Marilene Tentomas On Building a Beauty Empire, Owner of Slimwave Technologies & Co-Founder of NuBody Medica
Meet Marilene Tentomas, who is a business woman in the medical beauty industry. Passionate about entrepreneurship, she has quickly become an expert at building brands in the health and wellness space. She founded Slimwave Technologies a decade ago, and was one of the first to introduce the novice of EMS technology to Canada, a technology used up until then for professional athletes. She has formed many others to open their own businesses and teaches health, beauty and fitness professionals her success strategies. She credits her success to her positive outlook, and having compassion and empathy towards others as she quotes “this has helped me build great teams surrounding my business.” This is her story.
Did you always know you would end up becoming an entrepreneur ?
I have always been excited about developing unique ideas and innovations and presenting them to my family from a young age, and my prior experience in working for others was not in my future plans. I knew by becoming an entrepreneur I had the chance to change other people’s lives by finding solutions to common problems, I knew by pouring my heart and soul into these ventures, that in time, I would see the success I worked hard to achieve.
Tell me about your path that led you to start Slimwave?
Health and wellness fascinates me; finding simple, effortless & safe ways to achieving this is my passion, that in 2011, I travelled around the globe hoping to discover a new trend for non-surgical weight loss procedures. I had noticed then that many young women were choosing invasive surgeries and this inspired me to develop Slimwave, which has become the number one sought after, non-invasive way to eliminate excessive body weight and stubborn fat. I recently launched CelluSkin that has gained popularity this year for cellulite removal and skin tightening, in which we are seeing great results with this new innovative procedure called Acoustic Wave Technology.
What makes your brand different from other products on the market?
What I truly love about the Slimwave and CelluSkin brand and how we differ from others, is that the services are affordable, safe, effective with no negative side effects. I have developed a holistic protocol with Slimwave using Muscle stimulation and infrared technology to detoxify the body from the inside out, burn fat and build muscle allowing clients to achieve fitness goals that otherwise remain out of reach. In the health and beauty industry there is a lot of competitiveness and aggressive sales approach that we do not follow. We are a group of women that believe in a softer more compassionate approach who care about seeing clients thrive in this industry, it is not just about sales, but a human experience that we get to be involved in.
What has been one of your biggest challenges that you have surmounted recently that has had positive effects?
My biggest challenge was never having enough time to complete new projects and launch new products. When we were initially shut down, I had all this time to reorganize our brand, create virtual trainings and offer support for clients. I also launched a professional LED facial device for glowing skin called Luminous and created a new Slimwave platform that we launched in August 2020 and have been selling out every month. I made it into a positive one by never giving up and constantly innovating within my business. I have great support from my husband, family and friends, and I am grateful to have an entourage who supports my wins and are there during the struggles.
What is your next big goal?
I consider myself a serial entrepreneur, so I am presently working on a travel and tourism development that will be a growing trend here in Canada. It is quite exciting and scary at the same time, but the challenge excites me since I will be pushed into new areas that I have not ventured into before. As for the health and beauty industry, I am currently working on personal home use line of products.
What motivates you?
My biggest motivation recently is my six year old daughter, Alexia, who inspires me to be the best version of myself and shows me that pleasure can come from simple things in life. I transitioned my office to my home to be present in her life and by doing this; she is witnessing my work ethic and dedication to my business. I am motivated to teach her that anything is possible with determination, integrity and skill she can be whomever she chooses in this world. Alexia grounds me; she has taught me to live in the moment, which can be a daunting task for an entrepreneur, and I am thankful for these teachings I get from her.
What does success represent to you?
The definition of success for me means doing something that I am passionate about, that makes me happy and that I enjoy doing. I want to be successful by accomplishing the goals I have set for myself in life. I also feel great success when I see my clients happy and achieving success with our products.
Where did you develop your entrepreneurial spirit?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs, and when they immigrated to Canada they had the entrepreneurial spirit to take risks and start their own businesses. By witnessing their hard work and sacrifice and what it involved in running a business, I was inspired to do the same.
What inspires you to think bigger? Where do you see the company in 5-10 years?
My greatest inspiration in growing a business is self fulfillment, happiness and passion so if I still have that in running my businesses, then the opportunities and growth are limitless. I envision my brands becoming a large global brand as we are currently in Canada, USA, France, Algeria, UK, and in the Caribbean.
Marilene with daughter Alexia
How do you define work life balance? How do you apply it in your day to day life?
Being an entrepreneur, wife and mother can be challenging in finding balance, and I still struggle with this even today so I take it one day at a time and try my best to be present in my personal and professional life as there is no secret recipe to this. I get my family involved in my business, as my husband helps with logistics and my daughter is my assistant and has her own desk next to mine so that she feels included and happy to help.