October 12, 2023 • 27 mins
Meet the woman from Brazil who with her husband brings an ancient Egyptian hair removal secret to Long Island NY. And, it's not wax on wax off. It's the art of sugaring. Learn how and why this new process is growing like hair across the country. Find out how Carolina and Don, franchise owners of Sugaring NYC are developing and expanding this incredible business.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
The risk takers, innovators, business owners, and there are a couple.
(00:14):
Welcome to a couple of entrepreneurs, a series about couples who start a business together
without ending their relationship.
Hear their unique stories, get tips, advice, and the secret to their success.
Would you work with your spouse?
Hosted by Mickey and Tony, a couple of entrepreneurs.
(00:35):
Co-founders of Brandy Shorts.
From ancient Egypt to Long Island, meet the couple behind the franchise that's growing
like hair.
Don and Carolina of sugaring NYC organic waxing.
(00:55):
Welcome to the show.
Thank you guys for joining.
I heard a lot of great things about your business and want to learn more today.
So I think just to kick off, why don't you guys just start to introduce yourself, who
you are and what your business is.
Sure.
What do you want to go ahead and tell me?
Sure.
I'm Carolina.
I'm originally from Brazil.
I have been in the US for 24 years.
(01:20):
Came here to study, ended up staying, meeting my husband and never went back.
I was in corporate world for a good 21 out of the 24 years I've been here.
And the business that we are in right now, it's called Sugaring NYC.
It's a franchise.
(01:41):
We are area developers for this franchise.
It's an alternative to hot wax.
It's organic hair removal.
It's the oldest way of hair removal, but it's still not very popular in the US.
So this is the first franchise in the US to bring this kind of natural hair removal to
(02:08):
the market.
So why this type of business?
Why this industry?
What was it about this?
Yeah, so interesting.
So for years, we've been searching for the right business to move into.
I think we've always had this idea that we would shift out of corporate America at some
point in time.
And as we got older, or at least I am older, we really wanted to focus on something.
(02:32):
And we really, I guess we cast an ad ad to say, what do people spend money on even in
bad times?
Right?
It's not retail because retail we know has gone to the internet and people are buying
things off of Amazon and it's going to shift to home.
We said that people always spend money on their kids, on their pets, and women always
spend money on their beauty.
(02:53):
So we said, okay, this is a service industry where people will have to come, right?
Which is great.
And then even in bad times, they'll spend money on these things.
When did you start working together on this business?
So back in 2012, we talked about going into opening an European Wax Center, which is our
major competitor.
(03:14):
It didn't work out.
We were both working in the city at the time.
We just, you know, we were doing other things.
We had a small child.
It wasn't the right time.
So when the pandemic hit in 2020, we started talking about it.
We were both working from home at the time.
(03:35):
And we started talking about what can we do?
We had more time together because up to that point, we would see each other.
You know, Don would go to the city every day, leave at 5.45 in the morning, come home at
7.30.
And by the time he got home, we really never had time to talk about this.
So being home all the time, we started talking about it.
(03:56):
And the big, I guess, decision we really made when my job went fully remote, even after
everybody started going back, they told me I would be a fully remote worker and I did
not want to do that.
And that's when we're like, okay, this is the right time.
Let's just do this.
Right.
And I think that we head on to that.
And I think that we looked at European Wax event, but they were not really releasing
(04:19):
any licenses on Long Island, which is where we live.
And we said, okay, I think we buy into the fact that the franchise model works best for
us because, again, we're both in the corporate world and we're rule followers.
And there's a model there in place that we can just take and manage it and make it our
own, but really manage to the guidelines that they provide us, which is a nice segue
(04:41):
into owning our own business.
But ultimately we realized that European Wax was not releasing licenses on Long Island.
And we said, let's look at all their franchises.
And we looked around and let industries and things like that.
And then we really just honed in on the fact that they don't have any natural competitors.
They have these small mama pop shops, but they don't have a real competitor out there,
(05:02):
especially in our region.
So we started looking for competitors and Carolina really honed in on the sugaring because it's
just, I mean, it's made out of sugar.
It's 100% natural.
It's made of sugar, water and lemon.
And I really liked the idea.
I went to the city.
I tried the product in one of their salons before we even signed on.
(05:25):
And I really loved it.
I liked it.
And that's how we said, let's move forward.
So we looked for some franchises that offered sugaring and we found sugaring NYC and we loved
the model.
We loved the franchise or it was just super helpful.
They were great welcoming.
And we decided not only to just buy one territory on one island, we actually, our area developers
(05:47):
went up purchasing eight different territories.
Oh, wow.
That's great.
So we got as a cross all over on Island.
And does it play into Carolina?
I think you said you're from Brazil.
Yes.
So does I know nothing about waxing, anything about this process.
So thank you guys for educating us today in the audience.
But being from Brazil, does that play into it at all because you always hear about Brazilian
(06:11):
waxing, etc.
Yes.
So to be honest, I don't understand why the name is Brazilian waxing.
It's one of the services we offer is called Brazilian is the most popular one.
But waxing really did not come originally from Brazil.
It was from Egypt.
And sugaring is originally from Egypt as well.
(06:34):
But yes, I mean, being from Brazil, I myself have been waxing since I was 14 years old.
And everybody does that in Brazil.
Laser is not very popular there.
Also because of the cost is very expensive.
But yes, I believe being from Brazil was one of the reasons that I liked.
(06:56):
I knew a little like, mom and pop shops here that were doing hard wax.
And I'm like, let's do this other natural, you know, alternative.
And I because people are very focused nowadays in natural natural and organic.
Right.
