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Hello and welcome to ASCPs SD Talk.
I'm your co-host Maggie Stasek in ASCPs Education Program Manager.
And I'm Ella Christman, licensed esthetician, certified organic formulator, ingredient junkie,
and content contributor for Associated Skincare professionals.
So Ella, I think it's fair to say the quality of your back bar is fundamental to your business
and can make or break you.
Do you think that's extreme?
Not extreme, I think that's facts.
That's facts.
Yeah.
Facts.
Yeah.
So, I mean, you may be the most amazing, best esthetician in the world.
But if your products don't perform and meet the demands of your clients, they're not
coming back.
Facts.
Right?
Yeah, facts.
So, you have your own business with back bar, obviously.
What are the things that you considered when you were selecting your back bar?
I messed up.
Oh, I did it wrong.
Okay.
In the beginning.
I did it so wrong.
I went with, so I went into booth renting immediately.
And I picked a line that supported the retail that the salon held.
So the salon held, like part of the agreement was they sold the retail.
So the owner, I didn't know anything, you know, and the owner of the salon was like,
I'd love it if you would do this company.
The rep's really good.
I'll give you their number, but that would help so you could sell this retail.
I'm like, great.
So I did an opening order.
And that was the last time I saw my rep for like nine or 10 months.
I just followed the protocol names that came with it.
So I had, I mean, Colorado in January had a tropical facial, an actually really facial.
I didn't know what any of it did.
I was just following the recipes, if you will, not really understand no product knowledge.
Nothing.
I just had cleansers.
I knew what a cleanser did.
I knew what the toners did.
I knew what the masks did from school.
Yeah.
And I was going to say, I think that's what estheticians or I should say that's what students
who are becoming estheticians are probably often doing.
They are opening and establishing their business based on what they know from school.
So they worked with one or two particular lines and then go and open their business.
Maybe it's Booth Run or who knows, and they are establishing their business with the line
they learned in school.
100%, which is why as a product rep, I would go to schools and ask to teach my line to
students and get them excited and get them roped in.
And maybe they weren't using it.
I mean, the goal was to get the school to use it for that exact same reason or for me
to maintain a relationship that they want to come to me afterwards.
Yeah.
Well, smart girl.
It worked.
It worked really well.
But yeah, catching them then.
And that's when I was out in the field as a sales rep or even now, like just with my
presence on social media, I will get that question.
And you know, when I see a lot of posts, like, let me be right.
And a brand new person was starting out.
They're like, I don't know what to do.
I don't know what to pick.
One of my first questions is what is your skincare philosophy?
Because the line I'm representing might not be for you.
Yeah.
And with that said, another thing that really gets me is when I see people post, what's
a budget friendly line looking for budget friendly?
Yeah.
Because to me that says boring.
True.
And also, I think it says you haven't planned.
So you're saying, like, what is your philosophy being number one?
And with that, I think most important is what is your brand, not skincare brand?
Who are you?
Who's your business?
What is your brand?
And what is your mission?
And you should be finding a line and I get budget, but find a line that's fitting your
philosophy, your brand, your mission.
And if you are planning for this business, you are also going out, getting alone, establishing
your plan, you don't have to buy the entire line, you know, ease into it.
Because you can prioritize.
And that's the thing.
You don't always, what I did is I spent all the money on this entire back bar.
So I had everything.
I didn't know how to use it because what I didn't ask the question was, what is the
support that I'm going to receive?
Whether I get like I said, my rep was gone.
She was gone for like, I never heard from her.
She never checked on me.
So when I became a rep, because I get it, you're not making any more money off of me
yet.
But also it should be a long-term relationship.
The relationship equates to the success of the person and the success of the person translates
to, you know, the sales rep.
So that was my approach as I hated being a sales rep because I sucked at sales, but
I was great at this long-term relationship stuff.
So that's what sustained me.
But I had this entire back bar and I had some of the products for four years.
That's a long time.
Yeah.
And especially when shelf life is, I don't even know about shelf life.
I learned.
These are all the things I've learned, but shelf life was two years unopened.
But of course I opened everything the first day it came in.
