Inspiring Conversations with Bonnie Kerner of Honey B Tan Beauty Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Kerner.

Hi Bonnie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in North Long Beach, CA. Growing up in this very diverse city really shaped the person I am today. I’m very open-minded and love to learn new things all the time. I wasn’t raised in a very healthy environment. I struggled greatly as a kid and young adult. I became a single parent at 21 and that left little opportunities for stability and success.

When my daughter turned nine, I decided that it was time to go after my dream career. I enrolled in Paul Mitchell’s Cosmetology course in 2010. I went full-time for an entire year. This was one of the hardest years of my life. I had to sacrifice a lot and had a lot of struggles to finish as the sole financial, physical, and emotional provider for my daughter and myself. After finishing and receiving my cosmetology license I knew I finally had the ability to go after my dreams and provide a life for my daughter and I that I had only dreamed of. I first went into a salon as a commissioned stylist. I worked long days and quickly realized this wasn’t the right place for me to be at that time. I then fell into the hair extension branch of the industry. I became an expert in temporary human hair extensions. I helped thousands of women who suffered from hair loss and thinning and it was very rewarding. I quickly realized I had an amazing skill of selling something I believed in. I became an expert in these products as well as an expert in customer service. I moved on from that first company and found a brand new company that had just launched in the market. We teamed up and I helped the owner grow and scale this very successful online hair extension brand, that is now a household name. I had numerous job duties for this brand, customer service expert, media director, marketing, product developer, and quality control, just to name a few.

Once the pandemic hit us, that venture ended for me. I now had to figure out where I wanted to go next in my career. After my success with the hair extension brand, I knew I was capable of owning and growing my own business. I then decided to move back closer to Long Beach and open my first salon in the heart of Orange County, CA. Ten months ago I opened my salon, Honey B Tan Beauty Studio. I provide full hair, makeup, and custom spray tanning services. It’s been a dream come true to finally have my own business and in such a prestigious area in California. I’m now already planning to expand my salon and to grow my name here in my new community. It really is true, if you work your ass off, and stay the course, you can and will succeed in making your dreams come true!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No. It’s been one of the toughest roads for me. I’ve suffered from CPTSD since I was little. I’ve unknowingly carried around a lot of unresolved trauma in my life. This unresolved trauma has been a roadblock throughout my entire life until I found EMDR Therapy. I spent a year and a half in EMDR Therapy and it changed my life. It has given me the ability to no longer carry so much pain and anger around the things that have happened to me in my life. When you have unresolved trauma from anything, it will present as a barrier from getting to where you need and want to be in your life. You will unknowingly sabotage yourself in situations, react negatively towards others, cause poor decision making, depression, anxiety, etc. It’s very difficult and near impossible for you to see great opportunities or for the right people to be a support system to you when you have these things in your way. After healing from my past traumas, I am now able to love myself, see what’s best for me clearly, able to make the best decisions for myself and my daughter and have amazing people and opportunities in my life now. I will forever be in debt to EMDR Therapy and my Therapist Jason!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Honey B Tan Beauty Studio has been a dream of mine since starting my career in the beauty industry. I have a strong passion for the beauty industry and providing high-quality services that turn my clients into long-lasting relationships. I pride myself on continuing education and expert product knowledge to be able to provide amazing customized services and products that actually deliver the results my clients desire.

I’ve worked along some of the most talented and coveted artists in the beauty industry, developing my skills, building a private, successful clientele including celebrities and influencers. I specialize in hair extensions, Blonding specialists, special event hairstyling, and full makeup services. I pride myself on attending continued education courses and classes in person and online to continue to add to my portfolio of artistry. Makeup and hair has been a passion for me. I am a self-taught professional makeup artist of eight years and a licensed cosmetologist of 11 years. I love that my clients can come to my salon feeling safe and inclusive to be able to get ready for any special event. I am also growing and expanding to be able to bring in more artists and services. It’s incredible how quickly my small business has grown in such a short amount of time, but feel it is a testament to my talent and my customer service abilities. I’m so excited to see how far I can grow personally and professionally.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life. I can say prior to EMDR Therapy, the risks were not really thought out well and never worked out positively. Post therapy, all the risks I’ve taken have been terrifying but once you stop letting fear control, it’s amazing what life opens for you! I now am able to remind myself when fear creeps in that look at what I’ve done already pushing fear aside. It’s also ok to stumble or fail. It’s about how you pick yourself back up and how you push forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://honeybtan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeybtan/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honeybtanbeautystudio
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/honey-b-tan-beauty-studio-costa-mesa

Image Credits
All photos contain hair, makeup, and custom spray tan by Bonnie Kerner.