Today we’d like to introduce you to Wayne Fishell.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a military brat who’s moved a lot, but my formative years of high school and college were in South Carolina, so I think of that as where I’m from.
In college, I majored in Spanish and German, which is both interesting and useless. I speak both with passable accents but questionable grammar, which native speakers find both endearing and bemusing. At the moment, I am also learning Dutch, just ’cause.
Atlanta has been home since January 1, 2000, and the city has been very good to me. Currently, I live with my husband in Chamblee and run my business there as well. I have a 1.5-mile commute to my office, which makes me very, very fortunate, I know!
My employment history has been meandering. Most of the last 26 years saw me in various administrative jobs. I have worked at a downtown law firm, Emory, Georgia Tech, and eventually at a small tech startup. In between, I took a few years away from office jobs to try to be a full-time musician. My bandmate (big.peaches) and I formed the wayne fishell experiment, which brought gay-acoustic-indie-folk-pop to our tens of fans, and can be found on all streaming platforms. I quickly discovered that music doesn’t pay very well, and spent those years cleaning houses to make money…which, honestly, wasn’t a bad gig.
When, at our last live show, I realized that I could name everyone in the (admittedly full!) room, I understood that I didn’t have a career in music; rather, I had a wonderful group of supportive friends whom I adored. So in 2009, I gave up trying to get shows when a former coworker connected me with the small tech startup that I ended up spending the next nine years helping to build.
As anyone who has worked for a startup will tell you, the hours are brutal. After nine years of almost constant 65+ hour workweeks, I was exhausted and just couldn’t do it anymore. At the time, I was going for occasional electrolysis sessions to tackle some unwanted hair that had been bothering me. During one of the sessions, I thought, “This could be a good career for me. It would allow me to work for myself, set my own hours, and have a direct impact on individual lives.”
I wish I could say that I dove deep into research about how to make the plunge, what I could expect, etc. Nope…I had a quick talk with my husband, who was just as ready for me to quit my job as I was, and told him that I would be going across the country for six months to learn electrolysis in Portland, Oregon. In January 2019, I headed west. I was lucky enough to be trained by one of the most technically proficient electrologists on the planet, and received what I consider to be the absolute best education in the industry. I realize that this kind of life change would not be possible for most people, and recognize the luck and privilege I have access to that would allow me to be so carefree about such a life-altering career leap.
I took my first client in August 2019 and within three months, had the great fortune of having a full client roster and a waitlist. We will, for the most part, ignore the fact that Covid hit six months later and that everything fell into disarray…because who didn’t struggle during the pandemic? I fared better than a lot of other small business owners I know. I did end up closing for six months, but once the vaccine was ready, I got back to work and have stayed busy ever since.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel that I am tenacious and hardworking, because if you’re not, you’ll never make it as a small business owner. That said, I would never assert that I am where I am today solely due to my own work and determination. Luck and privilege have allowed a lot of opportunities to fall into my lap. I will be the first to admit that the things I have been fortunate enough to experience in life wouldn’t have been possible or as easy were it not for access to support systems that allowed me to flourish…be that social connections that facilitated good employment opportunities over the years or just knowing that, if I fell on my face in an attempt to move forward, someone would be there to help pick me up and dust me off.
For example, I would never have had the courage to try to strike out on my own if I didn’t know that I had savings and access to credit to underwrite the process of opening a business and that I had health insurance through my husband’s job. Or that he could hold down the fort while I disappeared across the country for six months for training…and having a friend there to put me up free of charge. Knowing that my husband would be able to keep the bills paid when the pandemic hit and I had to close down out of precaution meant that I didn’t have to put myself or my clients in harm’s way just to make a living. These and so many other gems of fortune scattered across my path cannot be ignored.
Have there been hiccups and challenges along the way? Of course! And there have certainly been moments of doubt as to whether or not I was making the right decision as I walked through the process of getting to my current profession. But hiccups are not road blocks, and I am fully cognizant that my journey would have been far more difficult, if not impossible, for many others. I always try to keep this in mind when evaluating the roots of my successes; I did not get here on my own.
We’ve been impressed with The Root Electrolysis, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the owner and sole provider of services at The Root Electrolysis in Chamblee, Georgia.
Electrolysis is the only FDA-approved method of providing truly permanent hair removal. It is NOT laser hair removal (which is not technically permanent, and rarely works well for people with even slightly darker skin tones). I work one hair at a time, inserting a small metal filament into the skin alongside the hair, and pass an electric current into the skin to destroy the hair-growing cells in the follicle. Once properly treated, that follicle can never produce a hair again.
Many people would find this work tedious, but I enjoy it and am so grateful to be able to provide this service to my clients. In many ways, though, I wish my job didn’t have to exist. There is nothing wrong with hair anywhere on the body, but society tells us where it’s permissible. If you have hair in places our culture determines to be unattractive, you can end up feeling like you don’t measure up and are constantly being judged. Worse still, we become far more harsh on ourselves than others are on us! I mean, come on; we’re mammals! And one of the defining characteristics of being a mammal is hair growth on the body.
Alas, I can’t change society, but I can remove the hair.
While many electrologists will only do work on certain parts of the body, I work anywhere you want the hair removed. Skin is skin, and it doesn’t matter to me where or why you are getting hair removed…yes; even “there.”
Unlike laser, electrolysis works on all skin types, hair colors, and hair textures. While some providers struggle to treat clients with curly hair, I have made it my mission to not fall into this trap. I want everyone who comes in my door, no matter who they are, how they identify, or why they are seeking my services to feel safe and welcome in my space.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I am so proud to be a resource for my siblings in that community who are seeking gender-affirming care, especially for those who require hair removal in advance of gender-affirming bottom surgery.
My goal is to always create a warm and inviting space. The process is not the most comfortable procedure; as such, I think it’s so important for the space to be soothing. Darker walls covered with beautiful art by my husband and other friends, allowing clients to choose the music we listen to during sessions, etc. I strive to make sure that the space does not feel clinical, but soothing.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Some things I have learned along the way running a one-person business:
**Though it might seem self evident, you have to actually like doing what you do.
**Be genuinely kind towards and interested in your clients. Meet them where they are.
**Having the support of people in your life and the trust and respect of your clients is paramount.
**Trust your instincts and set appropriate boundaries.
**Know what you do well, and work on the things that you struggle with…and if you can’t master those, find the right professionals to handle them for you.
**Find colleagues in your industry whom you respect and lean on each other for support.
**Understand that the look of the thing is as important as your skills in your chosen field.
**Have a trusted friend or colleague review any marketing, emails, website updates, etc. It’s easy to miss your own mistakes!
Pricing:
- $108 per hour | $62 for 30 minutes: Preparation for bottom surgery (regardless of body part), face, neck, chest, stomach, back, hands & feet, and arms
- $128 per hour | $76 for 30 minutes: Underarms, bikini & inner thigh, buttocks, anorectal & genital, and legs
- Pricing is subject to change; current prices are listed on my website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rootatl.com/
Image Credits
Amber Redmond
Emily Lockhart
