We were lucky to catch up with Breana Wooten recently and have shared our conversation below.
Breana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
Starting in a storage closet with a water heater in the corner and just enough room to fit a bed against the wall and a wax pot against the other, I had a long way to go before I would feel I had “made it” in the industry. I would work opening shifts at a local coffee shop 4am-8am and then spend the rest of the day posting on social media and waiting for people to walk in or text me for same day appointments.
I made myself abundantly available for anyone who wanted to see me, even for a $10 service. If I had to leave in the middle of dinner, I would. If I had to leave in the middle of a work out, I would. I was on call for my own business. I made sure to price my services $5 less than the local chain waxing facilities. Anyone who was already getting waxed there had no reason not to give me a shot! The salon was 45 minutes away and some days I would drive up there 3 times just for a $20 underarm wax or a $10 upper lip. In the beginning, it wasn’t even about making enough to cover the cost of gas. It was about making connections with people and letting them know I took this very seriously. I would say, “One day, people are going to have to book a full Brazilian wax to even get in with me.” I developed relationships with clients who knew I was there for of them, some of them I still wax 7 years later.
I would hand my business cards out everywhere, coffee shops, in line at the store, gas stations, anyone who would make eye contact with me was getting a business card. By making this type of service normal and not acting as if it was some big taboo, I was making others comfortable to get curious. I knew everyone on the street has pubic hair and 90% don’t know what to do with it or are unhappy with their current options. I was the hero, presenting them with a life changing opportunity to deepen their level of self care and free up time and mental space to do anything other than shave and obsess over how itchy and uncomfortable they were. I printed out flyers and hung them up at the local college and asked anyone who owned a business if I could do the same. I was doing everything I could to get my name out there and then some.
After a year of that, I was presented with an opportunity to rent at a much larger, well known salon in a city just 15 minutes from home. The rent was more than double what I was currently paying and I would no longer be working with family. It was a huge risk, but something in my gut told me to go for it. I was the only waxer in a salon full of 10 hairdressers, with full clientele, who all wanted to get waxed by me.
I worked 7 days a week, 10-12 hour days. I was taking sometimes 25 clients a day. This was when I was finally able to set some boundaries, create policies, up my prices and set the standard for myself that I always wanted. I became the Brazilian Waxer, who would only do small add on services if they came with your Brazilian Wax. Now I had built a reputation for myself. My books were full of Brazilian waxes and I knew that the people I had built relationships with over the years were happy to pre book 2-3 months out. I had a waitlist 3 months long. Then, COVID shut down every salon in California and I became pregnant.
During the shut down, I worked closely with a client who had shown interest in waxing. Training her to take my clients for me while I went on maternity leave. We followed all guidelines and protocol. For 5 months I taught her everything I knew and paid her hourly. I slowly introduced her to every client and made sure to ease them into working together. This is such a delicate and sensitive service, I knew it would take an immense amount of trust for my clients to allow my trainee to take over for me. But we had built such a strong bond, I knew they would stick around and support me while I brought my baby into the world. When it came time for me to deliver her at home as planned, my apprentice texted me during labor. Due to personal family matters, this was her 3 day notice.
This was absolutely devastating and incredibly traumatic for my family and even for some clients who were booked for important events like weddings, vacations and birthdays. I worked while in labor to text clients and let them know of the sudden changes. I posted on instagram with my brand new baby in my arms, letting them know my business would be on pause while I figure out my options. At this point my husband was set to stay at home, while my business was supposed to support us. That did not go as planned.
I called up a good friend of mine that night. She came to get the salon keys and I let any clients who were on the books know, that she was a trusted, licensed professional, who had been waxing me for years. She was doing me a huge favor by stepping away from her family and full time job to take care of my clients. I doubled her pay for the inconvenience and after one day she offered to do it again. After one week she was asking for a 50/50 split. It was clear I needed to get back to my business.