And it's so much more gentle on the skin and with hot wax, they can only go over special
(07:21):
for facial serves is two times with sugar paste, we can keep going over to every hairs
removed because it does it doesn't adhere to the skin.
So we did a lot of researching to it and I love the idea of sugar instead of waxing.
That's great.
So so when did you start working on or working together on this franchise sugaring NYC?
(07:44):
When did that start?
So again, we started, I think it was maybe 2020.
We really dug in and said, this is what we're going to do.
And we started researching it.
We found the franchise.
And then it was it was pretty quick from there.
Right.
And we went through the FDD, we went through that time, the agreement.
And then we started looking for territories.
(08:05):
And it just kind of naturally kind of it was a natural flow for us to shift into it.
And, you know, it was sparsely furious to be honest with you.
It was a new industry for us.
It's exciting because we were learning brand new things that we haven't learned or dealt
with in years or maybe ever times like construction and right, finding a territory, finding, you
know, looking for like-minded tenants that shares a strip mall that would bring in the
(08:30):
same type of clientele.
So there's a lot to learn.
And it was just, you know, it was just a lot coming at once.
But it was well worth it because we knew the end goal.
It did take a little while.
I think we signed up with the franchise in December 2021.
Correct.
From when we started our research until we found them.
And then like Don said, it's a lot of, you know, finding an attorney, finding a real
(08:53):
estate broker looking for locations and all of that.
So we wanted to make sure that we had a whole team of people who knew what they were doing.
And then when we finally found our first location and signed with them, it was 2021.
Correct.
Yes.
You kind of always feel like other people know more than you do.
(09:15):
But that made, that's not always the case.
But you know, but you always seem to feel that way.
Yeah.
I have a lot of respect for you guys in the franchise world in my previous life.
I worked for Merck Express and I managed the quick service restaurant industry for Merck
Express.
So my clients were McDonald's, all the, you know, Dunkin Starbucks, you know, on and
on all the subway, all the major franchises.
(09:36):
And I, and I saw it, it's not that easy to be successful.
You know, so you saw some were very successful and some not so successful.
So I guess you do need to figure out that formula.
It is a franchise, but there's that formula, right?
To make it work.
And also to make it yours, right?
To your own personal touch on it.
So, so what were the biggest challenges not only in starting this business, this franchise
(09:59):
business, but working together as well as a couple starting a business together?
In regards to us working together, I think, well, the time difference.
Yeah.
So I think you bring your personality clearly into your business world.
And I am the morning guy.
I'm going to go up early, I'm exercising first thing in the morning and I'm going through
(10:21):
spreadsheets and I'm working on things and Carolina is still sleeping.
And then when she gets up, I like jump on her like, Oh, by the way, we have to do all
these things.
And she's like, I haven't had my coffee yet.
Right.
And, and it's the opposite at the end of the day, where she's like about 1030 nights.
She's like, Hey, let's look at that spreadsheet.
And I'm like, what?
Like, I'm like, I've been up, you know, since five a.m.
(10:44):
So I think that was probably one of the biggest challenges.
Yeah.
Maybe a little bit of language barrier.
Well, yes.
I, you know, English, English is my second language, obviously.
And this is all so new to us.
So sometimes I'm thinking things in my head that make sense to me.
And I will say to him and he'll be like, I don't know what you just said.
(11:08):
And that really frustrates me.
I think like Don said, there was a lot of challenges with the process, the business
process more than the personal relationship.
Yeah.
The relationship is solid.
So we didn't really, like we listened to some of the other podcasts and some of the
other people that have been on and they definitely had challenges in regards to their roles and
(11:28):
responsibilities.
I think for us, it just happened organically.
Yes.
We know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
And you know, for example, Carolina is very particular, right?
She was a financial crimes auditor and in compliance.
So she's very particular about certain things.
And I am as well, but to a certain level.
And once I get past my comfort point, I'm almost like, I think I'd live with it.
(11:51):
And she's like, no, she's like, we just spent $250,000 on construction.
I want to be exactly this way.
And she'll go to the construction guys, but like, no, you got to fix this.
You got to do these things.
So that's where we're a little bit different.
But I respect and admire that because I don't like, I'm not the negotiator in this, right?
In this way, ship.
Right.
So, Carolina is just pretty doing that.
(12:11):
She'll, sometimes no shame.
Like she'll sit and negotiate on certain things and keep going.
I would have stopped miles ago, but it's just, you know, the strengths and weaknesses.
Yes.
I think it's a Brazilian thing.
You're like, you know, it's normal to negotiate prices.
You know, you just do it.
It's a cultural thing.
And for Don, it's like, he's embarrassed.
And I always try to negotiate the prices for, you know, everything that we're doing.
(12:34):
They were spending so much money that everything counts.
And it saves us a ton of money in the long run.
It's just that again, it goes past my comfort level sometimes.
But that's great that you guys bring different assets or different skill sets, right?
And what makes it work, right?
So, but it's funny when you were talking about, like sometimes you say things to Don, and
he goes, I don't know what you're talking about.
(12:55):
We both grew up here and she says that to me all the time.
Like, what are you talking about?
And I'm like, all right, let's move on.
Yeah.
But it's funny because he's the morning guy.
I'm the night guy.
And I'm like, I'm awake.
I'm ready to work and he's like, I'm ready to sleep.
Yeah, right.
Can we not talk about this anymore?
I tried to bring this up at six in the morning.
It's 10 at night.
I need coffee.
(13:15):
But I was going to ask you guys, you know, knowing the franchise world a little bit from
my previous world, that you guys went in, it's not like you just went in and say, I'm
going to go start one location and open a franchise.
You said you guys are area developers.
