Toronto’s Beauty Expert : Nurse Injector, Business Owner
Meet Marina Locio, a Toronto based Medical Nurse turned entrepreneur! She launched ML Aesthetics just a few years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Originally from Brazil, her strong roots have allowed her to target an international market out of her now hometown of Toronto. When she speaks of her brand she states that “being able to offer a Portuguese aspect to my clients has allowed me to cater to the Brazilian community in Toronto”. Here’s her entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us about yourself. When did you decide to move from Brazil to Toronto?
I was born in Pernambuco, Brazil and moved to Canada in 2014 to pursue my dream in the health field. When I moved here, I never thought about the aesthetic industry as my first option. However, when I graduated nursing, this field had become a dream of mine.
Did you always know you would end up owning your own clinic?
I never thought of opening my own business even though I have business owners in my family. When I decided to pursue my career in the injectables field I didn’t think twice about opening my own clinic. This thought became very clear to me because the Brazilian community in Toronto was lacking a clinic like the one I had in mind.
Tell me about your path that led you to launch ML Aesthetics?
After careful market research and analyzing what my main public needed, I decided to launch ML Aesthetics Clinic. There was lots of planning, education and organization involved in the months before opening the clinic. We have been open for a little while now, and I aim to better the services we provide daily. I am always researching about the most up-to-date procedures I can offer my patients.
My mission is to make my patient’s self-confidence rise every time they come in, providing to them the most natural results. My core values are honesty, trust, and respect. These are the values I built my clinic on, and they are the ones I follow every time I have a needle in my hand. For my brand culture I brought a lot of the customs we have in Brazil to make the clinic feel like a piece of Brazil here in Canada.
You’re the only clinic in Toronto that focuses on Brazilian and Canadian markets. What is your involvement in the Brazilian community in Toronto?
With Brazilian roots and concepts allied to the strong and solid academic knowledge acquired here in Canada, the creation of the clinic came as a natural consequence. What we offer in my clinic is unique. There is no other clinic here in Toronto that provides the client with the Brazilian concept of aesthetics, with bilingual service and Canadian protocols. We are unique.
What systems do you have in place for internal growth at the company?
Our aim is to keep the clinic with the most updated services available on the market and to keep growing but at a steady pace.
What inspires you to keep growing?
My inspiration are my patients and the community I have met within this industry. With every smile I see after their treatment, and every message I receive, I become more motivated into giving it my best.
What does success represent to you?
Success is achieving small milestones everyday towards a greater end goal. I like to challenge myself daily to see things in a different perspective, where I can innovate within my business and the aesthetic industry.
Tell us the difference between your company others? What puts you ahead of your competition?
The significant difference I have compared with other clinics is the concept of beauty. I bring in the Brazilian eye to beauty.
What inspires you to think bigger? Where do you see the company in 5-10 years?
I have many plans for the future of ML Aesthetics Clinic! But all I can say now is that we will continue to surprise the market and implement a concept clinic. Innovating and bringing in the Brazilian culture with us.
How do you stay grounded?
I stay grounded by knowing what I want for myself personally and the clinic’s future. I like to plan my next steps and plan what I need to do to achieve my goals.