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

Wendi, appreciate you joining us today. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?

The best boss I ever had was a man named Steve Potts in Covina, California. He was a piercer who opened a tattoo shop. He always conducted himself professionally amongst clients. He was suave with his dialogue and always putting on the charm.Through his devilish grin he delivered a sales pitch as if he was escorting you through a magical amusement park, full of fun. When it came to the artists at the shop, he was always incredibly patient no matter what characters or situations he was dealing with. And corrupt occurrences were always more colorful and enduring back in the day. He seemed to always be there for us and understanding.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I got my first tattoo in the late 80s and that’s when I realized I wanted to be a tattoo artist. It wasn’t easy breaking into the industry back then as a young woman. It took me a couple years to land and apprenticeship with a shop owner that came from New York to South Florida and had a different point of view from the shop owners I had been approaching. I’m thankful to have had this to my present day. It gets harder and harder to strive in our industry due to multiple factors, both positive and negative. I value myself as being a tattoo artist to the family. I get the most gratification out of tattooing multiple generations in a family and having their trust. Many clients have become family to me .I’m thankful to have owned Tattoo shops since 2007 and had endless amazing artists sharing space with me and teaching me. I was happy to give a beginning to several of these individuals who I’m proud to see paving their own way today. My current shop, Dovetail Tattoo East, provides a laid-back environment with respectful people guiding you through the experience and doing their best to please you.We cover a variety of styles and cater to all walks of life and concepts. Throughout the years, I’ve enjoyed painting and assembling fantasy anthropomorphic creatures amongst other things. I’ve loved being a business owner and having the freedoms that come along with that such as creating your own space, creating your own schedule, and calling the shots. There are a lot of hardships with owning a business and you can feel unappreciated most of the time but it beats slaving away for someone else. I take pride in enabling other individuals to be their own boss for the most part. i’ll never be rich in my position, but I value consistency such as having the pleasure to work multiple years with a quality artist as well as having returning clientele who choose us out of a sea of shops.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

The old-fashioned way. I message them from time to time. I go out to where I know they hang out or they work and I visit and spend my money in those establishments. I network constantly and praise other hard-working Moms and Pops everywhere I go. Try to maintain compassion and understanding when people are struggling and still offer your services or to be there waiting on the other side. The Tattoo experience in particular is often a therapy session for both you and the client. You take turns playing these roles.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Last summer, I shut down the original Dovetail Tattoo due to overwhelming property taxes in addition to having to pay $20 a day to park in order to go to work. I was lucky enough to be able to move my entire crew over to Dovetail Tattoo East. It’s still stings.But life evolves. I’ve separated from my husband and finances have become more of a challenge therefore I am spending more time out of state working at a friend’s establishment and looking into my later years being elsewhere doing something new. I must re-create myself in order to thrive from this point on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dovetailtattoo.com
• Instagram: @wendiramireztattoo and @dovetailtattoo
• Facebook: wendi ramirez tattoo and Dovetail Tattoo