Being a solo esthetician isn’t what I thought it would be. I’m writing this three years into this adventure and I’m just now starting to feel like I have my feet underneath me and a solid path forward. Maybe I’m a later bloomer; but all I have is my own story, so it’s all I can tell.
First a little context/history will be helpful. I have a business degree (Bachelors) and had a very lucrative corporate career before changing paths to become a licensed esthetician. I got my license in 2020. I live in WA state and we have something called a Master License in Esthetics which is an additional 450 hours on top of the 750 hours required for the state basic license so I did 1200 hours of education plus two rounds of license testing.
I started my esthetics career by working at a really beautiful high-end resort spa. I then wanted to use my master license and went to work for a plastic surgeon. I also took on a second job working freelance for a skin care brand as a rep/trainer which was a little closer to my former career. Each successive move I made, disappointed me further and had me wishing to go back to where I started. Regret is a painful emotion.
After working at the med spa for a year, I found a different med spa - more my speed and better humans to work with and for, which promptly closed 6 weeks later after the investors pulled their funding after the spa lost their full-time injector (side note: esthetics can’t compete with an injector who can generate thousands of dollars an hour). I was then left with two choices; step out on my own, or try and find another box to fit myself into. I decided to set out on my own, hoping my freelance work would help float me and my family enough in the meantime.
I found an absolutely adorable space to rent - fully furnished and ready for hanging my own shingle for an incredibly reasonable price. I cashed out some investments, decided on a skincare line and within a month I was up and running. But since I launched the whole thing on a shoe string (financially speaking), there wasn’t a lot of extra. I didn’t have hundreds to spend on marketing on a monthly basis and hoped that if I built it, they would come. It’s foolish I know, but spending money on marketing to me felt (and still feels like) throwing spaghetti against a wall; I didn’t know what was actually going to work. I did a few ads on Instagram and that was ok but never amounted to much of anything. I’m not big on social media in general so this is definitely on me and perhaps if I was better, posted regularly and invested in some ads I’d be further along than I am.
The business, throughout the three years I've been running it, has paid for itself, but it hasn’t paid for much else. I’ve read books, learned about operating financially and worked hard to establish myself, and a good healthy business operating infrastructure. Keep in mind I also have a degree in Business…it still doesn’t mean I know how to do all the things. I’ve developed a rhythm of generating leads and engaging with my client base regularly. The business has grown and continues to grow. I’m proud of it. But in hindsight, I really learned by doing. It felt almost selfish to not write down what I know now; because I can admit that along the way, I made a lot of mistakes. This list of mistakes is by no means complete but I’m sharing them in the hopes that maybe you won’t have to go through them as fully (and painfully) as I did.
- Point of Sale: Don’t underestimate the importance of reporting and operational tracking. My first point of sale made reporting a nightmare (Zettle). Also transfers into my bank were painfully slow and in the start every dollar counts. A year in, I invested in moving to Square - way better reporting on the financial side but was terrible at reporting at a client level. It was also very expensive to have all of the different features I was looking for. For example, it didn’t have a place for inventory costs (unless I paid extra for it) so it made tracking inventory costs more challenging. I did a lot on excel spreadsheets as that’s comfortable for me given my history but it required a lot of time that could have been automated or used for other purposes. I’m and I'm a huge fan! It’s still not perfect but SO much better than anything else I’ve found.
- Visibility is key: I didn’t have a ton of visibility in my first location. The spa was visible but I wasn’t necessarily visible inside the spa. My business grew by referral and word of mouth. My second location (closer to home) is even worse visibility-wise as it’s hidden above a hair salon and a bike shop. You can’t see it from the street. I have signage on the door and in the window, an A-frame I put out when I’m open and both help but it’s not enough. I feel visible on the internet but not in real life. This continues to be a problem I’m working on.
- Inventory: I originally brought in one line and then added a second when I found some gaps in the first from what people were asking for/about. Both of these lines required me to purchase in packs - meaning that when I reordered, I had to order 3 or 6 of one item at a time. This got me in trouble as I hadn’t managed inventory before so I wasn’t exactly sure how to make this work and before I knew it I had thousands of dollars just taking up space on a shelf. The more expensive the skin care line, the higher amount of money you have just on the self waiting to sell. If I was going to start again; I’d go with a higher buy-in, on products I knew I could move quickly that didn’t have a re-order minimum. It’s what I’ve eventually moved to but not without a lot of expired products and lost money along the way.
- Hours: I can only make as much money as I have hours/appointments a day: As a woman who found my love for all things skin later in life, I started my career without the vigor of youth. Doing back-to-back facials multiple times a day, multiple days in a row is exhausting. I increased my workouts to keep my body as fit as possible for the work I’m asking it to do. The more appointments I can do, the more money I can make in a day but if I wear myself out; I need time to recover. If my income is tied to my hands being on someone’s skin then there’s only so much I can ever generate. Period. That brings me to the next point.
- Time is money: If you don’t value your time, your clients won’t either. In the beginning, I got to have longer conversations with my clients and answer their questions without too much of a worry. Now, I’ve trained them that they can have their questions answered and their full hands-on time too. I had one client who came in, spent an hour asking questions and then still expected her full service. This was a bad habit to get into and it’s now biting me in the behind. Don’t do it. If clients have lots of questions, either suggest that they schedule a session to answer them (and have them pay you for a consultation fee) or get them on the table and have them ask while your hands are on their face. Either way, get paid for your knowledge and wisdom. It’s valuable. And it’s often undervalued in the market.
- Outsource or Find Help: If you’re good at a few things and not others, either set up systems to help you handle the things you’re not good at or hire someone else to do them. There are times on this path that I’ve downright hated my business because of the work I felt I absolutely had to do - (psst: I didn’t) - it’s cheaper and less costly in the long run to get help, even if you’re trading for assistance, then it is to trial and error your way through it and hate yourself and your business along the way. Discourgement is real. Don’t let it ruin what you love.
- It can be Lonely: This one was super surprising to me but as a solo esthetician, in my own practice I’ve found it to be a very lonely experience. There’s not a lot of available people for me to bounce ideas off of and anyone who loves to help or is kind enough to offer typically doesn’t have the full picture. Create a network of fellow industry people you can rely on when you’re feeling this way. It makes a huge difference to get an idea from someone who knows and to feel seen in what you’re building.
I’m sure I’ll add to this list more as time moves forward but if you ever need to talk or want someone to bounce a business idea off of, I’m here and happy to share what I know if I think it will be of any use.
Good luck + you’ve got this!!
