ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Our fourth finalist in this year’s Remarkable Women contest received at least a dozen nominations from people who call Monique Chatman an inspiration, a trailblazer and an overcomer who will give you the shirt off her back.
This mom and grandmother believe timing is everything when it comes to her success. As an example, this self-described Daddy’s Girl says her father passed away two days before News 8 called to tell her she was a Remarkable Women Finalist.
“I really didn’t feel remarkable at that moment,” she said.
When we met I explained how she received the most submissions from people in the Rochester community including last year’s Remarkable Woman Winner Evangela Stanley.
“She’s always been there for me literally since I was about eight years old,” said Monique. Now others are saying that about Monique.
The 42-year-old owns The Groom Room Men’s Spa and Lounge. She’s often asked why a spa for men.
“I have eight brothers who could care less about their self care,” she explained. The licensed esthetician says she saw a need that wasn’t being met especially for black men. “So I feel this is a safe haven for men to come (to) and I feel like when they take care of themselves that they’ll take care of us better,” she added.
In addition to a facial, pedicure or spa treatment she shares clients who have experienced trauma or depression have been able to gain access to the help they need coping with everyday life.
“So, I say this is a wellness spa.” Monique said.
“It’s more than a business for me,” she explains. Those who nominated Monique stressed her passion for helping other entrepreneurs achieve their goals.
“You know how they say its lonely at the top?” she asks. “I don’t want to be lonely. I don’t want to be the only one succeeding in my dreams.”
20 years ago, Monique says she wondered if she would ever achieve success as she sat in prison for credit card fraud.
“Recidivism is real if you don’t have a plan,” she says she went to prison three times before she got her wake-up call.
It was a message that her mom had died.
She said, “It took for her passing for me to actually begin to live because I wasn’t living while she was alive because I was too dependent on her.”
She reveals each time she got into trouble her mom would take care of her young children and Monique’s other responsibilities.
“Since she passed away, I’ve never been back to prison, never been back to jail, never been in trouble.” she declared.
Monique says her mom came to her in a dream one day and encouraged her to start her own line of grooming products for men which eventually lead to her opening the spa in 2019.
In 2020, the Groom Room was recognized as the Best Spa at the National Black Spa Awards in Atlanta, Georgia. It has since achieved other honors.
“To be remarkable I think for me just beating the odds, beating the recorders that people have told me what my limits would be because of who I was,” she adds.
In April, the business owner will celebrate the spa’s fifth year anniversary by launching a new podcast “The Heart of the Hustle”.
She explains it’s a 30-minute weekly dialogue where she helps entrepreneurs focus and organize their business goals and shift their mind set so they can accept success.
