From Welfare to 5-Star

From welfare to 5-star. Hey, Polk County, we're back for another episode of the Elevate Polk podcast. I'm hoping you're having a wonderful week, and I am here with some of my favorite people and our guests here in the studio, Gina and Mark Parker from Bella Visage. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Thank you.

Hello.

I'm excited. This is going to be kind of a fun episode because we are, we are close friends. So we're going to tell secrets. Get ready, everybody. So I'm just going to kind of weave the story for the audience as to how we have come to know each other. Obviously, most people who listen know that there was an organization called Lakeland Business Leaders. And along the way, you know, this was back when our office was on Tennessee and there was this guy named Mark Parker that I started to get to know through his being close by in his office, or actually at that point in time you didn't have the office that you have now. I'm trying to remember, you were looking for an office, correct? And I remember you came and you were like, hey, you— I heard you have office space, you know, and, and it didn't have a sink and it didn't have some important things that you would need for it to have. But that was before I even knew who Gina was or that you even had— I thought you were making her up, honestly. I was like, there's no way. Okay, she's amazing, I love her, it's so cool to meet you, but let's stick with the Mark Parker and Chrissanne LBL kind of relationship at the beginning, because you were not the owner of Bella Visage when I met you. So kind of talk through a little bit of that process so that we can get to when Gina comes into the picture.

Correct. That far back in the day, I was, uh, selling a telemedicine platform for people to do phone call doctor visits. And so I joined the Lakeland Business Leaders to give myself a platform to spread the word, so to speak. Met a lot of amazing people, and in that time I knew where you and Craig's office was. So when I needed office space, um, I reached out and, uh, ended up— do we— I don't know if you remember, but we did rent an office from y'all for another organization that I was involved in at the time in downtown. But at That was about 2016, and that's when we decided— and whenever I say we decided, that means I was told that we were going to open up a spa. And so told you we were telling all the secrets. Gina and I opened up Bella Visage Medical and Aesthetic Rejuvenation in the heart of downtown, and 6 years later we are going strong. And, you know, we, we do have a really good working relationship. We play off each other, whether it's in a business meeting or in a, you know, a social setting, we kind of finish each other's thoughts. So we have exploded this year and we are now doing things in our business that we had no idea we would ever do. And a lot of that comes from the mindset. A lot of times I want to change the word mindset to heartset because our goals come from our heart now and not necessarily, uh, the traditional mindset: build a business, 10x it, divide it by this, and sprinkle dust on it. We, we're going in a different direction. Um, but I really think it started in the heart set that Gina has for people.

And that's when I actually met Gina, and that at that point in time you were still working at the hospital.

Yeah. So when Mark was very involved in LBL, I was working two jobs. We were building our spa, but then I was also working full-time as a nurse practitioner in the intensive care unit in Tampa for Florida Hospital Tampa. Now it's Advent Health, but I had left Lakeland Regional, um, as a bedside nurse and transitioned to nurse practitioner. So while we were growing our business, I was doing both. So it literally was 7 days a week. So all of the outreach, the events, the connecting, that was on Mark, and that has become his forte. I am the hands and the face of the business as far as the provider and the pretty little one that gets to run around and get all the accolades, but Truly, Mark is the workhorse behind everything, and it is a good relationship. And I do like working with my husband because I do like to say I'm shagging the boss, and it gets me out of a lot of trouble.

And maybe into some trouble as well. So, I want to talk about that for a second too, because you can't underemphasize the hustle, the side hustle, and the work that I know, that I witnessed as you were working both of those jobs, right? It was this commute from Tampa to Lakeland to get ready for the next day, which was appointments and, you know, putting on your beautiful smile and being there for your clients. And, you know, I think one of the things that we forget once we've gotten through the journey that is those days, those exhausting days, is the passion that you're doing it for. You know, like, what is this all for? And so we're gonna get into some of the heart of the story in a minute, but just talk a little bit about, You know, maybe even let's talk a little bit about the, the pain point of that. Right. You know, so there were some times when it was kind of cushy, Mark's, you know, hobnobbing and networking and having a cocktail and, and you're hauling butt back and forth doing all this work. I mean, there's some stressful times there. Let's not brush those over. Cuz the reality is a lot of people have a side hustle. They're working a full-time job. They're, they're, they're hoping to grow a business. They're starting to think about it and you need to know what the reality looks like.