So talk about a little bit about what's the difference between, okay, I'm just going to
open one franchise versus what you guys are doing.
Got it.
Got it.
(13:35):
And it's funny, like when you go in and work with the franchise or you have the option
of establishing or locating a certain territory, which you can look within those parameters
for a location.
What we said was that we love that, but we think that this model, you know, Sugar and
NYC would do really quite well across all of Long Island.
(13:57):
And we really just said, let's look at different areas and figure out which areas would be
most successful.
And as we started to go through it, we realized it's really most of Long Island itself.
So that's what we said with the franchise or we just don't want to purchase one location.
We want to purchase a number of different territories.
And then we work with them to negotiate and figure out exactly how we can plan that.
(14:19):
Yeah.
So pretty much we wanted to, we looked around Long Island.
Long Island is, I mean, you know, there's a lot of money here.
Women take care of themselves.
So we look at all of these different areas and we strategically selected our eight territories
in a way that nobody else can come into Long Island.
(14:39):
There were already two other franchises in Nassau County closer to the city.
They were established already, but pretty much right now anybody coming into Long Island,
they would either, they would have to try to buy a territory from us if we wanted to
sell to them.
But our idea is really to open all eight stores here.
(15:01):
Yeah.
So we really believed in the model.
We pretty much took our car one day, a few days, and we drove around Long Island and
we found strip malls that had co-tenants that were like-minded.
So what we're looking for, it was Pilates Studios or gyms or nail salons, hair salons,
(15:26):
places that were attracting women and we're like, okay, you know, this is going to be
a good area for us to be.
Maybe not necessarily this strip mall, but so we would pinpoint that location as one
of our territories.
And then within six mile, six mile, right?
No, three mile radius.
You know, we would go and look, okay, what's another town?
(15:48):
So we went to Garden City because it's a very nice area.
And we went a little bit down to East Matter where we're opening our other location now.
So we really just went around driving looking for locations.
And then we contact our real estate broker and said, look, we saw all of these strip
malls.
Can you see what's available?
Are there any locations available at these strip malls?
(16:12):
And he found us a few.
We ended up finding our first store.
We ended up finding, we drove by one day and we saw the location and we loved it.
We went to the real estate agent and it's a pretty interesting story because this guy
owned this strip mall for, I don't know, 40 something years and GNC had already put a
(16:34):
letter of intent on that location.
So and then we went in and we were interested in the same location and the landlord was
very hands on.
It was his family's mall and he was like, I don't know you guys.
I want to, you know, why would I, why would I leave it to you?
(16:55):
So he asked to have a Zoom call with us.
And we literally had to convince him to leave to us.
And we told him, I said, well, GNC, you know, anybody can buy vitamins online.
They don't need to go to a store and the services that we are offering, people need to come
to us.
Chances are we're going to be in business much longer than they are.
(17:17):
And he wanted to know everything about the business and we explained it to him and he
ended up turning them away and leasing it to us, the location, which was, we're pretty
happy about that.
You know, it's interesting because the other thing I'm thinking about too is as you look
at what's going on in the world today in the US, there's a lot of layoffs, right?
People are looking to switch careers or get new careers, etc.
(17:38):
So what would you tell them about franchising?
If there's someone, you know, they are like, I need to change a career.
You know, I'm trying to do something else now.
What would you guys take beyond now in the being in the franchise world for the first
time?
So, okay, a couple of things for me, it depends on their creativity and personality.
Like for us, franchising, at least as an initial start into our own business was already going
(18:00):
to go due to the model being already perfected.
You know, I don't know if we would have been ready to open up our own business without
the model because we're not in marketing, right?
Like, we don't know all the aspects of how to create a business and keep it thriving,
not yet anyway.
So that's why franchising was good for us.
But there are definitely people out there who, you know, are much more creative and maybe
(18:22):
more business-minded that could actually, you know, go ahead and open up their own business
and create their own franchise if they chose to.
I think what we get to do is how we manage and model our team.
So if we spend the time hiring the right employees, right, who can project the right,
like, attitude towards our customers, that's what we get to have the value, right?
(18:46):
And that's where we personalize it as opposed to just having this, you know, a strict vanilla
type of franchise.
Yeah, that's what I was going to ask you guys.
Are there keys to success for making it work, right?
So like, you've got the right location.
First of all, you guys talked about a great strategy to do that.
But then you, then it's the, it's the, it sounds like it's the people.
It's like, it's, I mean, the people you bring in to run the individual franchise is that
(19:09):
it's like, yeah, and that's really, that's like Carolina.
It's like, I'm more the strategic guy.
Carolina is the tactical girl, right?
So she runs the day to day.
She interviews and hires all the employees and, you know, you need to pick people with
the right skill set, but the right personality.
And one thing I would say just, you know, from being in the corporate world, right, is
(19:30):
that, that, you know, we love our clients are important, but they're like tourists.
They fly in and out, but employees, they live there all year round.
So you have to be like, just be patient and gentle and kind with them because, you know,
they will project that smile in the voice and they'll be happy to be there and clients
are just feeling, I'm sorry, Carolina.
No, no, you're right.
I, I was, I was told when I first started this process, oh, you know, nobody wants to
(19:56):
work, you know, everybody's getting money from the government.
You're not going to find employees.
I went and I, I, I put it on indeed.
I didn't even pay.
I did the free ad indeed for openings when we were about to open our first location.
I had so many girls apply for the job, so many girls.
I was a Panera bread sitting for two days for like four hours each day, just interviewing
(20:20):
girls after girls.
And we were going to hire five, five, five girls to start.
