A Second Chance. An Uphill Battle. And the Rise to the Top.

by Elizabeth Denham

“I had no idea I would end up in women’s beauty, but I love it!”

These are words Lash Lounge franchisee Michael Jania never thought he would utter. But he is so glad he took the leap and learned more than he ever wanted to know about women and their lashes.

While his location is now number three in the company after less than two years of ownership, those two years have been an uphill climb. He signed his franchise agreement in January of 2020, opened his store during the beginning of the pandemic and suffered looting during the George Floyd riots before things began to turn around.

His path was unexpected. After 25 years in a family manufacturing business, Jania lost his father. Without a clear succession plan for the business, Jania decided to look at other options for his career.

“I have been raising my three daughters on my own for the last 15 years,” he explained. “And franchising was appealing. You have a structure, the technology and the marketing in place and I would gladly give up a fee for that kind of support. So, I started with a broker to help me find the right franchise.”

He knew he did not want food. He was looking for something in a growth market that people were excited about. Something with a solid brand, a reasonable price and a team that had its act together.

“My broker called me one day and said, ‘don’t laugh…,’” Jania said. “But I do have three daughters, so maybe he thought lashes were the way to go.”

Originally slated to buy a threepack in the suburbs, he was given the option to buy an existing location in downtown Chicago. The location wasn’t doing terribly well and was ranking in the bottom 20. Jania forged ahead and signed the deal. Sixty days later, the pandemic hit, and he was shut down for the next two-and-a-half months.

“At some point, my daughters asked if I was ever going back to work – I was driving them crazy,” he laughed. “It was difficult. We moved to be closer to the store during the pandemic and that was a challenge. The government changed its mind about reopening, so planning was tough. And then George Floyd happened.”

Jania reopened his store on June 3, 2020, with minimal staff and with boards on the windows due to the civil unrest. There were three weeks in July when he had no staff whatsoever.

“I went to work every day all by myself with no customers and nothing to do. I finally hired six stylists and we trained the first week of August. The national training team was coming down the second week of August for hands-on training while I was driving my oldest daughter to college in Texas.”

That is when the second round of looting happened. He was not as lucky this time around. They had removed the boards from the windows as things had died down the first time, and the store was hit – computers, inventory and digital devices looted.

“I had just hired six new stylists, and they all showed up to help clean up. It was amazing,” he mused. “One was even an artist who painted the new boards on the windows with logos and sayings and made it into something attractive.”

They were able to finish training and reopen the store in mid-August and the store steadily climbed from the bottom 20 to the top three. Jania credits his team, the strong franchise system and brand for his success.

“I have no experience in women’s beauty,” he said with a laugh. “My

I had no idea I would end up in women’s beauty, but I love it!

team members are truly ambassadors for the brand. And maybe there was some divine intervention – with three daughters. I don’t know how God prepared me for this, but here I am.”

Jania said that he leads his staff with empathy and compassion and hopes those play into their dedication and loyalty.

“Most of my team is comprised of young women in their 20s. I try to understand the things they have going on in their lives,” he said. “I am like a work father figure. And they all understand the brand and how to make the guests enjoy their experience at the Lash Lounge. We have built a great culture together and we really do roll out of the red carpet for our guests. And I think that is why we have grown faster than I ever thought we could.”

For more information about Lash Lounge, please visit: www.thelashlounge.com