Yeah. I think, um, you know, money can be one of the things that really destroys a couple, or the struggle with how to deal with, oh, you make more than me, or, you know, blah, any of that. Um, nurse practitioners in Tampa can make very good money, which is why I left Lakeland to go to Tampa. I was making almost another career's worth of income. And so I think sometimes Mark struggled with what he was bringing to the table in his eyes. But we were heavily reliant upon my paycheck and benefits from this career. And so it was hard to get our business going. I mean, we were, you know, Mark will say, I'm a retired house painter and I'm an ICU nurse. And we started with nothing, absolutely nothing. I actually used my retirement money when I left Lakeland Regional to start our business. And a lot of people can say, oh, that was crazy. Oh, I look at our path and the road we've been on. And I love what we did with that. Yeah.

And it's been, it's been your dream.

Well, yeah, it was, you know, honestly, what happened is when I was, going through my master's program, I started taking some courses because a friend of mine had started taking courses in Fort Lauderdale for aesthetics. And I will say, if you are in a solid career, but you start to finger out and look at other hobbies or avenues, there's something that is not fulfilling where you are. That's this catalyst for looking for something else. And that's the point I had come to at Lakeland Regional. I loved the surgeons and the patients. And I was very, very fulfilled as a nurse. I was meant to be a nurse. I am Florence Nightingale through and through. If any of my colleagues are listening, they know we are a family in that unit. And man, right now I'm hurting for what they're going through right now with the care of all these COVID patients. But I became, dissatisfied with the way I was feeling as far as, um, it was a lot of micromanaging. Things had changed at the hospital. It wasn't as much of a family feel coming from the top organization, and that caused me to start to look. Now, is that divine intervention? Does God have to bump us off a log sometime to, to get us into where we're really supposed to be? And that was probably it. Um, But started taking some courses and once I had my training done, I started looking for online for a little space downtown. Let me just find a little room and I can inject some Botox, you know, and we talked to Jack Strollo, we looked at some places and we even looked at Kate Lake's, you know, building.

Yep.

My Office and More. It would have made a great spa. Darn it. Another entrepreneur boss babe. But, um, so we by happenstance just found this space and Liquid Hair was where I'd always had my hair done. And, um, we just developed a relationship with the owner, Jen, and she said, hey, you know, I have this space right here. And that's where our little seedling fell of a star started to grow.

And I love this part too, because, all right, so I'm, I'm, I'm trying to take myself back into those days, right? When I, when I had known Mark and Anyone who knows Mark knows that, you know, he's a, he's, he's a different kind of fellow, right? But he's a straight shooter and he, he, he doesn't necessarily let anybody really know where all of his cards are at the same time. Like you can, you, I always know what Mark's going to be direct with me, but I also know that there's something that, you know, once you get into him, you know, getting, get into knowing him a little bit better, you're able to understand what's there, right? But on the surface, people might not understand the depth of the human being that is Mark Parker. Right? So I'm starting to get to know Mark Parker, and then I'm meeting Gina, and here's this woman who's driving back and forth. She's a successful nurse. She's got all of these things going for her. And then they start talking about this spa. And I'm like, well, obviously I'm not necessarily your target audience with the, the fact that I'm, that I don't do the Botox and don't do all of those things. But I was intrigued at the dream. And I was intrigued at how you were, you were just pecking away at it a little bit at a time. Like you called it a seedling and how the two of you just found a way to make these things happen. Happen, right? And he's got the construction background and the workhorse that he is and all of the experience.

And the connections to the community.

And the connections.

There's hardly a person Mark doesn't know.

Right.

You know, and that's where I'm glad he is that collaborator.

So now, as the seedling has been planted and the space has actually doubled, doubled and a half, I mean, tripled. Over there. You are just killing it. I mean, there's just— there's no other way to describe what I see as what you were saying earlier, Mark, is, you know, as far as exploding. But just, you're killing it. Things are really, really rolling and growing. But let's now go back to before even Mark Parker was in your life, right? So there's a journey inside of a journey. This is the journey that I'm— the known journey from my standpoint. But we named this episode From Welfare to Five Star. And so now I want to kind of let you start to tell a little bit more about the next layer, or the layer, the previous layer of how you got from there to where you are.

Well, I will say that I am a product of the American dream. I think that it is very much alive, and you know, our country is in some disarray, but we live in the most blessed country on this earth, and I am very proud of that. Um, I grew up in a broken family. We were very connected in church. However, I, on a trip to Alaska— I used to work in Alaska, FYI, during my summers when I was in and out of college.

You were schlepping fish, right?

