Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alexa Townsend, Owner of Virago Brows & Beauty, located in Rome, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I own Virago Brows and Beauty and Virago PMU Training, and I am a Permanent Makeup Artist and trainer/mentor. I am also a co-owner of Virago Salon with three other incredible women. I also have 3 locations in Rome, NY, Buffalo, NY, and Midtown Manhattan.

I offer permanent makeup services that include brows, lips, and eyeliner, as well as ProCell Micro channeling and LED teeth whitening. I have also partnered with a local NP in my Rome location to provide Botox to my clientele. My clients are women (and men!) who are interested in enhancing their appearance and feeling and looking their best. I do also specialize in working with Cancer Survivors/Warriors and Alopecia sufferers. Being able to help someone feel beautiful is truly an honor.

Tell us about yourself

I always dreamed of building my own business. However, it seemed unachievable for most of my adult life. I was following the "plan" to go to college, get married, buy a house, and have kids—and I was in the corporate world of sales, which was truly crushing my soul. I had always loved makeup and was a pretty good artist when I was younger, so I always knew I wanted to do something that allowed me to be creative and expressive. At the right time in my life, when my kids were a little older and we were financially stable, I started dreaming of what I could do. My husband is a fireman for our city and also runs his own small business, Townsend Tree Service, which was always an inspiration to me. When my sister-in-law was battling stage 4 breast cancer and lost all of her hair, finding out about permanent makeup sparked an idea in my mind, and I began looking into the industry.

I decided to invest in myself and took a gamble on a new adventure. I trained with several different trainers and instructors in order to get a good grasp on different methods in the industry. When I was ready, my sister-in-law was my very first client. She is now cancer free and still has her permanent and beautiful brows! I opened my first studio above a local hair salon and prayed that my little side hustle would make me enough to pay the rent for that month. That was my goal, so small, but I didn’t want to lose money as I had invested thousands of dollars from my savings. I made enough money in that first month to pay my rent for the entire year, and I knew I was on the right track in my little side hustle venture.

After investing and adding on other services, I was soon fully booked for weeks in advance, and I just kept going day by day. I was and still am motivated by building a business that allows me creativity. I turned my passion for helping people feel beautiful into my profession. Every single day I am in the studio, I love what I am doing and who I am doing it with. I’m no longer stressed about corporate sales and bottom lines and margins and deadlines and all the anxiety I used to have any time my phone rang.

Now any stress I have, which, of course, I still do have, is my own and is a wonderful hell in a way. The connections I make with my clients are genuine, and I truly love being able to spend time getting to know them when they are in my chair. I love building this business for myself, my family, my students, and my clients — and building something of my own.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment would be a two-part answer. One in achievements, one in my own personal growth. In regard to achievements, I now have 3 locations. I was featured in Disruptors Magazine as one of the Top 20 people disrupting the PMU industry, I was awarded a Rising Star Award for the SPCP. I am a board member on the Young Professionals Committee of the SPCP, am a member of the AAM, recently competed in season 6 of The Blox, have created and developed my PMU training course, have worked on SM Influencers in the industry, featured on radio shows, and I have fully self-funded my business to this point.

I am also currently working on some exciting things I can’t wait to share, but not quite yet. I am hoping to be more involved with Cancer Survivors/Warriors in the near future with the Roswell Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, as it holds a very special place in my heart. In regard to personal growth, I have had such a change in self-worth and confidence since opening my business. Of course, I’ve gone through stages of insecurity, imposter syndrome, and sheer terror, but I’ve come to realize that I am a strong woman who is talented! And it’s ok to say that and not shy away from it. I love seeing women succeed, and now I can help other women do that. How amazing is that? I used to feel jealous and envious of successful women who ran their own businesses, and now I AM one, so the narrative has changed.

Rather than feeling less than others, I realized, with hard work, dedication, and skill, that I could do this! I could be one of the women I envied and looked up to. If I can help just one other woman feel that, or show my kids, especially my daughter, that you can do anything you want, then I have succeeded. Success, to me, is a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. It has nothing to do with finances at the end of the day.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things about being a business owner is the feeling of loneliness. I don’t mean I’m lonely. I have an amazing and supportive husband, two freaking awesome kids, my mom, who is my best friend, and so many other family members and friends. What I mean by loneliness is that on a daily basis, my mind is in one million directions, wondering if I’m doing the right thing, spending my money the right way, investing in the correct thing, doing enough marketing, making my clients feel comfortable, paying all the bills, continuing my education, the list goes on and on forever.

I think when you are a determined and ambitious person, you constantly strive to make your business the best it can be. No one else quite gets that unless they are also a business owner or entrepreneur. There are days when I think, "what in the hell am I doing!?" and then there are days where I cry because my client cried because they were so happy not to be reminded of their past health battle or simply because they felt prettier. Not many people can relate to the amount of time, energy, and brain power that goes into running a business. It’s exhausting yet exhilarating at the same time, a wonderful hell.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The top 3 tips for starting, running, and growing a business would be:

  1. Be ready to spend money. Period, point blank. It truly does take money to make money. Learn how to spend wisely and make responsible financial decisions.
  2. Find your people. Network with or find people in your industry that understand you and your business. Connect with them and foster this relationship because they will be with you through the hardships as well as the successes that your family and friends may not understand.
  3. Be ready to be 100% ok and comfortable with not everyone liking you. When you are a business owner, you are more visible in the community. It’s just simply how it is. Not everyone is going to be your supporter or fan, and that’s ok. The universe will send you who and what you need, so do not waste any time on the negative people that will come your way. And along with this advice, stay in your lane. If there is someone competing against you in your town, be a supporter. "Community over competition" is my motto. No one likes to see someone talk poorly about someone else. It’s just not a good look. So hold your head high and keep your eyes on your prize and work hard. Be kind and work hard. That’s it. -- And party hard, too. We only have one life to live, so enjoy the hell out of it.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.viragobrowsandbeauty.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viragobrowsandbeauty
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viragobrowsandbeauty/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexatownsend/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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