I want to start by saying thank you! Thank you to those have supported me, and well as my team. Thank you for supporting my dream in growing enough to need a new and bigger space, to need employees and support staff… without you it wouldn’t be possible. I will try and keep this brief but there is so much to share. This is only the beginning.
I want to rewind to six, almost seven years ago when this journey began. In the beginning, I honed in on acquiring skills that I felt were lacking yet also exciting enough to spark intrigue to add to our area. I wanted to be different and bring something to the table I felt would blossom and grow in the small cities and towns surrounding us, yet weren’t saturated just yet. My dream was so small six/seven years ago that I made up some flyers, and passed them out to people I knew hoping they would tell their friends. From there hopped from door to door offering my services and dropping off more flyers all about tans and lashes. I called myself Tan & Lash because I was the lady fulfilling those services, it just sort of made sense and fell into my lap. If nothing else, I wanted those that may have heard there is a tan and lash lady in the area, the opportunity to search it online using definitive words that described my services. It began to blossom in Crown Point first and then neighboring cities very quickly, before I knew it I had to designate certain cities to certain days so I could accommodate everyone. I was stretching across three counties at any given point of the week, sometimes for just 1 tan, other times for a party of 10. At the time, I was in nursing school, so this was the perfect fit for me. Some flexibility, time in the car to listen to lectures I had previously recorded, and broke enough to stick it out because it was my only source of income at the time. It brewed the perfect recipe to grow my dream and see what potential this idea had in store.
Fast forward a couple of years, the demand never died, and I was so busy I had to stop traveling. I couldn’t get from point A to point B and have enough hours in the day to fit in the clients and study as nursing school became harder. I quickly shifted mobile service to accepting clients at my home in Valparaiso. I realized that some followed but most didn’t, because mobile service was most accommodating to their life and schedule. You know what I’m talking about, the stay at home mom, full or more than full time worker but still puts food on the table by 7PM, and those who felt it was so “housewives” to be pampered in their own home that it was awesome and they wouldn’t be traveling to me. I built my following up all over again. I didn’t flinch because I had no choice, school was hard, and well, I didn’t want to travel from house to house anymore. So that was it. I focused on school and waited for the potential clients to call. Two more years went by, and I was just as busy as I was when mobile. At this point I felt like I was doing my clients a disservice by working out of my house. So the biggest risk in business I was about to take came next. I moved into a commercial space, and rented for the first time.
Now looking back at this time, I had 4 years in business down but my overhead was close to zero thus far. This was the most nerve racking step yet. I was finishing up nursing school at Valparaiso University, commuting to Chicago for my capstone practicum, and working the other hours I could keep my eyes open long enough in Chesterton taking clients in my new space. I was hoping every day that the phone would ring so I could pay rent. Trying my hardest to think of how I could get my name out there, and wondering if anyone was going to drive to Chesterton or if I will have to start over again? I had a couple advantages thankfully. My rent was inexpensive, my lease was non-binding, and my support system was strong. I stuck it out once more and within a few months I was so busy I had to take time off of GRAD SCHOOL. So far I had succeeded undergraduate pre-requisite studies at Ivy Tech Valpo, the accelerated bachelors nursing program at Valparaiso University, and one graduate semester in the doctoral program also at Valparaiso University. Not to mention the honors society, and the countless classes and certificate courses I took on to expand the menu at Tan & Lash.
Expanding the menu is what brings us to this new adventure, the next step I had been hoping and waiting for. For as long as I can remember, creating and being the name Tan & Lash was going to come to an end one day. It would never encompass all that I had in store for this dream after all. Nursing school was a gateway for me, it was intended to expand the business into a medical spa, and we are finally knocking at the door to the new space. I may have graduated nursing school 2 years ago, but one thing I can finally share is that the new name and new space has also been on my mind for two whole years. I didn’t know how, or when, or what we would be calling ourselves I just knew it would have to be something broad enough that it could include everything Tan & Lash could never be. That it would continue to support growth with future additions to our business. Which finally leads me to saying goodbye to Tan & Lash. While I am very sad to be moving away from the name and reputation Tan & Lash built for itself, I am so excited to expand my wings and fly after more than six years of wondering when this might happen or if it ever would. With a heartfelt thank you for all of the support, this is just the beginning and we hope for your support in this transition.
Now that we have said goodbye to Tan & Lash what are we going to name ourselves now? I won’t take up too much more of your time, as that will have an entire in depth post on it’s own. I’ll keep this part short and sweet. I’d like to introduce you to BASE spa & wellness. The base of where you will find everything Beauty, Aesthetics, Science and Eudaemonia. I’d further like to welcome you to our new location starting January 2nd, 2019 at 442 N. Calumet Rd. Chesterton, IN 46304. I am confident moving into our new name and space will be accepted by our wonderful clients and the community with open arms. We will be kicking off the new year with a grand re-opening and would love for you to join us the 4th of January at 6PM with hors d’oeuvre, desserts, drinks, music, and a tour of our new space.
Stay tuned for our next post as we will be keeping you in the loop every step of the way.
xoxo,
Brandi & the BASE team!