How CNM Helped this Business Owner Found and Grow One of Albuquerque’s Most Successful Spas

Heather Badal has a simple motto for her spa business: “You’re already flawless and we want to help you stay that way.” 

That’s why she named her spa Flawless, and it’s one of the reasons it has a strong, dedicated following here in Albuquerque. 

“Everyone wants to be the best version of themselves, and we’re here to support that,” Heather says.

Flawless opened back in 2011 and Heather says it was her training at CNM, which was then known as TVI (Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute) that helped her get where she is today. She came to CNM in the early 90s having studied art history but enrolled in statistics and macro economics classes that then prepared her to get a master’s in business administration.

She worked at Intel and alongside her husband at a medical startup, but wanted to found her own business. Flawless immediately took off and started offering everything from laser hair and tattoo removal to microblading and botox. Coincidentally, Heather started hiring nursing students from CNM to administer these medical procedures and other CNM grads to help run the business. 

After opening, Heather made it a point to support her community in every way possible. She and her staff, for example, developed strong relationships with the transgender community and offered people who were transitioning a safe space. She also tried to make her procedures as affordable as possible so a wide range of people had access.

Right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Heather says she was considering an expansion. She, like most businesses, then had to shut down temporarily, but when she re-opened in June of 2020 she decided to go for it. By fall 2020 she’d hired more staff and expanded the footprint of the business because COVID-19 had actually increased the number of people who wanted wellness and self-care services. 

“It was a gamble to expand the business during a pandemic, but our patients really supported us,” Heather says. “For many of them, we were the first business they had visited and been able to enjoy since the pandemic started.”

Going forward, Heather has lots of plans. In September, the spa will start offering new wellness services including IV therapy and vitamin shots. This month, Heather is offering a 10 percent discount as a way to help new people experience the spa. At the end of the month, she’ll be taking 10 percent of the profits and donating them to two non-profits. One is a Santa Fe-based non-profit that helps victims of human trafficking, and the other is the CNM Foundation, which provides scholarship support to students in need. She says she’s long appreciated the work the Foundation does and wanted to give back.

“Many times people face challenges or want to make changes, just like me, and CNM and the Foundation have always been a bridge,” she says.”CNM believes in its students and it’s a place where people can truly accomplish their dreams.”