We had the pleasure to interview Lexi Miles Corrin, Founder and CEO of WAXON Laser + Waxbar, who shared her valuable insights on running a full-time business while also balancing wellness and navigating motherhood, her feelings after reaching an incredible 10-year anniversary milestone, how did she transform her passion into a profitable and highly successful business and much more.
LEXI MILES CORRIN is the Founder and CEO of WAXON Laser + Waxbar, an innovative beauty concept specializing in hair removal for men and women on-the-go looking for convenient and high-quality services without the steep price tag. Launched in 2012, WAXON Laser + Waxbar now includes 13 locations across the country, with plans for further expansion in 2022. In 2019, Lexi saw a gap in women’s intimate skin care and recently developed and launched an intimate skin care product line for women; South. Containing only clean beauty ingredients, South is created by Women for Women, made in Canada and covers all below the belt skin care needs. Recently adding ‘podcaster’ to her resume, Lexi launched a blog turned podcast called, ‘We Go There’ – Where there is no such thing as TMI. Inspired by women everywhere who have intimate questions and not enough answers.
A champion for empowering women in business, Lexi has been a keynote speaker and panelist for various organizations and preeminent universities including the Rotman School of Management and Queen’s University, providing entrepreneurial advice and inspiration to aspiring female leaders. She is passionate about giving back to her community, supporting several non-profits including One Girl Can. Lexi is also featured regularly in the media speaking to beauty trends, how to run a successful business and life as a female entrepreneur. Lexi resides in Toronto with her husband, daughter, Piper, son, Clark and newborn twins Nash & Violet.
When did you start your career? And what was the motivation behind starting WAXON Laser and Waxbar?
While working as a consultant primarily in the U.S. I was exposed to the wax bar business concept. I found it such a fascinating niche to have a company that was more than the local dive shop that did your nails, and had a questionable wax bed in the back room; yet was more affordable than a high end spa. I loved that the concept was simple and to the point – hair removal. Upon returning to Canada, I searched for something similar and found there really was nothing. So logically, I abandoned my promising career with absolutely no esthetics experience to start my own company. Ten years later, here we are.
Since you are a mother of four, and a champion for women’s empowerment, what does it mean not only to run a full-time business but also to balance wellness and navigate motherhood?
Balance is an interesting word. I do my best to find the time to commit to work, family, my relationships and myself. My business is my first baby and now, with the recent addition of my twins, that brings my count to 5 (WAXON and four human kiddos). I have learned to be okay with the ebb and flow. At times, much of my focus needed to be on the business. Now I have such a great team, that I feel more comfortable handing certain things over so I have more time and capacity to be a mom and to work on myself.
Waxon is the number one hair removal destination in Canada, with locations across the country. How do you feel after reaching such an incredible 10-year anniversary milestone?
I still pinch myself about it. 10 years is such an accomplishment, and what feels incredible is not only that we deliver our WAXON experience all across Ontario and currently out East, but we have delivered amazing impact to the teams who work with us, and to our customers. We exist to create a safe space to help everyone feel more confident in their skin. To me, we are more than hair removal. We are a brand that empowers women, gives back to our community, raises awareness for causes important to us (like One Girl Can), promotes equality – and ultimately changes lives because of it.
How did you transform your personal experiences, needs, and passion into a profitable and highly successful business?
I think it’s a matter of sharing my passion. To be honest, I have no esthetics experience and definitely didn’t think this would be my career path 10 years ago. What wakes me up everyday is the fact that WAXON creates positive impacts and the knowledge that what I do as a leader, and the decisions I make, affect so many people – both on our team and our guests. I think that our brand passion to create convenience, quality and equality ensures that our guests grow an affinity to our brand and continue to return to us every month.
How important do you believe it is to listen to your customers and identify market gaps? How did you make your wax bar a safe space for everyone?
It’s a huge part of what we do and why we exist. We are constantly gathering guest feedback in a myriad of ways. Many of our services and products come as a result of our clients’ suggestions.
In terms of creating a safe space, this is something we take very seriously. We have a very active diversity and inclusion committee who is responsible for the education of our team and ensuring that we are always being as inclusive as possible. We have a strong HR program that supports team members and a very engaged culture where we create comfort and understanding. WAXON is a space for gender inclusivity, body positivity and zero judgment.
As the pandemic affected numerous businesses, what effect did it have on employee retention?
During the pandemic closures, we really focused on engagement with our teams. We kept all our employees onboard. We had weekly check-ins, donated a portion of online sales to them directly and supported mental health initiatives. Our goal was to help our employees through this extremely difficult time. This resulted in a 93% return-to-work rate. Over the past months, we have seen some drop off with employees choosing other careers or moving away. Our focus now is showing how important and lucrative an esthetics career can be, especially with WAXON. We have employees who have been with us for 10 years and we want to continue that.
