We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bella Minder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bella , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Hi Everyone! My name is Bella Minder. I am a licensed AP Esthetician and small business owner here in Minnesota! Growing up, I have always had a love for all things skincare and beauty! I was introduced to the esthetics industry at a young age by my cousin Dana Orr. She owns The Clinic for Medical Asthetics in Golden Valley, Minnesota. When my twin sister and I were young, she would always pamper us with facials or new products. I watched her take an empty office space and turn it into the successful medspa and esthetics clinic it is today and that inspired me to start my career in this industry. After I graduated from Saint Paul College in 2020, I began working at Cole’s Salon in Eagan. I learned a lot here about what it takes to turn my passion into a full time job, build a steady clientele, and perfect my skills. Although I loved my team here, I knew I wanted more for myself and my career as an esthetician. I decided to take a leap of faith and start looking for a place to build a business of my own. I now own The Skn Rm, a medspa and beauty bar, located inside the Salons by JC in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. I wanted to create a space for my clients to not only relax and unwind, but to also address their concerns through treatments and home care, leaving them feeling fulfilled after every visit! Salons by JC has allowed me to focus what I love and truly deliver what I want my career to reflect for years to come!

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 am an Advanced Practice Esthetician meaning I get to preform more than just your average facial. I specialize in results driven treatments and custom home care regimens to ensure my clients are targeting their concerns and reaching their goals with the proper guidance to get them there! I offer micro needling, chemical peels, customized facials, dermaplaning, hydro facials, and more! I am also a Certified Acne Specialist through Face Reality Skincare. As someone who personally struggled with acne and still does to this day, I wanted to offer products and services that give my clients long term results and guidance for clear skin! Getting to see my clients progress as they focus on their concerns is something I am so proud of. Skin concerns and conditions can be mentally draining to deal with and put a huge toll on the client’s confidence and mental health. I am here to guide my clients toward what will benefit their skin the most, while taking into consideration their time, budgets, schedules, etc. It’s important to me that my clients don’t feel overwhelmed after seeing me, I strive to make each client feel comfortable about how we can achieve their results! My goal is to educate my clients, no matter the concern, on how to maintain healthy skin through all stages of life, and feel amazing in their own skin!

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

I am so grateful to know so many amazing men and women in this industry, and work alongside such inspiring peers daily! After I left my last salon, I was definitely nervous about losing and rebuilding clientele. I find that connecting with other small business owners and dedicating time to building my online brand have been the most effective methods for growing my clientele. Referrals are HUGE! Although this may seem like an old school way of growing clientele, it is a strategy that will never fade. Working in Salons by JC has been a great way to network with the other suite owners and help one another build our clienteles. It is important to me that clients leave feeling fulfilled and want to share their experience with their friends, families, coworkers, etc. I have connected with several of my fellow suite owners and make it a point to refer clients to the people I know and trust, and they are happy to do the same in return. I also dedicate a lot of my time to designing my website and social media platforms. I wanted my online business presence to be visually pleasing, educational, and easy to use! In today’s world, online marketing is a must for growing clientele as a new business. I focus on highlighting my services, client results, educating on home care, and staying up to date with current trends that will attract potential clients to my page, and keep my existing clients intrigued as well.

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

I graduated from Saint Paul College in the summer of 2020, and was hired at my previous job in the fall of 2020. As I said before, I am grateful for my experience and don’t regret my decision of working for a cooperate spa, but I was leaving each day feeling unhappy. In the early summer of 2021 I knew it was time to pivot in my career. I wanted more flexibility and control over my personal life, to focus on the services I was most passionate about, and fall back in love with my job again. Getting to where I am today has not been easy. At 20 years old, newly licensed, and not a firm clientele in place I was very intimidated to take the leap to go out on my own. I didn’t let this fear of failure stop me. I knew with the help of my friends and family I could make this little dream of mine come to life! Life is too short to be unhappy, and I’m so grateful I decided to put myself first and pivot even if it was scary at first. I’m proud of myself for building a business of my own and taking the steps to create my dream career as an esthetician.

Contact Info:

• Website: THESKNRM.COM
• Instagram: @thesknrm
• Facebook: The Skn Rm

Image Credits
Tiffany Weser Photography