Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP# 266: Wax, Lashes, and Life: Meet the Woman Behind Kat's Lash Lounge

• Skip Mauney & Kat Mahn • Episode 266

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What makes Kat Mahn with Kat’s Lash Lounge a good neighbor?

Looking your best shouldn't mean hours of daily effort – sometimes it's about finding the right professionals who can help you "roll out of bed just looking fabulous." That's exactly the philosophy behind Kat's Lash Lounge, a comprehensive beauty destination where founder Kat Mahn brings 20 years of esthetician experience to a variety of transformative services.

What started with a passion for helping others look and feel their best has grown into a full-service beauty hub. During our engaging conversation, Kat reveals how her unique journey from English literature graduate to beauty entrepreneur unfolded, crediting her husband's encouragement to pursue her true passion. Today, her business specializes in everything from lash extensions and lifts to professional waxing services performed by talented "brow whisperers." The lounge continues expanding, with exciting new offerings like hydro facial machines for advanced anti-aging treatments just around the corner.

Beyond beauty techniques, Kat's story touches on profound personal resilience. She candidly shares navigating the devastating loss of both parents within four months during the pandemic while maintaining her business operations. Her experience highlights the importance of community support and inner strength – qualities that seem to infuse the warm, welcoming atmosphere of her establishment. With clients ranging from age 8 to 80 and a memorable tagline ("We'll wax anything but your car"), Kat's Lash Lounge stands as a testament to following your dreams and creating spaces where people truly feel cared for. Ready to experience the difference professional beauty services can make? Explore more at katslashlounge.com or on Instagram @katslashlounge.

To learn more about  Kat’s Lash Lounge go to:

https://www.katslashlounge.com/

Kat’s Lash Lounge 

(803) 743-6348



Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monning.

Speaker 2:

Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. So I am very excited today to have a very special guest in the studio with us, and I'm sure you'll be just as excited because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Ms Kat Monn, who is the owner-operator of introducing your good neighbor, Ms Kat Maughan, who is the owner operator of Kat's Lash Lounge. Kat, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Yay, thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.

Speaker 2:

Well, we're thrilled to have you. Like I said, I'm excited to learn all about you and your business, as I'm sure our listeners are as well. So if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off to tell us about what you do?

Speaker 3:

So I am Kat's Lash Lounge. We do specialize in everything lashes, mostly lash extensions, but we also do lift and tense, which are very popular right now. Then we do waxing. We have several estheticians that are brow whispers, so we'll do facial waxing as well as full body waxing. Then we do spray tans and facials and we're really excited we're just about to launch our hydrofacial machine, so we'll have a little more advanced aggressive facials for anti-aging.

Speaker 2:

Very cool. Now did you say a brow whisperer? Is that what you said?

Speaker 3:

Yes, I did A brow whisperer.

Speaker 2:

That's pretty cool, pretty cool term. What exactly is a brow whisperer? Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3:

So brows are just so very important for the ladies especially, but the guys too. So, gentlemen, come in for a little manscaping, but a brow whisperer is really important to the ladies because we obviously want our brows to be the first thing you notice and to be on point.

Speaker 2:

Very good Good to know Well, how exactly did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

I've been an esthetician for about 20 years now. I just always loved making people's days brighter and I had always talked about doing this. I did go to college I have an English degree and I just kept talking about this and my husband finally was like you should just go back and do this. And so I did, and I just love making folks stay brighter.

Speaker 2:

Good suggestion from the hubby, obviously, he did do good. Seems to suit you well. Well, what are some? What are some myths or misconceptions in the the Lash Lounge business, esthetician business, I guess.

Speaker 3:

I think a lot of times people think they could just walk in for a lash lift intent or for lash extension, something like that. And while we always welcome a walk-in, these are longer services. They're anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half to two hours. So it's better to book the time that you want, especially if you know you have a big event coming up, like maybe you've got a wedding or you've got a big vacation with your girlfriends. If you wait until the night or the day before and you're just going to walk in, it most likely probably isn't going to happen.

