We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamie Jeraminas and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jamie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process behind starting my own business was several factors. First, I wanted to create a situation where I had a flexible schedule so I could be a successful working Mom. Second, I had my own struggles with my skin and I wanted to create the environment that I was so desperately seeking. I wanted to be the esthetician that would team up with my clients and pursue their skin goals together. I didn’t want to just treat my clients and send them home, I wanted them to feel like they could get the care they needed without being nickel and dimmed. In order to have that control I knew I’d have to work for myself. Finally, I thought it would be fun! I really started this business as a passion project, to immerse myself in this community and enjoy people who love the beauty industry and all things self-care.
What should our readers know about your business?
Brio Skin Studio has really blossomed as a concept. It started as a creative space, a place to find my center, and has grown into a talented team of professionals in the self-care industry. I started Brio Skin Studio renting a room in another spa with an amazing group of women each with their own specific niches. When I decided to move into my own location and build my own team I did not expect to find another group that I am so lucky to have today. I had the foundations for business practice already mastered when I opened the spa but I continue to learn and grow creatively from the people I surround myself within the industry. I think it’s important to remember that your business can evolve organically and may become something you did not intend it to be. My original business plan was to have strickly room rentals available inside Brio and separate each therapist. I soon learned that we all grow in our field and give a much better client experience when we collectively create a space of wellness. Starting is the hardest part. The challenge was getting the funds together, finding a team, and then executing that plan to get clients. It never happens as quickly as you’d like it to. I opened Brio in September of 2019 and really started to gain momentum at the beginning of 2020 when we were suddenly shut down due to the pandemic. I would have to say that keeping a positive outlook during this shutdown has been my most difficult challenge. To absorb start-up costs and then very quickly absorb shutdown costs due to a situation no one could have seen coming is very disheartening. Licensed estheticians are extremely trained in sanitation guidelines and follow very strict sanitation rules and regulations set by the Board of Cosmetology, yet we are in the last phases of the reopening plan. Many of us are closing up shop and I’m just trying to power through and hopefully prevail into the end of the year.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was coming to visit me in Oceanside we’d have to hit the beach of course! We’d hang out at Cassidy St. for a bit. Then we’d have to walk up to Best Pizza and grab a lunch special. If she was here for a week’s stay we’d have to eat at Senior Grubbys Oceanside, Dija Mara, and have breakfast at Swamis. I always say we have the best local eateries in Oceanside. We would have to bike to the pier and the harbor. Thursday nights is the Oceanside Street Fair which is always packed with tons of amazing vendors and yummy sweets. We’d wind down at Brio Skin Studio with massages and facials, of course.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My most important shoutout would be to my Dad. He’s a tireless entrepreneur that always encourages me to continue moving toward my goals through doubts and fears. He reminds me that hiccups in business are learning opportunities and is always willing to help me when I need him.
Website: www.BrioSkinStudio.com
Instagram: BrioSkinStudio
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BrioSkinStudio
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brio-skin-studio-oceanside