Beauty, wellness and confidence are interrelated. It’s difficult to have one without the others.
Shreda Brown derives even deeper meaning from the health and wellness industry. Her new spa, Esther’s Chamber Bath and Spa House, serves as a sanctuary where inner and outer wellness go hand-in-hand, with a mission to empower her clients.
After years of hard work in positions within her church, at retail establishments, local nonprofits and the post office, Brown, a client of the Missouri SBDC at MSU, is now building something beautiful at Esther’s Chamber. It’s not just an opportunity to improve her life, but the lives of her clients.
“Our mission is to restore the love for one’s natural beauty,” Brown said. “On one side it is to cultivate healthy, glowing, flawless skin. On the other, it is to cultivate a culture of righteousness.”
Clients are pampered through treatments, like:
• Face rejuvenation
• Body rejuvenation
• Hair removal
• Anti-aging
• Immune boosting
• Pre-post surgery rejuvenation
Each appointment is designed to make a client feel or look more beautiful, and Brown is pairing these services with her mission of ministry.
“Previously, I wrote a ministry for women, specifically in transitional living situations,” Brown said. It was also named Esther’s Chamber.
“While empowering women through job readiness, life skills and mentorship, I realized that when the time came for them to interview for jobs, they still weren’t confident,” she said. “They didn’t think they had what it took to land the jobs, and a lot of it had to do with how they felt about their appearance. This is what caused Esther’s Chamber to evolve as a spa.”
Working together
As her first entrepreneurial venture, Brown sought out the business consultants at efactory to fill in the gaps of her knowledge on business ownership.
Amy Jackson, regional business consultant, says Brown had the tools but needed assistance trimming “extras” out of her business plan.
“It was such a pleasure to work with Shreda,” Jackson said. “She was very motivated, and she understood herself. In some of our very early conversations, she made it clear to me how I could help her the most.”
Together, Jackson and Brown developed precise goals, worked through financial scenarios and set Esther’s Chamber on a course to success.
Building partners
In Esther’s Chamber on East Battlefield Road, Brown has created a space of serenity for her services. She’s busy networking, building a clientele and getting the word out about her business.
Currently, she’s also developing partnerships with service providers and local non-profit agencies, like the Springfield Recovery Community Center. Through these partnerships, she will create a pipeline of women ready to gain confidence again after tragedy, abuse, homelessness or long-term poverty.
“I want to give back through empowering them,” Brown said. “I plan to bring two of the program’s ‘shining star’ participants into my spa — hear their stories and pamper them from head to foot.”
She dreams big, though, and envisions a location, options and a legacy bigger than what exists currently.
“I want to leave something for my children and the world in general,” she said. “I want it to be something lasting that they could appreciate and that could bring value to their own lives.”
By Nicki Donnelson
UniteNews Contributing Writer
