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Hello and welcome to ASCPs SD Talk.
I'm your host today Maggie Stasek in ASCPs Education Program Manager.
I'm very excited to be joined by the team at ColorUp for the second part of a two-part
podcast series focused on CBD.
Today we're talking about business development for estheticians with the co-founder and COO
of ColorUp, Shawna Blanche, the director of account partnerships, Marana James, and assistant
director of education, Ashley Deckard.
Welcome to SD Talk.
Thanks Maggie.
Excited to be here.
You guys are all business owners and practitioners.
How did you know you were ready to start your business?
Well, I don't think it was necessarily a choice of am I ready or not.
I've been a practicing esthetician since 2013.
When I had the opportunity to come and support ColorUp in terms of being the assistant director
of education, I also had the opportunity to open my own business.
I think I got pushed a little bit into that, which is great.
But from there, I just started to figure it out.
But this is something I'm super passionate about because I love having my own practice
as an esthetician.
I've just found so much creative freedom.
It really has taught me how to think outside the box really and think outside a protocol,
develop my own protocols, develop really the things that I wish to do in the treatment
room and didn't really have the option for because I was working in someone else's idea
of what a skincare practice should look like.
So I was able to create a facial treatment that really stood out to me in something I
always wanted to do.
What kind of mindset does somebody need before developing their business?
I think they need to really believe in themselves.
That's such a huge part of it because you're the person who is your business manager.
You're your marketing department, you're your practitioner operator of your business.
You're seeing clients, you're booking clients, you're checking them out, making their next
appointments.
I mean, you're doing everything.
And at times, it can feel like a lonely place because it's just you and you need to be able
to have the mindset of pushing forward even when things maybe you're feeling challenging
or you're feeling like things are slow or something like that, how can you switch on
this mindset and almost treat yourself as an employee and see outside of yourself your
own insecurities and be able to say, if I was looking at this objectively, what would
be my next step forward?
Not if I'm looking at this just as myself, knowing everything about me, right?
Looking in the mirror and telling yourself that in the mornings is a really great thing
to do and definitely practice that a lot when opening my massage business before color
up.
Yeah, I definitely agree with that.
You've got to believe in yourself and just keep believing in yourself and have those conversations
with yourself because if you're doing it, you can do it.
You just got to keep believing that you can do it.
It's probably.
Really.
Yeah, push forward network.
Client retention is a big one.
I think that in my opinion is a fear for a lot of people to move forward in building their
business.
Is where am I going to get my clients?
How am I going to network?
How am I going to market myself?
Yeah, absolutely.
I would say that networking is the number one thing that you should be doing as a business
owner.
And if that makes you uncomfortable, it's something that you're going to get over.
You're going to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
That was really the biggest thing as a business owner is you are not really basing your success
and whether you're comfortable or not.
It's really just pushing outside of that and making sure that you're putting yourself
and your business out there so that people think of you when they need that service.
Because if no one knows about your business and you're not in your community, if you're
not networking with the people that are surrounding your business, people that are going to love
your services.
I mean, I've offered so many free services just to get my name out there for people to
start telling other people in order to have my name around and have people thinking
of me and social media is another one.
It's free advertising.
So I think that just even having a social media presence at all, meaning that you're
posting on social media so that people can kind of view it as a portfolio.
It's not that you have to live on the internet.
I'm definitely not someone who is posting every single day and consistently checking
my social media.
But I do use it as a way for people to be able to see and say, like, oh, this is actually
what this is what she's about.
Yeah, I think social media too is another one that people really get hung up on.
Like thinking, there are rules.
It has to be done this way.
I can't meet those requirements.
But you said social media is like a portfolio.
Some people don't think of it that way.
But if you look at it like, I'm sharing my work, I'm sharing what I do.
That kind of takes the stress off, right?
Totally.
And I definitely went through the time of thinking, what do I need to share?
Do I need to share everything about my life in order to be on social media?
And I think the answer is no.
