Today we’d like to introduce you to Yamilex Apodaca
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
At 23 years old i was attending my 3rd year of college at SLCC for my associates of science while working full time in the medical field to be able to pay for my tuition. My mom was going through a very tough immigration case this was such a devastating time for me as she is my only parent. A long term relationship of mine had come to an end and i found myself in a place of unhappiness and feeling super lost. Not happy with my personal life and not happy with my career choice. Being a first generation Latina college student i felt the responsibility of graduating college for my mom who had sacrificed so much for me at some point i was honestly attending college for her and not me. I very much felt the “ we came here to give you a better life” guilt that I’m sure most children of immigrant parents feel. I had a conversation with my sister in law Genesis, i talked to her about PMU(permanent makeup) and how micro blading was blowing up at the time. Her support is really what ultimately led me to finalize my decision in dropping out of college and having a conversation with my mom and brothers whom play father figures in my life. The conversation was not easy at all, dropping out of college to start a business in the beauty industry was Taboo for my family at the time. They tried to talk me into staying in college but i knew that wasn’t the correct choice for me but that only meant i had to work twice as hard to prove not only to them but myself that the decision i made was the correct one. I took the first step in my career in 2019, I called places that offered micro blading courses and found one that i thought was the better fit for me. I worked over time to save up enough money to pay my course off in cash and did just that. After taking that course I looked into licensing and what i needed in the state of Utah to wax eyebrows and that’s what led me to my second step in the industry which was attending Skin works school of advanced skin care to get my Estheticians license. I graduated at the end of 2019 and got my license in 2020 while working full time. Slowly I started taking clients from home. At the time my mom lived in a mobile home and we did not have enough space so in the corner of the living room is where i made my set up to start doing wax and tints and micro blading (although i knew I wasn’t legally able too) this was the only way that i could build a clientele. At this time i was working full time at my clinic attending school and taking brow clients at night and literally any time that i had available. I picked up all the extra hours i could to have money for supplies. I talked to EVERYONE about brows, my coworkers on a daily basis trying to convince them to just let me practice. For a whole year i took no days off I promised myself i would get to my goal and i felt the need to prove myself so much. I was late or did not attend any family parties that year and all i could say was “ I’m sorry i was stuck at work.” Eventually i graduated esthetician school and my business was really doing well but then COVID hit and i was shut down. I felt so set back and disappointed, as if all my sacrifice and hard work was for nothing. COVID was a really scary time for everyone just not knowing what was going to happen but I’m forever thankful that at the time i still had my clinic job as a clinic director. My job taught me a lot of responsibility my role was to work with a Neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeon and attorneys. I had so much responsibility on my shoulders however now looking back I’m also very thankful for that because it taught me that i could handle running a business on my own. Once COVID restrictions were lifted i started taking clients again the goal was to build up my clientele to be able to quit my full time job. Eventually I did just that. I left my full time job of almost 5 years and booth rented unfortunately things didn’t go well for me there and i had to leave just 6 months short into booth renting. The person i was renting from was someone i really looked up too at the time, she taught me so much and till this day I’m very appreciative of having the opportunity to work there because even through the downs of it i learned , i seen her world and it made me want to work harder. I wasn’t planning to leave that shop i actually really loved working there but i found myself in a place where i really had no choice and the only place to go back to was my moms living room. I felt so defeated at the time and lost ALL OVER AGAIN. Me leaving was very abruptly i had actually planned a trip to Cabo with some of the studio girls at the time. I hadn’t left the country as an adult so I didn’t have my passport, my friends help me apply and all while this was going on i was hoping that i would get it so that i could leave and have a good time with my friends. At this point i knew I wanted a studio, I knew i wanted to teach, although i was very thankful to have a place to fall back into i knew the living room was not a place where i was going to stay. After about 3-4 months i reached out to another girl in the industry and asked the basics of questions she then sent me a link to KSL classifieds where i found commercial buildings for lease. I cancelled my appointments that week and set so many appointments up to go look around. I eventually went to what is now my studio ‘GE STUDIO” and immediately i fell in love. So i applied not knowing what i was doing. My passport never came and the day that my friends left to Cabo was the day that i got the call “Yami the shop is yours.” I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked and I didn’t know what to do but what i knew was that things were always working in my favor. I got my keys in February of 2021.. After that I called the city started ordering supplies and reached out to my friends that were in the industry to see if they we’re interested in booth renting from me. I was eventually able to get a team of 6 girls, I started teaching, got invited back to my school as a guest speaker, flew to different states to expand my trainings, have had the opportunity to work with my favorite brow brand Brow code and just kept going. My family was able to understand my dreams/goals, and now they are the most supportive of everything I do. In February of 2025 will mark 4 years of me owning my shop and I wouldn’t change a thing. It was all very hard but so worth it. Now at 28, i am actually back in college for my Bachelors of nursing in hopes of expanding and opening phase two of my business,
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road for me. However, through all the downs I learned and now looking back I’m thankful for each and everyone of them. My moms immigration case, while going through a break up and feeling so lost was definitely the hardest part of everything because although career wised i had dreams and goals it seemed like my personal life was falling apart. Then dealing with COVID and things not working out at the shop i was booth renting from it felt like i constantly hit road blocks. Like i would take two steps forward and three steps back but really my mom was the motivation through everything. She is the most resilient person i know. She taught me that if there was a will there was a way and that why i never gave up on myself through all the struggles. I would say also being first generation business owner made everything a little difficult. No knowing how to even open an LLC what and EIN number was and not having the financial cushion to start a business more so having to build off of nothing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently i am a nursing student, Licensed esthetician, PMU educator and Brow specialist. Most of the services i offer are brow services specializing in eyebrows offering ombré powder brows, brow lamination and wax and tints. I actually don’t offer microblading anymore but recently got certified in what is called Nanno brows. I love all things brows and although i try my best to not judge people it’s the first thing i look at when i meet someone lol. I would say what sets me apart from others is that i show up as my true self. I am not a social media influencer who pretends to have a certain life online and someone else in person what you see is what you get. I have a very loving heart and i truly care about my clients and their lives, i always say I’m a full time brow artist and a part time therapist. I’m not scared to share my story because there are so many young girls out there that have the same background as me, same struggles as me, they don’t come from money, just like me and always say if i did it so can you. Nothing makes me different besides determination and hard work. I get DMS from girls about how inspired they feel from hearing my story and honestly that’s what motivates me to keep going and that’s what I’m most proud of.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being resilient, determined, and hardworking. Business has taught me that just like there are good ups there are low downs and you have to be able to mold yourself to the good and the bad to be able to accomplish your dreams. Grow through what you go through and always know there is a solution to every problem.
Pricing:
- Ombré powder brows $475
- Brow lamination $100.00
- Brow wax and tints $50.00
- Ombré brow certification $2,500.00
- Nanno Brows $475.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.gebrows.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glamouresthetics.yami?igsh=ZzB4MmhucmJham9u&utm_source=qr