Schlepping salmon. I worked in an Eskimo village and met a young man and I became pregnant. And I come back to Oklahoma, which is where I grew up, and I'm pregnant and I'm living with my mother and she's my birth coach. And me and the father had not made it, surprisingly. And so when my son was born, I was actually turned down to a nursing program in Oklahoma. I mean, denied, you know, and I had filed bankruptcy because This guy had run up all my credit. And so I was really in a bad position. So my dad, who lives here in Florida, offered to— for me to live with him and try and get into nursing school here. And they would help me with my son. And so I moved to Florida when my son was 5 weeks old, and I went into the system. And when I mean the system, I mean welfare. Food stamps. I went to Polk Community College and I got a scholarship through the JTPA program. And I had to, for those years when I was going through school, I had to perform, I think it was 25 community service hours to get my benefits. And I lived in Section 8 housing. I lived in Bonney Apartments right there on 98th, and I had a great apartment and they were fantastic. But I was really working hard in nursing school. I did get in and I was just thriving. I made straight A's. I was the president of the Student Nurse, Florida Student Nurse Association. I threw myself into my nursing and had to complete all my lab hours and all my volunteer hours to get my benefits. And it was very humbling and it was very hard to have to I take from the government, but there really was no other way. I got no assistance from, um, my son's father, never have really, um, raised him with help of this community. And, uh, it takes a village. It does take a village. He's 23 now, but that was my struggle. So, you know, Anyone can do anything.

So when, when you're in the middle of this, like, almost helplessness, I mean, in, in that sense, there's a chance that you could take that mindset and say, because you brought up mindset earlier, Mark, so helplessness, and just say, okay, well, I've, I've had to succumb to the situation that I am in, and I'm just gonna sit here and wallow and be in my misery and feel sorry for myself. I'm gonna bust my ass and I'm gonna work harder than I've ever worked because— what would you say the because is? What was the driving force behind all of that?

Having another human being that I was responsible for.

Yeah.

Now I'm looking at— he's beautiful. Mm-hmm.

You raised a good son.

He is. He— and he was a good baby. I was really lucky because I was working night shift as a nurse once I graduated and he was this kid that would take 3-hour naps. And when I worked Friday nights and I had him all day on Saturday, we would take a nap together and that would just— I could function on that. So he and I, we were a great team and I knew that I needed to pull up my pants, you know, just and really hit the ground running to make a good life for him and myself. And Uh, when I graduated, uh, nursing school, and that was in 2001, I turned around and I bought a house right away. And I bought a little cute little house right behind Florida Southern, this 100-year-old little bungalow. And I drove by it and I knew it was gonna be mine, but obviously I had this bankruptcy and it was so hard. I had to just jump through so many hoops to get this house. But I got it and I had a bunch of my friends from the hospital and they all in church. I went to Highland Park at the time and we met at my apartment and in one load we drove down 98 and into that little neighborhood and I was moved in within 2 hours.

Everything you had in one load?

Yeah, because I had so many people that were just there to help me and so excited. I mean, I can imagine looking at a young mom And that just that moment when you, you are transcending to a different, you know, level position, right? Career. I have a home and I have friends that are so excited for that journey. So that was huge. And that was able to buy a home.

And that was your village at the time, you know, putting you through, you know, going, you know, just knowing that you have people that you can call and help you do what you need to do. Because otherwise you'd be, you know, back and forth spending an entire day.

I'm a community girl.

You are definitely a community girl. You are for sure. So as far as that is concerned, Mark, I think somewhere around that point in time you met, I think you guys were neighbors.

So from my perspective, the cool thing about this is that, yes, we have an amazing business and we've busted our butts and we have a lot of goals. It would not have happened without the support of the Lakeland community, and we pride ourselves, and I know you do too, that Lakeland's a cool place. She would not have made it without the tribe and the village. And so now, yes, we met. It was 10 years later. She was— had finally made the decision to go back and get her master's. And we were, we were dating at the time. And then I remember going to lunch and actually, I'm sorry, she was going back for her bachelor's. We went to lunch to celebrate and she said, so I have a request. And I'm like, oh, this will be fun. And she said, I want to go get my master's immediately. So I— because they're going to— there was a rule change on nurse practitioners. So that's how she ended up getting her master's degree so quickly, then went into the working at the hospital in Tampa because of the financial situation was so much better. And that's when she made the decision for us to open a spa. So we got to see each other when we were kind of at our lowest. And then we met and we built each other back up. And at that point, it wasn't my dream to own a spa. My dream was to help her reach her goals and achieve her dreams. So I tease each— a lot of people know my— the standing joke is, let me go and ask and then I'll be able to tell you what I want to do. But the point was, is that I knew that if I let her dream big enough, it would be a wild ride. And here we are, fastest growing spa in Central Florida. Um, our original business plan was for me to do the back office and the cleaning and all that stuff, and she would do the hands-on. And we realized during COVID it wasn't going to work no matter what we did. If we went away, business, you know, it faltered or it went stagnant. And so we hired 6 additional nurse practitioners and 4 or 5 other office people helped me, and we now are just, like I said earlier, we're exploding. But, but it comes back to that mindset that we're going to take the challenges as they come, we're going to expand on them and just make whatever it is we're working on even better. And we would have never done any of the new stuff that we're doing without the quiet time, uh, that we experienced during COVID last year. And that's what allowed us to achieve that mindset change. We regrouped, We saddled up a new set of horses and we're running strong.

