Today we’d like to introduce you to Zalika Nisbeth.
Hi Zalika, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I AM Zalika Nisbeth, MD and throughout my entire life, I have always had a passion for serving and empowering others. For those reasons, I studied to become a physician, created the brand and company I AM Dr. ZEE, Inc to I-nspire, M-otivate, E-ducate, E-mpower, and later became the operator of the Lazer Hair Removal Boutique.
I was born in Atlanta, GA, and raised in Jacksonville, FL which led me to coin the endearing term, “Florida Peach” to describe myself. I am a graduate of Meharry Medical College of Nashville, TN, and also completed my Residency at St. Vincent’s Family Medicine Residency in Jacksonville, FL, becoming a board-certified family medicine physician.
To me, the astonishing irony in my story is of a little black girl, raised in a three-child single mother home on a low-income budget lived on an exotic island for 2 years, attended a private catholic school in grades 4-8, became a skilled golf and tennis player as a child, graduated as high school valedictorian, earned scholarships and grants to pay for a college education, became the first medical doctor in the family and an international traveler.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I remember promising my two sisters that one day, I was going to buy us all laser hair removal services to get rid of all the embarrassing facial hair.
I too was plagued by hirsutism that affected my confidence as a teen and young woman. The ingrown hair bumps were starting to damage my skin with dark discoloration and skin texture changes due to scarring. Feeling less feminine and ashamed a downward spiral into the rabbit hole of low self-esteem began because I did not like or love what I saw in the mirror anymore.
Although I was trained and credentialed I still felt ill-prepared and not confident in professionally delivering laser hair removal services let alone starting my own medical practice. It became a project I was “Working on getting started,” for two years if anyone had asked. Overcoming low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety has been a lifelong journey. Despite my initial resistance to receiving help, attending mindfulness therapy created the most groundbreaking shift in my thinking and actions.
For the first time, I realized that I was not okay or over the sexual traumas and verbal abuse I had endured and those experiences were actively dictating my emotions and behaviors no matter how hard I tried to forget and dismiss them. The work required to recognize, acknowledge, and consciously make a decision to appropriately deal with the distress and residual damage was not easy and is constant, but well worth the challenge.
When I received a call from my god-sister Seketa Bing-Nelson, a licensed mental health therapist in Savannah, about having extra office space available at her practice I knew it was time. Within 2.5 months, I was opening the doors to I AM Dr. ZEE’s Lazer Hair Removal Boutique.
Getting started is the most rate-limiting step and most difficult. As a professional student and physician not trained in operating a business, the learning curve has been pretty steep but nonetheless, I am learning. I am a solo practitioner, investing and living on savings to build a practice 2 hours away from my home in Jacksonville, FL.
Yes, I am taking a huge risk, it has and still does require a lot of work, I am wearing many hats, the growing pains don’t feel good or look good, especially in terms of social media presence, administrative challenges make me want to scream sometimes, and a few think I made a foolish decision and should just go back to work in the safety of another hospital or clinic.
One thing I’ve learned to appreciate and value, I must believe in myself more than anyone else. I AM betting on myself to win. The end.
We’ve been impressed with Lazer Hair Removal Boutique, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I opened the Lazer Hair Removal Boutique to further support individuals of color who were facing the challenges and embarrassment associated with hair growth, including women with male-patterned facial hair known as hirsutism, skin conditions including those induced by ingrown hairs such as acute folliculitis and pseudo barbae folliculitis, hyperpigmentation, hidradenitis suppurativa, and pilonidal cyst recurrence reduction.
These all can be drivers of lower levels of self-confidence in men and women of all ages. Finding a place that has the appropriate equipment and expertise in safely treating skin of color is challenging and a disparity I am addressing. With the Lazer Hair Removal Boutique, my aim is to help others achieve their own inner and outer beauty by delivering safe and effective laser hair removal services for all skin types to achieve long-term hair reduction.
Professional bodybuilders, swimmers, gymnasts, models, dancers, individuals undergoing gender transformation, and anyone else that wants the convenience of no longer having to shave, wax, tweeze, or use depilatory creams regularly will also love and appreciate the results of laser hair removal.
The Lazer Hair Boutique is unique in that I will personally work with each client to provide helpful knowledge about the process as well as design personalized treatment plans to effectively manage hair growth so they can focus on the important things that make them better. While individuals come to me for the purpose of achieving external beautification, I seize those opportunities to inspire, motivate, educate, empower, and healing from the inside out.
If you’d like to learn more about my services or have any questions, please reach out to me for a 60-minute consultation at: http://my-business-104932-108161.square.site/ to schedule, or send a message via email at [email protected] or voice 904-833-8325.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
LESSONS LEARNED FROM PANDEMIC CRISIS (1)Change is necessary, our lives depend on it. (2) A more stable, caring, effective, and efficient U.S healthcare system is necessary.
(3) To feel like there is a better way to do something or handle a situation, but feeling too small and inexperienced while standing by, waiting on someone else to take the lead is one of the most disappointing and damning things one can do. I did that. It is up to me to take action to do what is necessary, no matter how big or small.
Waiting on someone else to do the job will only lead to disappointment and the loss of lives. If each individual used their gifts and talents to fulfill their purpose, collectively we can create a better life and world today and tomorrow.
Contact Info:
- Email: iamdrzee@iamdrzeeincorporated.
com - Website: http://my-business-104932-108161.square.site/
- Instagram: @i_am_dr_zee
- Facebook: @IAMDrZEE
Image Credits
Aubrey Bryant, April Visuals, and Verando Marshall