I returned at 3 weeks postpartum to find out this friend had been rebooking my clients on her own booking site. She started renting in the room next to mine and I would hear her over the partition waxing my clients. My postpartum rage could not handle the stress and I started looking for store fronts. I did not have a plan but I knew that I needed a safe place for me, my baby and my clients to continue to grow and develop without the outside energies at play.
I quickly found a huge space for rent and took a giant leap of faith in my business, by signing a 3 year lease in my first commercial building. Never knowing if my dream of hiring other waxers could come true after what I had experienced. The only person I knew I could trust was my facial esthetician, who had also just had a baby and needed a quiet place to build her business. 6 month into my lease she moved in with me and we worked side by side for a year.
That year was incredibly healing for me, knowing I could trust another woman in my work space and that it was safe to build each other up. No competition, clear communication, and some days even walking past each other like zombies was okay. No need to people please or pretend we were okay, when we were both sleep deprived, postpartum ridden, working women, just trying to survive most work days. After a year her business tripled in size and she left to find her own commercial space.
A year later my lease was about to be up in 6 months. I had done so much healing in that place. Holding space for hundreds of women to get naked, bare their soul, and their pubic hair, trusting me with it all. I had started vulva casting, hosting sound baths, creating custom waist beads for clients. My brand was no longer just about Brazilian Waxing. It was about breaking the stigmas around women’s bodies and eradicating taboo surrounding even the subject of nudity. So many incredible women had been strategically placed in my life through the medium of waxing, but meant for much more. I explored Vedic astrology, reiki healing, sound healing, breath work, herbal medicine with these women. I felt called to be in community again and my need for isolation was coming to an end.
With my esthetician also coming up on the end of her commercial lease we came up with a brilliant, terrifying and all together beautiful idea to combine forces and expand our businesses together. We knew we worked well together and our goals were aligned. The mission: Create space for all people to be vulnerable, loved and honored. Merge facials, waxing, massage therapy, sauna, sound healing, and any other form of holistic healing into one Skin & Soul Sanctuary.
The connections I was making in 2017 when I began waxing are what drive my business forward and fill my soul with inspiration and love for all forms of expression. Bizzy Bre’s Wax is now a renter inside of my partner company Skin & Soul Sanctuary. No matter how many set backs, heart breaks and challenges my business has faced, here we are beginning again, trusting the process. I am able to wax 4 days a week, set my hours, implement clear and firm policies and explore an entirely new business model that takes the vulnerability and healing I found in waxing to a whole new level. The girl waxing out of the storage closet, desperate to help people feel comfortable with the uncomfortable is so proud.
Breana, 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?
Being the crazy optimist that I am, at 19 I found myself naked in the esthetics room, at the back of the beauty school I was attending, about to be the class guiniepig for Brazilian waxing. As painful and horrifying as that experience was, I would have never guessed I would be here today, about to tell you how I’ve turned Brazilian Waxing into something hundreds of women enjoy doing every month and actually LOOK FORWARD to as part of their self care routine.
After being licensed in the state of California as a Cosmetologist in 2014, I spend 3 years working for various fast food chains and corporate retail structures. Unable to find my passion and really low on funds. I was actually fired from what I thought was going to be my career in medical billing and coding. I went in for my usual appointment at the local chain waxing facility, crying about how I wasn’t going to be able to afford my wax until I found another job. My waxer suggested working there! Why not, she says, working here gets you free waxing and you’re not using your license!
Needless to say, the experience wasn’t as bad as being the test dummy for a class of 5 students in the back of the esthetics department of beauty school. However, I was never so impressed with my wax experience, that I would want to be the one to have to perform that on another person. It wasn’t the nakedness or the close proximity to buttholes that bothered me as much as the idea of treating people like a piece of meat. In and out, quick and fast, very impersonal and very intimidating was my experience at the corporate wax facilities.
