We were lucky to catch up with Amanda DiPol recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

My biggest risk was starting Pampered by Panda! I actually worked in banking before getting into esthetics and I was really good at it. However, it just wasn’t fulfilling in the way I wished it were. So when I decided to go back to school, I wanted to do something that would create freedom, but also bring me joy. I wanted to do bridal make-up. Once I started school, I absolutely fell in love with skin and the science behind it, instead. I ended up going part time with my banking position, and part time at a full service spa. When I eventually went full time at the spa after I was licensed, it ended up not being the job I’d hope for. So at this point I had no choice, I decided to jump into my own business full time. Pampered by Panda was born. Guess what? About 3 months later, so was a global pandemic. I thought my business was over before it even started. Once the world started to open back up a bit and I was allowed to perform services, I committed 100% to it. Shortly after, I was able to go from a home based business to a large studio in an affluent area on Long Island. I feel so blessed, and thank God every day. While the pandemic was extremely hard for most small businesses, that’s when mine truly took off. So my advice would be if you truly love something, don’t give up. If it’s meant for you, it’ll happen. It doesn’t mean that it will come easily, however, if you keep working at it, the reward is so much bigger than the risk.

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 Amanda DiPol, and I’m a Licensed Esthetician and owner of Pampered by Panda LLC and COO of Meaux Co. My goal is to provide corrective skincare and education to my clients and other professionals in the industry. I truly believe that education is much more important than just making a sale. Teaching someone WHY something is happening, and HOW to correct it gives them so much more power. I didn’t want to just use any skincare brand though – it was extremely important to me to provide a safe, clean, and effective skincare line. Having a very close family member of mine going through cancer treatments, I’ve learned that not everyone can use just any old products. Using a product line that is oncology safe, was a must for me. Once I found my current skincare line, Meaux Co., I was inspired to create a line of my own for the body. My body oil, Cub Drops, was first born. After I created the Cub Drops, Panda Polish was made. A toxic free whipped body scrub that was scented with essential oils instead of fragrance. I even made a lash and brow serum with minimal ingredients that still provide results, called Nourishing Oil.

The thing I want to drive home is that my philosophy is, and will always be, your health comes first. Skincare is not just for people who want to look good. Skincare is for people who care about their skin health just as much as any other part of their health. Your skin is your largest organ, and your body’s first line of defense when it comes to fighting off bacteria, infection, and protecting against free radicals. I love teaching my clients how to take care of their skin at home, because the reality is that I can’t be with them 24/7. While creating a home routine for them and sharing the importance of consistency, I often use the example that it is just as important as going to the gym or eating nutritiously. You can get a facial once a month, but what you do outside of my treatment room is 80% where results come from.

When I was younger I struggled with acne and I know how embarrassing and overwhelming it can be. If I had someone to teach me about it and help me understand that it’s not something that can be cured, but treated, I would’ve been in such a better position instead of not doing anything about it at all. Suffering with acne isn’t easy. I just want to teach my clients that their acne doesn’t define them. I also want to teach them that their skin health is most important, and perfection and healthy skin don’t always look the same. In fact, there’s no such thing as perfect skin. Encouraging them to feel confident in their skin is a main goal of mine, no matter how old or young they are.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me has been referrals! It’s the best compliment ever, and I’m so beyond blessed to have people who trust me and love their services and results so much that they want to share it with other people. I love creating an experience for people, so knowing that it’s been a great experience – it’s really humbling. A good thing, because social media just is not my thing (although, sometimes I wish it was)!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m actually going through this right now. I’ve come to the realization that I need to create boundaries between my work and my life. The past 2 years that I’ve been running my business I’ve had zero boundaries. Even when I’m not working, I’m working. There’s so much that goes behind running a business, especially when you’re the only one doing it all. The inventory, cleaning, marketing, booking, follow ups, social media content, continuing education, etc. Dealing with clients outside of my set business hours was always something I did, and I’ve realized that in order to create boundaries – that was one of the first obstacles I needed to tackle. Pivoting from being available 24/7 to healthy business hours will also demand respect. Not just my clients, but clients in general need to understand that in a day of instant gratification, not everything is instant. You wouldn’t demand an answer immediately after contacting Ulta or Sephora, you would either contact them during business hours or email them and wait for a response from them. That’s the kind of boundaries I’m expecting as well. I think once I enforce this, I’ll be able to have a healthier work/life balance. But it’ll definitely be a change for me and I’ll have to stick to my guns. I think this pivot will be the best thing for the present and future life of Pampered by Panda AND myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pamperedbypanda.com
• Instagram: pampered_by_panda
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamperedbypanda29

Image Credits
Stephanie Scapellati, 3 Elements Photography Sash Moreaux, Meaux Collective