We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Naida a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My name is Stephanie Naida and I am a licensed facial specialist in Miami, FL and the founder and CEO of Skin Glow Miami LLC a luxury skincare boutique built to provide relaxing yet corrective skincare treatments to those who want to practice self-care and want to feel confident in their own skin.

When I created Skin Glow, my goal was to create a welcoming space for those who may be struggling with skincare concerns such as acne, hyperpigmentation, aging and more. My mission as a professional facial specialist is to educate the audience on how to maintain healthy skin habits and the importance of investing into a clean and result-driven routine. I would like to help all of those young ladies who may be having a hard time dealing with persistent acne, those who want to feel and look younger, and in general anyone who is looking for another way to show love to themselves.

Stephanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began working in this wonderful industry at the age of 20 years old when I first received my licensed specialist license. To me, it was a dream come true as I’ve always had a particular interest and passion for the art of skincare. I remember at a young age spending hours reading and watching informational videos on the different types of ingredients that are in our products, the different types of healthy acids that can help us transform our skin in ways we didn’t know possible, the advanced technology that is consistently evolving in our industry that can allow us to achieve specific goals for our skin health.

As a young entrepreneur, it can be tuff juggling all the responsibilities that are presented to you at this age. From the very beginning of my journey what I have noticed that has helped me stay focused and disciplined would be what others call “tunnel vision.” I have remained true to my goals, I have made sure to get up even on the harder days to go work towards growing my business. It has not been an easy journey, there have been many learning experiences as time has passed but that has been the beauty of it all. As my business grows, I find myself and the woman that I am growing. It’s a very rewarding feeling that keeps me going and motivated to be better.

At Skin Glow Miami, we are partnered with two strictly professional skincare brands that can only be purchased through licensed professionals such as myself. These lines are known as Skin Script RX Professional and Glymed Plus; with the help of the amazing products that these lines provide to our business, we are able to provide extensive results in our clients’ skin. What I believe sets us apart from others in our industry is our capability to cater to each one of our clients and customize their treatments to target their individual skin while still providing a relaxing experience.

In our time of being in business, we have helped a countless amount of amazing individuals achieve what they call their “skin goals” and have them feel confident in their skin. We really enjoy working with individuals who are on a journey to battle acne, get rid of any stubborn scarring, even out their skin tone, and reduce/prevent any skin damage.

We want to be able to educate as many as we can on the science and art that is skincare and the importance of maintaining skin health. At Skin Glow Miami, we are always looking forward to helping anyone who wants to feel and look like their best self.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele and business in general I would say is definitely social media but instagram in particular.

From the moment that I was enrolled in beauty school I decided to create a business page for my brand, I knew that is was important to create a presence on different platforms to begin getting the word out about my new soon-to-be business.

Instagram is a very powerful tool and can help you accomplish extraordinary things when used correctly, just like everything else it requires commitment and consistency. Most of my now loyal clients, found my business and services through instagram. Most of my clients say that they found my business through the explore page, hashtags, mutual friends and reposting, and paid ads (which btw, can do wonders for a business!)

Posting almost every single day on this platform has been my most effective strategy for growth. The audience loves to see the behind the scenes of the services provided, educational posts that can help them at home, and more – it helps build a bond with those who may be considering visiting your business before they even meet you.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As a 20 year old girl who came from very little, I can say it wasn’t the easiest thing to build a business up from the ground at such a young age. I have been working different roles and jobs since the age of 14 to make sure that I was stable to support myself and help my hardworking immigrant parents as much as I possibly could.

When I first started my business, I began with only $400 in my pocket which was my lash paycheck from my previous full-time position. I made sure to invest as much as I could on the best supplies and instruments to begin taking clients and invest right back into my business.

Building my clientele was not easy and did not happen overnight, as time passed I realized that I needed to find a temporary way to generate income to be able to pour back into my business and help it grow and as hard as that realization was for me to accept I still went out and began to submit multiple applications to different businesses. Luckily for me, I was introduced to a very hardworking and inspiring individual who hired me to work part-time as a front desk receptionist in their Dance Company. Adriana and Jose who are the owners of Karibe Dance Studio – located in Miami, Florida a dance studio with a huge cultural influence that allows kids and adults to learn all styles of dance but mainly salsa dancing, kindly opened their arms to me while knowing I was trying to grow my personal business and helped accommodate me to hours that allowed me to invest time into my business while generating an extra income to invest right back into Skin Glow and pay my bills without worries. About 7 months went by and as more individuals discovered my business, my days became more and more busy. I was able to formally dedicate all of my time into my own business and eventually created a stable flow and growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: skinglowmiami.com
• Instagram: @skinglowmiami
• Linkedin: stephanienaida
• Other: Gmail: skinglowxsteph@gmail.com