call. Guess what? I signed up for her class. I paid her with borrowed money. Super embarrassing that I had to borrow the $800 from my teenage daughter with a handwritten IOU to pay her back and of course a guarantee to do her lashes for life.
That's where my small business story begins. Fast forward 7 years and I'm happy to report my eldest daughter and I are the proud co-owners of a thriving lash and brow studio.
My daughter and I worked side by side before we joined forces and created Oh So Fabu-Lash & Brows.
Here's a pic of our present location (we've since made a few design changes).
A full staff pre-covid. Check out our little mascot KiKi