We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Olivia Alatorre a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Olivia, thanks for joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

When you are little they tell you “Dream big” and “Shoot for the stars”, but as you get older and share your big dreams and ideas people tell you it won’t happen, that its unrealistic. Truth be told I heard it all, and I really struggled to fight back the negative thoughts when I began the building stages of my business. I had to make a choice; to give into the pressure of society’s expectations or tune out all the negative thoughts and focus on my business. The choice was clear to me, I knew I could do this, I knew I had what it takes to start an empire of my own and I wasn’t taking no for an answer. In the preliminary stages of building my business I remember a mentor of mine asking me what my 5 year goal plan was, and the more I thought about it the more I realized 5 years was simply too little of a goal. I needed a 10 year and 20 year goal plan. I did not want to work towards small goals, I knew I wanted a fully staffed and successful brick and mortar practice. I did not have time to think small, I needed to go into my business plan with full fledged empire ideas. When I was establishing my business foundation I knew that I was going to plan to grow, but as many small businesses experience, the funding is lower at the start. I created my business with the growth in mind, but started humble and basic. I focused all my energy on social media and networking, quickly scaling my client portfolio faster than I honestly imagined possible within the first year of business. Nine months into my business I was ready to jump stages ahead of schedule, ready to grow into my first official brick and mortar establishment. Once again the voices of concern and failure tried to find their way into my thoughts but I stayed true to my goals. The safe choice would have been to stay put, continue to grow within the space I started with and pursue a bigger safety net. Truthfully though, I was never one for safe choices, I knew the opportunity was teasing me and I needed to run straight into the fire of growth head on. I made the decision to grow and scale my practice, a choice that to this day is the best decision I ever made for my business. I have since tripled the size of my business, adding on additional square footage, staff members, and expanded my business portfolio. Upon talking to many other peers within my industry I find that fears and doubts are often what hold people back, and I can sympathize entirely with this mindset, however we must cast those doubts aside if we are to truly take ahold of our potential. Every business has the prospect to be great, to be successful, but it is up to us to take it there. Take the risk of growth and push our levels of comfort so that we might taste what good can come from pushing the limits. I have had a taste of growth and it is intoxicating, I find myself with new 10 year and 20 year goals, committing to the continued growth of my endeavors and striving for better for my business.

Olivia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Having been passionate about health sciences her whole life, I set out for a career that is both healing & transformative. The early stages of my career involved studying pharmacology science, where I went on to graduate as a Board Certified Pharmacy Technician. Though my love for chemistry was strong, this career field fell short of my yearning for helping others. I then sought out a career in medical and advanced aesthetics. Graduating from the prestigious institute of medical aesthetics, BHI Tampa provided me with the confidence and knowledge I needed to help treat the skin. I have been passionate about skin and various skin conditions with results that are truly life changing for my clients.

As a dedicated esthetician, my practice prioritizes ethical results, resourceful knowledge, and client well-being. My journey from a 100sq/ft suite to a 2,300 sq/ft facility within 10 months and assembling a skilled team marked the first two years of my business. Now thriving, my clinic houses a team of beauty professionals, earning accolades like Best of Florida: Skin Care Specialists 2022 and awards from The Skin Games 2021.

Entering my fourth year, I have expanded into educational platforms for aspiring estheticians and launched ELT Retreats, fostering continuing education and community among estheticians. Guided by the power of influence, I have harnessed social media’s potential for industry innovation.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media, the wild west of the internet, quite literally has shaped the success of my business. Upon the start of my business endeavors I was low on extra funding, basically outsourcing for marketing was not fitting into my budget, so I turned to social media. At first it was daunting, the idea of trying to create a marketing campaign online seemed so unorthodox, but it was free and I found myself with no other options. I began with creating a page that could be perceived as personal and vulnerable, but also an authentic representation of my business and the services I provide. Blurring the lines between a personal blog and a business page I began sharing content of my day-to-day life as a small business owner and what it is I do. My engagement would spike the more vulnerable I was to what goes on in the behind the scenes of my business, my audience was growing and I found myself creating a reputation within my community and industry. My choice to stay unapologetically authentic to who I am and my business core has garnered me as truthful and reliable to my audience. In additional to the personality of my social media presence I have also found that committing to daily interaction among my followers has increased my audience reach 10-fold. I make a point to share daily, consistently, creating a pattern my audience is sure to predict and follow along. I am often told by my followers that they wake up and look forward to seeing what I am doing for the day, they enjoy being a part of my life online and I enjoy the parts that I chose to share.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I quickly learned how valuable adding new staff to my business could be. Creating added revenue from increased work efforts and sliming down my ever growing to-do list. What I was not prepared for was the new found responsibility of team management and company morale. Growing up I never found myself particularly maternal, not wanting children of my own, I was often content being an independent individual. Though as my business began to grow I found myself wanting to clone my skills and create a team that could share in my successes and future growth. No one prepared me for what it means to become a manager of people, a sudden thrust into becoming the metaphorical mother of my business and all who work for it. I work to provide care for my clients, it did not cross my mind that I would be providing such care for my staff too, this was new territory for me. My first hiring experience was a humbling one, I learned very quickly that your business will never matter in the same capacity it does for you to someone else. Though my business was mine to direct, I had to learn that others will wish to feel as though their part in the success is acknowledged and praised along the way, and more than once at that. I quickly found that the best practice for keeping up company morale was consistent checking in with my team. Being open and honest about decisions for the practice, as well as acknowledging accomplishments and goals achieved. I found myself becoming a “mother” of my business, a reliable source of comfort and truth for my team, but also maintaining my authority and finale say. I strive to hear out my teams ideas, creating incentives for leadership qualities and creating a “family” like environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebodylabfl.com
• Instagram: @Body_Lab_Aesthetics

Image Credits
Mary Clark of Cain & Camera; Hannah of SheeBeauty