When Saskia Caesar had her son almost two years ago, she knew more than anything that she wanted a better life for him. Becoming an entrepreneur had always been part of her plan but she never imagined she would be starting her business in the middle of a pandemic.
The now proud owner of the Wax Bar is a former Brickdam Secondary student who went on to secure a degree in Business Management at the University of Guyana (UG). Caesar shared that her biggest headache was finding a proper location for her business. She needed it to be in the city but outside of Central Georgetown so that her clients could have privacy and it also had to be affordable. She also worried about risking too much money and not seeing profitable returns.
When she finally decided that it was worth the try, Caesar took a loan from the credit union at her place of employ and along with her savings rented a commercial space and purchased the required equipment.
Another of her concerns was marketing as despite her studies at UG, she just could not be sure how she was going to secure her clients. In the end, Caesar went ahead and advertised the opening of her business on Instagram. She was surprised when advance bookings were made prior to the opening of her business. On the day it opened the Wax Bar was fully booked.
“Because of the pandemic, I wasn’t expecting a good outcome, but I am grateful for it,” she said.
Asked how she learnt to provide the various wax services, Caesar explained that she was self-taught having viewed numerous online tutorials. The young woman said her reason for choosing to do waxing as a business was because she loved getting waxed herself. She felt she could provide a service where women and men could feel just as good about themselves.
The majority of the services provided now were also being offered at the commencement of the business except for Body Scrubs, Sauna Blanket, and Body Wrap. The Body Wrap, she explained, covers detoxifying of the body, while a Body Scrub is basically scrubbing the body free of dirt build up. The Sauna Blanket helps persons to lose water weight and is also considered a detox service.
Caesar, who is still employed full time with another company offers, her wax services from 4.30 pm until about 8 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends. Since its opening, the Wax Bar has never lacked customers and appointments are therefore required.
While, her services are praised today, the entrepreneur confessed that when she first began, she had trouble managing her time. Clients would arrive for their appointment to find her still tied up with the previous one and they often complained. However, with time, she became more efficient and that is no longer an issue.
On the other hand, there are clients who sometimes arrive late for their appointments. At first, she was too tenderhearted to turn them away, so she let their tardiness slide, but it did not take her long to realize that in doing so, other persons booked for later appointments were affected. To prevent this, Caesar had to become a bit more rigid with such clients and would let them know that if they had other things too attend to they could make another appointment for another day. Clients are required to book appointments at least four days in advance.
While she has managed those challenges, she still faces the biggest one on a daily basis. “Sometimes it is overwhelming for me as I want to work and yet I want to spend time with my son. I feel like I have to sacrifice one or the other, either my business or time with my son. But I’m doing it to make life better for him and I have to constantly remind myself about that,” the single mother said. Her mother, she gratefully added, helps to care for her son whenever she is away at work.
Nevertheless, she gets great satisfaction from the service she provides. Clients are often enthusiastic about how soft and smooth their skin feels. They also commend her on the comfortable atmosphere provided as well as the privacy. Confidentiality, Caesar shared, is of utmost importance and one of the biggest requirements when it comes to her male clients. Because she ensures that, they have become regular clients. “When my customers leave, they must be certain that whatever was seen or whatever was discussed at the Wax Bar stays between me and them,” she said.
Satisfied clients, she added, lead to new clients. Some of her new clients would reveal to her that they booked because they were impressed by what they saw from a friend who used the service. While some of her clients are obtained through other clients, many of them book their appointments after seeing an advertisement on Instagram or Facebook.
In the run-up to the holidays, the Wax Bar offered special Christmas packages in November for new clients. This was taken up to the point that some of her regular clients had to be asked to wait until January as most of December was booked. And to be able to cater for some of her regular clients, Caesar had to refuse accepting some new clients so that at least four days a week would be available for them.
For now Caesar runs the Wax Bar alone but she plans to hire employees as well as open another branch at another location sometime in the future.
The Wax Bar is located at 17 Duncan and Abary streets, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Caesar can be contacted at 650-3240.
