We were lucky to catch up with Jacqueline Arce recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jacqueline, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
Being in your mid 30’s with 3 kids—2 with special needs, RISK isn’t a major part of my life…only stability and routine as I was working in Property Management for nearly 10 years. As much as I enjoyed helping families find a place of their own, many whom are in the military and relocating and adjusting to a new city—a small town life, I felt my role at work was becoming more limited with time. I wanted to do more, more with work capabilities, establish more connections—I just wasn’t sure how as I too had relocated but spent the majority of my time tending to my kids and working. I didn’t go out much but I started doing things for myself I never did before, the little things perhaps some take for granted like getting your hair and nails done—kind of insignificant but for a person that’s focused on others well being, that for me had never existed.
The women I met, young women, intelligent women, women with dreams and drive, women with families, women with businesses inspired me that anything is possible…it’s never too late for anything.
At the time I was interested in lashing, as I enjoyed having that little time for myself and I didn’t realize what a stress relief it was to have that self care and be able to bounce back feeling regenerated and rejuvenated to continue pouring not only my children but family and friends in need of care and support.
After taking time to think about how I can take more control of how to schedule work around my children’s needs, I took one of the biggest risks in my life by enrolling to Esthetics School and quitting my job. A few weeks later, Covid hit and our industry was completely shut down…Impeccable timing in deed, and despite taking that leap into the unknown, during a time that felt as if the world stopped and destabilized, it was the BEST decision by far that worked out for me and my family. I was relieved I didn’t have to drive an hour away and I can stay with my kids, I saved on gas AND got paid for attending my classes online. Once CA Stateboard reopened in 2021, I took my exam and became a licensed Esthetician.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Jacqueline Arce and I’ve been a licensed Esthetician since 2021 but my journey in my career changed began late 2019 as I was beginning to garner an interest in self care beginning with my love for lashes. As I enrolled in my esthetics program in early 2020, pre-Covid, I began to develop Rosacea symptoms on my face and gained a deeper interest in skincare as I noticed friends and family had been suffering the same issues. Once Covid created a mass world shutdown I continued to research more about skincare, products, brands in hopes that if the industry opened, I’d be able to help those have been dealing with issues with their skin and finding solutions to help, not only alleviate and comfort but maintain as much control of inflammatory skin conditions.
Once I became licensed, I slowly started taking in clients as there was a rise of people suffering from acne, irritation and other skin issues due to mask use or the lack of products due to the worldwide shutdown. I became more interested in finding treatments, specially customized for each client depending on their skin’s needs.
I have a deep thirst for knowledge and learning consistently as I believe will always be part of my industry as technology, medical science and trends change.
Aside from creating my own little business. Skin Wax & Lashes, I also work part time at a Dermatologists office as a way to continue learning and educating myself about skin disease and skin health.
For me personally, I love connecting with my clients, listening to their concerns and providing support as they begin their own skin journey. It can be such a long process for most that it can discourage many to give up during the process when in reality skin needs to purge and get worse at times before it gets better. It takes trust, patience and lots of support at times, eventually once improvement is seen, there so much motivation to continue and that really tells you so much about a person’s commitment in the hard work not only they put in everyday as it heavily involves the client in doing their part, but also your own commitment in finding solutions as not every person will have the same reaction to each treatment as everyone has different skin and a different response to ingredients or even a brands formula, so in turn, each client is a success on its own and that really inspires me to continue learning about YOU and YOUR skin!
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
I live pretty far away from most family and friends that really wish to support my dreams, my little business but aren’t unable to due to distance, I began to find ways that if they wished to support they could do so by purchasing merchandise I began to create. I started off with creating a few gender neutral hats, totes & shirts with my logo and that really helped as another means of revenue that supported my creative process. I hope to extend to items related to within my industry but that will take some time as I’m pretty selective with materials and really want the best for my clients.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Though I have a social media presence where I try to post my work via my business profile or my stories to gain new clients, referrals from clients is honestly one of the best ways as the work and recommendations speak for itself and I’m always humbled when people can trust me with their skin—for some people it’s a true fear and I completely understand. I try to have an open communication with my clients because it’s so important that they feel they are in good hands and comfortable and I’m not offended if they feel I’m not the right person for them—which luckily it hasn’t happened but I would much rather know if something isn’t working. I think my clients appreciate that open communication and transparency.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @esthetically_jackie
Image Credits
Jacqueline Arce Luis Angel Gonzalez