You can share what you'd like to share.
You can share your work and make sure that your personality shines through that, of course.
But it's okay for it just to be about what you do.
And to know to all of that, if you are someone who doesn't want to go out and do these things
by yourself and you don't want to do it, you can partner up with a company.
You find out the company's products that you love.
We as ColorUp go out to a ton of events, and so we've brought a lot of estheticians and
massage therapists just starting their business to come to be there.
And then we're all there to support them too.
They don't have to necessarily talk to everybody by themselves.
And we all can do it together as a community.
And so that's really a great way to get out to events and get into the community.
So also connect with the companies that you love.
Reach out to them.
See if they're doing anything like that a lot of times.
Yeah, come on, let's do it.
And so it's, yeah, it's a much safer way to, if you are someone who does, yeah.
If pushing yourself past that limit too much scares you, reach out to a business, go in
and ask them what they're doing, go to an event and see who's out there and then talk
to them too.
I love that.
That is networking, but you're not alone.
You're doing it within a group and you just set it, reach out to the people you're doing
business with, the manufacturers, the brands, whatever.
They probably are going to embrace you.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Because we always want to get to know the people that are using the products and what's
going on out there to end even if the brand isn't doing things already.
You may be approaching them with a brand new idea, hey, I want to get out to events
and do things and then it could, you know, it's even more collaborative from between
the two.
Hold that thought.
We'll be right back.
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Okay, here we go.
Let's get back to the podcast.
What about client retention?
For me, personally, client retention has been all about creating relationships.
I think that is really the biggest thing that you're doing as a small business owner, but
also as an aesthetician.
It's such a personalized service.
People are immediately vulnerable when they lay down on your table.
They're telling you a lot of their insecurities, conversations that you wouldn't typically have
with people.
I also just love hearing people's stories.
I really love connecting with my clients and listening to all the different things that
they have going on.
I have fallen in love with that process.
I think that is what has made me stand out with my clients is just building those deeper
connections and relationships.
I, of course, ask and talk as much as my client would like to.
I do have some clients who don't talk a lot and it's really important to respect that space
because at the end of the day, they are coming in and paying you for a service while you
do want to be friendly, approachable, and professional.
You want to make sure that they're always guiding how that conversation is going.
I always make sure to make it mostly about my clients.
Yes, of course, I talk about myself because they are naturally curious.
They love you too and they want to have those conversations about you, but I always turn
it back around because my focus is you.
This is your time.
This is your hour, hour and a half.
I just want you to have the space to express whatever you need.
I think a lot of times we get nervous after that process is over no matter how much they
said to us and how much trust and safety there was.
We don't want to follow up.
People feel like calling your clients or shooting them a text could be annoying or I
don't want to do that.
They'll book when they're ready to book.
That's not true.
We're all humans and we're all people and they've connected with you, especially the
ones that are there to share with you, follow up, send a message, send a message not to
say, can you come in for another appointment, but just to say, I just wanted to send just
in love.
I had a great conversation today and let them know that you want them to be there and that
you felt that special connection to.
I really think that's a part of the customer retention part of it.
It's like, yeah, keep reaching out.
Keep letting them know that you're there and come back.
Yeah, I totally agree with you.
Basically saying, I'm thinking about you.
How's your skin doing?
How you feeling?
Absolutely.
Yeah, don't wait.
It's time for them to come back in for their service.
Just check in for the next week or the week after and see how they're doing.
Building those relationships is so important.
Yeah, totally.
I think part of that client retention too is home care, retailing, and that can be really
scary for estheticians, especially if they are out on their own.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I would say with home care, the most important thing is remembering that your clients are
coming in with concerns with the current routine that they have.
How can you tweak their routine either by taking things out that may be harming for their
skin at that time or adding one or two products in, not overwhelming them with a full skincare
routine right off the bat because sometimes that's quite the investment for someone who
is just meeting you for the first time and then having one facial experience with you.