So another mistake I used.
But you got to smell it?
Yes.
What is this?
How does it feel?
So I was way past that.
I threw some away.
But when I went to replace it, so I went after that experience.
I went to someone I had connected with in school and she was a rep for a product line
and I brought in that line and I brought it in incrementally.
I think I spent maybe $1,000 to bring an X amount of stuff and then I would just slowly
add to that.
That was plenty.
That's what you need.
I see some people now trying to start a back bar with $250.
And can it be done?
Could we start dermoplaning?
Maybe there's other modalities that you can do to start until you get into it.
But I think like you said, there's some planning that has to happen where you spend a little
bit.
Yeah, totally.
I think that this is my impression and maybe it's wrong.
But I think if we're comparing the lines or the manufacturers that we have today compared
to say even when I went to a static school, which was almost 20 years ago, the support
you get for manufacturers now is huge.
Education, support all the way through helping you even set up your retail shelves.
And I think what I was seeing when I was in a static school was one, you had to have
an opening order and it was definitely more than $1,000.
And it was, you're going to buy this and you do, you never see them again.
They're gone.
Yeah.
And so I'm curious, like, what is this shift in the industry that now you have like this
hand holding all the way through?
You know what my opinion is?
We've shifted away from large spas.
There's been a lot of, there's a couple of things that have happened.
We went from large spas for this relaxing experience versus med spas to this blurred
lines and then what else happened is we have a lot more solo,preneurs of those or boutique
style studios, I would call them not a spa.
And so with those boutique one or two people, those large opening orders were not sustainable
and these boutique skincare, these skincare lines that cater to that style were becoming
more and more popular.
And then those boutique practitioners are really active on social media.
So just like this circle of things.
That's my, yes.
Yes.
That is so spot on.
I think you're right.
And that's so interesting too because that's even more reason for this solopreneur to plan,
know their demographic.
And like you were saying before ease into it, you don't have to buy the entire line to
support your client.
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Okay, here we go.
Let's get back to the podcast.
This is a great example.
You know with chemical pills that you're, well, you should be progressive.
You shouldn't be aggressive because there's a lot of opportunity for problems.
You want to really point that out.
So with the progressive opportunities for pills, you know the first couple of months
you're going to be doing the first, you know, the more progressive part of that, the introduction
part.
So get those and then as you do more treatments, start buying the more progressive as the
progression goes or figure out ways to creatively mix your back bar for different things.
So there are some companies that will encourage one product and how to mix it different ways
with different things for a lot of customization opportunities.
Like, I think those are great options for still entrepreneurs because now you're becoming
multi-purpose with your products or something.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, I do totally.
So I think those are great ideas and things to consider too.
Yeah, I think people get hung up too on what's trending and meeting the demands of their
clients.
So they may be opening the doors tomorrow, let's say, and you're telling these people
listening, they should be progressive, not aggressive, but how do you meet the needs
of that client that says, I've been doing chemical pills for 10 years and I'm not going
to start out with the lactic.
I want the TCA.
Oh, you know what I'm going to say?
That is so nice.
So who's going to do it for you?
Because it's not me.
That's another thing to remember that you're in charge like you that goes back to what
you said and what's your brand and what's your mission.
Are you going to let the client navigate you because there's so many other considerations
in there.
What's this client's lifestyle like?
What kind of lactic was it?
What was the pH?
What is their home care like?
Because we talked about it before, Nordstrom was selling a 75% glycolic.
But what does that really mean?
So no, if you walk through my door, you're at step one and that's just how it is.
So and I'm not being mean, I'm just being responsible.
100%.
And I think that you have these estheticians.
We've talked about it before that they are yes people.
They're afraid to set the boundary afraid to say no.
And you said it beautifully that you're in charge.
You are establishing care.
And that means starting at base one.
It's responsible and it's the best way to have a long term relationship with your client
because that's what's important.
So I took that same philosophy with because I built my business.
I've built it a few times.
There has been an increase and a crash.
I think three times if I had to like really narrow it down.
So each time has sustained because of these relationships that I have built.
