We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Seung Szczechowski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Seung thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
I started my permanent makeup business in 2008. We moved to Frisco in 2006, just prior to my husband retiring from the Air Force. I was working for the owner in a successful, moderate-sized salon with a group of other estheticians, beauticians, and hair stylists, and had established a fairly nice clientele, doing mostly facials. Surprisingly, right around Christmas, the owner of the salon gave notice that he was closing his business. And just like that, I no longer had an office, or a job! I was stunned and anxious at first, but quickly focused on what I could do to continue my career aspirations and to help to provide needed income for our family. Never one to submit to despair – or to sit still – I quickly regrouped and looked for a way to move forward. Within a matter of days – which is pretty remarkable to me, when I look back on it – I had walked into Imagique Studios in Plano, leased a small studio there, and began furnishing it from scratch. I started focusing on permanent makeup services, while still providing facials and other skincare services to my wonderful clients, who loyally followed me to my new start at Imagique – and to whom I will be forever grateful.
I could say that I wish I had acquired the skills and expertise that I now have at an earlier time in my life, but at the same time, it seems as though fate has steered me to this station in my career and in my life. I do believe that things happen for a reason, and being thrust out of work, I had to come up with a plan to move forward. With the Lord’s blessings and guidance, I established my own business out of necessity. And I realized that, in addition to having a passion for knowledge, beauty, and permanent makeup, I was passionate about being a boss, owning my business, and paving my own path forward.
Seung, 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?
Hello! I am Seung Szczechowski – the owner of Tashi Brow & Skin Studio. I am a permanent makeup artist, trainer and esthetician, and have been in the health and beauty industry for more than 26 years, with over 15 years in permanent makeup. After training and receiving my certification and license, I added permanent makeup service to my skincare menu in 2008, and have never looked back. I have performed in excess of 10,000 permanent makeup procedures over the years on a large and widely diverse clientele of women and men.
One of the factors that makes my studio stand out is my continuous drive for knowledge. When I first started getting into permanent makeup, I would often fall asleep with my glasses still on, my snores muffled by the pages of a color theory textbook. Then, after mastering the theory behind PMU, I enhanced my technique by taking classes from the world’s best professionals: standouts in the industry like Sviatoslave Otchenash, Natalia Yeremenko, Teryn Darling, and Mary Richardson, to name a few. Eventually, I transformed from student to trainer, but even then, I wasn’t happy staying stagnant, but wanted to learn better and newer techniques.
In addition to creating beautiful permanent brows, I offer a medley of permanent makeup services, including lip blushing and permanent eyeliner. I also perform SMP (scalp micropigmentation) on clients with hair loss, as well as microneedling. Although I’ve devoted a large chunk of my life towards brows, I’m very proud of my microneedling skills as well. Microneedling is a minimally invasive procedure that helps reduce the appearance of scars, wrinkles, stretch marks, and more. Not only do my clients adore the results, but I’ve even had doctors ask me to help them perfect the technique! In fact, I love microneedling so much that I perform it on myself, as well.
At the end of the day, no matter what service my clients come to me for, I put a hundred percent of my knowledge and passion into the session. Part of that is because of my drive for perfection and my competitive nature, but mostly, it’s because I believe everyone deserves to feel confident and beautiful. And every time I get another five-star review or see a client glowing with happiness, I know that I’ve chosen the right field.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
When it comes to building a social media presence, I find the most important factors are depth over breadth as well as consistency. With the amount of different social media platforms that exist, the impulse to chase after the next shiny new thing can be hard to resist, but instead of posting infrequently on seventeen different platforms, focus on posting more often on one or two of your favorite social media sites. At Tashi Brow & Skin Studio, we aim to post at least three times a week on both Facebook and Instagram. We occasionally post more often – for instance, if we are running a promotion or if we’re nearing a holiday – but we try not to oversaturate people’s social feeds, which could result in them unfollowing the page. The same applies to hashtags: you want to use a handful of relevant ones, but too many can make your post look inauthentic or spammy.
I think it’s also important to ask yourself: what does a successful social media presence look like to me? For some people, success is defined by a high number of followers. In that case, running giveaways might be important, as well as allocating funding towards boosting posts. However, for me, social media success is defined less by numbers, and more by engagement. I’d rather have 10 followers who consistently like or comment on my posts than 10,000 followers who are inactive and never interact with my content. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with either approach – but know what you’re searching for, so that you can start manifesting it!
And most importantly: be patient. While your social account might not blow up within the first few months, you’ll find your people eventually. And they’ll be grateful to have found you, as well!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I’ve often found that the best source of marketing comes from someone’s own personal experience, or the experience of someone that they trust. Because of this, my best source of new clients is actually from existing clients! I am so fortunate to have cultivated strong relationships with many of my loyal customers – a number of whom also work in the health and wellness field – and they often refer their clients to me. Because permanent makeup can last several years, customers are naturally selective about which technician they choose, and that’s why I find that it’s best to let my work speak for itself. I have been working in the permanent makeup industry for over fifteen years now, and I give each client my all! Then, when they go out into the world, their friends, relatives, and co-workers see their new, beautiful brows and witness firsthand just how transformative a visit to Tashi Brow & Skin studio can be. In this way, all of my clients are walking advertisements!
And while I’ve experimented with ads and promotions in the past, they were rarely worth the time or money I put into them. Word-of-mouth has always been more impactful for us; that’s why I always ask my existing clients to share their experience via reviews on Google. Our consistently high reviews and positive customer experiences offer a promising sign to any potential clients – and don’t cost a dime on our end!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tashibrowstudio.com
- Instagram: @tashibrow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tashibrow/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tashi-brow-and-skin-studio-plano
Image Credits
Seung Szczechowski Natalie Szczechowski