We recently connected with Jasmine Armenta and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jasmine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Looking back, I’m happy that I trusted myself and waited until I felt ready or I don’t know that I would’ve been as successful. However, I do wish that I had started this journey sooner because although it’s been tough, it’s been one of the best decisions that I have ever made! I had been working for European Wax Center in Pacific Beach for 5 years up until the Pandemic happened and everything shut down. I was comfortable and happy there. I liked showing up to do what I loved and then being able to leave and forget about work. I was told by so many people that I needed to open up my own business for years but I didn’t feel ready. I had gone through a divorce and I was putting all of my energy into my son and rebuilding our new normal together. The idea of taking on something so huge when I was just finding my footing again seemed too overwhelming. I was also so incredibly loyal to my Franchise owners and everything that EWC stood for that actually leaving didn’t cross my mind at all. I couldn’t imagine being able to find wax or products that would compare to theirs so why leave to just fail, you know? That’s truly how I felt. I had convinced myself that although I had a solid following, everyone chose me just because I was the best at the center. In my mind, they were truly there for everything that European Wax Center offered them, not necessarily me. The Pandemic is what changed my perspective on everything. It’s what made me believe in me and my own magic! I had clients reaching out, searching high and low to find me, begging me to start making house calls for them. It was then that I realized that it was actually me that people wanted and that I needed to take the leap, believe in myself and everything that I bring to the table.

I immediately started searching for wax brands and all of the products that I would need to use. I started buying everything that I needed to get going and my business just blew up from there with referrals. My clients were all so loyal and supportive of me. They didn’t care where I worked, as long as they got to be with me and that is something that I will be forever grateful for. Their love and dedication is why I am thriving today!

During this time I also got engaged and shortly after, I found out that I was pregnant. I would say that was the pivotal moment when I decided that I wasn’t going to return to working for someone else anymore and really just go for it. It was so important to me that I could make my own schedule and be with my family as much as I wanted, without someone else dictating the hours that I worked. I returned from maternity leave in September, signed a lease for my studio in October, was up and running by December, got married in February and here I am, still standing and doing the damn thing! Because I juggled all of these huge life events at the same time and succeeded, my business is even more special to me. All of this has shown me that I can do anything that I put my mind to. You can be a Mom, a Business Owner and a Wife. You don’t ever have to choose. You just need to believe in your own magic! Excuses are literally just excuses for holding yourself back. You either go after what you want or you stay stagnant. When you don’t listen or move forward, God or the Universe, depending on what you believe in, definitely has a way of pushing you out of your comfort zone and aligning you on your path. My biggest lesson in all of this was to trust myself more. I hope you read this and decide to believe in yourself. I hope you stop waiting and go after your dreams, too!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I have been a licensed Esthetician since 2005. Since then, I bounced around between Sephora, being a makeup artist at MAC, doing freelance makeup for weddings and boudoir photo shoots, and then eventually becoming a Property Manager for a 260 unit Community when I was burnt out on the retail hours life. After that, I returned to waxing, my true passion. I spent 5 years at European Wax Center in Pacific Beach prior to finally opening up my own Wax Studio. I specialize in speed waxing and I am exceptional with both brows and Brazilians. Brazilians are my favorite service to do because I love being someone’s best experience with such a sensitive and vulnerable area, especially when it’s their first time having it done or they’re finally trying it again and trusting me after a terrible experience. I love educating clients on proper home care and working my hardest at removing and getting rid of ingrown hairs that are usually just ignored. I pride myself in my work; I am overly thorough and precise and I believe that is what sets me apart from the rest. I truly strive to build a genuine rapport with my clients, where they feel like a friend rather than just a client. The relationships that I have created is truly what I am the most proud of and what I treasure most about what I do.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been by giving the very best service and version of myself every time from start to finish. My business is what it is because of referrals and I prefer it this way. Remind yourself at the start of each service that you need to be so great that the client leaving can’t help but to want to tell all of their friends, family and colleagues about you! And I don’t mean just with the service itself; I mean within your appearance, your attitude and making sure that you find something unique to connect with each client about and then remembering those things the next time so that they feel special and important to you.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me has been through Instagram. I try to post every few days but I would get too much in my head about photos/video/reels or captions not being perfect so I wouldn’t go through with a lot of them. A client of mine actually told me that perfection is procrastination. She said that if something is 80% good, it’s good enough to post so I’ve been working harder at living by that and just posting. I realize that people just want to connect with you; they want to laugh, they want someone real. They’re not over analyzing every little thing the way I am because they’re not the expert, I am, and that’s why they’re coming to see me. At this day and age, I don’t think a business could survive without social media so you definitely have to stay up with the times and make sure to create a presence on one platform or another.

Contact Info:

• Website: bushelandapeck.glossgenius.com
• Instagram: bushel.and.a.peckk
• Facebook: Bushel & A Peck Beauty Studio

Image Credits
Photo of my with my two sons: Astray Photography