Meet Kara Ballard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Ballard.

Hi Kara, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I graduated from college in Memphis with a Bachelor’s in Communication, majoring in film and video production. I married two weeks after graduating and moved to Seattle. I never pursued my career in Film. Instead, I worked in Corporate America as an Admin. We had two precious little boys, and I continued working in office jobs while my husband was on the road as a guitar tech for Seattle grunge bands. In 2003, he was tragically killed. We were shattered and our world turned upside down. My boys were only 6 and 8.

I found that I wasn’t able to focus very well in the corporate environment and raising two boys… it was just too much, so I did various jobs. I eventually ended up working in the music business as a personal assistant. I met my current husband, Lance, in 2005 and we were married in 2006. We had our son when I was 39, in 2010. That’s when I decided to make a career change. The band manager that I worked for is an incredible woman. Even though she was undergoing extreme stress, she would go get a facial and she would come back feeling refreshed, calm and glowing. That’s what I wanted to do! I wanted to help people. I wanted to make them feel better about themselves.

That’s when I went back to school to be an aesthetician. I had two teenagers and a new baby and I was working at an Ayurveda clinic in Washington. The school I chose was a more homeopathic school that also taught Ayurveda and alternative treatments. I loved it! After working in various medical facilities as an aesthetician, we decided to move back to TN. I was a part of an amazing team of women who opened a new Dermatology office here in Nashville and it was fantastic! I was then offered a position closer to home in Spring Hill at a new Med Spa. In 2021, my son, Alec, passed away a week before his 24th birthday. I was devastated. Crushed. I went back to work 10 days later because I didn’t know what to do with myself. I needed to be productive and busy.

I love my clients! They kept me distracted from my saddness and showed me so much love. Almost exactly 2 years after the death of my son, I woke up one morning and knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go out on my own and open a spa so that I could have more flexibility with my family and be my own boss. I opened Blackbird Harmony Spa. The meaning behind the name…. after my son passed away, I was obsessed with painting small rocks with a blackbird and a tiny red heart so I could give family and friends something to remember my son, Alec. I have never been happier. It doesn’t even feel like a job to me because I love what I do so much.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of my biggest obstacles is that I’m a people pleaser. I never wanted to upset anyone or make anyone angry, so I never spoke up for myself. If I wasn’t happy about something, I would just suck it up and do it anyway.

Finally, I went to therapy. I learned so much about myself and learned how to speak up for myself, and do what’s right for ME… not everyone else. I had to learn to be true to myself and to do what was going to make ME happy.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
About 5 years ago, I decided to train and do permanent makeup. I come from a family of artists. I did lash extensions for almost 12 years and that seemed to fulfill the artist in me. However, I kept having women come to me complaining about their lack of brows.  I started noticing people’s brows as I was working on their lashes. I would think, “If I could just put a little stroke here or there and shape up her brows, that would be awesome! That would make her happy.” What better art project?

That has been my passion for several years. Changing the way women feel about themselves. Something as simple as nice as doing their brows boosted their self-esteem more than I knew. It fulfilled me and the client as well. I recently had to take a break because of another struggle. My body. I was suffering the consequences of bad posture and hunching over all day. My neck and my upper back were killing me.

I decided to stop Lashes and take a break from Microblading. However, I am now much better and will be doing permanent makeup again very, very soon. It was something I was proud of, loved doing and worked very hard at.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I have found that just getting your foot in the door somewhere and proving yourself and working hard will take you a long way. I am constantly educating myself on the latest and greatest modalities. Not only in permanent makeup but in skincare. Educate yourself and follow your passion. If you fall, you will get back up and be even better. Don’t give up and surround yourself with people who love you and believe in you. Don’t just wish something would happen… MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Blackbirdharmonyspa.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/karabskin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karabskin 

Image Credits
Aspen Luzier @happylittlemother