When I first started out in this business it was very different than what it's become today. Between our obsession with self care and skincare combined with social media, the industry has exploded. It's no longer about just knowing the basics of skincare, today you're working with a much more educated client, they know a lot of the basics about beauty and skin. There's also an expectation that you be a social media expert as well. Clients like to be able to get a feel for your personality, they like to feel like they know you before coming in to see you. It's about creating the "it girl" image and an experience for clients to want to come and have their service done by you. So what sets you apart from the next Esthetician?
The best way to do this is to figure out what your niche is. Remember! At the core of all of this, you still need to be really good at what you do! Yes you can get people in the door with a catchy IG, but can you retain them? IF you can't retain your clients then you simply wont survive.
I've specialized in The Brazilian Wax for over 20 years and I'm amazing at what I do. My clients walk in and they feel like we've known eachother forever, I know how to make my clients feel at ease, and then I give them the best Brazilian Wax of her life. This is why my clients come back and why I've had clients who have now been with me for 2 decades. That's twenty years Babe. And it's impressive. I've had other Estheticians blatantly copy ads that I've placed, I've had people trash talk, post fake reviews, and guess what- my book is still fuller and booked out further than any of them.
During quarantine I had the time to spend on social media and I honestly didn't really think about the impact that growing my following would have on my business when I was able to reopen. I was really just craving the interaction with my clients that I'm so used to, and I loved being able to connect with them. It ended up doing even more than increasing my following- it made my clients feel even more loyal and more part of my life. Truthfully, that's actually how I feel about my business, and maybe it's because I do such an intimate service, but we really are more life family considering I've had my clients for such a long time. What I've built is something I'm immensely proud of.
I realized early on in my career that I needed a niche, or I would never have the type of life I was envisioning. The decision to specialize in Brazilians came to me through my own experience trying to find someone to replace the woman who had previously waxed me for years and had retired. I had some really bad experiences, and finally decided that I would have to change the way that body waxing was treated in the industry. Up until I started my business, waxing was just an add on service that every salon offered- nobody had a boutique style waxing studio in my area.
Knowing that clients wanted to feel safe, they needed to feel that they had privacy, and they didn't want to feel like they were being judged for the way that their bodies looked. I made sure that my clients experience was a positive one. From the moment they walk in the door, I greet them. My treatment room is kept dimly lit so they don't feel like they're on display (I use an LED lamp to illuminate the area I'm working on), and I make sure that we talk the entire time that I'm working. By the time my client leaves, she feels like we're old friends, and that connection (and amazing waxes) my friends, is what keeps clients coming back.
