March 19, 2017

Meet Cleighton DePetro of Bare Tattoo & Hair Removal

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cleighton DePetro.

Cleighton, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Bare 4 years ago based on the idea that cosmetic laser services could be effective and affordable. We wanted to be able to provide excellent services with the most advanced technology but in a relaxed and comfortable environment. We have a medical staff but don’t want clients to feel like they’re at a typical doctor’s office.

We also wanted to be focused so that we are truly experts. Many places will offer more than 10 different services and try to up-sell you on unnecessary products. At Bare, our laser technicians have each performed thousands of laser treatments. We do laser tattoo removal and laser hair removal all day, every day. It’s not a side gig or one of many services we offer. This specialization means we’re experts and can give you the best treatment that will remove your unwanted ink or hair as quickly and effectively as possible while also being safe.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We’ve had plenty of struggles along the way. Any entrepreneur will tell you there’s no easy path. The key is that when you stumble, you acknowledge the issue and can be nimble enough to quickly make a change and move forward.

For me, one mistake I made early on was to try and offer a range of cosmetic treatments. Our technicians are also estheticians so it was tempting to leverage their skills and bring on additional revenue streams. It was difficult to promote all those services well, let alone perform all those services well.

Another mistake we made was our first location. We spent $30,000 on a buildout for a space we only leased for two years. It turned out the location wasn’t ideal and after the lease was up, we moved to the South Loop. That office is doing great and we have since added locations in the Loop and Munster, Indiana. We’re hoping to bring on our 4th location later this year.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Bare Tattoo & Hair Removal story. Tell us more about the business.
Bare Tattoo & Hair Removal is known for our laser tattoo removal services. We’ve been doing that for four years and have built up strong relationships with our clientele and referral partners. Tattoo artists know we do great work and send clients to us. Often times we give just a few laser treatments to fade a tattoo enough so the client can get a really great coverup tattoo. We clear their canvas so they can start fresh.

We recently added laser hair removal as a service because so many clients were asking if we offered it. It seemed like a natural fit.

We’re most proud of partnering with community groups like Sacred Transformations. We provide free removal for gang tattoos and victims of human trafficking who qualify through their program.

Breast cancer survivors who have radiation tattoos also receive free treatment at Bare. The tattoos are 4 dots placed to help precisely deliver radiation treatment. For cancer survivors, the tattoos are often a constant reminder of a painful time in their lives. Removing them at no cost is something we’re very proud of and happy to do.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck has certainly played a role in our success. We simply try to position ourselves so that when fortunate opportunities come our way, we are prepared to take advantage. Leveraging random luck into an ongoing benefit is the key to making the most of a situation.

One good example of this is the opening of our Munster, Indiana location. It was made possible because our medical director happened to have a great tattoo removal laser that he simply wasn’t using. A partnership he had planned with another doctor didn’t end up moving forward and he was stuck with extra equipment. We were able to rent the laser from him and open our second office without spending $100,000 on another laser.

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