And I think it all comes down to resilience. You know, I think you both have overcome challenges in your lives. You know, I can relate to that in my own story. And I loved how you were, you were talking. I mean, there's nowhere to go but up when you're at the bottom of the bottom. It's like, well, what else do I have to lose?

But you can stay there.

But you could stay there. Exactly. Exactly. And I also feel like for me, and when you were talking about it, I was I was envisioning myself at that, my own personal bottom. And for me, it was, I had to prove something. Like I had something to prove to myself, not to the world. You know, it was just like, okay, I am, I am not this forever. I am just this in this moment, unless I don't do something to get myself out of this, whatever this is. And I think that's a message for, for, for people who are, are, are wondering, do they have it in them?

Mm-hmm.

Because that's a big question mark, right? A lot of people are not willing to take a risk and investing in themselves that they're capable. And yet here's this woman who had made some mistakes along the way, you know, getting pregnant and not really necessarily having a plan and that kind of falling apart. But yet here you are, you know, the epitome of success and creating your own opportunity, pulling yourself up from your bootstraps. And I think that's— that cannot be underscored enough.

Well, one of the questions on your little form here in front of us was, you know, what does entrepreneurship mean to you? And I've heard it before said, and this is so true, that when I'm working for an employer, I'm working for their dreams. But when I'm working for myself, I'm building my dream. And it is a labor of love. You know, when you are a business owner, you are never away from your business. And when you are there, you're pouring into it 100%. No one will ever love your business like you do. And that was a hard, hard lesson.

Yeah, we've talked about that a few times.

Yes. You know, I love Starbucks. Everybody that knows me knows that I love Starbucks and I love the romance behind the growth of the company. And I lived in Seattle when that was all growing back in the early 2000s. And when I read this book by Howard Schultz, It was how to grow your, you know, about growing the company one cup of coffee at a time and just pouring into your people and everything. He had this romantic vision where, you know, you place this employee on the pedestal and everything. And I had those Rose Tennant glasses on. And I'll tell you what, we have been burned. We have been burned by some previous employees and that hurts. I will, I tell I've heard, you know, people very openly, you know what, if a man breaks my heart, that honestly is easier to get over.

Mm-hmm.

Breaks my heart like you're my kind or my tribe, right? When a woman, when a woman breaks my heart, man, that's hard to get over.

Yeah.

But it made us who we are today and it really grew our company. And I'll tell you, when you decide when it's time to grow in your business, Mark talked about the downtime that we had during the shutdown last summer. When we came back, we were so thrilled when we opened our doors that I was slammed, you know, and I was the only provider. So our people came back in full force and then some, and I was getting new clients on my schedule every day. And when it comes to the point in your business where, you know, with COVID if you got COVID, you were out for 2 weeks. Well, that would have just destroyed our business because that would have been half of our monthly income for the business. And it's not just us. We have wonderful staff that rely on— they don't generate money. I generated the money at that time.

Right.

You know, if you're looking at it black and white, but they helped me to be productive. But when you get to the point where if you are out of the picture, you're then you're a liability. And Mark and I became a liability and we really found that out coming back and the realization that if COVID would go through our business, it would just destroy us to have to be shut down.

Mm-hmm.

And that's when we really started making this plan of growth because we needed to duplicate what we brought to the table every day.

Right.

And that's exciting because you think, I don't have the money to hire people. I can't do this. But when you do, you know, look at— and I saw— we saw a funny thing on Facebook the other day where every, you know, people talk about pyramid schemes. Every business is a pyramid.

It's a pyramid, but not necessarily a scheme, right?

Definitely. We, we, we, we took that step. We're so glad we took that step. We now have 22 amazing young women who work for us. And that's exciting. That is, you know, just something we never thought in the beginning. There were days when it was just Mark and I there and we did everything. We answered the phones, we took the trash out, we cleaned the toilets, we cleaned the—

Mark's still doing all that stuff, right?

Yeah. He calls himself the CJO, the Chief Janitor Officer.

Chief Janitor Officer.

Yeah. From that. I'm constantly wiping down.

