By Nelson A. King
The American Dream is the
concept of achieving success in
the United States. Trinidadian
Shivaughnette Mendoza, the
owner of Bella Body Spa and
Beauty Lounge on Springfield
Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens,
is a shining example of that
dream coming true.
Mendoza said she left her
native country of Trinidad and
Tobago at 21 to come to the
United States.
With only $20 to her name,
Mendoza said that she started
working as a nanny and caretaker
for small children.
In order to perform this job,
Mendoza said she had to find
childcare for her own child that
was the same age as her client’s
children.
This left Mendoza conflicted
and she struggled to rationalize
this employment situation.
Mendoza said she changed
jobs and sought employment
at Nationwide Insurance as a
file clerk.
She quickly got a promotion
to the front desk position and
started taking classes for properties
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and casualties.
Unfortunately, due to her
citizenship status, she was
unable to take the state board
test to get licensed as an insurance
agent.
One of her insurance clients
was a fellow Trinidadian, who
recruited Mendoza to work for
him doing taxes.
Shortly after starting her
new job, Mendoza became
pregnant. Due to her doctor’s
ordered bed rest, Mendoza
said she started working from
home.
During this time, Mendoza
and her child’s father opened a
trucking company.
The revenue from this
endeavor allowed Mendoza to
purchase real estate, and she
started to manage a collection
of rental properties.
Following the delivery of her
child, Mendoza said she became
interested in body transformation
to alleviate some of the
effects of childbirth.
Once she had her own experience
with aesthetics and body
transformation, Mendoza said
she was inspired to pursue her
next career path.
She began taking classes to
get her aesthetician license.
The program, which consisted
of either a day class or a night
class, typically took six months
to complete.
But Mendoza said her ambition
did not have the patience
for that timeline. Therefore,
she said found a way to take
both the day classes and the
night classes to finish the program
in only three months.
She said she was the first
person to attempt this accelerated
schedule and surpassed
the expectations of advisors
who told her it wasn’t feasible.
After receiving her license,
Mendoza started to perform
aesthetic services from her
home.
As the demand increased,
she used her past real estate
experience to expand her operation.
She purchased a store front,
and Bella Beauty Spa was created.
Over the years, Mendoza
started to partner with other
vendors and that the spa
Trinidadian owner of Bella Body Spa and Beauty Lounge,
Shivaughnette Mendoz. Bella Spa (Harmoney)
evolved into Bella Body Spa
and Beauty Lounge.
The one-stop aesthetic shop
is now a comprehensive spa
with services ranging from
hair and nails to dermaplaning
and body sculpting.
Her business specializes in
post-surgical care and noninvasive
treatments for body
transformation and rejuvenation.
Mendoza’s success has motivated
her to expand operations
to additional cities in the United
States and abroad.
She has plans to open locations
in Atlanta, Houston, Fort
Lauderdale, Barbados, and an
additional location in Trinidad.
Trinidadian owner of NYC spa the
epitome of the American Dream
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