Today, Liz Rayraliz Fuente is the owner of Liz’s Beauty in New City, where she specializes in lash extensions, permanent and semi-permanent makeup, skincare and other beauty services.
But building that business took years of hard work, difficult choices and starting over.
Fuente became a mother at 16, faced significant personal challenges as a teenager and spent years working to create a stable life for herself and her children. Eventually, after working as a pharmacy technician, she decided to pursue a career in beauty — a decision that would ultimately change the direction of her life.
What began as a new career became a business built around two things Fuente values deeply: helping women feel good about themselves and creating genuine connections with her clients.
Growing up between two cultures
Fuente arrived in the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was 8 years old. Adjusting to a new country meant learning a new language, adapting to a different culture and eventually finding her own place in American society.
Even small things could remind her of how different her new life was from the one she knew back home.
She recalled seeing pancakes and eggs for breakfast after immigrating, something very different from the yuca and plantains she grew up eating.
Her childhood in the Dominican Republic also gave her an early understanding of what it meant to live without much. She recalled owning very little clothing — at one point, only four tank tops — and sometimes barely having shoes.
Those experiences never left her. Instead, they became part of the perspective she brought with her as she built a life in America.
“Being an immigrant, it’s not easy,” Fuente said. “Getting respect from people when [you have] an accent is not easy. Not having a lot of support is not easy.”
Becoming a young mother
Fuente’s challenges became even more complicated when she became pregnant at 16.
Her pregnancy created a separation between her and her mother, and Liz eventually found herself living in a domestic violence shelter while preparing to become a mother herself.
Even at such a young age, she began finding ways to support herself. Fuente painted and sold her artwork, using her creativity to earn money.
Becoming a teenage mother meant growing up quickly, but it also meant confronting the assumptions people made about her and her children.
“A lot of people expect your kids to not be great when you’re a teenage mom,” Fuente said.
Rather than allowing those expectations to define her family, Fuente focused on creating opportunities for her children and building a life that would give them choices.
Finding a new direction
For years, Fuente worked to support her family, eventually becoming a pharmacy technician. Although the job provided a decent income, she wasn’t fulfilled.
“I remember I was at a job that was making decent money, but I was unhappy,” she recalled. “[So, I thought] ‘What can I do to make girls feel good about themselves but also make money?’”
Around the age of 27, Fuente returned to school and began training in the beauty industry.
She started learning skills that would become the foundation of her career, including lash extensions and semi-permanent makeup.
Over time, she expanded her services to include microshading, microblading, brow lamination, lip tints, facials and microneedling.
But knowing how to perform the services was only part of becoming successful. Fuente also had to build trust.
Working late to build a reputation
When Fuente was first establishing herself in the beauty industry, she understood that she needed to prove herself.
“You have to prove that you can do the work,” she said. “But in order for you to prove yourself, you have to be available.”
That meant working hours that were not always convenient. If a client needed an appointment at 10 p.m., she took it.
“It was crazy, but [I’d say], ‘Sure, I’ll take you.’”
Those appointments eventually became more than individual transactions. They became opportunities to build relationships and generate referrals.
“If I did a good job with that client, then that client would tell somebody, and that’s exactly how everything worked out.”
One client led to another, and Fuente gradually built a loyal clientele through the quality of her work and the relationships she developed.
More than a beauty appointment
For Fuente, the relationship with a client is just as important as the service itself. She believes women often have much more in common than they realize.
“Women just connect because we think we are different, but we are more alike than what we really think,” she said. “We just want to be loved, we just want to feel good and we just want to be happy.”
Her own background has helped her create those connections. As an immigrant, a mother and a woman who has experienced hardship, Fuente understands that people can carry very different stories while still sharing many of the same hopes and struggles.
Building Liz’s Beauty
Fuente has now spent roughly nine years in the beauty industry and five years as the owner of her salon.
What started as a career change has grown into a business built largely through relationships. Liz’s Beauty offers services ranging from lash extensions and brow treatments to semi-permanent makeup and advanced skincare.
But her goal has remained the same since she first asked herself what kind of career could make both money and a difference.
She wants women to leave her studio feeling better about themselves.
That philosophy is also reflected in the way she approaches her clients. For Fuente, beauty creates an opportunity to connect, listen and remind women that they are not as different from one another as they may think.
Choosing to be a survivor
Fuente does not pretend that her journey was easy.
She experienced hardship as a teenager, struggled through major transitions and faced the challenges of building a life as an immigrant and single mother.
But she believes people have a choice in how they respond to difficult circumstances. For Liz, that means refusing to remain defined by the hardest moments of her life.
“You choose to be a victim or a survivor. You can accomplish whatever you want,” Fuente said. “You choose to dwell in pain or find the silver lining. You choose to be happy, so choose to be happy every day, no matter what that looks like for you,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: From a young mother’s struggle to a beauty business built on strength
Reporting by Michelle Grisales, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Michelle Grisales, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