And I had so many candidates that after, you know, they introduced themselves, it was just
not the right attitude for me and for me, like we can teach sugaring.
You cannot teach people ethics or attitude.
(20:42):
And and that's the thing.
We provide very good corporate training for all the girls.
And we've been so lucky with our team in our first location.
We've had the same girls since we opened one girl actually just left to just moving out
of state or whatever it is that she decided to leave.
(21:03):
But we've been so lucky and it just proven to be important because I hear a lot of people
in the same franchise saying they have a huge turnover.
We don't.
We have over 250 reviews and we've been open since November and our reviews are amazing
and it's all because of the employees.
(21:24):
So when we were thinking about, you know, how are we going to pay them and everything
we're doing, we're being extra generous because unfortunately in this industry, you know, some
people a dollar more an hour or make a difference for them.
So up of paying them, you know, what's required, we pay them incentives, we pay every time
(21:47):
they get a positive review on Yelp, we pay them.
They get the commissions of all the services.
So we really put a nice package.
We pay them vacation, which a lot of girls in this industry don't get paid vacation.
So we put in a nice package so we would be able to retain our employees because it's
a very intimate service and cost were they want to come and have a different person all
(22:11):
the time.
Right.
You know, I don't want to come with the same sugar is that they come and thank God it's
working for us.
It's like, you know, people matter attitude is everything.
Right.
And I really love the analogy of, of clients are tourists and, and your employees are the
(22:33):
people who live there, the residents, so to speak.
Yeah, that's, that's a great analogy.
So how you guys have children and you are together and you're working together.
How do you separate business from personal?
How do you balance the business personal life?
We don't, we just don't.
(22:54):
We really honestly like it just, it impedes each of the, each of our, you know, our days
consistently.
We ultimately will be doing something personally in the phone more ring.
Like it is right now.
Yes.
And we'll just stop what we're doing and we have to focus on the business.
Right.
And it'll be just for a moment or so.
We'll, we'll deal with the situation that's occurring and our family completely understands
(23:15):
like we actually were happy for them to see that.
Like we like them to see that, you know, and we like to lead by example and show them
their work ethic.
And we like them to see that, you know, hey, their mom's super successful and she's engaged
and she's involved in that.
And that's the right role model.
Three daughters, right?
So we want to make sure that all the girls know exactly, right, that they can be stronger
and empowered.
(23:35):
That's great.
I love that.
Do you have like a guiding principle for your life and your business?
Like a kind of like a North Star that keeps you on track?
Yeah.
I would say we do.
I would say the most important thing, right, is that for us, right, that we just trust
and have good intentions for each other, right?
(23:55):
Well, we share the same agenda.
So we're, you know, Caroline is not, you know, trying to, you know, pull a fast one on me
at any time.
Like we're always in step that way.
And that's the most important thing.
So even if you don't agree on things, we still recognize that there's the right outcome
is what we're trying to gain.
It's not a personal gain.
It's a, it's a game for both of us.
And I think the second thing really is again, like I just said earlier, like we tried to
(24:18):
lead by example.
It's important for our employees to see that and it's important for our kids to see that
on how we interact and how we behave all day.
That's great.
I love that.
Lead by example.
I love that.
And I love, I love also it sounds like that lead by example also spills over to your business
and your employees.
And you know, it sounds like it's like it's the same motto kind of, right?
(24:42):
That's exactly it.
I think what's important that we, you know, we think that like the time and effort that
you put in determines your success, right?
And of course, some luck in there as well.
Systems that habits that you build, right?
They allow you to focus on, you know, the, you know, getting the, I guess the process
instead of the result.
Right.
Right.
(25:03):
That's great.
I mean, you guys have covered so much like so succinctly.
I'm not sure.
Yeah.
I was just going to ask if you were to give some advice to any aspiring couples who want
to be entrepreneurs or work together, what would your advice be?
I'll jump.
I'll jump.
I'll let you go first.
So, no, you always say something interesting that I love.
(25:25):
You say that courage is an action, not a feeling.
So don't be afraid to, you know, to get us out of your comfort zone and take a chance
and then, right?
Yeah.
You need to lead into discomfort at times, right?
(25:46):
And you do that together, right?
And as long as you rely on each other and recognize that you have strengths and weaknesses
and you trust, like I do, I trust Carolina that she's running the day to day.
She'll come to me with some questions and get my perspective on it.
And ultimately, it's her responsibility, she's going to make the decision and I live
with that, right?
And I know she's going to make the right decision.
And that's part of it.
(26:07):
And I guess if you can't do that, then you probably shouldn't be in business together.
Yeah.
Maybe not even in a relationship together.
Yeah.
I feel that if I had to run every decision by him, it just, it doesn't, it wouldn't
work.
So, and same thing with him, like he gets heavily involved in the beginning with the
contracts and the legal paperwork and all of the insurance things, I want nothing to
(26:31):
do with that.
So, I completely trust him on that.
I want to be involved in the construction and I talk to the contractors and the architects
and the designing.
That's where I want to be involved in.
And if there's like a hiccup here and there, we talk with each other, but generally it's
just trusting that the other person is doing the right, making the right decision.
(26:53):
That's great advice.
That's great.
It's great advice.
It's good for any business.
Right?
Yeah.
Any business, whether you're a couple or, well, or you have a partner in the business,
right?
This has been great.
Like, you know, just even like introduced to your, your podcast was great.
I'm happy to listen to them going forward.
It's really just so interesting.
(27:13):
I'm happy to see that it's not only us sometimes that struggle through things, that there are
other people as well, and that they can get over it also.
But no, I just want to, yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you.
Absolutely.
It was, it was truly our pleasure to do so.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Thanks for listening.
