Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Dunn-Carter.
Hi Linda, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur building businesses and selling them and with my current Company “The DC Method” (initials stand for my last name). I’ve been able to parlay 4 different business from the one mere idea I had 15 years ago. It all started after I sold my French Creperie back in 2005 while living in Sedona AZ to then pursue my launch of Sedona Dirt Exfoliating Rub. It was real Sedona red dirt filtered and infused with indigenous ingredients from the earth to literally repair and beautify your skin. It took off like fire and I thought it was essential for me to look the part as a skin professional being I was selling a skin product to Spas all over the US. I decided to go to Aesthetic School and get my State License to look more validating. Once I graduated and received my license I opened a chair in a salon in September 2006 in Sedona, not sure of my exact path but being the overachiever that I am I knew it wasn’t going to be doing ordinary aesthetic procedures. I took additional training classes in professional makeup and permanent cosmetic makeup to gather more range of skills as permanent makeup was in high demand back then. This is where it started. While in permanent make up school they offered a course called “Scar Relaxation” which merely taught how to relax scar tissue. A light went off in my head thinking “why not fix the scar/skin instead of just relaxing it?” I have all the state licensing and certifications to do this but how? No one person or school teaches you how to work on scars so I had to teach myself. I thought “if I was a scar what would need to be done to repair me?” Lol. The grueling research began. I hit the medical journals documenting everything I could find about scars, scar tissue and healing concerns they take on in different skin types. I joined webinars pertinent to my research at Mt. Sinai and John Hopkins being they are the top teaching hospitals they helped me to gather more information to put my puzzle together. I was on a 24/7 mission to create a series of protocols that would not only break down scar tissue but reprogram skin to make the scar less noticeable and or diminish completely. After 3 months of nonstop research, I put my theory to the test. I had people lined up out the door as volunteers and charged them zero. I needed a portfolio to show my work and being I didn’t have one or know what kind of results I would give them I didn’t feel comfortable charging them but that soon changed. When clients returned I was shocked at their improvement. I couldn’t believe the mind-blowing results. The time sensitive protocols I composed we’re changing the appearance of scars, skin discoloration, wrinkles and stretch marks. At this point, I knew I was on to something in this highly untapped field of scar revision hence “The DC Method was born”!
Shortly thereafter I moved to Scottsdale AZ where the demographic was substantial to my brand and began pounding the pavement to recognition. Trust me, it wasn’t easy to market my unique niche. I used every free resource I had to stay above water but pushing through the grind Magazines and TV networks started to reach out exposing my Method to a larger audience and in my 4th year in business things started to platform and The DC Method grew beyond my wildest dreams.
After 12 years in Scottsdale AZ, the doors closed to pursue larger demographics and visibility. The DC Method is Trademarked, Copyrighted and has 3 locations in Houston TX, Miami Beach FL, Manhattan NY and negotiations with a team of Drs in Nigeria to bring my expert skill to their country. My specialty is in dark skin so sharing my knowledge with Drs in Africa is a very exciting next move.
Not only is The DC Method a one of a kind treatment for scars it’ has developed into a multi-layered brand.
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?
No, absolutely not. It’s been a myriad of bumps in the roads. In the beginning, there weren’t social media like we have today so marketing was by word of mouth, brochures, flyers, business cards, networking events and the infamous Google search. There would be ebb and flows and because my services were a bit high ticket it wasn’t easy for people to afford it until I created a finance program. There would be months when I had hadn’t started new cases and that meant zero bottom line. The catching up was never easy. The art of negotiation is a skill in itself when you have to use it defer bills in sparse times lol. My dream to expand to Miami Beach seven years ago was way bigger than I expected and not in a good way. At least not in the beginning but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so my instincts said DO IT. I wrapped up a 50 year life in AZ and off to Miami Beach I went with my new boyfriend who turned physical and physco on me within a month after arriving. He was a chef and opening a restaurant in South Beach and insisted I come with him. All I thought was YES, a chance to expanded in one of the most desired cities in the world!
This would be my second location in Scottsdale AZ.
I wasn’t about to be subjected to that craziness so I left him. Not knowing a soul, minimal cash to spend on hotels night after night, not having my reciprocity license in place to work yet I found myself in a bind. Homeless that is. Broke and humiliated. I had to save every sparse dollar. Sleeping in my car wasn’t so bad, at least I was facing the beautiful ocean, ran every morning and took showers at different gyms on guest passes. The extreme struggle was the financial part of it. My bills were still real and nothing was coming in. I was getting behind… way behind. How can this be happening? I just left a healthy life behind in AZ and now I’m homeless in Miami. I refused to succumb to a pity party for myself, although it crossed my mind I just gave it up to God and realized it was a test of faith and perseverance. You must have skills to stay above water in this type of situation because every move you make is going to sink you deeper in or rise you to higher levels you never would imagine. Your mind over matter has to be powerful.
