It’s 2016, and we’re continuing our Get to Know Series with our very own Betsy Reyes! Betsy is Co-Founder of BetsyElisa Inc, and she’ll be sharing her insights, her beginnings and much more.
(Betsy with her spray dye red hair, a childhood halloween tradition)
So Betsy, when and how did your beauty interests arise?
As a young girl, 14 years old, I was certified to do nails. That was way before you needed a license to do nails (I of course got my license as soon as the laws changed).
In college, I studied to be a nurse. I had my 4 years planned and had my foot in the door for a nursing program at the hospital I was born in. But I continued to do nails while I was in college (so much that I began experiencing carpal tunnel before I hit 18 yrs old), and in between semesters I went to get my cosmotology license for hair.
And so you didn’t go for the nursing route! What happened after you got your license?
So, fresh out of hair school, I wanted to have fun. I was young and wanted to take advantage of opportunities to explore everything. And then the first salon I worked at, fired me! I was told hair was not for me. Ouch!
Thankfully, my parents supported me, and the ideas I had. They believe there is no such thing as failure, only obstacles. So I continued with hair and college, attended UMass Dartmouth. I eventually ended up being the manager of the local salon.
(Left to Right: Elisa, Betsy and Kristi)
How did your parents influence set you up for success?
When school ended, I knew it was time to go home to NY. At 22 years old, I still needed more… I was always told the sky is the limit… Life is limitless, anything was possible. And my brothers and I being first generation Americans, saw the proof in our parents.
Believing in endless possibilities and positivity is what we learned through the hard work of our parents, who worked in factories and cleaning facilities. We saw and learned that hard work does pay off.
When I got back to NYC, my sister-in-law introduced me to her friend, who’d created the internship program at MTV. That is how I met Kristi Fuhrmann Kerr. And life just continued to get more interesting!
Check back for Part 2 of our Get to Know series with Betsy! Coming soon! Any questions for Betsy? Leave a comment below!
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