Denise Barbosa of Brows By Denise: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder
By: Authority Magazine
Tags: Business

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

It all started in my porch in Queens NY, as a hobby. I started doing my own nails, my coworkers at FEDEX started looking at my nails and offered their hands to practice on them, soon they were recommending all their friends and family, as I worked on their nails I offered to do their brows, at no charge I could see the transformation on my clients and noticing how different the face looked and the feeling my clients received. They felt beautiful. I got so busy with brows I did not have time to do nails, I realized that was my calling. I knew Brow Artistry was what I wanted to focus on and to master that skill and be the best at perfecting a well shaped brow.

My expertise comes from training with some of the most Elite Artists in NY and California, this is where I developed my own technique in Designing Brows making sure the eyebrow is aligned according to your bone structure, making your Arches peak exactly where they should be, and bringing definition to a brow which is my mission in creating a well designed brow.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

It was not easy but I knew, when you want something bad you just gotta try harder, I started saving and using all my income from my home business to pay for my school, workshops and seminars and started taking clients after work, to gain some extra income, sometimes saying to myself is this really going to work, and sometimes thinking I want to just give up but inside I knew It had to work.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

Through my friends, family and clients, every time I could see my work improving it gave me the drive to continue and to work even more! I realized with every class and workshop I took I learned something new and I took that straight to my clients to practice which made my confidence level better in creating my skill set to rise.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Today I can say thru all the sweat and tears and yes there were a lot of tears, for every dollar I made I reinvested into my education… but this is what made me appreciate what I have today ….it was worth it keeping focus and not giving up..my Dream .. is what has made me who I am today.

I still continue to love what I do and would not change anything! I always say the clients that have supported me and encouraged me, is who I owe my success too , have been there for me and have become my loyal clients and fans, every time I learned something new they would always say to me go ahead try it on me, now that’s love.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was removing too much hair on an eyebrow, adding brow makeup that was so dark to hide my mistake and me telling her they look beautiful! …they really looked bad. The lesson I learned is to always tell your client the truth if you make a mistake they will respect you more, and maybe may still come back.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I am a Natural Brow Artist that helps you grow out your brows, most people give up on their brows due to not seeing a qualified Professional that strictly masters brows, they often think their Brows will never grow and cannot be saved, I am their Brow “Savior”

One particular story I remember a young lady walking into my salon crying in tears, and explaining how someone else destroyed her brows and she did not know what to do , I put her on my Brow Recovery Program, advising the steps and would she had to do, it was a journey we would take together to recover her brows, several months down we had a beautiful shape and the brow was progressing beautifully.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

I have created a chapter on my Brow Training Manual called Self-Care advising the girls it’s ok to take some time off to RECHARGE ..it’s the only way to get refreshed, and to grow.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

For me it was my husband (Jerry ) who I’m ‘s grateful for he encouraged me to at least try! When I started my business, I remember working in a salon really small it was myself and the owner, I wanted to gain more experience so I started working one day a week, I loved it, I wanted to gain the experience of actually working in a salon and learn how everything functions on a day to day basis ..one day the owner said I need to sell my biz are you interested? I told her but I have no money, she said its ok denise you are a hard worker you can pay me weekly, I said I don’t know if I can afford it she then said whatever you can give me is ok, I know my clients will be in good hands with you, I thought about it calling my husband immediately, I never forget what my husband said “ it’s your passion” you will make it work DO IT, and that was the beginning to the wonderful world of BrowsbyDenise and three Salons later.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I love what I do creating beautiful Brows, seeing the transformations, the look on their faces, of feeling beautiful, a sense of well being, but most important making them feel good about themselves, no matter who you are and where you come from you are special to me .. they are my celebrity clients when they sit in my chair

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1- You are going to make mistakes…don’t be afraid of them, use them as a learning experience

2- Failures… it’s all about learning to manage a business, some things will work and some things will not work, it’s not the end of the world.

3- Not having all the answers…no one has all the answers to owning a successful biz its trial and error sometimes… but still move on and keep focused.

4- Stay motivated …. Keeping up with times and trends, education, education, education you need to find the time it’s the only way to grow.

5- Don’t be afraid to ask for help…. It’s not that you are a failure when you do this it really shows strength and commitment, you can’t do it alone.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

“Women with Purpose”. Don’t let your circumstances of your past define you, look ahead and dream, dreams do come true.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Follow me on social media: Browsbydenise LI/NY

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!