Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Gomez.
Vanessa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Originally born and raised in the burbs of Chicago, I attended the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Pre Occupational Therapy focus. I remember taking a quiz in 9th grade and it was like you would be great at Occupational Therapy because you love helping people regain what they use to have and are caring! So I decided my life goal right then and there was OT and continued to work towards it. I did internships and volunteer and eventually graduated with my Bachelors in Pre OT.
However, while I went to college, I worked at a sports bar on campus for two years, loved it, but I got fired for “not taking orders” from the manager, which is so me lol.
I was devasted, but of course, I regained power by landing a job at an IT Event planning firm that allowed me to travel once a month and really get the corporate life experience. Unfortunately, the company was very unstructured, I hated being at a desk 9-6pm everyday and taking orders from someone who could care less what I did all day long.
I eventually got fired from that job too, because again I don’t handle orders well from someone who treats me as a number.
I was fortunately able to take some time off work for some months and really reflect with what I wanted out of life. I struggled daily, going to the corner cafe, checking google on what I would be great at, however, quizzes in 9th grade aren’t as realistic when your 24 and need a real job. I was of course “killing time” on Facebook one afternoon and my hairstylist was looking for assistants to help with Halloween makeup. If there’s one thing ironic about me, its that I grew up super tom-boyish, but always killed it at makeup. So I decided to help her out, and from there my passion for makeup really arised. Two weeks later, on Facebook again, I saw a friend post about a makeup counter hiring for an artist. I went for the kill! I applied for a makeup artist position with zero prior experience, and after four interviews I landed my first makeup job ever, at MAC Cosmetics on Michigan Ave! I cried so hard when they offered me a part-time position. My career and passion had finally been answered and six months into my position I decided to take it to the MIA!
I moved to Miami with no job and no apartment but thankfully had a family friend help me with a place for a month. I found a job in four days at a makeup store inside Aventura mall and worked there for a year. I did tons of networking and social media work that helped build my makeup portfolio. A year later I landed a job as a Counter Manager at NARS cosmetics, but quickly realized I am not retail material. I needed something to call my own, so I decided to take a lash extensions course. I figured they make at least $150 an hour, and I needed my own schedule and money!
I went to New York on December 16th, 2016 for a weekend and my good guy friend asked me, “so if you are so unhappy in retail what are you going to do with your life.” I flew home back to Miami that morning at 8 am and quit my manager position. With the lash extensions clients, I was able to have an income and decided in January to travel once a month to Chicago to service all my friends and family back home, while allowing me to see all my family regularly. I still wasn’t satisfied, I wanted more. I then decided to learn Microblading 6 months later. I’ve always struggled with my own brows as a teenager and felt I could really connect to people wanting semi-permanent eyebrow tattooing. I got training with a great company and a year later; I am traveling to Chicago every six weeks, serving clients in both Miami & Chicago, created Training Courses for Microblading and Lash Services for women who want the entrepreneur lifestyle, etc.
I honestly could never expect being in O’hare airport right now, reflecting in an interview my past three years of business building, finishing up a full year of back and forth travel to my two favorite cities, & doing the job I love most; helping women feel confident and beautiful. I just pray I can influence others to not let other circumstances get in the way: getting fired, or not getting that job promotion, being told no, or being scared to move to that new city. DO IT ALL, because one has got to give.
Has it been a smooth road?
I would say what was not smooth about this journey was not the actual work, traveling, growing; but mainly the self-doubt. I almost felt as if I didn’t deserve to be an entrepreneur because of how fast my business was evolving. However I was raised with the mindset that you don’t think, you just do. I never thought as college as an option. I never thought about moving to a new city as an option. Till this day people tell me they are so proud of my growth and that I am killing it in such a short amount of time, and I just think to myself “well there is no other option.” The challenge I face daily is reminding myself that as long as I have the mindset, I will continue to grow and JUST DO. You have to think of every obstacle as a bridge to make you think of what the next option is, and usually that option is going to level you up. One of my struggles was last year when I first started going to Chicago. I needed a space to rent since I don’t have my own studio there. Luckily I had a friend who owned a salon; I made it there for two months before she told me she was going to start getting into Microblading and that I can’t be there anymore due to competition. Of course, I was freaking out because I had so many touch ups to do and needed to find a legit place asap in order to work! I have the best two friends in Chicago who I share everything with, and one week later my gf sends me a post of a sign as she’s walking down the street. It was a beautiful makeup studio looking to rent to a Microblader. I have been there every six weeks for almost a year and that just goes to show that you may be pushed out of your comfort zone of work but something better HAS to come along and fulfill that space.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the VanGo Beauty Bar story. Tell us more about the business.
VanGo Beauty Bar represents my first and last name together, but also a connection to Van Gogh, the artist. I started off in makeup, so I felt a connection to art and beauty which helped me create my name. My business specializes in Makeup Artistry, Lash Services, and Semi-Permanent Makeup called Microblading. I would say that my most popular service is the Microblading because many women struggle daily with their brows, and it is much harder to manage on a daily basis. Microblading is a service where I use a single handed blade + pigment, to create fine hair strokes that mimic the client’s natural hair. This is how Microblading is able to look undetectable and blend in. It can last 1-3 years, it is Sweat & Waterproof and requires touch-ups one time a year to maintain.
I am most proud that I love this service and that its personally been lifechanging for me as someone who has grown up with very light brows. I am proud and blessed that I am able to safely go back and forth between cities to service clients and proud that people trust me to wait for me to come into town take care of them. What sets this business apart from others is the Makeup Artistry background as well as travel. The artistry really has taught me a lot about facial structures with brows as visually I can picture what a brow should look like on a client. The reason why is because being a Makeup artist, we don’t have rulers and tools to create symmetry like with Microblading, we simply visualize the client’s brow and then use Brow Pencils and powders to formulate a shape. With this skill, I am able to shape brows very nicely for each individual client, and that is what they always love most. The travel sets me apart because I see various ethnicities between the cities, allowing me to work on Blondes with light skin, African American women of Chicago, Spanish women of Miami, and anyone mixed in. My portfolio is so diverse and that is what makes an artist, VERSATILITY.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see myself opening up my own studio in 2019. I want to eventually have one in Chicago & Miami and hire on my students that take my courses. I would love to continue teaching these services and influence young women to begin entrepreneurship early. This lifestyle teaches you about balance and time management and when you want something you must hustle until you achieve it.
Pricing:
- Microblading $400
- Powder Brows $475
- Combo Brows $525
Contact Info:
- Address: 2575 Collins Ave Suit C9, Miami Beach, FL
- Website: vangobeautybar.com
- Phone: 312-869-4650
- Email: vangobeautybar@gmail.com
- Instagram: vangobeautybar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vangobeautybar
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/vango-beauty-bar-miami-beach
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.
