Inspiring Conversations with Brianne Stretch of The Skin Doll

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianne Stretch.

Hi Brianne, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I want to start by thanking the team at Voyage ATL for the opportunity to speak about myself and my brand. I knew pretty early on in life that I was an “outside of the box” type of person. I have always been a very creative and artistic individual and wanted to be self-employed, but honestly never knew how as I grew into my adult years of life. I had a variety of small projects I wanted to create a business from but nothing really had the “this is it” factor I was looking for. Starting College and studying for a degree I thought I was passionate about actually really made me open my eyes to how much I loved the beauty industry. I thoroughly enjoy self-care and believe it should be a staple in everybody’s daily routine. I am a strong believer in faith and I feel that I was drawn to Esthetics. I should have known because I loved doing my eyebrows since High School. After becoming a Licensed Esthetician and seeking further classes to gain other certifications, I stepped out on fear and began my brand, The Skin Doll. There has been loads of ups and downs but I honestly feel like this is one of the best decisions of my life, I will have celebrated my first year in business on November 22nd.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. This journey for me has to quite honestly be the hardest thing I’ve ever gotten myself into. The fear of overthinking myself into an unmotivated state, the “what if my business fails”, “where will I get my support from”, losing my creative flow from time to time in an environment that solely depends on you in order to flourish can be nerve wracking. However, my passion outweighed my fears. I am a very determined person so anything I want, I go after and won’t stop until I get it. When you have a goal that you envision coming to life, especially if it’s something that many others around you may not see, you eventually find your will to make it happen. What made it even more difficult for me was after I graduated and because licensed, I jumped straight into the solo/self-employed world not knowing where I was going to get my support from. I’ve had days where I exceeded my goals and days where I made nothing but the love I have for what I do keeps me going. I feel as though my brand has helped me grow as a person as well. Something I struggled with when I first started was staying consistent and finding the confidence to put myself out there. I have a very outgoing, funny personality, but when I sat in front of a camera, I would just freeze. However, in order to achieve the things you’ve never had you must do things you’ve never done. You could say me and my business hold each other’s hands.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I make beautiful people even more beautiful! To be specific, I am an Esthetician and Body Sculptor. I have the honor of meeting people who may have concerns with theirselves and I offer the treatment to best fit their beauty needs. My most popular service for example is Body Contouring, I call it my Waist Snatch treatment. Body Contouring helps you lose fat through detoxing metabolized adipose tissue through your lymphatic system. It’s more than just the service I offer however, it’s countless motivation and guidance to your body goals, I stress the importance of having a healthy diet and routine exercise in place and drinking plenty of water because this is a lifestyle change. This is also the service I am known for, which is funny because I thought when I first started, I would be doing waxing most of the time. What sets me apart from others is my personality but most importantly, my adaptability. I like to be able to adapt to each of my clients to give them the best experience with me and to make them feel comfortable because I feel like you could offer the best services in the world but if you can’t get people to simply like you or want to be around you then you won’t flourish. There are so many things I am proud of about my brand because I have honestly accomplished so many things in such a short amount of time but the most important to me is that I got started. If I didn’t get started, I wouldn’t have found the career that brings me complete joy as well as the amazing people I’ve had a chance to meet and network with, attend events and even be a Podcast interviewee. My goal is for people to leave me and say “wow she made me feel welcome, she really knew her stuff, her workplace is so cute and clean, and customer service was awesome! I can’t wait to come back!”

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
A few things I have learned since starting my business during a Pandemic is to expect the unexpected, always stay prepared, and keep your emotions outside of your practice. Even before Covid, I would always make sure I was in a clean and sanitary work area because after all your health is your wealth. I did find myself taking a step beyond to make sure I had temperature checks, extra masks, gloves, and sanitizer available for myself and my guests if they needed, including specific Covid-19 policies when booking an appointment. Also, I feel as though this has been a rough time for many people, so for me as an Esthetician I really tried to go even further above and beyond for my clients because you never what they have to deal with in their personal lives. Coming in for a one hour facial could be the highlight of someone’s day after having to take care of a family member, so I make sure to put my best foot forward when providing services.

Pricing:

• Body Sculpting $160
• Customized Facials $95
• Brow Waxing and Tint $35

Contact Info:

• Email: stretchbrianne@yahoo.com
• Website: TheSkinDoll.as.me
• Instagram: Instagram.com/TheeSkinDoll
• Facebook: Facebook.com/TheSkinDoll

Image Credits
Hailey Morris Photography