For more info about our guests and their business, visit sugaringnyc.com.
(27:40):
For more episodes, visit brandingshorts.com forward slash podcast.
Thanks for listening.
The risk takers, innovators, business owners, and there are a couple.
(00:14):
Welcome to a couple of entrepreneurs, a series about couples who start a business together
without ending their relationship.
Hear their unique stories, get tips, advice, and the secret to their success.
Would you work with your spouse?
Hosted by Mickey and Tony, a couple of entrepreneurs.
(00:35):
Co-founders of Brandy Shorts.
From ancient Egypt to Long Island, meet the couple behind the franchise that's growing
like hair.
Don and Carolina of sugaring NYC organic waxing.
(00:55):
Welcome to the show.
Thank you guys for joining.
I heard a lot of great things about your business and want to learn more today.
So I think just to kick off, why don't you guys just start to introduce yourself, who
you are and what your business is.
Sure.
What do you want to go ahead and tell me?
Sure.
I'm Carolina.
I'm originally from Brazil.
I have been in the US for 24 years.
(01:20):
Came here to study, ended up staying, meeting my husband and never went back.
I was in corporate world for a good 21 out of the 24 years I've been here.
And the business that we are in right now, it's called Sugaring NYC.
It's a franchise.
(01:41):
We are area developers for this franchise.
It's an alternative to hot wax.
It's organic hair removal.
It's the oldest way of hair removal, but it's still not very popular in the US.
So this is the first franchise in the US to bring this kind of natural hair removal to
(02:08):
the market.
So why this type of business?
Why this industry?
What was it about this?
Yeah, so interesting.
So for years, we've been searching for the right business to move into.
I think we've always had this idea that we would shift out of corporate America at some
point in time.
And as we got older, or at least I am older, we really wanted to focus on something.
(02:32):
And we really, I guess we cast an ad ad to say, what do people spend money on even in
bad times?
Right?
It's not retail because retail we know has gone to the internet and people are buying
things off of Amazon and it's going to shift to home.
We said that people always spend money on their kids, on their pets, and women always
spend money on their beauty.
(02:53):
So we said, okay, this is a service industry where people will have to come, right?
Which is great.
And then even in bad times, they'll spend money on these things.
When did you start working together on this business?
So back in 2012, we talked about going into opening an European Wax Center, which is our
major competitor.
(03:14):
It didn't work out.
We were both working in the city at the time.
We just, you know, we were doing other things.
We had a small child.
It wasn't the right time.
So when the pandemic hit in 2020, we started talking about it.
We were both working from home at the time.
(03:35):
And we started talking about what can we do?
We had more time together because up to that point, we would see each other.
You know, Don would go to the city every day, leave at 5.45 in the morning, come home at
7.30.
And by the time he got home, we really never had time to talk about this.
So being home all the time, we started talking about it.
(03:56):
And the big, I guess, decision we really made when my job went fully remote, even after
everybody started going back, they told me I would be a fully remote worker and I did
not want to do that.
And that's when we're like, okay, this is the right time.
Let's just do this.
Right.
And I think that we head on to that.
And I think that we looked at European Wax event, but they were not really releasing
(04:19):
any licenses on Long Island, which is where we live.
And we said, okay, I think we buy into the fact that the franchise model works best for
us because, again, we're both in the corporate world and we're rule followers.
And there's a model there in place that we can just take and manage it and make it our
own, but really manage to the guidelines that they provide us, which is a nice segue
(04:41):
into owning our own business.
But ultimately we realized that European Wax was not releasing licenses on Long Island.
And we said, let's look at all their franchises.
And we looked around and let industries and things like that.
And then we really just honed in on the fact that they don't have any natural competitors.
They have these small mama pop shops, but they don't have a real competitor out there,
(05:02):
especially in our region.
So we started looking for competitors and Carolina really honed in on the sugaring because it's
just, I mean, it's made out of sugar.
It's 100% natural.
It's made of sugar, water and lemon.
And I really liked the idea.
I went to the city.
I tried the product in one of their salons before we even signed on.
(05:25):
And I really loved it.
I liked it.
And that's how we said, let's move forward.
So we looked for some franchises that offered sugaring and we found sugaring NYC and we loved
the model.
We loved the franchise or it was just super helpful.
They were great welcoming.
And we decided not only to just buy one territory on one island, we actually, our area developers
(05:47):
went up purchasing eight different territories.
Oh, wow.
That's great.
So we got as a cross all over on Island.
And does it play into Carolina?
I think you said you're from Brazil.
Yes.
So does I know nothing about waxing, anything about this process.
So thank you guys for educating us today in the audience.
But being from Brazil, does that play into it at all because you always hear about Brazilian
(06:11):
waxing, etc.
Yes.
So to be honest, I don't understand why the name is Brazilian waxing.
It's one of the services we offer is called Brazilian is the most popular one.
But waxing really did not come originally from Brazil.
It was from Egypt.
And sugaring is originally from Egypt as well.
(06:34):
But yes, I mean, being from Brazil, I myself have been waxing since I was 14 years old.
And everybody does that in Brazil.
Laser is not very popular there.
Also because of the cost is very expensive.
But yes, I believe being from Brazil was one of the reasons that I liked.
(06:56):
I knew a little like, mom and pop shops here that were doing hard wax.
And I'm like, let's do this other natural, you know, alternative.
And I because people are very focused nowadays in natural natural and organic.
Right.
And it's so much more gentle on the skin and with hot wax, they can only go over special
(07:21):
for facial serves is two times with sugar paste, we can keep going over to every hairs
removed because it does it doesn't adhere to the skin.
