The popularity of waxing has become so ubiquitous for both genders that Jessica Silverstein left a 20-plus year career on Wall Street to buy into five locations of the Waxing the City franchise, including one that recently opened for business in Garden City at 191 Seventh St. With origins in the Midwest, Waxing in the City is a studio devoted to the art of waxing and is partnered with Minnesota-based Anytime Fitness, LLC, the world’s largest co-ed fitness franchise. It’s a business opportunity Silverstein was introduced to by a relative.
“I worked on Wall Street for 20 years and my uncle owned a mini-spa in Manhattan. I happened to be there and he said we should have lunch. He said he was looking at different companies for him to go ahead and scale a product that would coincide with something like hair removal,” she explained. “As we started to talk more and more, he started telling me numbers and it sounded really intriguing. I wasn’t sure, but I decided to get on a plane for the heck of it and check out the opportunity. And I did. I was super impressed by the founding members themselves. And the company itself is amazing. I’ve never talked to employees that don’t just like their job—they love their jobs. I’ve never seen such happy people in my whole life. More importantly, I was impressed by how polished and articulate they were. And just the business model. It’s a service business and not something the Internet is going to replace. It was a great opportunity because [my husband and I are] still young enough to take on the risk. We just had to go ahead and do it.”
The professionalism with which the mother company conducts its business was a big part of the appeal to Silverstein making such a drastic career change. The company’s waxing standards of excellence require that every licensed esthetician at Waxing the City completes an extensive training course before they serve clients. The waxing techniques are so specialized that they even have a special name: cerology waxing services. The word cerology is derived from “cera” (Latin for wax) and Waxing the City waxers are highly-trained cerologist technicians who perform the art of waxing. This opportunity provided the perfect hybrid for the Nyack native, who not only came from the corporate Wall Street world, but whose family has an extensive small business background.
“My experience being involved in those businesses and on the corporate side, I bring a level of professionalism. Although this is a small business, I still run it like it’s a corporation with a small business feeling. Meaning, my employees are treated with respect, which is something that sometimes gets lost in the world of small business because sometimes owners don’t know how to manage people. So that level of professionalism is here as well,” she said. “We’re also planning that after a year of working here, employees will be eligible for 401K and health benefits. So we’re really trying to cultivate an environment and a culture of a career-oriented service business as opposed to just having a job at a salon. We’re trying to make this so that people love working here. It’s super critical to your services. If your employees aren’t happy, how are your clients going to be happy? Working on Wall Street, while it can be a contentious environment, the expectation is that you operate with the utmost professionalism no matter what and no matter who you work with and what the personalities are. I definitely brought that type of mentality here.”
There are future Waxing the City franchises on the horizon, with the next couple slated to open in Manhasset and Woodbury Commons. Locations are also being scouted in Massapequa/Merrick and Oceanside.
“I would say we own 90 percent of Nassau County [territory],” Silverstein explained.
The Garden City studio is open seven days a week, offers convenient appointment scheduling online, welcomes walk-ins and extends all first-time clients 50 percent off their first waxing service.
To find out more about Waxing the City, visit www.waxingthecity.com or call 516-874-3800.
