Meet Derek Davenport of Wichita

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Davenport.

Hi Derek, can you introduce yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I spent the majority of my early twenties managing franchise and corporate companies. I started sales at a young age in the beauty industry and loved helping people achieve the results they were after to look and feel better. After much success but still not feeling like I was doing what I was meant to be doing, my husband encouraged me to start my own business. In 2017, I opened Urban Routine Wellness in a small addition to my house. I received my Esthetician license at the Aveda Institute in Dallas in 2015 before moving back to Kansas, where we are both from. When building Urban Routine Wellness, I wanted it to be more than just a spa. I wanted it to be a sanctuary for healing from the inside out. When someone receives treatment, they are treated more than at the surface. We expanded from my home to our first commercial location in Downtown Wichita in 2018. We quickly grew out of our 700 sq foot location and moved around the corner to a 3400 sq foot space where we could expand our services and number of employees. Along with providing healing treatments to the community, I wanted to ensure that I created a space for licensed professionals to excel at their craft. Our industry can be challenging to succeed in, and I wanted to provide an educational environment that keeps them at the top of their game. Along the way, my husband and I started foster care, which made me realize how much more healing people need, along with the kids coming to our home.

In 2020 I faced a radical self-discovery and started a new journey into energy work. I’ve been able to tie healing work into all of my treatments that have taken services to another level. I genuinely get to heal clients below and at the surface. In August, we had to close our downtown location due to safety issues within the building and started a build-out on our new wellness center in East Wichita. We’ve had to rent out rooms from two different spas/ salons, which has created chaos for my employees and me. Still, last week, we opened our new Wellness center in East Wichita, a full-service medical spa plus fitness facility. We will be offering boot camp classes along with our spa services. Our downtown location is almost done being built out so that we can relocate and have our downtown space back up and running. Over the years, I’ve been a nationally awarded Esthetician and mentored under some of the top formulators and Estheticians in the country.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh gosh, this journey has been anything but smooth. The biggest struggle has been getting others to understand the importance of taking a risk with my business. Every day is scary as an entrepreneur when we have so much to navigate daily, and growth scares many people. Both financially and personally, every growth point for us has been a struggle but has proven to bring more success. The pandemic was a major road bump, but we were able to pivot to an online model, which made us realize that we could extend our reach beyond Wichita. We’ve been working hard to revamp our offerings and products to reach a bigger scale outside the city.

Please tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others.
As an Esthetician, Reiki Master and Personal Training, I specialize in advanced skin and body therapy along with energy work . My initial career choice was a Doctor, which shifted to an anticipated art degree, but the world had a different plan in store for me other than a college degree. After getting my Esthetician license, I loved science and realized there is a lot of science involved. In 2018, I began carrying my skincare line and slowly started working with the FDA-approved lab to formulate my own products. In 2020, I developed an internship program for newly licensed professionals that helped guide them to begin their profession after graduating. We see a need for continuing education post-graduation in our industry. I wanted to ensure professionals had a place to work after graduating to get their foot in the door and grow their careers. We’ve seen much success with our program and have developed many talented professionals who still work for us and female entrepreneurs who have gone off to start their businesses. I’m very fortunate to have been a part of their journey early in their careers.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the growth over the years and the continued growth we can see happening. There are many more entrepreneurs bringing businesses and talent that match those of our surrounding larger cities and cities on the East and West coast. The only dislike is that adjusting to new services and offerings that are popular in these bigger cities can take time. I always wanted to ensure my brand stayed on track with the industry and its service offerings and products, but sometimes those can come with high price tags for the equipment and products.

Contact Info:

• Website: urbanroutinewellness.com
• Instagram: urbanroutinewellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urbanroutinewichita

Image Credits
Amanda Caplan Honeybee by abc Ashlynn Stuart