So we did a lot of researching to it and I love the idea of sugar instead of waxing.
That's great.
So so when did you start working on or working together on this franchise sugaring NYC?
(07:44):
When did that start?
So again, we started, I think it was maybe 2020.
We really dug in and said, this is what we're going to do.
And we started researching it.
We found the franchise.
And then it was it was pretty quick from there.
Right.
And we went through the FDD, we went through that time, the agreement.
And then we started looking for territories.
(08:05):
And it just kind of naturally kind of it was a natural flow for us to shift into it.
And, you know, it was sparsely furious to be honest with you.
It was a new industry for us.
It's exciting because we were learning brand new things that we haven't learned or dealt
with in years or maybe ever times like construction and right, finding a territory, finding, you
know, looking for like-minded tenants that shares a strip mall that would bring in the
(08:30):
same type of clientele.
So there's a lot to learn.
And it was just, you know, it was just a lot coming at once.
But it was well worth it because we knew the end goal.
It did take a little while.
I think we signed up with the franchise in December 2021.
Correct.
From when we started our research until we found them.
And then like Don said, it's a lot of, you know, finding an attorney, finding a real
(08:53):
estate broker looking for locations and all of that.
So we wanted to make sure that we had a whole team of people who knew what they were doing.
And then when we finally found our first location and signed with them, it was 2021.
Correct.
Yes.
You kind of always feel like other people know more than you do.
(09:15):
But that made, that's not always the case.
But you know, but you always seem to feel that way.
Yeah.
I have a lot of respect for you guys in the franchise world in my previous life.
I worked for Merck Express and I managed the quick service restaurant industry for Merck
Express.
So my clients were McDonald's, all the, you know, Dunkin Starbucks, you know, on and
on all the subway, all the major franchises.
(09:36):
And I, and I saw it, it's not that easy to be successful.
You know, so you saw some were very successful and some not so successful.
So I guess you do need to figure out that formula.
It is a franchise, but there's that formula, right?
To make it work.
And also to make it yours, right?
To your own personal touch on it.
So, so what were the biggest challenges not only in starting this business, this franchise
(09:59):
business, but working together as well as a couple starting a business together?
In regards to us working together, I think, well, the time difference.
Yeah.
So I think you bring your personality clearly into your business world.
And I am the morning guy.
I'm going to go up early, I'm exercising first thing in the morning and I'm going through
(10:21):
spreadsheets and I'm working on things and Carolina is still sleeping.
And then when she gets up, I like jump on her like, Oh, by the way, we have to do all
these things.
And she's like, I haven't had my coffee yet.
Right.
And, and it's the opposite at the end of the day, where she's like about 1030 nights.
She's like, Hey, let's look at that spreadsheet.
And I'm like, what?
Like, I'm like, I've been up, you know, since five a.m.
(10:44):
So I think that was probably one of the biggest challenges.
Yeah.
Maybe a little bit of language barrier.
Well, yes.
I, you know, English, English is my second language, obviously.
And this is all so new to us.
So sometimes I'm thinking things in my head that make sense to me.
And I will say to him and he'll be like, I don't know what you just said.
(11:08):
And that really frustrates me.
I think like Don said, there was a lot of challenges with the process, the business
process more than the personal relationship.
Yeah.
The relationship is solid.
So we didn't really, like we listened to some of the other podcasts and some of the
other people that have been on and they definitely had challenges in regards to their roles and
(11:28):
responsibilities.
I think for us, it just happened organically.
Yes.
We know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
And you know, for example, Carolina is very particular, right?
She was a financial crimes auditor and in compliance.
So she's very particular about certain things.
And I am as well, but to a certain level.
And once I get past my comfort point, I'm almost like, I think I'd live with it.
(11:51):
And she's like, no, she's like, we just spent $250,000 on construction.
I want to be exactly this way.
And she'll go to the construction guys, but like, no, you got to fix this.
You got to do these things.
So that's where we're a little bit different.
But I respect and admire that because I don't like, I'm not the negotiator in this, right?
In this way, ship.
Right.
So, Carolina is just pretty doing that.
(12:11):
She'll, sometimes no shame.
Like she'll sit and negotiate on certain things and keep going.
I would have stopped miles ago, but it's just, you know, the strengths and weaknesses.
Yes.
I think it's a Brazilian thing.
You're like, you know, it's normal to negotiate prices.
You know, you just do it.
It's a cultural thing.
And for Don, it's like, he's embarrassed.
And I always try to negotiate the prices for, you know, everything that we're doing.
(12:34):
They were spending so much money that everything counts.
And it saves us a ton of money in the long run.
It's just that again, it goes past my comfort level sometimes.
But that's great that you guys bring different assets or different skill sets, right?
And what makes it work, right?
So, but it's funny when you were talking about, like sometimes you say things to Don, and
he goes, I don't know what you're talking about.
(12:55):
We both grew up here and she says that to me all the time.
Like, what are you talking about?
And I'm like, all right, let's move on.
Yeah.
But it's funny because he's the morning guy.
I'm the night guy.
And I'm like, I'm awake.
I'm ready to work and he's like, I'm ready to sleep.
Yeah, right.
Can we not talk about this anymore?
I tried to bring this up at six in the morning.
It's 10 at night.
I need coffee.
(13:15):
But I was going to ask you guys, you know, knowing the franchise world a little bit from
my previous world, that you guys went in, it's not like you just went in and say, I'm
going to go start one location and open a franchise.
You said you guys are area developers.
So talk about a little bit about what's the difference between, okay, I'm just going to
open one franchise versus what you guys are doing.
Got it.
Got it.
