Business name: Stolen Moments Centre & Parisian Waxing
Address: 1763 Freedom Drive, Naperville
Phone/website: 630-245-5500, www.stolenmomentscentre.com
Owner name: Carol Hameister
Number of years in business: Opens Feb. 3 in Naperville, but was open for four years in Wheaton.
What does this business do? It provides waxing, massage therapy, acupuncture, reflexology and lymph drainage. “I’m very excited about (Sharon Vogel) because she is a certified lymphedema specialist, Mayo clinic-recommended, and only one in 70 who do what she does in the whole country,” Hameister said.
How many full- and part-time employees? Everyone is part time right now, working on different days. She will be hiring more people in the future.
What prompted you to start this business? “I was at a point where I was ready to change careers,” Hameister sad. “And I wanted something part time at that time and something that I enjoyed doing. My son is now 15 … (and) I did get to spend time with him. I wanted to be a mom, also.”
What is the best thing about being in Naperville? “My lease was up (in Wheaton), and I was debating where was I going to go; I knew I wanted to expand. When I saw this space, I knew it was right. I only had about 650 square feet (at her previous location), and now I’ve got almost 1,400 square feet. This is a great location for my loyal clients to follow here, too. Easy access and easy parking.”
When is your busiest time of year? “Some of the services are a little seasonal. Waxing starts to pick up right about now up until July 4, and then it starts dwindling. People are off on vacation. And then the facials pick up, (people) wanting to take care of their skin through the winter months. Of course, you’ve got your clients that will continue throughout the year. Once you’re going on a routine, it’s so much easier to continue with it.”
What thing do you most like doing? “Our main goal is to embrace our clients and not feel like we are a franchise. I’ve built my business one by one. Every product is hand picked, tested on myself or a team member for three months. It doesn’t get in here unless it goes through the process. We are trusted advisers.”
What is the best thing about owning your own business? “I get to provide services that I feel are beneficial to my clients. I get to choose which services aren’t.”
How would you describe your business philosophy? “I opened the business because I just saw an opportunity out there. In this industry there is so much to choose from. I wanted to be very specific and bring in treatments that I knew and feel comfortable with. … The way I’ve built the business is a bridge between a medical spa and a day spa. We don’t have the injectable, and we don’t have the laser work. We have the products that are all medical-grade, botanically based. There are no dyes, no perfume, there are no parabens.”
What do you wish someone had told you before you started? “If you are moving forward an inch, you are moving forward, and continue until you don’t move forward. You cannot do it alone, (you have to have) people around you to support you. You need your posse.”
What is a service you offer that people don’t know much about? “It probably has to be reflexology. It’s not just a foot massage. It’s really doing something for the body, for the system, for the mind. I always explain it as acupuncture but only using pressure points. And then the lymph drainage. You’ve got clients with cancer, that have had a mastectomy, these (clients) are helped by Dr. Sharon. She does a monthly ‘lymph-ormation’ — she’s got to get that trademarked — the fourth Friday of every month on a different topic each time.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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