Dear Clients and Friends

Today, I wanted to write something a little different. For over 12 years, many of you have known me simply The founder of The Sugaring Room.” But behind the business is just a woman with a dream, who has worked incredibly hard, made mistakes, learned countless lessons, and never stopped trying to become better.

Many of you know parts of my story, but not all of it. Beauty therapy has been part of my life for more than 20 years. I grew up in Brazil surrounded by this industry.

My mother owned her own beauty clinic, and that is where my passion began. I studied there, trained there, and spent years learning not only the technical side of beauty therapy, but also the importance of genuinely caring for people.

When I moved to New Zealand, I brought all of that experience with me. But I also realised that I wanted to do things differently.

I challenged myself to improve every part of the sugaring experience. Over the years I developed my own treatment systems, refined techniques, changed protocols, simplified processes and continuously looked for better ways to achieve more consistent results, greater client comfort and higher treatment standards. The way we perform sugaring today at The Sugaring Room is the result of thousands of treatments, years of experience, continuous education and constant refinement.

It has become one of the things that makes our clinic unique, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built together. Looking back over these last twelve years, I also realise something important.

Building a successful business isn’t just about being good at your profession. It’s about learning to become a leader. Learning to train people. Learning to manage a team. . Learning to make difficult decisions. Learning to run a business. Learning to balance work, family and life.

No one teaches you all of that. Experience does. Have I made mistakes? Absolutely.

There are many situations I would handle differently today because every challenge has taught me something valuable. But one thing has never changed. My heart.

Every decision I have made has always been with good intentions. I’ve always tried to lead this business with honesty, integrity, kindness and respect. I’ve never believed in taking shortcuts. I’ve never believed in hurting someone else to succeed. I’ve always believed that if you work hard, stay honest and genuinely care about people, good things eventually come back to you.

I truly believe that is why The Sugaring Room is still here after twelve years, specially after all economic challenges, pandemic etc...

One of the greatest gifts this business has given me isn’t financial. It’s people. Some of you walked through my doors as clients many years ago. Today, I proudly call many of you my friends.

You’ve watched my children grow. You’ve celebrated life’s milestones with me. You’ve supported me during difficult times. You’ve encouraged me when I doubted myself. You’ve stood beside me when I succeeded, and you’ve also stayed beside me when I made mistakes.

Those friendships are something I will treasure forever. You haven’t simply supported my business. You’ve helped shape the person I have become. For that, from the bottom of my heart… Thank you.

Many of you also know that over the past few years I have reduced the number of treatments I personally perform. That wasn’t because I wanted to step away. It was because I had to.

After developing an arm injury from years of repetitive work, I received medical advice to reduce the physical workload in order to protect my long-term health. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make because treating clients is still one of my greatest passions. I’m certainly not disappearing. Far from it. During this transition, you’ll probably see me around the clinic more than ever.

I’ll be there almost every day supporting the team, helping wherever needed, ensuring standards remain high and continuing to care for this business that means so much to me.

Motherhood has also completely changed my life. Like many working mums, I’ve spent years trying to balance raising two beautiful children while running a business, leading a team, continuing my education and somehow finding time for myself.

Without family living nearby, every challenge has been ours to navigate. It hasn’t always been easy. There have been days where I cried, lost it and questioned myself.

Days where I felt exhausted. . But every challenge has made me stronger. Running a small business isn’t simply opening the doors each morning. It means carrying responsibility for families, staff, clients, suppliers, rent, systems, training and every little detail behind the scenes that many people never see. I don’t say this looking for sympathy.

I simply wanted you to know the human being behind the business. Because The Sugaring Room has always been much more than just my workplace. It’s a huge part of my life.

As with every growing business, teams evolve. People move on. New people join. While change is never easy, I truly believe it often opens the door to exciting new opportunities.

That brings me to some wonderful news. I’m incredibly excited to welcome Ellisha to The Sugaring Room. I will be making a proper introduction soon.

Ellisha brings many years of experience within the beauty industry and has worked across a wide range of advanced beauty treatments.

She has a strong professional background, a genuine passion for client care and shares the same values that have always been important to me—kindness, professionalism, continuous learning and attention to detail.

She isn’t new to the beauty industry. She’s joining us with valuable experience, and I’m genuinely excited for you all to meet her.

Every therapist also brings their own style, personality and strengths. Just as every client is unique, every therapist is too.

As we go through this transition together, I kindly ask for your patience, your understanding and, most importantly, your honest feedback. Your feedback has always helped me improve this business. It will continue helping us grow.

I also want to acknowledge someone who has become an incredibly important part of our team. Many of you already know Cristielle.

Cris has recently stepped into the role of Workplace Coordinator at The Sugaring Room. She will continue treating clients while also helping coordinate our day-to-day operations, supporting the team and ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. If you ever have feedback, suggestions or concerns, please know that you can always speak with Cris as well.

She works very closely with me, and together we’ll continue making improvements based on what our clients tell us.

Later this year I’ll be travelling to Brazil to continue my professional education and train in exciting new treatments that I’m looking forward to introducing to The Sugaring Room. We’re investing in advanced services, expanding our treatment menu and bringing fresh ideas back to our beautiful community.

The future is incredibly exciting. And we’re only just getting started. Finally… If you’ve been with me for twelve years… Or twelve months… Or even if your very first appointment is still to come… Thank you.

Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for supporting a small business. Thank you for believing in what we’ve built together. If I’ve ever fallen short of your expectations, I’m truly sorry.

Please know it has never been through lack of care. I will continue learning. I will continue growing. I will continue investing in education. I will continue listening. And I will continue doing everything I possibly can to make The Sugaring Room a place where every client feels welcomed, cared for and proud to return. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past twelve years, it’s this: Businesses aren’t built by beautiful treatment rooms.

They’re built by trust. And your trust has been the greatest gift of my entire career.

From the bottom of my heart… Thank you for walking this journey with me.

I truly believe the best chapter of The Sugaring Room is still ahead.

With love and endless gratitude,

Marcela Hannouche Founder & Owner The Sugaring Room