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Meet Cindy Collins of Southwest Silhouettes in East Valley

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Collins.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born with a mild birth defect – extra bones in both feet. This was surgically corrected when I was eleven. After surgery and months of casts, my surgeon recommended “lots of swimming” as therapy. So, my parents signed me up for a club swim team that practiced after school every day. My journey with swimming lasted well past therapy! I swam until I graduated high school, took a break during my undergrad years, reemerged in U.S. Masters Swimming in my mid-twenties and finally had my “sayonara” swim meet in my late 30’s. It was during my Masters years that my cellulite really started embarrassing me – the only time I was uncovered out of the water was when I was on the starting block. I was healthy, fit, not overweight – how could I have cellulite?! In 1998, I was recently divorced, my self-esteem shot, when I watched an evening news magazine feature about Endermologie. Not long afterward, I read an advertisement for Endermologie, started receiving treatments, and six years later became a practitioner myself! I served the Kansas City market for six years before remarrying and moving to Tucson. That marriage crash-and-burned in short order, but I continued trying to serve Tucson for six years. Tucson, not being a good fit, compelled me to research other markets to potentially serve, and relocated to Phoenix in the spring of 2017. Still very much in “growth” mode, but happier and optimistic that I’ll flourish here!

And it all started with a birth defect!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Though I got “into the zone” in my Kansas City market, having more business than I could handle, attracting clients is, naturally, the biggest struggle. I was naïve enough, in the beginning, to think that I was simply going to install a sign that, essentially, read “Endermologie here” and the floodgates would open. The gates didn’t open! Ironically, the first piece of marketing advice I ever got was from my very first client – a Las Vegas stripper who was in town visiting her boyfriend. She told me that nobody knows what Endermologie is and that I needed to use the words “cellulite reduction” instead of “Endermologie”! Getting help from local media has always been next-to-impossible. I was especially discouraged with Tucson, who often complains about Phoenix “getting everything”, not picking up my story when I was the only “Integral 2” operator in the state. Tucson was “one-up” on Phoenix in aesthetic technology, but the local media, instead, often ran geographically irrelevant stories from the AP feed. And now we’re in an era where we’re all busy, direct mail (i.e. “junk mail”!) is tossed without opening, we skim newspaper/magazine articles but skip over the ads, we fast forward through TV commercials, we change our car radio channels during commercials, that’s even IF we’re listening to the radio instead of our iPods. I visit other small business owners with cross-promoting proposals; most don’t seem to see the value in strategic partnering. I’m “stealth” right now. Thousands of women would love to come in for treatments, if only they knew I was here. Trying to figure out how to reach them is my current struggle. I long for the return of the day when I can just come to work and do what I love – giving Endermologie treatments all day!

Southwest Silhouettes – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I practice Endermologie and have since 2005. Just hit my 13-year anniversary in early March! Endermologie is the world’s first FDA-cleared device for the reduction of cellulite. The FDA has also blessed Endermologie for circumferential reduction, relief from minor muscle aches and pains, and relief from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Endermologie is non-invasive and so comfortable that most doze off during their treatments! During my first 10 years, I operated the “Cellu M6 IP” Endermologie machine. In 2013, I upgraded to the “Integral 2”- Endermologie’s most advanced, state-of-the-art release. With the “Integral 2” I can, not only, smooth cellulite, tone loose skin and slim down little fat pockets on the BODY, I can also treat the FACE! I can smooth wrinkles, tighten loose skin and slim down double-chins!

What sets me apart?
– My services are 100% natural.
– My services are non-invasive.
– There are relatively few “Integral 2” operators in the U.S.

I am, truly, a specialist; I provide Endermologie and nothing else; I’m not “diluting” my time with other services:
– 13 years of continuous specialized service.
– Master’s Degree
– Four Endermologie credentials, to include “Expert”.

And, probably the biggie, I was a client for 6 years before practicing!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s a tie! I had a client who was referred to me by her massage therapist. She’d been in a horrific auto accident four years earlier, and multiple surgeries had left her strapped with so much scar tissue that she could barely move. I had to help her get into her Endermologie bodysuit her first two times; she didn’t even have the range of motion to reach across her chest to pull it up over her shoulders. To my surprise, she arrived at her third treatment WEARING the bodysuit! She’d been able to put it on herself at home! A week or two later she told me she’d worked in her yard all weekend! A week after that, she’d cleaned her garage! She even told me that she was BREATHING easier; the scar tissue around her lungs had loosened up! Endermologie isn’t strictly “aesthetic”, there’s a definite “wellness” component!

Another client, in the beginning, arrived at her appointments dressed in cut-off shorts, tank tops, tennis shoes, no makeup, hair in a ponytail. By the end of her package, she was arriving in tailored pants, fashionable tops, pumps, hair dolled-up, a little makeup. All because she felt better about herself. Her husband accompanied her to one of her last package appointments. As they were leaving the spa, he said, “Thank you for giving me my wife back”. You just can’t discount the impact of body image.

Pricing:

  • $79 per treatment
  • $780 package of 12 treatments
  • $40 monthly membership – unlimited treatments at 15% discount
  • $300 annual membership – unlimited treatments at 15% discount

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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