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

Emily, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Opening a skincare studio in the midst of the country shutting down is a pretty big risk in my eyes. Deciding to go out on my own was not something I even fathomed until March 2020. As I was getting ready for work one morning I was let go from the spa I worked at for nearly 5 years and it happened before the COVID lockdown. My old boss sent me a text message before the work day started to inform, she said it was because I refused to sign a non compete. Which came as a surprise after working for her for years and going to esthetics school together. 1 week later the pandemic took the world by storm and I couldn’t even start to look for a job due to the unknowns – nobody was hiring. I applied for countless jobs within the corporate world and even in new cities with absolutely non luck. So with not working and the forced down time, I spent many sleepless nights coming up with my business plan. It didn’t happen overnight and took lots of resilience along with just a little bit of hope. Thus came the grand idea to open my very own skin studio where I would offer personal and intimate beauty services during a pandemic, that had everyone scared to step out of the house without a mask on. So in August of 2020 Lunar Beauty Bar opened its doors to anyone who was willing to walk in and receive a facial. And here I am nearly 3.5 years later still open and thriving.

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

My name is Emily Zook and I own Lunar Beauty Bar located in downtown Cincinnati Ohio. In 2012 I enrolled in an esthetics program at a beauty school after trying 2 different colleges and majors with no love or interest in anything. I was working for a family member who owned a wellness center and she mentioned wanting to hire an esthetician. At the time I had no idea what that was, which was surprising because I dealt with severe acne for years in high school. Over the summer I went and toured the school then decided to give it a go, so to say it was a long shot is an understatement. In the beginning, my goal was to graduate and work for a cruise line or at a resort but my first job was at a high end salon in Columbus Ohio. Now over 10 years later I own my own skincare studio and have 1 employee working for me. At Lunar Beauty Bar we offer customized facials, facial waxing, brow tinting, and spray tans. Everything we do at LBB is extremely dependent on the client and their needs/goals. We are not your cookie cutter salon that provides whatever service you booked just because. Even my clients who come in monthly get an in depth skin consultation before we start the service. Our goal is to have you feeling confident and radiant in your own skin without makeup and filters. I am most proud of the community and excitement we have created and continue to grow.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When you throw in all the components of opening a new business but add the element of a global pandemic you are left with some serious struggles. Within just a few months I had to get a part time job working at a fitness studio showing up at 6am and heading straight Lunar after. Then at the 6 month mark I had to add in a 3rd job bartending in the evenings. This all went on until April of 2021 when I decided that I may be busy enough with clients to focus solely on my business. Sometimes I think back on those hard times and wonder how I even made it or slept through the night. But the thing is, when passion and resilience are there along side having no other options, you will do just about anything to stay afloat.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

From the beginning one of my main focuses was to ensure I fostered a sense of community and connection. Partnering with local small businesses to showcase their art and goods is still something that is very important to me. Currently we sell items from 4 Cincinnati based businesses. There have been many local influencers and community leaders I have worked with to stay relevant and speak about what we offer. Something else I think has helped build my reputation is that I have over a decade of experience and stay current with skincare trends. Staying stagnant or getting comfortable isn’t in my nature and I think my clients appreciate that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lunarbeautyotr.com/
• Instagram: @lunarbeautybarotr
• Facebook: Lunar Beauty Bar

Image Credits
Huda Alawi (only a few pics)