Why keep going then, you ask? Well, as is for most women who choose waxing, a bad wax experience was still better than shaving to me. As a curly haired teen who swam competitively and shaved my bikini line all through high school, I was prone to terrible cystic ingrown hairs and dealt with some of the worst scar tissue all over my bikini line. Come to find out I wasn’t as alone as I thought I was. So, the free waxing got me in the door for training and after one day, I was hooked. I knew I had found my calling when I watched these women come in terrified and walk out confident.
I realized that the experience is 75% metal. If you treat people right, comfort them, let them know they are not alone, they are in control of the appointment, give them tools to self soothe and get through a terrifying experience, it can actually become euphoric. It can actually be an act of self LOVE and CARE.
After spending a little over a year working for them when I realized, I was what people were coming there for. Not the lifeless, robotic system they had built. I had managed to maintain top prebooking percentages along with sales and add on services. Everything was a numbers game, so I was well aware of how good I had actually become.
Leaving the corporate structure was a huge act of bravery and leap of faith. Never second guess your gut feelings, they are always leading you closer to your souls purpose. My first priority was to create a space that felt safe, weather I was renting out of a closet, a busy salon, or trying to fill 700 square feet of body positive artwork and sensory calming activities.
Over the years, I’ve filled my shelves with retail from small, local, women owned businesses. I have successfully healed my chronic bikini line irritation. I never sell anything I don’t use and believe in. It’s very important to me that anyone who trust me with their body knows they are safe and cared for.
Waxing was the gateway for me to realize that I am a girls girl. I love seeing women in their power and feeling good about themselves. I love being able to provide stability and safety in such a vulnerable and scary situation. I do not take for granted the level or trust it takes each client to allow me to do my job. This is why I call myself an expert in The First Brazilian Wax Experience. The first time will either traumatize you forever or transform your life for the better! With over 500 five star reviews, I am confident you will walk away shocked at how easy waxing can be!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Being an expert at something most people don’t discus in public makes it hard to get word of mouth. Building a reputation that speaks for itself came with years of high risk honesty. My “brand” is truly just me being ME at its core. My business page became somewhat of a personal page on instagram because truthfully, people don’t want to get naked for a stranger. They need to feel like they know you and can trust you. It can be hard at times to draw the line and boundaries of what to share and what to keep personal. Over the years,I have grown and changed many times. I find my clientele growing and changing with me. The ones who no longer align with my policies, prices and standards will fall off the books and make room for new people who are excited to get to know me where I am. I believe my reputation is honesty, it’s not always pretty and may make some uncomfortable, but I pride myself in making the uncomfortable, comfortable. Breaking down systematic ways of thinking that keep us in a box and promoting free thinking and expression of all kinds. Find what makes you unique, nourish that. That is your super power, not your flaw.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Thinking that you have to keep a “professional” identity at all times and worrying about what people will think was something I had to overcome. Even being the person who shouts from the rooftops for all of my clients to fully embrace who they are and love themselves just as they are. As my spiritual journey unfolded and I started to offer things like sound baths and waist beads to my clients, I started to doubt myself and wonder who would stop coming to me for their waxing because of the stigma around energy work.
Funny how being the person who had dedicated myself to breaking stigma around body shaming would then question if it was safe to share this part of my life. So, as before, I had to create that safety within myself first. By holding space to express this new found interest without shame, I allowed room for others to share with me their own interests and findings. I will never forget a client telling me, as I’m waxing her eyebrows and trying not to let my tears drip on her, “ Your clients open their hearts to you, we love and appreciate everything you do for us. If anyone is uncomfortable with the direction your business is going, it’s okay to let them go. That’s not a reflection of you. This is just the evolution of you, therefore it will be the evolution of your business. And I’m excited to see where it takes you!”
This opened up a whole new world for me, leading to another business entirely. Skin & Soul Sanctuary would not be possible if not for the soul retrieval that was done and shared openly! Being open to learning and unlearning is what it’s all about. Vulnerability, honesty and unconditional love and acceptance for yourself!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bizzybreswax.com
- Instagram: @bres_wax @skin.soul.sanctuary