I think just not shocking their skin is important and how you can just vary slowly over time.
There's no need to rush the process.
I think in my experience, most of the time people are afraid of sales.
They don't want to come off as pushy or anything like that, but they're coming to us as professionals
and they're looking for those recommendations.
Yes, you don't have to recommend the entire line for them, but maybe two or three products.
Just pick out one that might feel best for you and send them home with that because if
you don't do that and you don't give that experience to them and share your knowledge
with them, they're going to go get it somewhere else.
Why not make sure that you're taking care of your clients on every aspect of what they're
coming in for as they're professional?
Yeah, to note that.
Also, just add color up as a thing that we've always said is we never are trying to sell
somebody products and I think that's a mindset to have in the treatment room too.
And that was helpful for me because I don't like to sell people products, but I really
believed in the products.
How do you, you know, and then talking to all of us and you're educating them on what
they should be doing for their skin and you're not selling them.
And then someone put it to me in a great way that was like, you're doing them an injustice
by not suggesting that they take these products home for at home care.
And I saw it that way, I'm actually, oh, I'm not doing the best for my client.
Now I should be telling them that was my mind shift in that and realizing if I don't tell
them about these and educate them and give them the opportunity to use them, then they're
only going to come to me every month or, you know, every two months.
And that isn't going to be as helpful for their skin as if they're using it at home.
Yeah, totally.
You're the professional.
You should continue that education once the treatment ends are really even you're educating
them from the moment they come in.
Yeah, it's continue to sell the treatments and they need to take this home and work on
those skincare goals.
Here's my question for the estheticians in the room.
What do you say to that client that says, I'm using this XYZ product that came from,
you know, Walgreens or wherever that clearly is not for their skin.
It is not benefiting their skin.
How do you gently approach that?
I let them know that let's say they're using a gel cleanser and they should be using a
creamier cleanser.
I really tackle it from this is the ingredient that is going to be the most beneficial because
you're experiencing dryness.
Not to say that you can't go back to a gel cleanser, but at this moment you're experiencing
dryness.
This is going to get you the result that you're looking for much more quickly.
Yeah.
So again, all about the education, but you're focused on like the features and benefits
of the product you're retailing compared to what they are using.
Right.
And not making your client wrong.
I think it's a really important thing too, and not shaming them basically into saying
like, well, you shouldn't be using this.
You have to be using what I am suggesting.
That's not the case at all.
That's why I think when you go in and just say, well, scrap what you're using and take
all of this home is not really the ideal way to connect with your client because they're
like, I don't even know you.
It's my first time seeing you, right?
So it's like, hey, I think that a cream cleanser is best because this is what you're experiencing
and going from there, making it really light breezy.
Know your product and ingredient knowledge because that is what I'm leaning on.
I'm not leaning on like, hey, you need to buy this.
It's more like, this is what I'm analyzing.
This is what I'm seeing.
And from my professional opinion, this is what I would suggest to anyone.
Yeah.
So well said.
I totally agree.
And I think too, you can have a conversation about why they chose that product.
Did somebody recommend it to them?
You know, is there a reason why they're buying this product?
Is it a cost thing?
Is it, you know, they just needed something quick, you know, having conversation finding
out what it was that drew them to that product?
Yeah.
I, when I used to be an esthetician practicing, cost was always something that came up, right?
Because over the counter is so much cheaper than a professional line, but having them understand
while your professional product is going to last you longer versus, you know, this $5
whatever it is.
Absolutely.
And going to probably cause you less issues with your skin in the long run that you don't
have to down the road, take care of as well.
Right.
Entirely.
Yeah.
And this is really how you can maintain the service that you just invested in, right?
Because you're creating a significant time and monetary investment by coming in to see
me.
And I would hate for that to just go down the drain by using products that aren't correct
for what you're experiencing right now.
That concludes our show for today.
And we thank you for listening.
For more information on this episode or for ways to connect with ColorUp or to learn more
about ASAP, check out the show notes.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.