We recently connected with Andrea Hopkins and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

Social media management is one of the most important aspects of a business’s identity. We’re in an era where you can find EVERYTHING you need on social media, from how to cook a specific dish to how to change a tire. With this in mind, it was essential for me in the beginning to do my own social media management. This gave me the opportunity to define my company’s voice, personality and overall message that I wanted out to my current and future followers. I’ve had great success so far with managing my own social media accounts.

In the beginning, I struggled greatly with how I wanted to go about structuring my social media. I bought courses, I watched countless videos, and created an obnoxious amount of templates, if I can lend any advice it would be to not! Trust yourself, trust your vision and stay true to that. Your audience is out there and no matter how slow the climb, you’ll reach the people who your content is meant for. I’d rather have 200 genuine followers than 2000 bots or people who are not aligned with my company vision.

Don’t watch other people’s numbers, I used to beat myself up because I didn’t get thousands of views on my videos or hundreds of likes on my pictures, not realizing the size of my following and the number of interactions were aligned perfectly. I had to learn to stop comparing myself to accounts with thousands of followers, that’s not where I am at this very moment so our numbers would never look the same.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always had a passion for the beauty industry, I always loved looking and feeling my best. With that said, it’s no surprise at all that I ended up on the path that I’m on today. They say in college you will change you major at least 3 times before landing on what you truly want to do. I’m living proof of this theory, no matter what I changed my major to, I was always led back to the beauty industry in some way. I now have my BA in Fashion Marketing & Management, I have my own eyelash line and I am also a Florida Licensed Esthetician.

I know what it’s like to not feel you’re best or not have the confidence to love what you see in the mirror, and sometimes that’s simply because you don’t have someone in your corner to either educate you or encourage you. I started each of my companies with my customer/client in mind.

It’s essential to me that each customer that shops with The Lash Aesthetics receives not only top tier customer service, but when they get their package they know that they’ve unlocked a new level of confidence and even when they don’t think so, they have someone in their corner rooting for them! I say it all the time, give someone the right pair of lashes and they can conquer the world!

My Wanderluxe Skin Co. clients know I am all about education, relaxation and results. As a licensed esthetician I have a responsibility to my clients to not only provide services, but to make sure that they have the knowledge to maintain a healthy skin lifestyle outside of the treatment room, It’s so humbling and satisfying to watch the progress of my clients in their skincare journey and to see their confidence boost once they start seeing the results we’ve worked towards.

To know that I have been a business owner for over three years now is something to celebrate. I’ve had a few ups, downs and all arounds but to see where both of my companies are today and how much further they both have to grow is so rewarding. My mission has always been to put my customer/client experience first and I have never deviated from that and that’s why my companies are still here and thriving today.

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

In the beginning, I thought social media was going to have clients beating down the door to come and book with me. I thought if I used the right hashtags, posted consistently and interacted with potential client’s posts then my business would take off. Boy was a mistaken! Being in a results driven industry, I quickly learned your clients have to be your walking business card.

You know the old phrase “seeing is believing”? Consumers, in my opinion, are drawn to results; so no matter how much I posted on social media or how unique my hashtags were I didn’t start seeing an increase in clientele until my clients started seeing the results they wanted to achieve. After that, my client book began to grow tremendously. Any new booking I received, I would be met with “I was referred by ______, I love what you have done with their skin”.

This isn’t to say that any other methods that are used out there are wrong or won’t bring you the increase in clients you desire, this is just what has worked for me the most. I still post on my socials, I still interact and that’s to keep a presence on social media which is also important. I have received booking from social media in the past but not as much as client referrals. Either way, when you look at the bigger picture, the most important key to growing your client book is consistency. Be consistent on social media, be consistent in the treatment room, and be consistent in upholding your company’s values and you’ll see the growth.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

“Skin in the Game” by Jane Wurwand the founder of Dermalogica was such a great read. It’s eye opening, inspirational and overall such a great look into what consistency, confidence and drive can get you. A lot of the time people only share their successes, and that to me can be extremely discouraging to someone with aspirations of taking that same path.

Ironically, I picked this book up at one of my lowest points in my business life. I was literally on the verge of closing up shop because my mind was so unclear on what direction I should be taking with my companies. In this book, Jane shares her entire story, the good, the bad and the extremely ugly, and how it got her to where she is today within the skincare industry and it lit a fire in me to keep going.

This book taught me to be patient and to embrace everything within my entrepreneurial journey. I have such a different outlook on business ownership now because of this book. The beginning of your story is just as important as the ending, it serves as a reminder of where you came from, what it took to get you where you are and that your past does not define your future. “Skin in the Game” is definitely a great read and I encourage any skincare professional to read it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelashaeshtetics.com & www.wanderluxeskinco.com (coming soon)
• Instagram: instagram.com/thelashaesthetics & instagram.com/wanderluxeskinco
• Facebook: Facebook.com/thelashaesthetics & Facebook.com/wanderluxeskinco