Self Made Women: Jessica Hernandez Park Of Park Ave Cosmetic Center On How She Started With Nothing and Became A Millionaire
An Interview With Sara Connell
Humility will save you a lot of headaches. It is important that you look at the data that is available. Technically you could have the best idea in the world but if the people in the area can’t support the cost of this service or product then there is no market for it. You must have a humble approach in everything that you do.
Some people were born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth. Even then, becoming a millionaire is still quite an accomplishment. But people who start from nothing, and especially women who start from nothing, who make it to the top to become millionaires, despite the pay inequalities based on gender, the confidence gap, with nothing but grit, hustle, resilience, and “stick-to-itness”, are on a whole new level. We want to share those stories and inspire other women. In this interview series, we’re talking to “Self-Made” women leaders who started with nothing (i.e. started without investors or trust fund or capital or even people believing in them) and went on to create a million dollar business.
As a part of our series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Hernandez Park.
Jessica Hernandez Park, wife mother and self-made entrepreneur moved to the US from Puerto Rico at the age of 19 with just $86 in her pocket. Her industrious spirit has gone on to build a thriving and fast-growing med spa business in Georgia along with a reality TV show (Med Spa Life Atlanta) featuring the aesthetic make overs performed at Park Ave Cosmetic Center. Jessica believes that beauty is more than skin deep and has put together a dream team of hard-working employees that are dedicated to improving the lives of patients by helping them become better versions of themselves.
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 “backstory” and how you grew up?
My origins start in the1970’s living in the beautiful Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. I was raised by a loving family with many aunties. My mother, who passed at the young age of sixty was a hard-working woman who often endured double shifts to financially support the both of us. As a result of mother’s lack of funds and time, my grandmother took care of me. Grandma lived in a public housing community and although most people were friendly, I was not allowed to go outside without a chaperone due to the violence and drug dealers that were visible in the area. One of the best lessons I learned during my childhood was that cleanliness, beauty and grace had nothing to do with socio economic status. My grandmother was a beautiful, elegant lady who kept a clean home, a beautiful courtyard garden while cooking the most delicious meals from cheap canned food. I learned that living with beauty and grace was a decision not a circumstance of privilege.
Growing up, what were your early experiences and perspectives about money? Or we could say, what was the “money consciousness” in which you were raised? Can you please give an example of what you mean?
Telenovelas or Spanish soap operas were a big part of our lives. At the time there were only a few channels available, and they all competed with these melodramatic “telenovelas”. The plot was very much Cinderella like, rich guy rescues poor girl and they live happily ever after but not before they overcome evil plots against them. At a very young age I realized that I did not want to be rescued by a rich guy. I made it my goal to make my own money so I could be free with my decisions to marry and love who ever I wanted. Thirty years later that worked very much to my advantage.
Awesome! Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s talk about what you are doing now, and how you achieved the success that you currently enjoy. Can you tell our readers about the business you’ve created?
Park Ave Cosmetic Center’s purpose is to create beauty and well-being using the most modern aesthetic practices available while honoring and incorporating ancient relaxation therapies. There was a lot of thought in the design of the space. The goal was to create a sense of calmness for the customer the minute they walk in. Our attention to aesthetic details really paid off. As a result of the “vibe”, good work of our injectors and aestheticians paired with fair pricing, our business has doubled within the last two years.
What was your vision when you started this business? What’s the WHY behind the work that you do?
The vision was to build a sanctuary like environment where people could take an hour of their day and enjoy a beauty or relaxation treatment based on clinical results. During my teenage years I had worked in the hospitality industry with intensive training in customer satisfaction. Over the years I developed an obsession with visiting spas in fancy hotels. When moving to Georgia from California where I had experienced some of the top spa services in the world, I was left underwhelmed with the options I had available. It was at that time where I decided to start a business that catered to the modern aesthetic rejuvenation procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers while adding a more natural relaxation therapy like flotation therapy. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of judgement when it comes to aesthetic procedures. We cheer our women on when they remodel a home but not when they choose to remodel the body. The reason why I chose to create Med Spa Life Atlanta, a reality TV show about makeovers and my life as an entrepreneur is to help break that stigma that it’s shameful to want to keep looking youthful as long as possible.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
For the first time in my life, I was managing a majority female team. In my previous life as an IT consultant, I mainly worked with male engineers or CIO’s. For the most part they were brief and straight forward in their communication style. Managing a team of ladies became interesting because my previous communication style did not work. I had to learn how to be more nurturing and attentive with my communication and leadership. Thank fully being a momma of three children really helped me adjust rather quickly.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At the time it was humiliating but now it’s hilarious. I mistakenly synced my personal phone to one of our office iPads and all the sexy content between my husband and I were on full display. The gals were so embarrassed that they did not tell me in hopes I would realize the mistake on my own. Finally, one of our nurses picked up the iPad before an appointment and shockingly saw the content as I was walking into our facility. She said, “honey we need to talk”.
