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

Tetiana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

The absolutely craziest thing that has ever happened to me in my time as a business owner, was definitely a negative experience.

When I was just starting to look for a space to be able to expand past my 1 person suite, I would go to this esthetician who would do my facials.
One day, was telling her what I was up to, and told her that I was seeking to find a space to accommodate my business. She asked me excitedly, why don’t we go into a space together? Our licensing and permitting would be easy to obtain because we’re similar specialities, and it will overall be cheaper for both of us.
I didn’t really think it would be too crazy to consider, so I accepted. We sought out a suite with a waiting room and 2 service rooms, and settled in and excitedly waited for the first day for us to open.

From that first day, it snowballed into craziness.

She wanted everything her way from the beginning, and never wanted to respect my wishes or contributions to the studio.
Anytime she communicated anything it was through screaming at my face. At some point she became increasingly more unhinged and it really became obvious that she was just really unprofessional and shouldn’t be in the service industry.

At the time, 3 years ago I hired help for to manage the studio and front desk, because I was getting busier with more clients and wasn’t able to handle it all myself anymore, and she exclaimed that I shouldn’t hire anyone or make any employee decisions without her approval. (Readers, keep in mind, we have separate businesses, we’re only sharing the space together.)

She started becoming more and more erratic and abrasive. Even in front of my and her clients. Which was so embarrassing. At one point screaming bloody murder because I bought a mini fridge for refreshments for the studio, again “without her approval”. She demanded I move the new things I bought to make our space nicer, and by demanded I mean she physically got in front of my face and in this particular occasion she highlighted her point but throwing a box of tea at me. Alongside threatening me. I did take the proper channels and made a police report, but was unable to get a restraining order or to get out of the lease after this incident.

I tried reasoning with her and attempted to buy her out of the lease, and she refused. I then tried to convince her that I’ll leave and she could keep everything in the studio that we bought together and leave and transfer the lease to her name. To this she initially said yes. So I signed a new lease elsewhere by myself. After my signing, she went back and said that she changed her mind and I would still be responsible and liable to my portion of the lease with her, or she will sue me and my business.

Mentally I was so stressed out, and scared of anything she may do to hurt me physically or my business. I tried to reason with her but she would actively go out of her way to deny me and anything I had to say. In the end, I just had to wait out my lease term, and was able to find someone to rent my suite in our shared studio for the duration of the lease all while praying she wouldn’t do something crazy.

Finally, the term ended, and I was able to say good riddance to her. I really learned my lesson, and it’s so important to make sure you know who you’re going into business with.

I found out some time later, that karma is so absolutely real, that she was in the midst of being sued herself for her business doing something she wasn’t supposed to.

It’s an experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy – but truly taught me how to persevere and to be super absolutely sure with the people you choose to do business with, because not everyone has your best intentions in mind.
It’s been the most negative experience in my career, but now I know exactly what not to do in the future.

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

Hello everyone, for those of you who don’t know, I’m Tetiana Zverieva, owner, Master lash artist, and pro educator at Tati Lashes Studio in Aventura, FL. We’re a full lash service studio, where we specialize in luxury lash extensions. We’ve competed in, won, judged and participated in countless lash extension competitions in the United States, Europe and Asia.

I also facilitate lash extension courses where I teach students my techniques and methods to achieve the very best quality of lash extensions.

I got into the lash industry almost 10 years ago in the Ukraine when I was searching for something more challenging than the work I was doing and have been doing lashes ever since.

We’re different from other lash studios simply because we’re not trying to just give you a lash service and that’s it. We always try to make sure that our clients know that when they come to Tati Lashes, they’ll be treated as an extension of our family.
We go above and beyond with our clients by making sure we use only the best materials, use techniques that we have gained from award winning competitions around the world, maintain the health and hygiene of their natural lashes and that they understand that we’ll always try to do whatever we can for them. I’m proud to say that the customer service you receive here is unmatched to any other studio you may have ever gone to. The environment in our studio is relaxing and so nice to just hang out in before or after your service. When you’re here we always try to melt your troubles away and provide a few hours of peace and serenity.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Our reputation is one that is centered towards maintaining quality over anything else. We do not use cheap materials, we only specialize in the very best techniques and methods for applying lash extensions for all of our clients. We pride ourselves in educating our lash artists in the methods used in lash extension competitions all over the world.

We cultivate an environment in our studio that is relaxing, and nurturing for every client. Making sure that every client is well taken care of and insuring that they leave happy every session.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients come from our current clients.

Our clients always refer so many beautiful new customers just based on the way that we service and take care of them. That of course makes for a big impact every time and our clients see that and always refer their friends and coworkers to our space.

We utilize the regular channels of course; social media, Google Ads, and Yelp.
But time and time again, the best way to receive new clients is from word of mouth and maintaining our presence as one of, if not the best lash studio in the area.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tatilashes.pro
• Instagram: instagram.com/tati.lashes.studio
• Facebook: Facebook.com/tati.lashesmia
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tati-lashes-studio-miami-2