We were lucky to catch up with Barbara Purdom recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I have been asked so many times about this! in all actuality we heard bodiac the first time in a rap song. I don’t even remember which one it was but the word resonated for me afterwards that this would be a fantastic name for our business.

Bodiac (pronounced bod-ee-ac) to me has a very special meaning. It is someone who is really working on themselves to look & feel better no matter where their area of focus is at the time. It’s about someone who gives themselves permission to say “It’s ok to focus on me” They are disciplined & focused as they understand taking time to reenergize yourself has to be a priority if you are going to take on the world around you and survive. A bodiac gives themselves permission to give themselves priority for some much needed self-care.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I actually worked in the corporate world for 30 years. I have a background in medical devices, healthcare, and insurance. However, during my span in healthcare we were on a growth mission. It was my ambition during this tenure to grow a wellness center to help with weight & fat reduction initially and perhaps span from there. That goal never came to fruition most likely due to non-invasive procedures were not given much credibility during those years. Technology has come a long way in advancements improvements and the science is hard to ignore now.

When my husband (Pete) and I started our local business it was just he and I. We were in a leased space 10 x 10. We were passionate about obtaining results and excited to use technology to help people achieve their goals. We were in that space for two months before we had to expand and grow. We’ve expanded twice in total as we prepare for a 3rd year anniversary in May.

Today we still help people with weight and fat reduction. However our services have expanded so much. We offer technology for non-invasive face uplifts and we have a full aesthetics department as well from your basic facials to hydrofacials, chemical peels, microneedling with so many options, semi-permanent makeup, and plasma fibroblast just to name a few. We are so excited to also be a new premier provider of Vivace RF Microneedling treatments.

We also include products that help as well such as DNA weight loss kits, B12, supplements, CBD for pain management therapy, skin care and so much more so you have continued support.

We additionally have forged partnerships with some amazing people with services that can help revolutionize your exercise, food/diet, and other credible services so you can holistically take care of your concerns whether that deals with weight management, anti-aging & other skin care issues. Bodiac Sculpting has you covered.

What I love about my Wellness Center & Medspa are that our clients are more like family. My staff have been selected specifically because they want to establish a bond with clients that immediately make you feel like this is your home away from home. Your not just a “number” or a “procedure” here. You are a person that has chosen to partner with us to enhance your personal wellbeing and your overall self-image. We are honored and privileged to align all of our technology and techniques to help you obtain these goals. It is our passion to serve you and we work relentlessly to demonstrate it daily.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We are a start-up business. We did not have investors and we did not buy a franchise. There was no name branding recognition. Honestly, with so much competition and everyone trying to get into the business of wellness & beauty it was really overwhelming as we planned out how we were going to initiate our business and build a client base. However, we did build a client base. We really had to learn from scratch how to grow clients, how to price correctly, how to build on our technique for results just to name a few.

Technology is expensive and changes constantly. Equipment can range from $100,000 – $400,ooo on average with just the machine costs and doesn’t include your consumable costs. You have to maintain a balance of “tried & true” along with market trends. If you jump on a new technology too soon you could be risking your brand image if it turns out to not deliver on promises. If you wait too late than your competitors already have the market share and you will always lag behind.

I fell numerous times in my learning journey of this industry. A big learning around pricing in the market, I initially priced too low to provoke interest because everyone wants to save money right? However, also you can devalue your service & technology. You can set a behavior that negatively impacts your brand if people will only come see you if there is a deal like groupon or they don’t trust your technology & technique because your low pricing has created doubt around results. It was a hard lesson learned. I was trying to help people but in the wrong way when it came to pricing & financing.

While learning this business & life lesson on its own is already challenging. Learning this through COVID & the pandemic was overwhelming. I had to make quick flexible adjustments during shut down to still make an income by building & refocusing on product lines vs services that we simply could not perform.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Having the right support should be done BEFORE you need it. As a business owner, I had to learn a new industry and become a subject matter expert in what I do. I worked so hard and grew so fast because I became smarter, wiser, and completely engulfed in making me the best in my field. My reputation and brand means a lot to me so being the best was my passion. However, where was the time to become an expert bookkeeper too? Where do you find the time to learn tax laws concerning my business? So I found people quickly to help me,, but they weren’t invested in my business or my growth. The importance of having a quality bookkeeper and tax expert can not wait until later. Unfortunately the reality hit when I received that dreaded tax notice from the IRS of an error owing them a tremendous amount of money. Honestly, I panicked. Fortunately, I found a quality CPA & tax advisor who cared enough to learn about my business and everything she could about what I do. She found errors that my prior providers failed to see and of course the IIRS overlooked and she saved me from owing significant money erroneously. Remember, to build your foundation with the right support behind you. You cannot be the expert at everything but these support partners will provide the resources, knowledge, and expertise to make you and your business stronger. Take the time to hire quality support to avoid hassles and mistakes that are just time stealers and completely preventable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bodiacsculpting.com
• Instagram: bodiac.sculpting
• Facebook: @bodiac1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bodiac-sculpting

Image Credits
No credits…..we took them at our spa by clients who approved marketing but may not want their name released