Betting On Myself

Before Urban Vanity Lounge, my life looked completely different.

I started my career working as a unit clerk in the hospital. It was a stable job and a path I could have easily stayed on, but as my life changed, so did the vision I had for my future.

I had my first son, returned to work, and later had my second son. Becoming a mom changed so much for me. I started thinking differently about my time, my career, and what I wanted to build for myself and my family.

Then COVID hit, and like it did for so many people, life shifted.

During that uncertain time, I decided to invest in myself and took my first permanent makeup courses. At the time, I couldn't have known just how much that decision would change the direction of my life.

I started The Look in a small rental suite inside another studio. It wasn't a huge space or a glamorous beginning—it was simply a place where I could start. I focused on developing my skills, building my clientele, and creating a reputation for my work.

Eventually, I reached the point where I had to make a big decision: continue with the security of my hospital career or fully commit to what I was building. I chose my business.

I quit my job at the hospital and went all in on The Look.

The business continued to grow, and eventually that little rental suite wasn't enough anymore. I took another huge leap and signed a lease on a space five times the size of where I had been working.

And because apparently one major life change at a time wasn't enough—I was pregnant with my third child while doing it.

That space became Urban Vanity Lounge. I opened Urban while pregnant, continued building the business, welcomed my third child, and learned how to navigate motherhood and entrepreneurship at the same time.

There wasn't one magical moment when everything suddenly became successful. It was a series of decisions—taking the course, renting the first room, leaving the hospital, signing the bigger lease, opening Urban, and continuing to show up even when life was incredibly full.

Today, when I look at Urban Vanity Lounge and how far the business has grown, I think about that first little rental suite and the version of me who was simply willing to try.

I didn't start with a huge studio, a big team, or everything figured out.

I started with a skill, a small space, and the decision to bet on myself.

And then I kept building.