We were lucky to catch up with Monica Weagel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Monica, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

When the pandemic began, I was working for a Hotel Management Company. I had been in the industry for 18 years and had worked my way to my goal- a Regional Director of Sales. I was proud of my title, I was proud of the paycheck. I wore my corporate exhaustion like a badge of honor. When the world stopped and people stopped traveling things unraveled pretty quickly in the industry. I took a 40% pay cut and furloughed most of my team. The ones of us that were left picked up the slack and worked harder than ever. I lived in a constant state of fear that I would be the next one filing for unemployment. So I started thinking- what was my back up plan? I stopped for the first time in a long time and thought about what it is I really wanted to do, what did I enjoy? I had always wanted to go to cosmetology school. When I graduated High School, it was what I wanted to do, but I felt pressured to go to college and get a job and start the corporate grind. Over the years since then I had gone on multiple occasions to tour cosmetology schools. But it was never a good time, I didn’t have the money or the time or I had a baby. Life happened and I had a career and I just put it aside. So I started looking into school and came up with a plan to go to school at night and get my esthetician license- the plan was to do make up for weddings on the side. So I enrolled in school and went at night while working my job during the day. I sat in class with my work laptop and my school laptop and did both at the same time. Most of esthetician school is centered around skin care- with make up just being a small portion. And through that process I fell in love with skin care. I was fascinated by product ingredients and how they are made, and how they work. I couldn’t get enough of the science of skin. 4 months into this, my company had a “Reorganization” . It essentially pushed me out of my role. It was a demotion and I was devastated. The next day I sat in my stylists chair getting my hair done, crying. My stylist is a very close friend- as I sat there sobbing she announced that she had signed a lease on a space and was opening her own salon. There was a space for a treatment room. In that moment, Pure Skin Studio was born. I put my notice in the next day, I switched from part time school to full time school. And I was terrified. I had received a paycheck every two weeks for 20 years. I carried our families health insurance. I planned every second of my life up to this point to minimize all risk. I sat for my state board license exam on August 19th 2021 and took my first client 10 days later.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I offer skincare services- Facials, Waxing, Eyelash & Brow tinting When I decided to open my own skin care studio, I built it around these core values & beliefs:
1.I wanted to offer Vegan, cruelty free, natural & organic products. I selected the Vegan Line from Eminence Organics. As a company they offer the things that are important to me. They are leaping bunny certified (free of animal testing at all stages of product development). They plant a tree for every product sold. They use BioDynamic farming practices ( regard the plants and animals as a self supporting eco system that lives & breaths) they use recyclable packing with vegetable based inks. And my business meets the Green Spa certification requirements through Eminence Organics.

2.Eco friendly/Green- I will reduce, reuse & recycle as much as possible-Recycling and keeping things out of landfills is something that is important to me. Some of the things I do to make your treatment eco friendly are:
I use steamed towels in place of esthetic wipes
I use re-usable headbands (not disposable)
We have joined Green Circle Salons at the salon where I work to responsibly recycle and reclaim 95% of the waste that is created during your visit. Green Circle Salons partners with over 40 like-minded companies across North America like recycling facilities, chemical waste facilities, clean energy producers, bio-composite plastic producers. Through this program, any single use items I use during your service like gloves, waxing materials & tissues are used to make clean renewable energy. The leftover ash can be used for asphalt.

I believe that you deserve to look & feel your best
I believe that taking time for yourself is essential
I believe that giving people confidence is my purpose
I am trained in Oncology Esthetics- Through Oncology Training International. I modify services for those receiving cancer treatment or living with cancer. Eminence Organics has products that are approved by OTI to use during these services.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson that I had to unlearn was that controlling everything will minimize risk & failure. For 40 years I had carefully planned out every moment of my life (to remove risk & failure). I thought that if I could anticipate all possible scenarios and plan for them, I would avoid risk, avoid failure, avoid loss. By removing risk & avoiding failure, I also removed all the wonderful possibilities that my life had to offer. Avoiding failure is to avoid growth. Growth & Risk is where the magic happens.

When I quit my corporate job and decided to open my open business- in a moment when I felt the most out of control, the most vulnerable, the most at risk- was the moment I also felt free.

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

I opened my business with zero customers and no business loan. There were many weeks I sat there looking at my calendar with no appointments, no customers and no money in my business account. There were weeks I donated plasma to make enough money to pay my business rent. There were days when all my appointments cancelled and I sat in my car and cried. There were days when I looked at my maxed out credit cards and thought there is no way I can make this work. My commitment to myself keeps me from giving up. I know that I have so much to offer. I know that success takes time. I focus on how far I have come instead of how far I have to go.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pureskinfriscotx.com
• Instagram: @pure.skinstudio
• Facebook: Pure Skin Studio
• Linkedin: monica weagel

Image Credits
erica east photography