Meet Karen Johnson | Licensed Esthetician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karen Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karen, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Everyone always ask me, “How did you come up with your business?” and I tell him that I didn’t always know what I wanted to do until I went to college. I attended Central State University in 2015, majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. I knew that I always wanted to own my own business, but didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do until my mother said, “you need a side hustle while you’re in school, why don’t you start waxing brows since you know how to do your own”. When she said that, that’s when I began to do my own research of what profession falls behind brow waxing, how to do the service, sanitation, and tools I needed to perform the service. After so much research, I began to practice on my roommates/friends and the more I practiced the better I got. In 2017, I started to provide eyebrow waxing services to all of the girls on campus. Everyday after or between classes people always asked for my availability to get their brows done, and at that moment I knew I wanted to become a Licensed Esthetician. After discovering that I wanted to become a Licensed Esthetician, I did more research about what services can be provided. I bought a notebook and started to right down my mission statement, purpose, logo design, prices, services, target audience and etc. At this point I had my business plan all mapped out, but I still needed to know how do I get my licensed to be in the skin care industry. I started to look for schools in my hometown (Chicago) that provided an esthetics program and I found Tricoci University of Beauty Culture. I called to see when the next program opened for enrollment and they told me June 24, 2019. On May 4, 2019 I graduated college and the next month I enrolled in Esthetics school to follow my dreams. Now, I am a solo Licensed Esthetician specializing in body waxing & skin care services. My business is continuously growing, enjoying meeting new people, and taking other esthetic students under my wing to teach them what I know. I absolutely love what I do and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The name of my business is called Waxed Figure! When I thought of the name I thought about women practicing self care along with me providing waxing services. I reached out to a graphic designer and asked can she implement a woman’s body with bomb brows, the words waxed figure in colors purple, pink, white, and black. I am so proud of how I got into my own suite after six months of working in someone else’s shop. I was very determined to have my own space, completely funded with my own money, and to make it feel like home for clients when they come in. As of today, my clientele has grew tremendously! I did so many things to attract clients like: paid promotion on Facebook, post work on social media, refer a friend system, great customer service, excellent communication, network with other like minded people, pop-up shops (Black Women’s Expo), gave out business cards, verbal advertisement, wrote down all ideas and etc. People may look from the outside and think things are easy, but it’s not! You have moments you want to give up, compare where you are to others, business may be slow, BUT you have to keep going! You can not get discouraged by those things, life will always throw things at you but all you need is God,Faith, a Determined mind and the right people around you. In this business I have learned you can not please everybody, and even though you may be consumed with work you have to make time for yourself. I want the world to know that I am a Young Black Female Entrepreneur who is breaking generational curses and on the road to success! If I can do it, so can you!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Chicago is so beautiful, and I’m not just saying this because this is where I live. For starters, we’d have to go to Harold’s Chicken and get a six-piece with extra mild sauce lol. Day one we would go to Bottles and Bottega, which is paint & sip along with great music and friendly people. After painting, we’ll finish the night off eating at Paradise Park. Their food is the BOMB and the scenery is amazing! They offer so much food on their menu and my favorite is their jalapeño poppers topped with bacon bits. Of course you can’t come to Chicago without going to the Observation Deck. The Observation Deck is on the 94th floor of the John Hancock building, you enjoy food and drinks on the roof top while looking over downtown buildings and water. For dinner I would suggest going to a black owned soul food restaurant called Soule’. Let me tell you, THAT FOOD IS SO GOOD! I almost ate the my fingers off eating that food lol. The next day would be shopping spree day where we’ll go to Michigan Ave and shop till we drop! They have so many stores like, Sephora, Norstrom, Gucci, Neiman Marcus and etc. Of course after shopping you’ll need a break, one thing I think that would be cool after is taking a transportation tour. Riding the trans and buses to show how we get around on public transportation and seeing different sceneries. Then we’ll finish another night at Lucky Strike which is a bowling alley downtown that serves drinks and food. There is so much to see in Chicago that I wouldn’t even be able to take her everywhere lol. One thing that no other city has like Chicago is a beautiful Sky Line that lights up at night down lake shore drive.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Special shoutout to my mommy, Shondell. My mother is always my number one supporter! There are times where she’s tough on me, but now I understand that’s because she wants be to be the best that I can be and to reach my full potential. There has never been a moment where she wasn’t there, she’s been there for every accomplishment and to every ceremony big or small. Thank you for loving my unconditionally and believing in me.

Shoutout to my close college friends and my basil friends for always supporting me! Every like, share, and comment never goes unnoticed! Thank you for being family!

Website: www.waxedfigurellc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waxedfigure/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waxedfigure

Youtube: https://youtu.be/315_r6iDa3s