WORDS: IRVIN RIVERA

Establishing and maintaining a successful business in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles is no easy feat. Woman entrepreneur Deisy Suarez persisted, pursued and was able to establish DESUAR SPA, a successful oasis in the heart of Downtown LA.

In this exclusive interview, we chatted with the power woman entrepreneur Deisy Suarez about her passion in beauty and healthcare, her journey in establishing Desuar Spa, as well as her key practices in running a successful business and being a successful entrepreneur. Read, be inspired and learn from her stories and years of experiences in marketing and running a business.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the Beauty and Wellness industry?

I’ve been passionate about beauty and self-care since an early age. I am proud to say that since I was a young girl, I began concocting my own mud masks & body scrubs to use on myself, friends, and family. At age 10, I was already performing skin/body, make up & hair treatments on friends and family, and by age 12 people were already paying me for it. My biggest inspiration was to be able to help others feel good about themselves inside and out. I feel good about helping someone and get paid for doing what I love. Enhancing or improving other people’s lives is a very rewarding and fulfilling feeling.

What compelled you to open the spa in Downtown LA?

This career is my calling. Besides wanting to be my own boss, I knew I could have a high-income potential and do what I love at the same time. Downtown Los Angeles was the first and only place I’ve lived since I moved from NYC. DTLA is all about small businesses that are passionate about their neighborhood and want to serve this amazing, growing community. Every business in DTLA has its own individuality and self-expression, design and theme. I saw the potential and the need for a spa when the entire Downtown LA area was under construction. More and more people were moving in, and it was moving so fast, but there was still no high-end spa anyone could go to. I wanted to be the first spa in DTLA. My dream was to create a getaway and underground oasis that would help people to relax and provide therapeutic treatments for visitors & residents. Something that would fit the demographic and also feel warm and inviting.

How do your years of experience in the beauty industry and wellness industry play in establishing and running Desuar Spa?

Having worked in numerous spas and beauty salons throughout the years has allowed me to accumulate the experience necessary to feel confident enough to venture out on my own. It helped me get an idea of the business environment, market knowledge, employee and supervisor relationships, backbar organizations as well as supplier/vendor relationships. It also taught me that customer service is the key factor to successfully run your business. Working in department store as salesperson has helped me a lot with retail and product sales at my business and how to be a good team player.

I’ve also learned how to use information technology to gain and manage knowledge. Utilizing technology is one of the most effective ways to run a business today. Lastly, and most important one must hold their business to high standards so as not to lose the skills or experience your business has built up. You need to find formal ways of sharing your employees' knowledge about the best ways of doing things. For example, you might create and implement procedural guidelines based on your employees' best practices.

What’s the story behind the name of the Spa?

The name of the spa is simply a combination of the first parts of my first and last names; DE from Deisy and SUAR from Suarez. Many people have remarked that the name sounds very French pronounced “De-Swar”, but it’s just me!

How would you describe the experience in Desuar Spa?

It’s like being transported to an underground oasis, something you never imagined you would find.  Once you step into our spa you will be offered wine, water, or tea and taken to a locker to change into a robe, if you choose. Our spa is a place where you can spend an hour of your time to experience an amazing, unique spa treatment or ritual, high-end therapeutic massage, facial and skin or body treatment without the guilt of breaking the bank. We specialize in many top of the line personalized treatments at affordable prices.

What makes the spa different from all the other existing spas in Los Angeles?

From the mood to the décor and our specialized treatments, like a wine soak, or massage on a water mattress, you won’t find another spa like us. Our story, our location, our dedicated staff and our community spirit are all parts of DESUAR Spa that set us apart from the competition.  Our clients become family, our location is completely unique, and our personal story is definitely one for the books!

Who came up with the treatments?

I came up with the treatments inspired by my travel experience which served as a model for my own unique treatments. I also received assistance from my partners (vendors) that assisted me in curating my treatments for the final product.

How did it evolve into what it is right now?

As a little girl, I envisioned myself running my own business and operating a successful spa. Now I am a licensed Esthetician, Make-Up Artist & Certified Massage Therapist, as well as an entrepreneur. I graduated in 2017 from the University of California Irvine Continuing Education Division with a Certificate in Spa and Hospitality Management. I am also certified by Cidesco for Advanced Skin Analysis, and I have over 18 years of experience in the beauty and wellness industry.

I learned the ins and outs of skincare and makeup artistry while living and working in NYC as a freelance makeup artist and in several stores and beauty salons, while also attending Fashion School (Fashion Institute of Technology). I branched out in 2004, starting my own cosmetic line, DESUAR Cosmetics. Working with French Aroma Imports Co. and their research director, Dr. Srinivas R. Srivas, I learned much of the technical data related to the formulation and manufacturing of cosmetics and skincare products.

To improve my makeup skills, I received a certification in Editorial Makeup, Body Art Painting, and Special Effects Makeup from the Learning Institute of Beauty Science (LIBS) in New York in 2004. I worked on various studio sets and fashion shows until 2006, when I relocated to Los Angeles.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, I worked as freelance makeup artist & stylist. In early 2009, I had a brief business partnership with a hair salon located in North Hollywood and while there I ran spa operations. In 2010, I parted ways with my salon partner and opened my own home-based spa offering facials, skin and body treatments, and beauty services. In 2015 DESUAR Spa became too big to operate from a home, and with my personal mantra, “Forward!” DESUAR Spa has become my path and my outlet. The exterior is signature me, glamour and whimsy, but the services offered are rejuvenating and genuine.

