DETROIT – Two Black female business owners were told “no” so many times that the average person would have called it quits, but they didn’t stop trying. After five years of perseverance they now own a million dollar company.
“We couldn’t show that we were Black-owned because we kept getting turned down,” CEO Jessie Hayes-Stallings said. “We couldn’t sign a lease. We would get approved on paper, you know? We would be approved on paper and say, ‘Hey this is a great idea.’ But when they saw is in person it was like, ‘Uhhhh.’”
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Hayes-Stallings said she didn’t let that stop her. She worked with co-owner Shareese Shorter to make their business work.
“We kept getting turned down. So I had to hire people that didn’t look like me. I had to change my name,” Hayes-Stallings said.
Shorter said they had to figure out how to navigate and re-strategize to repackage what it is they were going to offer. Now, five years later, their business Skinphorea has opened its second location. The owners are proud to show the world that two Black women are the owners of the company.
“Skinphorea Facial Bar is an actual facial bar. So you sit at a bar in a fun, upbeat setting and you get medical-grade skincare treatments for $59,” Hayes-Stallings said.
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The two women are giving back and training the next generation of licensed estheticians.
“We don’t care about if you don’t have the skills, you don’t know how to do facials, you don’t know how to do chemical peels. With our training program, with Skinphorea University, we can get you ready,” Hayes-Stallings said.
Skinphorea is open for business at both locations in Detroit and in Royal Oak.
Learn more about the business below:
- Skinphorea Facial Bar
- Email: info@skinphorea.com
- Phone: 313-888-9003