So that, that, yeah, so that takes me to this. So you're in this position, this transition, this— there's a, there's a, there's— I don't know how deep you want to go into it. We can, we can talk through where you guys are, but what you're talking about is the working in your business, working versus working on your business, right? And so when you're starting a business and you're doing all of those things, you really don't have a choice. You just know that Somebody's got to take the garbage out and somebody is going to have to change the light bulbs and somebody is going to have to do all the things that need to be done. And you just do it. And so I can, I can speak to that. But then you get to a point where you're like, okay, we have all of these lives depending upon the income that we are providing to them through our, you know, through payroll. And we want to scale and we want to make sure that we can grow and we want to take it to another level and look at all this growth and look at all these lessons that we've learned along the way. But we can't keep doing this if we want to do that. And I think every entrepreneur gets to that point where you're just like, okay, something's got to give, right? And so you're putting all of your hours, all of your hours, all of your hours into being the, the provider. And now you're got— you guys are transitioning. You want to talk a little bit about kind of what's happening and what the 6— you've hired 6 other nurse practitioners.

We went from 8 employees last December to— we had 23, we're down to 22, we'll be up to about 24 or 25 by the end of the year. What has gone on is that we changed, and I'm going to go back to the mindset. We made some decisions in 2020 to do things differently, not just in our business but in our lives, because we found out that if we would help others transform and transition, that we could benefit from that, meaning change their mindset, change their body, their, their food intake. And so at that time, uh, May, June of last year, Gina became a certified health coach, and she now helps other people transform their lives by changing their mindset about why they put the things in their body that they're putting in there. That requires a lot of discipline. And so what I have found is that as we both have gone on that journey, I turn back around and I put it back into the business by helping the— I hate to call them employees, but our staff, our friends, our team. We change their mindset. And so they're hardworking and but they don't have a goal or a clear vision. And so by putting that out in front of them and then rewarding them consistently, they are all changing their mindsets and they're all becoming very strong leaders in their industry. And we're talking girls as young as 19, right, who are just on fire. And then, um, all of our nurse practitioners have come from other parts of the aesthetic world, and they're all quickly trying to figure out how they can go from, well, I just want to work 2 days a week, to, um, can I come in 5 days a week? Because they see what we're doing and they want to— they believe the dream. They want to be a part of it and they're reaching for it. And so I credit that to Gina because of that. You know, we go back to when we first started dating and I was like, there's something different about this one. And she's, she's just that convicted when she's— you know, there's a lot of times I joke, jokingly tell people that I just tell her she can't do it and then I—

it's going to get done.

I hook on to the belt loop and away we go. But we have— we have changed our mindsets. Our business is great, but we're kind of looking past that. We both have a desire to leave a legacy here in Lakeland. And no, it's not going to be the Publix legacy or the Barnett legacy. It's going to be the Mark and Gina legacy.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

And tell me, no, we're not going to do that. So I feel—

oh, now you have— now you've been thrown into that. But also, comparison is the thief of joy, and to take an apple and compare it to a fish is a completely unfair comparison, right?

So that was my way of saying we aren't doing that.

Okay, well, good. But I just wanted to— I think we all get into that trap, though. There's a comparison trap where we think that the job is something because someone else did the job. And this is the job that we have on Earth. Our legacy is our legacy. The people that we're in contact with that we can influence and that we can help help or touch are the ones that we get to help and touch, right? Like, that's just the, the point of us being here. So, certified health coach, you've also lost an entire person, 90 pounds so far, 90 pounds down. And you are an example, in addition to this visionary leader in your community, of your, your tribe, your, your employees, but also your clients. And so that has kind of sparked— and that happened cause, thanks to, in spite of COVID right? Like that, that downtime gave you some opportunity to just be more reflective and intentional about what you were doing. And so that discipline that Mark talks about, I would say if you were running 90 to nothing, just like you had been prior to COVID, you wouldn't have been able to convict yourself to and commit yourself to what you have managed to do. So I, I applaud you. But I also look at like, what's the silver lining, right? Here's the shutdown, here's all this stuff, and you turned shit into shinola, right? So talk about that a little bit.

Well, you know, I have very public— I always struggled with my weight, and it started when I was 9 or 10. I had a stepmonster that my dad was married to. They're not married anymore. But she was terribly verbally abusive, and it started— I would just eat in my bedroom, and, uh, white rice, that was, that was my comfort. And I would, I would hide in my bedroom and I'd eat, and that just started my emotional eating. And so, uh, I was the fat funny girl in high school, and I had lots of friends and everything, but I never had a boyfriend, and You know, then when you go to Alaska, okay, you're like 7% of the population because, you know, a scale 2 woman comes up to about a 10. So that, you know, that's how I got in trouble. You know, I go to Alaska and I'd never had, you know, a boyfriend or guys paying attention to me. So I go to Alaska and get pregnant. But anyway, that's another story. I kind of told it already. But anyway. So I'd always wanted to be healthier and it was just hard. And, you know, I said previously I grew up in Oklahoma and that was pinto beans and fried potatoes, fried okra, cornbread, cottage cheese.

