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

Tamara, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

My second job ever was at a Culver’s Restaurant. I was 16 and had an awful first experience for a job, which was also fast food. I worked at Culver’s from two years as a team member. Over those two years I learned how to be a decent employee (although I wasn’t always). When I turned 18 I moved away from my hometown. I worked at as a bather at a PetSmart and then I worked in grocery store shortly after that. In the midst of working those jobs I found out I was pregnant.
That changed a lot for me. Long story short, I moved back to my hometown shortly after giving birth to my first daughter. I returned back to work at Culver’s. This time I attempted to be a better employee with the grace of the owner (Adam) once again. I was still figuring things out. Life, how to be a mom, what I wanted in life. I decided I wanted to go to Cosmetology school. So I quit Culver’s and went to school full time for the next 14ish months. I had always been interested in makeup and skin care. ( this is an important note for later). Once in school, I realized the main focus would really be on hair. This is something in my opinion you need to have a passion and natural hand at doing. I did not. I knew I had no business cutting anyone’s hair. Haha. Fast forward I finishing this schooling, but I do not get licensed. Instead I decide to once again go back to Culver’s. This is where the real work ethic picks up. I progress quite quickly from team member to a supervisor working my way over a few years to the 1st assistant manager. By this time I am second handily running the restaurant. Learning how to manage the scheduling, staffing, inventory, and the biggest challenge — manage people. After another couple years of doing that — I am officially the General Manager. I am running a multimillion dollar restaurant. I had anywhere from 55-65 employees and was able to grow a great leadership team with the help of Adam & my 1st assistant manager. Continuing to learn skills of how to run a business.
Fast forward to 3 years ago with a major life shift of getting divorced I opened my own business. I went back to Esthetician school while running this business and started to work it full time. All of the people & management skills I learned from Culver’s I still use in my business now. I truly believe that if I had not had all of those years and mentorship I would definitely have been struggling and may not be continuing to excel in being a Solo Esthetician and running my own business.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always had a passion for making people feel confident & beautiful in their own skin. That is my mission. To enhance the natural beauty & make my clients confident and find love for themselves. We are all truly so hard on ourselves for how we look or feel. I love helping my clients gain confidence & seeing their faces light up at the end of a service truly is the best reward.
When I went to Cosmetology school first 12 years ago, I realized that it did not focus one and I wanted to do most. So returning back to Esthetician school was definitely the best decision for my business.

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

Being a newly single mom to 2 daughters, while working at the restaurant and just starting a business was less than easy. There were definitely days where I felt like it was all too much. I carried guilt of not being presents for my kids or my team. I also felt guilty for not feeling like I could fulfill my dream without disappointing others that were counting on me. But having a great support system from not only my family but team really helped me to push through and continue on to school to become an Esthetician. There were lots of sweat, tears, and long hours put into completing this program.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I was very determined when I started this business that I would not take out any loans. I did not want to be in debt nor could I afford to with being a single mom. So I worked at the restaurant & my business for almost a year before I could venture off on my own. That was definitely a very hard thing for me to accomplish being on my own.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Tybeauty16