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

Alright, Raina 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?

Okay so, my tale of idea to execution involves leaving the industry I was working in for 10+ years, moving myself and my kids in with family members so I could pursue my education, moving across the country, obtaining multi-state licenses, and so much more!

To keep it sweet and simple – my passion is people, I am greatly fulfilled by adding value to people’s lives. At the same time, I do not like feeling undervalued nor bound by other people’s ideas and expectations. With that being said, I always knew I wanted something of my own – a brand, a business, something, I just wasn’t sure what.

I’ve lived with acne and hyperpigmentation since I was in high school and would naturally gravitate towards acne focused content on social media. I was scrolling though Instagram one day and it hit me like a bag of bricks… I wanted to get my Esthetics license, learn about the skin, fix my own, and help other people fix theirs too.

So began my journey. I met with my local Esthetics school admission counselor, took some tests, paid my deposit and was on my way. What’s really funny about the fact that I fell in love with waxing is that during my enrollment, I vividly remember telling my admissions counselor that I was not interested in waxing at all, only skin care. Life is funny like that.

I won a Beauty Changes Lives – Experts in Wax scholarship while in school, which was super cool. I took my Esthetics program very seriously. I did not miss a single day and I finished with a 96% GPA.

I spent the next year of my life moving from Nebraska to Texas, researching and obsessing over everything skincare and waxing related. I took trainings with industry professionals I respected, I joined every Facebook group, saved every social media post I found inspiring, and took notes on absolutely everything. I have way too many screenshots and albums in my phone dedicated to my newfound love.

I kept going back and forth with myself on whether to take the leap and open my own suite or, since I was new to the state, get a job and start trying to build relationships first. This period of indecision had me at a standstill and I lost my spark for a bit.

But, because the universe is divine and purposeful, it sent the match to light a fire under my ass. I received an email from one of the salons I had toured and they were offering 6 free weeks of rent for new renters. I took this as my sign to stop waiting for “the right time” and made right now the right time.

I paid my deposit at the beginning of 2022, I pulled out my notebooks, all my notes and albums, I downloaded Canva, and began my rough draft plans for The Boundless Kitten skin and waxing studio.

Literally one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Raina, 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?

My name is Raina, I am the owner and sole esthetician at The Boundless Kitten skin and waxing studio. I stepped into this industry on a whim and in faith, almost 3 years ago. I had spent the previous 10+ years in healthcare, which I’m extremely grateful for. My prior roles truly set me up to be very personable, understanding, and compassionate in this new chapter of my life.

My services include full body waxing, eyebrow sculpting, and acne focused skin care. While I am a service provider, the true goal of my business is to make people feel comfortable. I will always strive to provide a space and create an environment where people feel safe enough to be themselves and are allowed to honor themselves, unapologetically.

All are welcome at The Boundless Kitten, but currently my main clientele are women, women of color, “plus sized” women, and a ton of young free spirits. I am wholeheartedly dedicated to the underdog, and I am more than honored that my clients trust me enough to be so vulnerable at my place of business.

Intimate body waxing is my most popular service and understandably, people are nervous before they come! I take great pride in making what could be a very awkward and uncomfortable situation, not that way.

I’m just a weirdo/goofball at heart but I love what I do, and I hold myself to a high standard. I think these are the main things that set me apart from others in this industry.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I would say a big thing I had to overcome on this journey was my need for validation. I get so excited about the things that are important to me. When I learn about new topics or have a new idea, it feels like it fills my entire body and I’ll explode if I don’t let it out.

It was really discouraging when I finally decided that I was going down this new and exciting road and no one close to me shared my excitement. But instead of letting other people’s doubts and fears affect my plans, I simply stopped talking about it.

I got myself some notebooks, I wrote everything down. I scoured the internet and saved everything in my phone. I joined groups with likeminded people in the industry. The moment I decided to stop looking to the people around me for inspiration, it felt like everything changed for me. I began to see my life with more clarity; my visions and plans were no longer clouded with other people’s ideas and opinions.

The most beneficial thing I have done thus far was trust my intuition. I didn’t let the people who didn’t believe in me affect how I believed in myself and not once since I’ve been on this journey, have I ever thought about giving up.

There’s been tons of tough moments and setbacks and I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m going to keep going and growing.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

To fund my business, and hell, to go back even further than that… to fund my education to even start a business in this industry, I moved in with my sister to save money.

This was not an easy decision to make, for either of us. We both thrive in our own personal space. But, I knew it was necessary for me to follow my dream and she knew it meant a lot to me. So, my children and I moved in with her and stayed for 8 months while I completed my esthetics program and saved for our move to Texas.

I say no one shared my excitement in the new career path I had chosen but my family ultimately supported the decision I had made and really came together so that I could do what I needed to do for such a big change. I am forever grateful to them for that.

Without having to pay rent & utilities, I was able to purchase the majority of the big supplies that I needed for my business (waxing table, pots, supplies, etc) and it also allowed me the opportunity to buy and try out different products and see which ones I liked best prior to opening my space.

I know not everyone has a family member or friend who is able to do this for them. I also know we live in a time where everyone wants to be hyper-independent and not need anyone but honestly, we are better together. If you have someone to lean on for support while you are trying to bring your visions to life, utilize your resources.

If you don’t have anyone you can stay with to save money on housing costs, look for a roommate. If you get a tax return, use that. If you are in a business where you can work out of your home at first, do that and save up to branch out. If you know someone trustworthy, who works in your industry, try to create a partnership, split the costs.

However you can cut your normal expenses and put extra money into your dreams, do it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theboundlesskitten.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boundlesskittenwaxing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boundlesskitten
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rainathecatlady