We recently connected with Alex Walsh and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

I think it’s time we bring back the Renaissance woman!! My whole life I’ve felt the narrative pushed has been: find something that pays well and dedicate your life to doing it.
I’ve known I was a creative for a long time, so entering the real world was tough- how do I get by and HOW do I pick something for the rest of my life?

I started out in music theatre and felt that connection right away, but even there, doing something I loved, that narrative of one study per customer kept coming back to haunt me. I had other passions and goals in life and didn’t know how I could do it all.
Once the pandemic hit, I graduated into a world where live performance was scarce and I felt permission to explore other passions of mine.

I started to dive into Esthetics late 2021 while working in the Covid testing industry. I knew I wanted to make a difference and help people. During that time I met so many different people who were artists AND other things! Nurses, bartenders, teachers, engineers- all with one common artistic vein.

As time moved on and I started to widen my scope of passion, I realized it was getting harder to define myself, give myself a title. I stumbled across this anecdote by renaissance man Kurt Vonnegut:

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of ‘getting to know you’ questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.
“And he went wow. That’s amazing! And I said, ‘Oh no, but I’m not any good at any of them.’
“And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: ‘I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.’
“And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could ‘win’ at them.”

I realized that I didn’t need a ‘title’, I didn’t need a definition, I didn’t need a single identity. All of my passions and interests come together to create one thing: ME! Alex Walsh, the renaissance woman. Now when I get asked what I do, the answer varies. Sometimes I stick with artist and esthetician, two vague titles that give me room to elaborate on all my niches. Other times I answer, “What don’t I do?” As now I feel comfortable to jump into as many fields as I like, picking up bits and pieces, and while I may not be an expert in any one thing, it comes together to round me out and make me who I am.

So I hope you find joy in your many passions and be that Jack or Jill of all trades, in my opinion it’s what the human experience is all about!!!

Alex, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Currently I spend my time providing esthetics services, writing music, and learning new things. You can find me on instagram at @joybyalex_ for all things esthetics and @alexwalshwalsh for everything else :) I love creating a space for people to take care of themselves. Providing these different services gives me a chance to get to know people and let them know they have someone in their corner :) My clients and I have a bond that I cherish soooo much- they have me laughing with them AND crying with them. They also teach me new things every day. I genuinely care about each and every one of them and my hope is that they all feel that!! I provide custom facials and sugaring. Join the joy and come hang out with me!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

It sounds silly, but being yourself. So many times I see people putting on a front to sell something or trying to be something they think people want. People just want connection- there’s no such thing as selling a product or a service- you’re only selling an experience. People will remember how you made them feel! If you care about the work you do and care about the people, they’ll see that. Let your walls down and truly connect- you’ll have clientele that will follow you to the ends of the earth!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The hardest lesson I had to unlearn was that someone was going to come along and give me permission to start. It’s weird to think about, but I feel like a lot of people go through it! Someone has to be the first and it might as well be you. YOU have to take the initiative and start, no one will do it for you. Even if the best time to start was last year, the second best time is right now! Figure it out along the way, but dive in NOW!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @joybyalex_ @alexwalshwalsh @byalexwalsh

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Casey James Knight