I mean, making me hungry.

Yeah, it was so delicious. And I made an A in cleaning my plate every time. But as I went through all of my education in nursing, And I can look back on this now and say, you know, all we are trained to do is treat symptoms of disease. We are not— providers in America, we are not taught to teach people how to obtain wellness. And that is honestly where my state of enlightenment is right now. And I even wrote my thesis in my master's program. It was, um, the factors affecting obesity among nurses and their ability to teach healthy habits. And at that time, I think I weighed 210 pounds and I was struggling, but I knew I wanted to be an example. So after shutdown, I fast-forwarded, I put on another 15 pounds because I supported local, you know, because I'm a community girl and I was at Swan Brewing and getting growlers and supporting the food truck and Frescos and going to all these places, Cobb and Penn. And you know, I was drinking Corona because everybody was trying to help out Corona during coronavirus because, you know, their stocks went down 41%. So I'm trying to help them out. So anyway, that— I found myself just unhealthy. I had sleep apnea, I would snore, and Mark would actually have to go and sleep in the living room because I was snoring so bad. And, uh, friend of mine, Christina Rodriguez, uh, she's the financial advisor for our business, um, she is a health coach and she was just transforming right before my eyes. And she came in to get a massage and saw, and I looked at her and I was like, what are you doing? I will tell you right now, women are inspired by transformation.

Yep.

Because down deep inside you always feel like, well, if she can do it, I can do it.

Right.

Like, you look at these before and afters and you're like, mm-hmm. And that's how she inspired me and helped me. And it really was, uh, changing habits, really changing habits. And I changed those habits, and I didn't do anything wacky. I was very, uh, passionate that anything that we brought into the spa was not injections and pills and, and, you know, these magic solutions and rub this genie lamp and you're going to wake up a size 4. I just could never believe in that, even though I've tried it. Um, but that's where I am now. So I, I, you know, I love where I am right now, but I want to just look a little better in a tutu. So going for 100.

That is awesome. So, 10 pounds to go.

Yeah, so.

And you're right about the fact that, you know, that inspires, you know, transformation inspires others, whether that's a male or female thing, I can't speak to, but, you know, it's just watching your journey and seeing you grow in confidence as well. And just being able to say, I'm not just talking the talk, but I'm walking the walk alongside of my customers and my clients. But I also wanna talk about something that I feel is very special and important in this conversation. About the Bella Visage experience, and that's the authenticity that you bring to the table. You know, there's, there's, there's beauty and then there's beauty that is not just skin deep. Right. And I think what you illustrate to those that you— that know you, but also who work for you, who also are your clients, is that there's more to life than just what you look like on the surface.

Well, I'll tell you probably what my favorite thing about our business is. And last March, it was, I think, March 20th was shut down. Mm-hmm. That second week of March, it literally was, uh, the sky is falling, the sky is falling. And everyone, you know, the hair salon, they're all freaking out. What's going to happen? And I put a little Post-it note up on my mirror in my treatment room, and it was a tiny little fluorescent Post-it note, and it is still there to this day, and it will stay there. It says, God is in control. And I was at such peace because I knew that no matter what happened, we were going to be okay.

Yeah.

That, that wasn't what was going to define me. And so God really is in our business. And one of the favorite things I do, and I do not talk publicly about it, but I will today, is I do tattoo removal and tattoos in general. Typically have a lot of pain when someone's trying to remove them, right? Something that they don't want to remember and they want it removed. And I will say that the removal is not fun either, uh, it's pretty painful, but they are willing to go through that pain to get this removed. Um, and so I decided early on that we were gonna use this platform as a way to give back. So One of our most pride things that we're proud of is that we do free removal of tattoos for recruits that are going into our armed services. And the recruiters in Tampa love me. They send me people that once they have been vetted and gone through their process, you know, if they have tattoos on their face or their neck I've had them on the inside of their lip, their hands, wrists, fingers. They've got to have them removed before they go to MEPS and go into their basic training and stuff. And so we do that at no charge, and it is a ministry. And we— I have been able to share my faith and my heart, not just with the people that are trying to get into the military, but we've got Lakeland Fire Department, we've got Sheriff's Office, I've got recruits that are getting into the police academy.

