Power Women: Ananda Freeman of City of Angels Organic Tanning On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman

Be a woman of your word — Los Angeles can be a real barometer regarding the quality of a person. When you tell someone you’ll be there, you show up. I have learned from positive and negative examples of this and continue to be dependable if nothing else.

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ananda Freeman.

Ananda Freeman is a licensed, custom airbrush tanning artist creating beautiful natural-looking tans. As the owner of City of Angels Organic Tanning, her unique blend delivers flawless results with an organic, fruit-infused, antioxidant-packed, wonderful-smelling solution. Her expertise and extreme attention to detail ensure each client is 100% satisfied.

CITY OF ANGELS ORGANIC TANNING

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”

Sure, I’d love to share. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, raised by two hippie, yoga loving, parents in the seventies. Raised vegetarian ( still have never tasted red meat to this day) and lived off our garden. My 3 brothers and I and our 60, yes 60, cousins had the best Mid-west summers ever. My name is Hindu and means everlasting bliss. It’s been a lifetime of corrections, no it’s not Amanda, no, I didn’t misspell it. My parents were ahead of their time focusing on whole foods, yoga, and raising us with meditation and the power of breathing.The importance of what you put in or on your body affects your whole being.

Hence why I am so passionate about my organic spray tan ingredients and giving my clients the absolute best for the body.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

In 2009 I was diagnosed with Melanoma, and what was thought to be a 4 millimeter spot ended up with an over 6 inch scar down my back. My beach loving days as a teen moving from Cleveland to Orange County, had caught up with me and my pale Irish complexion. I was warned by every Dr. to never be in the sun ever again. So I started paying for spray tans. Awful, orange, terrible smelling, spray tans. The blotchy feet, the orange hands, the terrible photos, it was all so bad. I started researching the world of spray tans, and became a licensed, certified airbrush tanning artist. I tried and experimented with over 20 solutions and finally landed on the one I still use today. A beautiful, all organic, fruit and vegetable based, non toxic, antioxidant packed, gorgeous, natural sun kissed color solution.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

March 2020 I had finally achieved the goal of pre-booking. My clients were learning, if they didn’t book in advance, they would not get a spot on my schedule. I was booked solid thru the end of April, Spring

Break, red carpet events, the starting of LA warm beach weather. Then as we all know, the world shut down due to COVID. Being a single Mom of two teenagers, in one of the world’s most expensive cities, every client counts and is appreciated. The uncertainty of the pandemic was overwhelming and without delving into too many details, it was by the sheer generosity and good will of my clients that I was able to navigate my children and myself through the first few months of COVID. They committed to future tanning packages in bulk through pre-purchase, knowing full well my greatest priority was my childrens’ well-being. Within 24 hours of quarantine announcements, some of Los Angeles’s most well known names were showing up without me asking. I am forever grateful.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Compassionate Bedside Manner — In what can be a very intimate and vulnerable experience, I pride myself on my ability to make my clients feel completely at ease and ensure they leave our time together feeling as empowered and as beautiful as they ever have before.
2. Punctuality — In a city where 7PM means 8:30, the midwest in me has always believed that if you’re not early, you’re late. I show up when my clients need me and over-communicate at all times.
3. Attention to Detail — As a single mother, a dental hygienist of 25 years and a small business owner, you must sweat the small stuff. Every detail matters. With regard to my clients, knowing how to translate my tan to their body is of the utmost importance and is what sets my business apart from others. I tell every client that no one should know you’ve got a spray tan, and that is achieved through my expertise in providing a flawless application.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

I can’t speak on behalf of society, but being raised with 3 brothers and a very involved father, I’d have to say powerful women have never been more supported. Though I know this will read as controversial, it speaks more to just how held down we were previously. My mother’s generation nudged a locked door open and the strong women they created are now responsible to fully kick it in. Society will continue to adapt as they need because, frankly, they have no choice. My daughter’s generation will confirm this.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

My network of clients speak this to life. For 14 years, I never spent a dime on marketing or growing my business. I was shy and did not take this endeavor as seriously as I do today. Through my customers, my family members’ and female friends’ validation and encouragement, I’ve never felt more supported by word of mouth messaging. I am a living example of women empowering women through community.

