Meet Carmela Mays: Business Owner

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

Hi Carmela, how do you define success?
For me defining success can be tricky because success is a continuum. It is ever-moving and always in motion. I don’t think success can be defined as a destination or a place where you arrive. I think the only logical way that success can be defined is how well you adjust to the journey it takes to get where you’re destined to be. Waking up everyday, feeling good about the choices you make, looking over the decisions you’ve made in the past, and deciding, not determining, that those decisions were in your best interests at the time, and that they created a path towards you being the best you you can be are all instruments that when used properly, create a narrative of success. Michelle Obama wrote my favorite quote about success in her autobiography Becoming. “Success isn’t about how your life looks to others. It’s about how it feels to you. We realized that being successful isn’t about being impressive, it’s about being inspired,” she wrote, “That’s what it means to be true to yourself.” I second that notion.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Quitting full-time work and going back to school in my 40s was no doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

I was a traditional student when I earned my bachelor’s degree in communications in the 90s. There are challenges that come along with higher education regardless of the circumstances, however the younger you are, the more flexibility you more commonly tend to have. When I earned my master’s degree, I was married, working full-time at a pretty demanding job, my husband was ill and needing full time care, to say that it was a challenging time for me, would be an understatement.

Those two experiences paled in comparison to the fortitude, patient, and resilience it took to complete the 10-month program needed to sit for the state board and become a licensed esthetician.

The classroom work, while it presented its set of challenges, wasn’t nearly as stressful as the time constraints, the testing, the completion of necessary practice hours, the compensation hours for absences, and the constant questioning of ‘am I doing the right thing’. Ultimately, I followed my gut (which by the way had NEVER led me astray) and regardless of how hard something is, there is something about following your gut that makes it feel less hard.

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.
Eat & Drink Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours Visit Apex Museum Hang Out- Fellaship Cigar Lounge Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family is the very definition of the wind beneath my wings. I would never have had the confidence to fly had it not been for the love they showed me very early on in my life.

Website: www.estheticprinciples.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/esthetic-principles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstheticPrncpls

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

Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC4dLpNw5PdlZa7cTCqt3xdA

Image Credits
Cas Thompson