And we also take care of convicted felons, anybody that has led a different life, gang members. There's another organization just reached out to us recently that is a former member of LBL And they want their students that have come up the wrong way and have finally gotten into college and are coming out to get rid of those face tattoos and the hand tattoos. And we do it for free. When she told me she wanted to do it for free, I kind of freaked out a little bit because it's a piece of equipment that most people call a Lamborghini. And but I think that 90% of what we use that machine for now is free services because we believe in it so strongly. And it is changing lives. There's— tell them the story of the young lady that's a corrections officer.

Yeah. So she has a tattoo on the side of her neck and she actually wants to go to law school and she's coming. She's been paying for her services and I think it's like $75 a treatment to come in and get that done. And we had a good conversation and, and And she just broke down and was telling me that before every service, she would move money around to be able to pay for this treatment. And I will tell you, don't ever judge anyone because she came in very well dressed, nice bag, looks like a professional career young woman. And she opened herself up and showed me her vulnerability. Told me that she had to get this off, wanted to, you know, move up. And I told her, I said, you know what, I'm going to help you. I'm going to do this for free. And she was crying so hard, she couldn't, you know, almost— it was an ugly cry. And I shared with her that I had been on welfare and people had come to me in my past and said, you know, I was told to give this to you. And it was a gift of money that I needed. No one else knew I needed it, but God knew I needed it. Yeah. So God's using Mark and I in that way now. And I don't, the reason I don't like to talk about it is we're not boastful about where we get. That's just one of the areas. You want to know why Bella Visage is successful? It is because the heart behind it is giving back to our community because now people know today I was on welfare. I was on Section 8 housing. I came from nothing. And now I give back. So, so that is a huge reason why we do what we do. And then I'll tell you, 5 minutes after this girl and I are— I'm giving her a hug and telling her we made her next appointment and everything, kind of ran into the time of my next appointment, but I knew this client was going to be fine with me being a little late. So we go into the service and she says, you know what, today I want to add this. And I said, okay. And the cost of her service was $1,000. And I'm— she just dropped that $1,000, you know, right then and there. And as I'm performing this service, I am thanking God because I knew right then he was rewarding me for my giving to that client.

The one before. Wow.

I gave $75 tattoo removal, and I know As surely as my faith is strong, God repaid me for that.

That is awesome.

And we have to acknowledge him.

Yeah. And I, and I'm so, so, so glad that you're so confident in your faith and willing to share it here today with, with us. But I know you share it with me and we have conversations. Um, and I, I think, you know, I want to talk for a minute about that if you don't mind, a little bit deeper because as a, an entrepreneur of faith and knowing when I'm operating in the world with other entrepreneurs of faith, that's, that's an easy conversation, right? Like, I know that you believe in God, I believe in God, and we kind of can put our faith in him and know that things are going to be okay, right? And, and yet then there's this challenge in our world of, of using— sometimes there's a question of, should I use my my business as a ministry or as a way to give back or as a way to, to do that. And so you do it in such a graceful way, um, and it's not in your face. But I also, as an entrepreneur, sometimes wish that I could do like a post that says, where are my Christian entrepreneurs, right? Without offending, because sometimes we need to be able to connect in those ways. So just to be able to drop that line here on the show and say, you know, I'm a Christian entrepreneur, you're a Christian entrepreneur, where we care about others in a way that is representative of how Jesus taught us to love others. And I think that's just an important part of this entrepreneurial journey that we are all on. And not everybody needs to have the same faith or the same beliefs. And I am a person who wants to open that dialogue up to, you know, if you just believe in the good things in people, then I'm, I'm one of you and you're one of me, but then let's also boldly talk about our faith in God as well. And I know that there've been stories of other stories similar to that. And so it's just your hearts, you know, I love that you said earlier, Mark, that heartset instead of mindset. I think that's a trademarkable, you know, opportunity. We need to go, you know, check it out before anybody gets this, this episode in their hands. Um, you know, and I, I'm just grateful to you both for the, the spirit of generosity that you illustrate gracefully, quietly. I know you're very involved in, in several nonprofits and and just giving back is a big part of who you are, and the community is better for it. And so I'm just grateful that we have entrepreneurs like Gina and Mark making the world a bella place.