When I pull up to my client’s homes, I have to pinch myself that I am taking care of such a powerful group of women. Best selling authors, interior decorators of the stars, actresses, entrepreneurs, etc. I have stumbled into a very private club and I am continuously in awe and grateful.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

Lead. Never apologize. Be direct and be your genuine truthful self. Regardless of your gender or how you identify, I believe in heart and authenticity. I am a humble midwest girl living the Hollywood dream. I have great intentions and I want to bring them to life. I trust myself and have spent all of my adult years learning who I am. It never stops. But I learned to stop dumbing down my strengths to put others at ease because I know too much about myself. I want to be a warm light to which others gravitate.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

As I alluded to previously, we need to continue to confront our instinct to apologize for being great. Women are not guests of society. We are all at the same table and we must work internally to have confidence in that. We belong and it is ok to root out those that don’t agree and educate them.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

A single-mother of a 2 and 4 year old while exiting a marriage, working full-time and selling the home we purchased together is as ridiculous and uncomfortable as I can imagine. I had no choice but to rise up, develop my business and provide a life for my children. I was thrust overnight into a survival situation and survived. Survived and thrived. And last August, when I dropped my daughter off at George Washington University on her full academic and leadership scholarship, I finally after 14 years allowed myself to realize what I have done is not normal and to be overlooked. Perseverance has become my foundation. I show up.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

We are outnumbered at the moment. Not numbers of males vs numbers of females, but generationally, there are more people on this planet that are comfortable with ceding leadership to men. Time and evolution will continue to help our battle, but earning respect and continuing to push will always be our female challenge. It is easy to be tired, frustrated and exhausted. That is where “strong women empower strong women” is key. We are capable and competent and do not need to sacrifice being a woman to prove this.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

As previously referenced, being a single mom in one of the world’s most expensive cities, it has never been easy. The 4am wakeups, the 5:30 am workouts, 7am carpool, the full day of clients, the club sports, the countless pick up and drop offs and squeezing in those last minute emergency tans, often at 10PM, is my normal Monday to Friday. I have been able to maintain a healthy dating and personal life while pursuing my passion and never missing a day of work. I am grateful and proud that I have never given up.

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

The necessity that I experienced in being a single parent to two children at such a young age helped me to gradually learn the balance of time management as they grew older and more self sufficient. I learned eventually that without personal time to myself to workout, sweat, self-love, practice yoga, attend my weekly therapy sessions and be a fully rounded human being for my children, I was not showing up for them at my best. Luckily I am blessed with the two best children on the planet that became most respectful of me leading our 3 person team. Today, I am more balanced than I have ever been in my life.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Be a woman of your word — Los Angeles can be a real barometer regarding the quality of a person. When you tell someone you’ll be there, you show up. I have learned from positive and negative examples of this and continue to be dependable if nothing else.
2. Tune out the haters — I’m not talking low volume, I’m talking muted. Keep your circle tight and make cuts when you need to. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. This can be a tough city to identify authentic people. As a woman, I have learned that I only have myself and my children and that is all that I require. I am capable of doing whatever I set my mind to and no outside force will take me off my path.
3. Control what you can control — It sounds simple and cliche but every human being possesses the ability to outwork another. Every human being possesses the ability to stay organized. Every human being has the ability to not complain. Identifying the controllables early on and committing to their mastery is a lesson I would love to teach my 20 year old self. I can’t control other people, their opinions and how they live their life but I am in full control of how I experience mine.
4. Be Honest — With yourself, others and everyone you allow into your circle. At all times. You will hurt feelings and sometimes rub others wrong. But as a business owner, lies and misleading waste time. From an efficiency perspective, that is what I value most. You can waste my time or disappoint me, but I won’t allow you to do both. The sooner you accept that the truth is always right, the sooner you experience success.
5. Have Faith and Stay Positive — Women haven’t had a fair shake. We continue to not have a fair shake. But if you do not believe in a higher power and that all of the fighting for equality is going to change the world for the positive, then you’ve already lost. I am nothing without my strong female network and sometimes I rely on them and their actions to pull myself from a tough spot. My faith in changing the world and being a small part of that change is absolutely essential in my success.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.