Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shawnda Dorantes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shawnda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Although my parents were financially stable and resided somewhere in the middle upper class, they didn’t overly spoil me. Yes they gave me a car in high school but I was responsible for my car payments, gas, and paying half the insurance. I was responsible for paying my cell phone bill and any other luxuries I may have wanted. When I finally graduated from high school I immediately became responsible for all my own expenses except for rent, food, and healthcare. Despite it being within my parents means to provide for me while I pursued a college education it was important to them that I wasn’t entitled and that I had good work ethic. I can still hear my dad say, “No one is going to give it you. You have to work harder than the person next you.” Being financially responsible for myself from an early age made me look at and value money differently than my friends whose parents routinely lined their pockets. My parents taught me about credit and how to leverage it. They encouraged me to max out my 401k and 457b contributions even though I didn’t think I could afford it. They encouraged me to have multiple streams of income and to save for a rainy day. I realize now as an adult they were setting me up to become financially independent, and not be dependent on my partner. I may have thought they were hard on me at times way back then, but I wouldn’t have had the financial literacy needed to purchase my first home and start my business.

Shawnda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m an award winning Master Nurse Injector and Published Beauty Expert, and founder of Beauty Lounge Medical Spa, a leading, full-service aesthetic destination in San Marcos, Calif., a suburb of San Diego. I’ve been in the beauty industry for the past 17 years and registered nurse of over 12 years and Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner for over a year. I am best known for liquid rhinoplasty and full facial rejuvenation, as well as specialize in non-surgical PDO thread lifts. Beauty Lounge’s service offerings include botox, fillers, laser treatments, microneedling, non-surgical face lifts, body contouring, teeth whitening and results-driven skincare treatments. I

My entrepreneurial spirit was ingrained in me at an early age helping my parents run their family-owned business, and I attribute their guidance to my robust career as a Latina entrepreneur. As a former makeup artist, I began my career as Beauty Advisor for Estee Lauder and later became a freelance professional makeup artist for several other prestigious cosmetic lines. After securing multiple credits in film, print, and television for my work, I then joined Estee Lauder’s Regional Artistry Team while working my way through college. Upon triple majoring and earning baccalaureate degrees in Biological Sciences, Women’s Studies and Nursing from Cal State University San Marcos in 2007 and 2010. I then worked as a nurse in the acute care setting for over eight years and specialized in medical, surgical, telemetry and hospice care before entering the permanent makeup industry and opening Beauty Lounge in 2018.

Since merging my background in cosmetics and nursing, I became a licensed and certified cosmetic tattoo artist, I earned my Allergan Master injector certification, and received aesthetic training in several advanced and masters level injector courses led by famed industry injectors, Kelly Choi NP-C, Rio Calvert NP-C, Dr. Gideon Kwok, Dr. Thuy Doan, Julie Kaplan FNP-BC, Erika Berry NP-C. A huge proponent of education, I participate in ongoing seminars and attend medical conferences throughout the year to stay up to date on the latest non-surgical aesthetic techniques and evidence-based practices. I recently earned my Masters of Science in Nursing in April 2021 from the United States University in San Diego to become a certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP).

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely! I love my work and its my absolute passion in life. I wish I would have transitioned to aesthetics sooner. and pursued my masters degree years ago. However, I’m so thankful for my time spent as a hospice nurse and working at the bedside in acute care. My long career in nursing laid the ground work for me to be successful in NP school. Having working knowledge in wide variety of diagnoses, treatment protocols, and medications really made studying for board certification a breeze. My nursing background has definitely made me a stronger, more confident injector.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

I took a lot of risks to start my practice. I maxed out all my credit cards and cleared out my 401k account, to the tune of about 250k. I was scary broke for about two years. Over time I was able to pay off all my credit card balances and pay myself back. In addition I was fortunate enough to receive COVID19 grants and loans. When I started I had no idea how expensive it would be start my business. I learned a lot of expensive lessons along the way, and really wish I would have kept my overhead low and maximized profits before going into more and more debt.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beautyloungesanmarcos.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/beautynursepractitioner
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/beautyloungesanmarcos.