I remember lying in my car one night saying how can people see my work? I need people to know I’m here. How can people find me? I thought OH.. what’s this Instagram thing?….people post their photos there for others to see. Well, I have tons of photos so I built my Instagram on that chilly night in my car and before I knew it people started to like my photos. The visibility began. They knew I was in Miami. I didn’t have an office or money to rent one but I knew it was coming. I could feel the wave getting bigger. I would tell people who wanted Appointments “I’m booked out several months” lol. I took their name and number and said I would call when I had an opening.
It might have been a month that passed with my routine of car sleeping, gym, shower get dressed to the nines (btw, always dress for success no matter what) go to Starbucks to use their WiFi and the dollar coffee refills is when I got a phone call. A real important phone call from the top Dermatologist at Mt. Sanai Medical Center that I was referred to by someone. Wow. The Dr heard I was a scar expert and wanted to speak to me. I showed up classy, on point with my iPad in hand and started to deliver my pitch, showed him and his team of Doctors my before and after photos of my work and it was a wrap. He offered me an office to work from. Hallelujah! He’s very prominent and within a month Miami’s Deco Drive (channel 7) and Channel 10 news stations both did a segment on me in the same week. I blew up and a sister station in Houston ran the segment which has been home to one of my busiest offices for the last four years.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The DC Method?
The DC Method is an exclusive series of trade secret scar revision protocols. I revise scars naturally with a series of time sensitive in office protocols that reprograms the skin ultimately rebirthing new tissue giving scars a new natural appearance. This is done through re-injuring old scars to reprogram them, carefully managing new scars using key esthetic modalities, peels, stem cell infusions and specific home care products from my Scar Food line of creams and serums. Transforming scars can take 6-12 or up to 18 months depending on the severity. I have performed over 50,000 procedures in the 15 years since creating The DC Method. No matter where, how severe or what type of scar whether surgical, burn, acne, stretch mark, birth defect, or accidental I can help change your life and give you back the confidence you deserve.
I’m known as the top ranked purveyor of scar revision as well as a woman of outstanding business achievements. People call me the scar whisperer, scar queen, scar guru but the title I like best is the global renaissance woman. It sounds like some kind of Goddess of Scars. Lol
It’s hard to pick just one thing I’m most proud of however, I’m especially proud of my give-back program where I pro-Bono an individual each year a series to fix their scar. This is designed for a special individual that meets the criteria and has a desperate desire to get rid of the painful setback caused by their scar on a daily and giving them a new lease in life.
The other brand association I’m very very proud of is my brand expansions. I actually envisioned each and every one of these in the very beginning of my career and honestly I pinch myself everyday knowing I’ve brought them to fruition.
The DC Method multiple scar clinic locations in Houston TX, Miami Beach FL and Manhattan NY. My full line of scar creams ( Scar Food by The DC Method), my training center that offers high skill education to Aesthetic Professionals (Scar School by The DC Method) and my franchise business opportunities to those who want to own and operate their very own DC Method Scar Clinic and last but not least my Podcast “Dunn With The Scar”!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My daughters make me very happy for the obvious reasons but on top of that, they give me my grand babies (the boys I never had) which I am extremely grateful for. They are my world!
There are so many other things that make me happy!
My work is at the top of the list because everyday I get the chance to change someone’s life. It’s insurmountable the level of reward I feel by giving my patients their confidence back.
Running and exercising on the beach. It doesn’t matter where I’m at in the world (and I do travel a ton) I have to be on the beach. The smell of the clean ocean air, where the earth touches the water and looking as far as you can out to the ocean it appears to touch the sky. It’s my revival and keeps me in a 100% mental frame of mind.
Traveling. I love to travel. To experience different cultures makes me a more diversified individual. Maybe that’s why I think outside the box so much…
The most awesome trip so far in my life was to Kenya and Uganda last year. I helicoptered to the top of a mountain to visit a Massai tribe and was their honored guest. The sacrificial goat and everything. Truly a once in a lifetime experience.
Pricing:
- The cost of an online consultation is $150 via my website www.lindadunncarter.com
- Series will vary in price based on the severity of the scar or scars and the size of the area treated.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.lindadunncarter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindadunncarter/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCBzw5406SfdzfLM4IOxagdA
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dunn-with-the-scar-podcast/id1590173753
