We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Hopkins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

If you would’ve asked me this year one of my entrepreneurial journey I would’ve told you there’s absolutely nothing I enjoy about being a business owner and I’m ready to throw in the towel. But asking me this today, the answer is yes, I am happier as a business owner.

I think every entrepreneur at one point or another has thought about going back to a regular day to day job for that sense of security and stability. Starting your own business can be very scary and very unpredictable, you can be on top one month and not see a single client or sale the next, that alone will have you running to dust off your resume.

What keeps me on track and off of indeed is my ability to leverage my down time. No there’s not any clients on the books this month or orders waiting to be fulfilled but what I do have in those moments is time. I have time to analyze my business trends, create content, further my education and even restructure my business if need be.

Ironically, the times where I feel like “it’s time to get a regular job” isn’t when my businesses are slow, it’s when I’m super busy. Imposter syndrome is so real, and I think it is super important for any entrepreneur to be able to recognize a moment of imposter syndrome, change their mindset and keep it pushing.

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

Business owner Andrea in 2020 is totally different from business owner Andrea in 2023. The business owner I am today learned the value of unlearning self destruction/sabotage. I would always find a way to take a great moment in business and ruin it.

A perfect example, a friend of mine invited me to do my very 1st pop up shop for my lash business, I spent weeks preparing, getting my inventory, and I even did a mock day set up just to be absolutely certain I had everything I need. I prepared my display book of lashes so that way when people shop they can see the lash in the book without me pulling out every case.

I had it all together, or so I thought, until the day of the pop up shop when I realized I organized my display book completely wrong. I was supposed to put my magnetic lashes in a separate book because they weren’t included in the bundle deal I created. By the time I noticed, I had already sold 3 bundles offers with some magnetic lashes.

I had an entire meltdown, I was ready to pack my booth up and go home! While I was deep in my head sabotaging myself I didn’t even realize that my lashes were selling like crazy, I had two of my biggest supporters with me helping me manage the demand and that in that moment my business went into the positive for the very first time.

I always use this story as a reminder that mistakes and inconveniences happen but it’s on us to learn and grow from it and not take it as a punishment. Like my friend says “It’s not happening TO you it’s happening FOR you”.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I knew that after launching The Lash Aesthetics, my next goal was to go to esthetics school, get licensed, and start service providing. Sounds easy enough, but one thing about life, it’s always going to keep pushing and throwing things your way.

Going to esthetics school has been a goal of mine not once but twice! And each time, life had other plans, and I had to pivot in my carrier path for the same reason… MOTHERHOOD! My husband and I were blessed with two handsome, healthy, and smart boys. It’s funny now that I look back at it that each time I got the opportunity to sign up for school I had to postpone it because I was a stay at home mom at one point and I also had a high risk pregnancy at the height of the pandemic.

No matter how many pivots I had to make, in August of 2021, I began my journey to becoming a licensed esthetician. I attended Dolly Monroe Beauty Academy here in Tampa, FL. I was determined to make the most out of my time in school and learn every aspect of esthetics. In November of 2021, I graduated and I’m now a licensed esthetician! Sometimes that ” no ” you think you received is just a “Not right now”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.the lash aesthetics.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/thelashaesthetics
• Facebook: Facebook.com/thelashaethstics
• Other: WanderLuxe Info: Website: www.WanderLuxeSkinCo.com (coming May 2023) Instagram: Instagram.com/WanderLuxeSkinCo Facebook: Facebook.com/WanderLuxeSkinCo