We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Stites. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Doing eyebrows is an instant gratification for both the client and a provider. You do brows, you get paid right then and there. This made any other type of business model scary. So starting a product line was a huge risk investing in a TON of costs for manufacturers, labels, packaging, design to hope to sell products was a huge risk. It was outside of my comfort zone but I knew my brand was needed in the industry. At first I ordered minimum quantities in my packaging which made things more expensive but as time went one, sales went up, I was able to confidently order in bulk to keep costs down for both myself and my customer. So far my product line, Brow Fox Beauty is in over 30 states and doing well!

Emily, 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 am a licensed esthetician since 2015, specializing in eyebrow shaping in San Luis Obispo, Ca. I actually used to be a teacher but decided to go all in as an esthetician. I actually went to beauty school when I was pregnant for the first time! The Suite Spot slo is a Salon Suites. My salon suites is filled with wonderful small beauty businesses.

I am a Brow Expert and trainer for company Brow Down Professional.

I recently opened a Brow Bar inside of The Suite Spot offering brow services such as Brow Lamination, Brow Shaping, Brow Tinting and waxing. I’m lucky to have a team of talented Brow babes ready to serve clients!

The Suite Spot slo is a Salon Suites. My salon suites is filled with wonderful small beauty businesses.

Brow Fox Beauty is my product line that I’ve built for professional estheticians to use on their clients and retail in their treatment room. It’s. all made in the USA and I love made sustainably which is important to me.

Brow Fox Beauty also offers tons of education for pros, which helps professional estheticians cover all bases when it comes to their businesses.

I’m proud that I pursued my vision of having a quality line of products and created a place where women can work together and feel inspired and supported. My clients have taught me so much and I love spoiling them and am excited to be back in the suite after taking some time off my feet, during my last pregnancy and maternity leave.

Most of all, I love that I have the flexibility to make my schedule the way I want so that I can still be a present mom and wife. That’s why I created my course on salon suites and I can’t wait to help other’s find their own freedom of flexibility.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Yes I do manufacture my products! I did have some knowledge on the process with my Brow Fox Beauty line. I found my current manufacturer through a vendor in 2020 during the pandemic at an outdoor market that I put on. I really liked their manufacturing process. I asked them if they’d be willing to take me on as a client and help me manufacture my products!

We created many versions of the products that I have, including my best seller Like Laminate. Now they create 5 of my current products.

This actually was my second go around with manufacturing. I had to learn a hard lesson because I didn’t claim rights to the product formula right in the beginning. It was actually a great company but I did lose the product formulation because there wasn’t a clear contract. This was in 2018 and it was a devastating lesson to learn, so I took that lesson and applied it to my current and most recent manufacturer. I created a clear contract with them and we’ve been able to create

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to pivot when I had my firstborn 8 years ago. I had to get my beauty license to work at this spa, which was part of the resort that I worked at. I thought that my benefits and hourly pay would transfer but found out that on my first check, I was only earning commissions. I wasn’t getting paid for any hours other than when I was working on a client. That would not work, providing for my child. I needed more security and flexibility to be there for my daughter and make money to support us.

I had to pivot and go somewhere else and start renting a room to perform as a new esthetician. It was a huge risk but I made it work! I learned how to create a website, get insurance and get all the supplies. It luckily worked out so that I could walk home in between clients so I could nurse my baby. It made me work really hard but I realized that I could be there for my daughter and I could run my own business. It was the best thing for us and it taught me a lot and guided me to become the business owner that I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://browfoxbeauty.com/
• Instagram: @thebrowfox
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bythebrowfox
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-brow-fox-san-luis-obispo