We were lucky to catch up with Malena Phomsengdy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Malena , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

From experiencing how hectic things were at school. I knew that I had to take matters into my own hands right away. I made sure that I kept posting my openings and had my guests share their experiences with others. I kept myself busy and maintained a client base from the start. Being able to sanitize and decompress between appointments was very important to me. I am a big believer in giving each individual my all. I just knew that I wanted to be in control and be able to do things my way. I was lucky enough to have a friend reach out to me that she was subleasing her suite and asked me if I would be interested. At this point was super excited and nervous at the same time. I did a lot of trial and error treatments on myself and others to see what products and procedures I wanted to use. Once all that was decided, I chose just to work one day a week then once things started to get busier I started to add more days. I didn’t want to end up getting too overwhelmed or ahead of myself. Once things started to really take off for me I saw that Sola was opening a new location in St Louis Park and thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to branch out.

Malena , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always loved the beauty industry but always thought that it was such a risky career path. My friends and family would always ask me to do their hair and makeup so i always kind of seen it as a hobby. Growing up I had a lot of skin issues myself. I suffered from severe eczema, allergies and psoriasis. I was always so embarrassed when my breakouts would occur and there never seemed to be a lasting solution. I went to various doctors and it just felt like a very ending cycle. In my twenties I did a lot of research and realized it all was really a life change that needed to happened. I have not had a breakout for over 13 years now. I have such a passion for skincare and really want to show others that there is hope out there, but they have to understand that things are not a quick fix. Things take time, but it is possible. I feel I can really relate to my guests because I struggled so much in my life and wanted to hide, but when people look at me now they would never believe what I went through. All the products and treatments that I bring into my practice are things I have personally used myself. I do not believe in one size fits all. I am known for curating treatments to fit my guests needs/wants. Another aspect that I really am passionate about is educating. I want people to know the whys. I like to explain why things are being done and why it’s beneficial.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I always follow up with my guests no matter if they have been seeing me from the beginning or even if they are knew. It is really important to me to ensure that everything went well with the service and address if there were any concerns. I love the relationships that I build with people and really make the time to get to know them.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

You have to stick to your gut from the beginning. Go into into it with your all. If you question something, asl for others opinions, research, experiment. Don’t wait for something to get second guested or have a big mistake happen to someone. Make sure you dot all your i’s and cross your t’s. Your business represents you and you should be confident and comfortable. There will always be some wiggle room and grey area but go into things with your heart and know in the end it will all work out.

Contact Info:

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Image Credits
Ryan Stopera (Skull makeup photos/mirror)