We’d love to explore the traits that help you achieve your success. What were the mindset obstacles that you had to overcome in order to reach the place of earning a million dollars? Can you tell us what you did to overcome them?
Patience is a must. We opened our commercial center during the height of the Covid pandemic. My mantra was “All things shall pass” and kept moving with opening our doors.
Humility will save you a lot of headaches. It is important that you look at the data that is available. Technically you could have the best idea in the world but if the people in the area can’t support the cost of this service or product then there is no market for it. You must have a humble approach in everything that you do.
Drive will get the wheels moving. Mistakes are inevitable and I have made plenty of them. I am most proud of being able to recognize a mistake quickly, not spending much time beating myself up for it and then figuring out what I could do better. Yes I have fallen but I have gotten up, cleaned my wounds and kept it going with just as much enthusiasm as I started with.
-What were the external obstacles that you had to overcome in reaching these milestones? And how specifically did you overcome them?
The first review of the business came from an envious competitor. There I was just a few months after opening our doors and all you could see online was a one-star review. My heart was in so much pain when I saw that, I immediately panicked and started researching on how to build a social reputation. In retrospect that experience led me to understand the value of social online reputation and how your business can grow by managing this process.
Was there ever a point where you wanted to give up on your journey to creating a million dollar business? How did you work through that panic point? Please share a story.
The first seven months were so full of problems that I decided to put up a for sale sign and listed the business. We had a negative review from an established competitor, the marketing company that I hired was very expensive and not producing results. The staff was not getting along and kept arguing with each other not to mention the bills of leasing equipment and administrative expenses were piling up. At the time I was willing to let my business sale for $50,000 which basically was a depreciated asset sale. While entertaining buyers a particular gentleman came in a very strong opinion of how he was going to buy the assets and turn the business around. After listening to his ideas, I felt disgusted as he never talked about the client experience but only the potential profits and what a killing he could make in the industry. It was at that time where I realized that my vison and way of conducting business had to succeed. I let go of the staff, rehired a marketing company and became diligent in measuring results. That was the turning point for me.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My husband Jason Park has been the biggest cheerleader along this process. He believes in me more than I believe in myself. I am also very lucky to be able to sit down and talk to my children Skye, Kennedy and Koa about what’s happening in business while they share unbiased truthful opinions from their perspective. I have been blessed to have such a strong support system within my immediate family and my extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, employees and friends. People are cheering me on, and I can feel it.
What were the most important resources, tools, affirmations, mindset strategies or practices that you used to build your business to where it is today?
It is the best time ever to be alive as a female entrepreneur. Information is available for free at any time of day via the internet. Not only is there information available via internet resources, but we also now have the public court of opinion on our social media platforms. As a business owner there has been no better time to be transparent and connect with your tribe!
What do you think is the greatest challenge for women and creating wealth/abundance? What advice would you have for someone that is feeling blocked by that obstacle?
The biggest challenge for women not creating wealth is not taking responsibility for their own financial education. In our home wealth planning and financing are in my domain. My husband is a highly skilled working male who can process numbers way faster than I can, yet I do not just rely on him to plan our financial goals. We both have different ideas but at the end of the day, we evaluate them and simply choose what makes sense for our family. As women we need to prioritize our financial education. I get it it’s not fun, but it will lead to financial freedom.
Great! Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Attached is the you tube link : https://youtu.be/0Yq_qiXKPMY
We are sure that you are not done. What comes next? What’s your next big goal and why? What plan have you put in place to achieve it? Why is it a stretch for you? What will achieving it represent for you and for others?
After a year of struggles I finally found a formula that works. Our next goal is to build a Park Ave Cosmetic Center flagship location with extended wellness services. Our brand will be seen as a pioneer in aesthetic experiences with locations all over the USA. This type of success can be achieved with a supernatural amount of drive, dedication, positive self-talk & clarity.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Thank you for taking the time to learn about my experience and business knowledge. Feel free to learn more about us on our website www.parkavecosmetic.com where you can find the links to our social media handles and stay tuned on our upcoming reality TV show.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us and our readers. We know that it will make a tremendous difference and impact thousands of lives. We are excited to connect further and we wish you so much joy in your next success.
