Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Harris.
Hi Leslie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been an emergency room nurse for 21 years. About 5 years ago, I developed an interest in skincare and aesthetics. I took a very special interest in permanent makeup because I was just truly amazed at what is being done in this industry. From realistic eyebrows to eyeliners to color correcting uneven and discolored lips to camouflaging the scars of burn victims and assault survivors. I am super excited and passionate about this business and where it’s going. I knew several years ago; my true calling was to lead other women and show them how to either love themselves for the very first time or relearn it by example and support. It’s the best feeling.
Kulture open its doors April of 2019 so we are still in the baby stages. We were closed for several months of 2020 due to the pandemic. but we are not focused on the past. We are just getting started. Aesthetics is A billion-dollar industry. As a black woman, with a white mom, it was never easy for anyone to match me with a bottle of foundation. I don’t think it would be any easier to take a bottle of pigment off the shelf and camouflage a scar on my body. colors need to be customized. I take pride it that.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Heck no. lol If you meet an entrepreneur that ever tells you their road has been smooth sailing the entire way, please tell them I would like to meet them. It’s tough. There are lots of days that I want to give up because you want things to happen faster than they do. You want customers quicker than they show up. You want and need to make money. because you have spent so much money and you need to start seeing a return on you initial investment. All of those feelings are real and I am pretty sure we have all felt them. Life keeps going. My dad passed away my first year of business. My mom got diagnosed with cancer last year and thank goodness just successfully finished chemotherapy. Not to mention I worked full time during an entire pandemic as an emergency room nurse.
So yes, and as I am writing this, I am thinking to myself, that’s a WHOLE LOTTA STUFF. one foot forward.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Along with being an owner and permanent makeup artist at Kulture, as I mentioned previously, I am an emergency room nurse and I still actively work as one. As many people found themselves without a job in 2020, I was blessed to fortunately still be gainfully employed as a nurse even when I was unable to work in the studio as a permanent makeup artist.
I have been a nurse 21 years and I am most proud of the fact that I have had an extremely versatile nursing career… I have worked in several states, I have worked in very affluent suburbs, very poor inner city’s, I have worked in jails and prisons. I have worked with drug addicts, the mentally ill, and everything in between, and it’s extremely humbling. we all have basic needs and we all bleed red.
One thing that sets me apart from some not all is the fact that I will respectfully speak up when something doesn’t sit right with me. I am a huge advocate for my patients and an equally huge advocate for my fellow nurses .and I always have been. There is strength in numbers and I have always been very vocal about what changes I feel need to be made in the delivery of healthcare in this country
I hope to be an example and super encouraging to all of the new nurses entering the field in the next few years
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Yes absolutely, so this is a two-part question because for me mentoring and networking are a bit different.
As far as a mentor, And I have several of them, one of them being my business coach, I basically started out by making a list of my strengths, weakness, and objectives. Then I needed to make a note of my learning style because I knew I would learn best if I followed and interacted with mentors that taught in a way that was conducive to my learning style. My biggest piece of advice is following people that are already where you are trying to get to. . Follow their advice. Do what they do. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Networking is a little different in that you can reach out to anyone and everyone that is willing to engage
Meeting people and just making conversation is fun and the purpose is not to try to sell to someone. the purpose is try to bring people together… I hand my business cards out all the time, I offer free services, and sometimes I will just hit up a like-minded business boss on social and invite her to lunch… I love a great conversation.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @thekultureskinspa
