Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patsy Watkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Patsy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?
Throughout this journey of entrepreneurship, I can honestly say I have had a handful of people holding me down. Luckily, I get to call my biggest cheerleader, Mama. Since I can remember she has always told me “Just keep going Babygirl”. I mean I got it tattooed so clearly it has truly been a quote that has stuck with me. Back in 2021, when I started making plans of creating my own business, she was in full support encouraging me to follow my dreams and no matter how this endeavor went, good or bad, she was going to be there regardless. My mother has always instilled in me the belief that I can do any and everything I put my mind to. From being a scholar in grade school to be voted “Best Wax Studio on Lake Norman”. Without her love, encouragement, and support I would not be who I am or could achieve what I have thus far.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi, My name is Patsy Watkins. I am the Owner and Operator of Publicity Wax Studio in Cornelius, North Carolina. Specializing in Full Body Waxing for EVERYONE, Brazilians, Manzilians, Facials, and Vajacials. In addition, I provide continuing education classes for Licensed Estheticians and help estheticians looking to go solo start their own businesses.
Since the tender age of nineteen, I have been a Licensed Esthetician. Esthetics became my calling during a tough phase in life where I quite was not exactly sure what my purpose was but one tour at Ogle Hair, Skin, and Nails changed it all for me. One thing I knew at that time was working with people and making them feel confident about who they were was something I wanted to tap into wholeheartedly but just need to learn how to make a career out of it. Little did I know I would run into the woman who would facilitate it all, Mrs. Dancy. I remember her words ever so clearly till this day, ‘Your beautiful face will be your money maker, but your heart will help change the perspective of what beauty is”. Deep right? Yeah, I know. Since then, I have carried those words with me while working in my own place of business. I have fostered an environment where when clients come into the studio, they are not just coming to get a wax, they are coming for an elevated experience. They are coming for that extra confidence boost that they deserve and often cannot find anywhere else. Whether that is reminding them about how important they are to their families, friends, co-workers, or just simply speaking life over the hard situations they may be encountering at the time. I decided as a business owner, that I was going to pour into my clients in a way most service provides are not custom to. So, when you ask what sets Publicity Wax Studio apart from other waxing place, my simple answer is that Publicity was created to help build community and a reminder that we all deserve to be treated like celebrities even when we do not feel as such. I pride myself in giving each client a tailor-made service and experience that leaves them feeling empowered and confident! When you enter the studio, you will come as a client and leave as family!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As you can imagine being a business owner is already hard as is. Well imagine being a business owner, a newly single mother, a second-year student in college, working full-time, all while trying to have a personal life. That was my life last year. Everything you could possibly imagine going wrong did exactly that. I had got to the point where I needed to move back home with my mom just to have a mental break and get the necessary guidance to change the course of where my life was going. I spent many late nights up doing homework after my son had gone to bed to make sure I was getting it done so he would get the adequate amount of “Mom Time”. I had to depend on my mom for the simplest tasks that I was used to doing myself but just did not have the compacity to do because I was bogged down with responding to email from clients, working till 10:30PM and having to do it all again tomorrow and then some. Amid all this going on, I knew I could not stop! I had to keep going and dig deep every day to make sure I could look back on the experience and see how far I had come as a business owner, mother, and educator. Even when I wanted to give up, I used grit to get me through, because I knew this test life had given me was only going to be my testimony to share with other women going through the same obstacles. Thanks to that moment in time, a year later I am celebrating my second year in business, running an esthetics program at a community college, raising a beautiful young man with an amazing life partner, and sharing my story to whoever will listen!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to unlearn was “If its not perfect, then its not good enough”. In true Capricorn fashion that’s a lesson I still am actively unlearning to this day. When I first started my business, I use to beat myself up about it not going perfectly, or like I had imagined. Publicity was created with humble beginnings. I funded my business 100% by myself, no investors, working three jobs just to save to purchase equipment and furnish the suite. Everything did not start off looking aesthetically the way that I wanted it to. I could not send out of all the cool marketing campaigns or post a cool room tour like most of the popular estheticians on Instagram were doing at the time. Quite often I felt defeated, as if I was never going to get there but I had to come to a hard realization that I needed to trust the process. Although it was not perfect yet did not mean it did not have value or lacked importance. My clients enjoyed the atmosphere I created at the studio and “plain” marketing campaigns I was sending out. I had to shift my perspective and adopt a new approach and mantra. Now I preach “Progress not perfection”, I even have a sign in the studio that says it. I can look back and say everything I do is a step forward in the right direction. It may not be perfect, but it is purposeful.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Publicitywaxstudio.square.site
- Instagram: @PublicityWaxStudio
- Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/Publicitywaxstudio
Image Credits
Ashley Bagamary Photography