Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisandra Rodriguez.
Lisandra, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Cuba. At the age of 5, my mom decided to flee the island and the oppressive communist government. We left by boat with 24 other strangers. After being lost at sea and our engine breaking, we were caught by the American Coast Guard and they transported us to Guantanamo Bay. We lived there, as fugitives, for 5 months until we were finally allowed to come to the states. My mom raised me as a single mother in Orlando, FL. Seeing her struggle, I knew I never wanted to work for someone else and that I wanted to build my own thing. To make both my dad, who lived in Miami, and my mom happy I got my Bachelor’s degree and started my career in the Miami technological space, that lasted about 1 year and I could not stand it and I was let go. I would have to say for many being fired may be a tremendous upset, but for me, it was an opportunity to finally realize what I meant to set out to do from the beginning.
I started The Brow Effect as a mobile threading company. I traveled from client to client all over south Florida. One day, I was threading a client and she asked if I did Microblading. I didn’t even know what Microblading was, she said: “look into it, you should be doing it, you’re so good at brows”. I looked into it and was sold on the idea. Initially, I thought it was like “traditional” cosmetic tattooing that does not look flattering most of the time. But unlike that Microblading is a game changer and completely different from what permanent used to be. Fast forward two and a half years later, I own an amazing salon in the heart of Miami, I’ve been able to expand my services and rent to other amazing entrepreneurs in the beauty space, and train others to not only do amazing work but also be amazing business people.
Great, 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?
It has not been a smooth road by any means. I have dealt with setbacks and financial conflicts to get where I am today. Microblading or Permanent Makeup training is not cheap, in my first year I spent $25,000 roughly to learn from the very best and travel around the country and to different countries to get that training. I started out renting a very small, almost closet size, in Pompano and it was not where I wanted to be, because I knew I wanted my name on that front door. About 10 months later, I hired a realtor and we started the long process of finding a commercial space in a good area, within budget and that could accommodate my services and my vision. After putting in offers on 3 locations, which fell through, I found “The One” on 18th and Biscayne. With the help of my boyfriend and business partner, I was able to acquire this location. Everything started falling right into place, I was able to decorate it even better than I had dreamed and I opened my doors on my birthday October 19th of 2017. Since then, I have been growing faster than I had ever projected. My business partner and I are now going to expand into cosmetic products, online training programs, and franchising. The struggles were and are well worth it because when you work for yourself all the grief and heartache are felt just like the triumphs and reaching new heights.
Please tell us about The Brow Effect.
The Brow Effect is a boutique style salon. I specialize in Microblading, Ombré Powder brows, Lip Shading and Threading. I’m known for microblading and ombré powder brows. I have clients from all over the world fly to me to get my services because I have taken the time to learn and money has never been an obstacle for me to learn how to do these services the best way possible to achieve the best results possible.
One of the things that I’m most proud of in my company is that I provide microblading and/or ombré powder brows to women who have gone through trauma in their life, whether from stress or disease, that has caused them to lose their eyebrow hairs. I love that smile I see on my client’s faces when they see the new brows that they never thought they’d see again. Also, recently, I started offering my service free of charge to cancer survivors, all they pay for is the tools that I use which is a minimal fee, but a huge reward both for the client and myself. It’s a huge reward for me because it is a reminder of how I’m able to give back.
What sets me apart is that my clients are my friends, they are family, and I love them as such. I’m honest with everyone that comes through my door and I have had instances where I had to turn a client down because they simply were not a candidate. I never want to ruin someone’s appearance so instead of lying to them I’m honest with them.
I have expanded my business to included tattoo removal because there are many “artists” who don’t take the time to learn this craft correctly and ruin people’s brows and then their only option is to removal before microblading or ombré powder brows can be done.
Pricing:
- Microblading $550 *Includes touch up
- Ombré Powder Brows $550 *Includes touch up
- Hybrid Brows (Combination of Micro and Ombré) $600 *Includes touch up
- Tattoo Removal 4 Session Package $800
Contact Info:
- Address: 275 NE 18th St. Suite CU-01
Miami, FL 33132 - Website: www.TheBrowEffect.com
- Phone: 407-927-9106
- Email: Hello@TheBrowEffet.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroweffect/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBrowEffect/
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