(13:35):
And it's funny, like when you go in and work with the franchise or you have the option
of establishing or locating a certain territory, which you can look within those parameters
for a location.
What we said was that we love that, but we think that this model, you know, Sugar and
NYC would do really quite well across all of Long Island.
(13:57):
And we really just said, let's look at different areas and figure out which areas would be
most successful.
And as we started to go through it, we realized it's really most of Long Island itself.
So that's what we said with the franchise or we just don't want to purchase one location.
We want to purchase a number of different territories.
And then we work with them to negotiate and figure out exactly how we can plan that.
(14:19):
Yeah.
So pretty much we wanted to, we looked around Long Island.
Long Island is, I mean, you know, there's a lot of money here.
Women take care of themselves.
So we look at all of these different areas and we strategically selected our eight territories
in a way that nobody else can come into Long Island.
(14:39):
There were already two other franchises in Nassau County closer to the city.
They were established already, but pretty much right now anybody coming into Long Island,
they would either, they would have to try to buy a territory from us if we wanted to
sell to them.
But our idea is really to open all eight stores here.
(15:01):
Yeah.
So we really believed in the model.
We pretty much took our car one day, a few days, and we drove around Long Island and
we found strip malls that had co-tenants that were like-minded.
So what we're looking for, it was Pilates Studios or gyms or nail salons, hair salons,
(15:26):
places that were attracting women and we're like, okay, you know, this is going to be
a good area for us to be.
Maybe not necessarily this strip mall, but so we would pinpoint that location as one
of our territories.
And then within six mile, six mile, right?
No, three mile radius.
You know, we would go and look, okay, what's another town?
(15:48):
So we went to Garden City because it's a very nice area.
And we went a little bit down to East Matter where we're opening our other location now.
So we really just went around driving looking for locations.
And then we contact our real estate broker and said, look, we saw all of these strip
malls.
Can you see what's available?
Are there any locations available at these strip malls?
(16:12):
And he found us a few.
We ended up finding our first store.
We ended up finding, we drove by one day and we saw the location and we loved it.
We went to the real estate agent and it's a pretty interesting story because this guy
owned this strip mall for, I don't know, 40 something years and GNC had already put a
(16:34):
letter of intent on that location.
So and then we went in and we were interested in the same location and the landlord was
very hands on.
It was his family's mall and he was like, I don't know you guys.
I want to, you know, why would I, why would I leave it to you?
(16:55):
So he asked to have a Zoom call with us.
And we literally had to convince him to leave to us.
And we told him, I said, well, GNC, you know, anybody can buy vitamins online.
They don't need to go to a store and the services that we are offering, people need to come
to us.
Chances are we're going to be in business much longer than they are.
(17:17):
And he wanted to know everything about the business and we explained it to him and he
ended up turning them away and leasing it to us, the location, which was, we're pretty
happy about that.
You know, it's interesting because the other thing I'm thinking about too is as you look
at what's going on in the world today in the US, there's a lot of layoffs, right?
People are looking to switch careers or get new careers, etc.
(17:38):
So what would you tell them about franchising?
If there's someone, you know, they are like, I need to change a career.
You know, I'm trying to do something else now.
What would you guys take beyond now in the being in the franchise world for the first
time?
So, okay, a couple of things for me, it depends on their creativity and personality.
Like for us, franchising, at least as an initial start into our own business was already going
(18:00):
to go due to the model being already perfected.
You know, I don't know if we would have been ready to open up our own business without
the model because we're not in marketing, right?
Like, we don't know all the aspects of how to create a business and keep it thriving,
not yet anyway.
So that's why franchising was good for us.
But there are definitely people out there who, you know, are much more creative and maybe
(18:22):
more business-minded that could actually, you know, go ahead and open up their own business
and create their own franchise if they chose to.
I think what we get to do is how we manage and model our team.
So if we spend the time hiring the right employees, right, who can project the right,
like, attitude towards our customers, that's what we get to have the value, right?
(18:46):
And that's where we personalize it as opposed to just having this, you know, a strict vanilla
type of franchise.
Yeah, that's what I was going to ask you guys.
Are there keys to success for making it work, right?
So like, you've got the right location.
First of all, you guys talked about a great strategy to do that.
But then you, then it's the, it's the, it sounds like it's the people.
It's like, it's, I mean, the people you bring in to run the individual franchise is that
(19:09):
it's like, yeah, and that's really, that's like Carolina.
It's like, I'm more the strategic guy.
Carolina is the tactical girl, right?
So she runs the day to day.
She interviews and hires all the employees and, you know, you need to pick people with
the right skill set, but the right personality.
And one thing I would say just, you know, from being in the corporate world, right, is
(19:30):
that, that, you know, we love our clients are important, but they're like tourists.
They fly in and out, but employees, they live there all year round.
So you have to be like, just be patient and gentle and kind with them because, you know,
they will project that smile in the voice and they'll be happy to be there and clients
are just feeling, I'm sorry, Carolina.
No, no, you're right.
I, I was, I was told when I first started this process, oh, you know, nobody wants to
(19:56):
work, you know, everybody's getting money from the government.
You're not going to find employees.
I went and I, I, I put it on indeed.
I didn't even pay.
I did the free ad indeed for openings when we were about to open our first location.
I had so many girls apply for the job, so many girls.
I was a Panera bread sitting for two days for like four hours each day, just interviewing
(20:20):
girls after girls.
And we were going to hire five, five, five girls to start.
And I had so many candidates that after, you know, they introduced themselves, it was just
not the right attitude for me and for me, like we can teach sugaring.
You cannot teach people ethics or attitude.
(20:42):
And and that's the thing.
We provide very good corporate training for all the girls.
