We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carrie-Joy Neal a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Carrie-Joy , appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I began my business with a very specific and common focus of opening a solo skin studio and being profitable. Somewhere between surviving covid (while watching many of my colleagues close down) and dealing with the unprecedented rate of inflation of current, my focus shifted to community and the idea of shared education. As the daughter of a creative and teacher, I grew up with this idea of “each one teach one”. I came into the industry with a background in business, and even I struggled with solo entrepreneurship. Trade schools (esthetics school, barber colleges, cosmotology schools, etc) teach you how to get achieve licensing, and how to be an employee, but if entrepreneurship is your end goal, you’ll need some business acumen. The key to my success has been in continued education and mentorship. And now, in edition to providing high quality, holistic skincare, I have a passion for helping other newbies in my industry get access to the business education that allow them to be the most successful solopreneurs they can be. This idea of community education began in small form as a once a month event, held at Counter Culture, called “Free Game Fridays”. An evening of networking and education, has grown to be the primary focus of my business, and in 2024 Counter Culture is growing and restructuring to allow space for supporting and uplifting beauty professionals with a goal of successful business ownership. I am so proud to be able to positively impact my community and watch others thrive in this industry that’s been so good to me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began my journey into the skincare industry in 2017 with a background in business, and a goal of providing high quality affordable healthcare and a specialty in ethnic skin. I love skincare and I love the beauty industry. An unexpected benefit of being in this arena has been networking and comradery of the industry. I have learned so much through mentorship and the connections I’ve made in the industry. A few years back I realized that there was a hole in the industry. Newly licensed professionals with a goal of entrepreneurship, need a space where they can gain experience and also build valuable business education. The idea on a besuty professional incubator program came to light and I have worked tirelessly to bring it to light. I’m so excited to extend my vision of service farther than just great care of my clients skin, but to include the empowerment of others in my industry. Community is everything to me, and finding new ways to be of use will always the fuel that powers me forward.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Community! As a solo entrepreneur, community has been my most valuable asset. I have found the beauty industry to be incredibly warm and welcoming. Particularly the sector of minority owned and female owned business I move through regularly. Finding community gives you support, mentorship, and people to rely on. As my business has grown, changed and shifted focus I’ve found that my vault is full of valuable relationships that I’ve been able to rely on. My main goal in this next chapter of my journey is to serve in that position to the next generation of beauty professionals.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn the rumor of inherent competition. In esthetics school I was warned about the competitive and catty nature of people in this industryand that has not been my experience at all. Relationship building is such an important part of small business and had I rejected that network, I would never have succeeded in the way that I have.

Contact Info:

• Website: CounterCultureEsthetics.com
• Instagram: @countercultureesthetics
• Facebook: @countercultureesthetics