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

Alright, Nelida thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

What made me say “Just Do It!” I was working for a company and I didn’t feel valued, protected and respected as an esthetician, I noticed that I was falling right back into that rabbit hole that I was in before, I knew that I had the knowledge to branch off on my own and I remember praying to God and asking him to give me that courage and the strength to do this on my own. I started writing down my ideas, what I wanted for my brand and business, what services I wanted to provide and overall how I wanted my new clients to feel once they were with me. I sat everyday writing down menus, contents, having a real plan of what I wanted my business to look and feel like,

When I first started Renee Esthetics I started in my room doing eyebrows, I would do Brow Shaping, Tinting and Brow Lamination along with Lash Tinting. That’s all I did for months, I would book my appointment and do all my clients in my room. My setup was small, I brought all the supplies I needed to get me through the first few months and it started to grow more and more. Once I was able to save from working for myself and working a 2nd job I was able to get my first suite and there was the real birth of my business Renee Esthetics. For the first few months, I built my clientele by doing free services, giving discounts and handing out flyers, business cards and posting every single day on social media. I didn’t have a large clientele going into the business, I had to work hard every day to build a great relationship with people and build a great rapport with my new beautiful clients. This allowed me to get to know people, have some great conversations and allowed my clients to feel comfortable with me. After a few months, I noticed a difference in my schedule, having days that were filled with appointments and that’s when I finally felt like I was making a difference and this was going to work. My heart is always overwhelmed with joy when I have clients that I feel comfortable with and we have deep conversations that I feel there’s a connection there between the two of us. I’ve had clients allow themselves to be vulnerable and let me into their lives that some have become good friends of mine. Once a Client, Now a Friend! Renee Esthetics truly changed my life, through the good, bad and ugly I wouldn’t change anything because I see the beauty in what i’m doing, it’s my dream that I turned into a reality.

Nelida , 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?

I started out as a Makeup Artist, I used to get so much joy seeing the reactions whenever I would hand my clients the mirror. My motto is always “I’m here to enhance your beauty” . I’m not here to change anything but with skincare it’s different. I realized that as a Licensed Esthetician, I am responsible for making sure I help fix those imperfections a client may have. I have to resolve those issues for them and I try my best to give them the best results possible. I specialize in Facial Treatments, Body Waxing, Face Waxing, Eyebrow Service & Permanent Eyebrow Services.

Renee Esthetics originally started in 2014 when I decided to go to Esthetics School and pursue this beautiful career that I love so much. I was working at this job that I hated, I didn’t feel fulfilled or happy for 3 years. I remember having a conversation with my mother and she noticed that I was falling into a depression, this was before I really started taking care of my mental health and recognizing the signs of depression. My Mother would ask me day after day “What do you want to do with yourself?” At the time I was 24 working at this job that I hated so much, wasn’t motivated to do anything, gaining weight and ignoring my friends and family because I wasn’t sure of what were my next steps in my life. My Mother would continue to ask me “What do you want to do? You have to figure it out because you aren’t happy, something has to change” I replied to her ” I actually like doing makeup”. Her response to that was “Find a School and learn more about your craft!”
That same year my beloved Grandmother brought me my first makeup kit, it had everything from Lipstick, Blush, Eyeshadows you name it, it had everything. I remember practicing with that kit all the time and I got better and better but I still want to find a school for makeup. I would wake up in the morning, put on the radio and do my makeup to get ready for work. The more I practiced the better I was becoming in my makeup skills.
I eventually found the perfect school for me and it was Christine Valmy for Esthetics, Skin Care and Makeup. I graduated in August 2015 and was ready to take open the world of Esthetics and Makeup. After graduating Esthetics school I worked for different brands throughout the years and I gained the knowledge of service, customer service, products and knowing the ins and outs of a business that I knew one day I wanted to run a business of my own one day.

I am most proud of how much I’ve grown as a business woman and seeing my clientele grow bigger and bigger, I’m the first person in my family to have a business so there is no blueprint for me, no handbook that will teach me everything or get the advice that I need to keep pushing. I am learning as I go, that is something I’m very proud of because most people would’ve given up. My Mother who is so supportive and my rock throughout this journey really stands beside me when it comes to my business and making sure I’m headed down the right path. I want my followers, potential clients and loyal clients to know that I am here for you! I always make my clients feel comfortable when they are around me, when you are receiving services you want to feel comfortable with the person that’s servicing you. I will always make sure my clients are comfortable, that’s my #1 priority along with making sure everyone has a great amazing experience at Renee Esthetics. I love what I do and because of that it shows in my work, I’m a perfectionist and I will work overtime just to make sure I am satisfied before showing the client my work. I always say “You are walking around with my name on you” no matter if I gave you a Brazilian Wax, Brow Shaping, Facial Treatment, anything My Name and Brand is attached to that, I want everyone to leave here with a smile and feeling good about themselves. That’s my goal!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Social Media! I was always a social media type of person so I knew that I would have to work overtime on social media to make sure I got the following that I wanted. Constantly creating content, videos no matter if it was educational videos, funny videos, entertainment videos I would set my camera up with my tripod and record. The first video that went viral for me was of me setting up the room, getting all my supplies together and prepping for my clients for the day. Once I saw that people actually like watching those videos I made more each day. After that I started to record more content like services that was something that people loved seeing, if I was watching a video on extractions or waxing video. One thing I did invest in was promoting my pictures and videos on social media for more exposure, to gain a bigger audience, I wouldn’t mind paying that extra $50 to promote my brand and business.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I remember I was struggling to keep up the business, money wasn’t coming in fast enough and I was mentally not good having a few meltdowns because I knew that I could do it but I didn’t have all of the tools to make it work. I had one hard week of just feeling a little down and trying to pick myself up again, I remember I kept telling myself to keep posting and keep being active on social media. It will pay off. The very next day, I got a DM from a skincare brand to possibly repost one of my videos, I use this skincare brand on all my clients and I always tag them in my videos. That one video repost turned into them asking me to be a part of the brand and shoot videos for their Instagram page. I went from not knowing what was next for me or my next move to partnering up with one of the biggest skincare brands. I never gave up, I always kept the faith and I always believed in myself no matter what.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ReneeEsthetics.online
• Instagram: Renee.Esthetics
• Facebook: Renee.Esthetics
• Twitter: ReneeEsthetics
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/renee-esthetics-brooklyn

Image Credits
Sergeant Creative Studios – Kai Tsehay