And so I carry that same philosophy over.
So someone who's going to come to me and say, I want a lactic acid to be quite frank with
you, I'm evaluating, am I going to have a long term relationship with this person or
not?
And it's because I've had those relationships in the past and they have not been long term
that I can confidently decline that person as a client.
Yeah.
So what is your thought on having multiple lines within your business?
I think it's long.
I think it's fine.
I think it's great.
I think as long as there's no confusion.
So I wouldn't put two like product lines together.
I would find the holes and fill them.
I think everyone has like a favorite or a foundational one or perhaps a budget friendly
one, whatever it is, but find the holes in whatever your foundational line is and fill
them with something else so that you're comprehensive, that comprehensive approach aligns with your
brand and your mission.
For me, I'm corrective.
So I want to make sure that the lines I carry are going to support that in the treatment
room, but also in the home care.
Other lines are, let's say, your permanent makeup.
And so you want to support the, like you want to make sure you have the right cleansers
to give to your clients or aftercare to give to your clients because you're doing permanent
makeup and you're doing facials or chemical peels that you want to, that there might be
crossover.
Yeah.
So I know we're talking about building back bar, but with that comes retail and sending
your client home with the proper home care. And I know that's a huge expense for people
too that are building their business.
So what do you say to that person who like, like the girl who's on social media saying,
I need help finding like the budget friendly line. It's really hard when you're starting
your business to fork out the money to fill your retail shelves.
What I would say to that is have some staples. So cleansers, moisturizers, SPFs, start with
the power that you're comfortable with. So part three is really good. Have three cleansers,
maybe two different types. So six cleansers total, two different formulas of SPF, three
each, so six total. That's not too far out there with half of the profits that you make.
Let's say you sell $100 worth, you take $25 and you roll it over to a new product fund.
Or I would take the full profit amount, whatever that profit margin is. And then you keep making
it next time you're going to add some serums. And then the next time you're going to go
par four or par six depending on what you need. And that could be a snowball effect
into going to a full line on yourself. But if you don't have it, it's really hard to
sell it. It's not. There's a lot of different options. Some companies do drop ships, some
have affiliate programs. There's a lot of different options. And if they make sense for you, that's
fantastic. I will tell you, you will make the most profit having them on your shelves.
Yeah. I was going to ask about the drop ship because I know there's a lot of companies
that are starting to do that and estheticians who are considering this option of, I don't
need a quote unquote retail shelf. I will do special order for every client that comes
in the door.
And I can see that as an esthetician who is worried about that upfront investment. I
can see that. Here's what I want to challenge though, thought, thought. I want to challenge
that at that point, this ship is coming from the supplier with the suppliers flyers. And
so now that supplier is beginning a relationship with your client. And so what's going to stop
them from ordering right from the supplier? Nothing.
Yeah, true. I think there's something to be said too about, well, for me personally,
as a consumer, seeing the product on the shelf, having that connection with the product,
if you well being able to pick it up, touch it, look at it, smell it, whatever. And then
also to your point, I want to have a conversation with my esthetician as she's handing me this
product and explaining it to me or educating me. And I know not every consumer shops that
way. But if I go see my esthetician and she says, and now I'll order it for you. No,
thank you. I want that immediate satisfaction of walking out the door with what I just purchased.
Yes, that's the other thing you're capitalizing on the moment, because other ways you're going
to get a call, I got this in the mail five to six, whatever the shipping is, because it's
anywhere between two and 20 at this point. And I forgot, how do I use this or where do I use this?
Versus like you said, the experience of opening them up, showing them how the pump bottle works,
writing out sometimes will write on the bottom second step, whatever it takes to have that,
you know, so I don't know, I get it, I understand it, I just think that there's better ways. And so
I really encourage you just to have it on yourself. Now listeners, we want to hear from you. Are you
a solo business owner? What back bar lines are you carrying? Share with us on social media through
Instagram, Facebook or by emailing get connected at ascpskincare.com. Thank you for listening to
ascp scp sctalk. And as always, for more information on this episode or for ways to connect with Ella
and myself or to learn more about ascp, check out the show notes.