Speaker 2:

Well, who are your target customers? You mentioned most, you know, women, but also men too, right?

Speaker 3:

Right, I do think we do have a lot of male guests, but I think females are our target market. You know, if you're thinking about lash extensions, anywhere from 25 to 75 is a lot of folks in that range, just because they're out in the community and they want to look their best and they don't want to have to worry about mascara and things like that. They want to roll out of bed just looking fabulous. As far as waxing and spray tans, we have folks all the way from eight years old for spray tans into their 80s because they're doing dance or they're going on vacations and they just want to look their best.

Speaker 3:

Very good, Now, how do you? How do you?

Speaker 2:

attract those folks Like how do you market to them?

Speaker 3:

We've done a lot with our social media. We're actively posting on our Instagram and Facebook and our website and sending out newsletters. But we also do a lot with our Google, with the search engine optimization to help. So when folks search for anything that we do, we'll come up in the top two or three.

Speaker 2:

Very good, naturally, organically. Yeah, very cool. Now, have you ever?

Speaker 3:

thought organically.

Speaker 2:

Yes, ever thought about doing your own podcast, have you ever?

Speaker 3:

thought about organically? Yes, ever thought about doing your own podcast? I have not. My friend and I have posted on some YouTube videos, but we haven't thought about doing our own podcast, maybe we should give us some thought.

Speaker 2:

That's right. I can help you with that, by the way. Well, outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3:

I love to travel.

Speaker 2:

I like to go new places, especially somewhere that has a beach. So let's switch gears for a second.

Speaker 3:

Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge, either personally or professionally, that you can think of and how it made you stronger on the other side when you came through it? Definitely for me, covid. My parents, my mom, lived with us and during all of that my father also came to live with us when my stepmom passed away and then I lost both my parents within four months of each other. So that was a real hardship on all of us, especially our kids, having had my mom with us since they were very little. It was just a difficult structure trying to continue to keep the shop running as well. As you know, you're grieving the loss of both your parents, feeling a little bit like an orphan, so that's always a struggle. You have to definitely have a good support system around you of family and friends and folks that you can talk to to get through stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Got to have a circle. Well, did they both pass away from COVID.

Speaker 3:

They did not. My mom passed away. I honestly think she just was very tired. She had been deteriorating for a little while. My parents were both older and my dad had some Alzheimer's and dementia. And after he lost my stepmom my husband very wisely said you can't fix a broken heart, and he just was very, very sad to have lost the love of his life.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, oh, wow. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I understand that I lost both of mine, uh, in the last eight years, but it's tough, it's tough, but it sounds like you've made it through.

Speaker 3:

It's very difficult.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. Uh, kat, I know you're busy so I don't want to take up too much of your time. If you could think of one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about Kat's Lash Lounge, what would that be?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we are here to take care of all of your beauty needs. We're also here just to be your neighbor and your friend, so stop by and say, hi, give us a look over, but we'll wax anything but your car, and we're always happy to have you drop by and see us.

Speaker 2:

We'll wax anything but your car, wow. That's too bad, you need to throw cars in there too.

Speaker 3:

We'll think about that. Maybe we can partner with somebody that does that.

Speaker 2:

There you go, there you go. Well, for those of us who are interested in getting something waxed or eyebrows or, you know, just general face work. How can we learn more about you?

Speaker 3:

You can check out our website at cat slash lounge dot com or you can follow us at the same handle cat slash lounge on Instagram. Very good, all right.

Speaker 2:

Very good, all right. Well, kat, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to hang out with us and tell us all about you and what you do and Kat's Lash Lounge, and we want to wish you and your family and your clients, customers and new customers.

Speaker 3:

All the best moving forward. Thank you so much. This opportunity was really great and I appreciate you, Skip, and it was great to get to know you.

Speaker 2:

Well, great to get to know you. Maybe we can have you back on the show again sometime.

Speaker 3:

Sounds good. Have a beautiful day.

Speaker 2:

You too, thanks so much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.