And we've been so lucky with our team in our first location.
We've had the same girls since we opened one girl actually just left to just moving out
of state or whatever it is that she decided to leave.
(21:03):
But we've been so lucky and it just proven to be important because I hear a lot of people
in the same franchise saying they have a huge turnover.
We don't.
We have over 250 reviews and we've been open since November and our reviews are amazing
and it's all because of the employees.
(21:24):
So when we were thinking about, you know, how are we going to pay them and everything
we're doing, we're being extra generous because unfortunately in this industry, you know, some
people a dollar more an hour or make a difference for them.
So up of paying them, you know, what's required, we pay them incentives, we pay every time
(21:47):
they get a positive review on Yelp, we pay them.
They get the commissions of all the services.
So we really put a nice package.
We pay them vacation, which a lot of girls in this industry don't get paid vacation.
So we put in a nice package so we would be able to retain our employees because it's
a very intimate service and cost were they want to come and have a different person all
(22:11):
the time.
Right.
You know, I don't want to come with the same sugar is that they come and thank God it's
working for us.
It's like, you know, people matter attitude is everything.
Right.
And I really love the analogy of, of clients are tourists and, and your employees are the
(22:33):
people who live there, the residents, so to speak.
Yeah, that's, that's a great analogy.
So how you guys have children and you are together and you're working together.
How do you separate business from personal?
How do you balance the business personal life?
We don't, we just don't.
(22:54):
We really honestly like it just, it impedes each of the, each of our, you know, our days
consistently.
We ultimately will be doing something personally in the phone more ring.
Like it is right now.
Yes.
And we'll just stop what we're doing and we have to focus on the business.
Right.
And it'll be just for a moment or so.
We'll, we'll deal with the situation that's occurring and our family completely understands
(23:15):
like we actually were happy for them to see that.
Like we like them to see that, you know, and we like to lead by example and show them
their work ethic.
And we like them to see that, you know, hey, their mom's super successful and she's engaged
and she's involved in that.
And that's the right role model.
Three daughters, right?
So we want to make sure that all the girls know exactly, right, that they can be stronger
and empowered.
(23:35):
That's great.
I love that.
Do you have like a guiding principle for your life and your business?
Like a kind of like a North Star that keeps you on track?
Yeah.
I would say we do.
I would say the most important thing, right, is that for us, right, that we just trust
and have good intentions for each other, right?
(23:55):
Well, we share the same agenda.
So we're, you know, Caroline is not, you know, trying to, you know, pull a fast one on me
at any time.
Like we're always in step that way.
And that's the most important thing.
So even if you don't agree on things, we still recognize that there's the right outcome
is what we're trying to gain.
It's not a personal gain.
It's a, it's a game for both of us.
And I think the second thing really is again, like I just said earlier, like we tried to
(24:18):
lead by example.
It's important for our employees to see that and it's important for our kids to see that
on how we interact and how we behave all day.
That's great.
I love that.
Lead by example.
I love that.
And I love, I love also it sounds like that lead by example also spills over to your business
and your employees.
And you know, it sounds like it's like it's the same motto kind of, right?
(24:42):
That's exactly it.
I think what's important that we, you know, we think that like the time and effort that
you put in determines your success, right?
And of course, some luck in there as well.
Systems that habits that you build, right?
They allow you to focus on, you know, the, you know, getting the, I guess the process
instead of the result.
Right.
Right.
(25:03):
That's great.
I mean, you guys have covered so much like so succinctly.
I'm not sure.
Yeah.
I was just going to ask if you were to give some advice to any aspiring couples who want
to be entrepreneurs or work together, what would your advice be?
I'll jump.
I'll jump.
I'll let you go first.
So, no, you always say something interesting that I love.
(25:25):
You say that courage is an action, not a feeling.
So don't be afraid to, you know, to get us out of your comfort zone and take a chance
and then, right?
Yeah.
You need to lead into discomfort at times, right?
(25:46):
And you do that together, right?
And as long as you rely on each other and recognize that you have strengths and weaknesses
and you trust, like I do, I trust Carolina that she's running the day to day.
She'll come to me with some questions and get my perspective on it.
And ultimately, it's her responsibility, she's going to make the decision and I live
with that, right?
And I know she's going to make the right decision.
And that's part of it.
(26:07):
And I guess if you can't do that, then you probably shouldn't be in business together.
Yeah.
Maybe not even in a relationship together.
Yeah.
I feel that if I had to run every decision by him, it just, it doesn't, it wouldn't
work.
So, and same thing with him, like he gets heavily involved in the beginning with the
contracts and the legal paperwork and all of the insurance things, I want nothing to
(26:31):
do with that.
So, I completely trust him on that.
I want to be involved in the construction and I talk to the contractors and the architects
and the designing.
That's where I want to be involved in.
And if there's like a hiccup here and there, we talk with each other, but generally it's
just trusting that the other person is doing the right, making the right decision.
(26:53):
That's great advice.
That's great.
It's great advice.
It's good for any business.
Right?
Yeah.
Any business, whether you're a couple or, well, or you have a partner in the business,
right?
This has been great.
Like, you know, just even like introduced to your, your podcast was great.
I'm happy to listen to them going forward.
It's really just so interesting.
(27:13):
I'm happy to see that it's not only us sometimes that struggle through things, that there are
other people as well, and that they can get over it also.
But no, I just want to, yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you.
Absolutely.
It was, it was truly our pleasure to do so.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Thanks for listening.
For more info about our guests and their business, visit sugaringnyc.com.
(27:40):
For more episodes, visit brandingshorts.com forward slash podcast.
Thanks for listening.
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