DESUAR Spa has grown to provide outstanding treatments with proven results, clinical skincare procedures, ultrasonic, chemical peel & microdermabrasion facials, and my very own “secret” body scrub formula, along with excellent massage treatments and waxing services. I want each guest to enjoy the time they spend at DESUAR Spa and to leave happy and feeling better about themselves.

Congratulations on another baby. For a power mom and entrepreneur like you, how do you stay focused and manage your schedule?

Thank you!

I’ve learned to meditate at night. I try to go sleep with my headphones playing some of the most inspirational audiobooks I can find. I particularly enjoy listening to Tony Robbins & Wayne Dyer. I also have a calendar and like to plan ahead to have a more organized schedule. My husband plays a big role and is a huge support. He helps big time with the kids and works as a part time assistant to my personal and business needs. I try to write down all my ideas and tasks and give myself deadlines. I create two lists; priorities and non-priorities. Lastly, I am good at delegating tasks to manage my time and schedule more effectively.

Walk us briefly through the process of establishing the business. What are the challenges that you have faced?

It has been a bumpy road for the entire ride! Finding talent is not an easy task and it has been one of the most difficult tasks to find reliable people. Not having a thriving, dependable business which would allow me to focus my entire attention on this adventure, I was terribly worried about struggling financially as I was not earning a substantial income while pushing forward.  It was a struggle just to find marketing money to brand and promote my business.

Even though at one point I was forced to postpone my dreams and work in another industry (just to save the money to fund my dream), I never gave up!

The struggle continued as finding the perfect location to move the spa from my home to a new location was far more difficult than expected.   For some reason, the downtown Los Angeles landlords were staying away from beauty spas as tenants. Restaurant/bar/venues were their only focus!  Those that I could convince to consider me would offer the most ridiculous lease deals that would put me out of business in the first 24 months. 

It was a nightmare, and just as I would get positively charged again, the horror would continue. The city of LA permitting was constantly delayed and still are (ugh) which eats my budget day by day.  I was even having to make loan payments with interest using the money that was granted for my actual business operations!

The stress was tremendous. I finally realized it was ALL or nothing. I began to search out a temporary location to continue to run my business and move outside of my home as my new husband and stepfamily needed a proper home. 

Strangely enough, my current landlord had a tiny storage room he offered me (for a price) to run the spa temporarily while my space was being built out.  The space was actually an abandoned chimney room in an historic building that had become a nesting home for the "Vaux Swifts" for decades while the building was previously abandoned in the historic core of DTLA.  Of course, the space was not compliant with ADA and had no running water, ZERO AC and/or heating system.  My husband and I took on the challenge and turned this tiny chimney room into a little gem.  We came up with ideas to make the space work, including portable sinks and heaters, window AC units, and lots of aesthetic touches.  Somehow, we persevered, and we made the place into an underground treasure and speakeasy locale. We were there longer than planned since our main space took longer to complete than expected, but we eventually finished our buildout and are now at our new, permanent location.

What marketing strategies have you done to reach your clientele? Which one would you say is the most effective?

I’ve tried it all, from underground & guerilla marketing to paying for Facebook and IG ads. At the beginning, I did many community events to introduce my business and gave lots of free treatments to local residents in the hope that they would recommend me, refer people, and maybe post a nice review that would eventually generate leads and clients. Also, collaborating with influencers & micro bloggers helped me with branding. Sponsoring many local events has been big too. A good marketing trick I did for 4 years was to wrap my personal vehicle with my business logo and branding and strategically park or drive around the neighborhood for people to see. We also paid for a LADOT Dash bus and put a billboard on the back of the bus which was expensive but a major hit. Friends and clients were sending me pictures of my sign behind the dash bus and clients were coming in because they saw us on the bus. Lastly, after experimenting and spending so much money with so many marketing strategies, I learned that there are only two big players you need to focus on for a thriving business and that is YELP & GOOGLE reviews. Those are the two big forces behind my business, and at the end of the day, you need to give amazing service and collect data and encourage and request clients to give feedback. A happy client will result in a good online recommendation and we are living in the era of going online when looking for a business, and people nowadays like to blog and share their experiences with the world.

What advice can you give to any aspiring business owners or spa managers who are looking to open their own business and facility?

Be ready to give up a lot of things to materialize your life dream. Remember, most times you have to let go of the things that you love most to allow new and better things to enter your life. This is true with all. I have had to stop shopping, eating out, and travel less to utilize my finances better and allow new and bigger things to enter.

Don’t give up, and don’t let naysayers discourage from pursuing your dreams. People will always tell you that you’re crazy and will be a slave when running your own business. But entrepreneurship is about putting in the long hours with little sleep and working hard and smart. There is always going to be a cost.  Things will take time and you need to be patient (remember Rome wasn’t built in one day) give things time to mature and grow. Have faith and don’t ever lose hope.

Most importantly, always keep studying your field. This industry is always evolving and the only way to operate successfully is by being ahead.  Attend beauty shows and subscribe to different organizations.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This book teaches us to never lose hope and find your own personal legend. When you really desire something, the universe will conspire and bring things to you. It teaches us to always listen to our gut (our heart) it will never fail us. Look for those Omens (the language of God) that the universe is giving us. It’s also true that there is something to learn from each negative or positive situation. It teaches us to use our heart to overcome fears and obstacles, and if you fail, don’t give up in the process. We all have a dream and a personal legend to be discovered and fulfilled.