Well, and like I said earlier, our, our wish is to leave a legacy in Lakeland of giving back, um, and it's also called paying forward. I recently experienced a death in the family, and I was amazed at how quickly my small business community was reaching out. Hey, what do you need? Do you need me to take you somewhere? So I've seen both sides of it and we're greatly appreciative of all those things that happen. Those are just extra blessings. We didn't do anything for that. But man, when you're sitting back and you're trying to come up with a eulogy and all these cool things are happening around you, you're like, oh, this community loves us no matter what. It's just unconditional. And for that, we're very thankful. We love the Lakeland community. We have a strong sense of community with our competitors. And, you know, we, we get together with them. I won't mention any names, but there is one that we actually pray with and they are our competitor. And it's exciting to watch that and to know that they kind of have our back and we have theirs and we want that to continue. And I want to see that grow because that's what started in LBL. I used to come to those meetings and I would see a— I never understood back then why Maximize would say, hey, you should get your website designed by this guy and let him do all those things because they were your competitor. But you guys were gracious and you taught others how to be gracious with their competitors. And we all grew. Yeah, that whole rising ships in a sea of, well, you know, rising tide. Thank you. I knew both of you would know, but it's, it's— you started that. Back in the day, and I've seen a lot of different small local businesses thrive because they put down the competitor hat and became a community hat person. And it's really cool to see.

Yeah, I love that. My next question was going to be, what would you change and how would you describe your experience as an entrepreneur in Polk? But I think that's already changing. It's a changing environment. For whatever reason, we found each other in this journey as we have been growing our businesses and growing up together and also being couples in business. So sometimes we get together for couples therapy and talk about what it means to run a business with your spouse.

Malbec.

And I think the part that really excites me the most is that legacy that you're talking about. In your way, you guys are leaving your legacy. In our way, we're leaving our legacy, but together we're doing it. And making a difference. And I really just love that we're kind of— and it's funny because I think for a while we kind of grew apart, but we're going back together. And that's a part of life as well.

Like, people got cut out when I was transitioning.

That commitment to health. She's like, I don't—

it's on me, man.

I don't need that, uh, that vodka water in my life, uh, anymore, Chrissanne. You're out. Um, but, but, and I, and I can appreciate that. And I think as we grow We learn that there's, there are those, those friendships and those relationships that come and they're there for a time. And then there are those relationships that, you know, when you need something, that someone's going to be there, even if you haven't spoken in a few weeks or a few months. So just as we, as we wrap up, I would love for you to share how people can get connected. I know you're on Instagram and Facebook and there's a website, so kind of tell them all about how to find you and where to go to get more information about Bella.

Yeah. So So, bellavistajaliklum.com is our website, and we are on Instagram and Facebook, and I have my personal platform as well. They're all public.

So what about you, Mark? Do you have your personal platform?

No, I struggle with Facebook. I did hire Nikki, who is my marketing concierge, and she adds 3 people a week to my Instagram.

I don't know how to— I don't have a profile picture yet.

She can work on that.

We can get that fixed. We can get that fixed. Come on, Nikki, you got to up his game for me.

Nikki Two Phones is busy at the office as we speak so that we can come do this. Well, and I would like to wrap this up. We talked a lot about our business, but— and that we have amazing people. As the lead of a company that is 100% female, I am amazed at what they do for us. Yes, they're all building their careers, but the compassion and the heart they have for us is astounding. And we're just very blessed. We couldn't do what we're doing without them, and we're proud of them. They're like our children. I have two amazing kids, and Gina has an amazing son, and now we have 22 more amazing children, members of your family.

Yeah.

Make us proud every day. And just— it's exciting. Well, exciting.

I'm glad you said that. I'll take you back a few years. We had a conversation. I don't remember when, where, or what we were doing, but you were, you were kind of saying to Craig and I, you know, you guys have this dream team.

Like, you guys really had said nirvana. You used the word nirvana.

We are in nirvana. We have this team.

Yes.

You said that word and I was like, that's a perfect way to put it. You were in a, like, a nirvana where you had this team that was so gelled together and all eyes focused on the same vision. I wanted that. Oh, I wanted that.

So, and you asked us a question like, how did you do that? And I'm like, you know, and I gave you some thoughts, but you, you have that. You, you, you're, you have shifted away from the wanting to the having because you manifested it. You worked toward it. You went understood that you needed to create that culture, set that vision, do all of the things that you kind of shared. And, and so shout out to the Bella team because, you know, you're now in a state of your own nirvana with that growth that you have and those incredible people doing all that great stuff. So, um, that was well played, Mr. Parker, giving a shout out to those people.

Yeah.

So, all right, well, we're going to wrap up. If there's anything— if you have anything else as we wrap Anything else? Any last minute opportunity?

Still listening. Appreciate your time.

Of course they're still listening. They're hanging on every word.

Ah, wonderful. All right.

Well, that's a wrap. Thanks for listening to this week's show. And if you'd like to help us get the word out about this podcast, check out the post on our Facebook page, share it, or better yet, comment with your favorite part of the show. We're looking forward to learning what you loved most about this conversation. And And if you have some ideas for upcoming episodes, we'd love to hear from you. We'll see you next week, Polk County. Doot doot doot doot doot doot doot doot doot.