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

Cassandra, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I am a Latina owned small business. I am a holistic intuitive esthetician so I work with all natural organic clinical products that are made in small batches from a female cosmetic chemist who is also an esthetician. I work with energy healing like Reiki to add in-depth healing because beauty is more than just our skin. I support local and small businesses as much as I can with my own business. Each service is customized to each clients specific energy and needs. I specialize in Acne prone and hyperpigmentation! I like to treat my client skin concerns from the inside out to find out the root cause instead of using harsh chemicals that can damage the skin further.

Cassandra, 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?

At Rivers Beauty Esthetics, education has always been the core foundation of what I do! I take trainings and classes every month, and yearly as well. I work very closely with the product brand I use and have an incredible personal relationship with them. I also use the appointment time to educate my clients on the best care for their skin and ways to treat their concerns from home! I’m incredibly passionate about what I do and I love to share that passion and joy for skin care with my clients! I am not here to punish or ridicule clients for the way they treat their skin but rather guide them to a more directed regime that’s accessible for them. As someone, who has acne prone skin, and struggled for years, trying all the products on the market, I know how difficult and discouraging it can be to spend money, time and energy while still not see any results or exacerbating the problem further.

Rivers Beauty Esthetics uses all 5 senses to add to a deep relaxing environment to help ease your stress and allow you to feel at peace and free from those anxieties, with the confidence of a trusted professional.

Have you ever had to pivot?

After graduating and getting my state license, I partnered closely with a mentor for several months who taught me not only the products I use but also the importance of educating our clients. I was confident in my “why” and had the courage to treat clients moving forward. I worked for several bosses whose vision didn’t align with mine and I was confused and hurt by the way they wanted me to treat clients. I’ve always wanted to encourage people with my work and these bosses wanted me to prey on their weaknesses to sell products. I knew I did not agree with this and decided the only way I knew my clients would be fully taken care of would be if I started my own business! In my town, it was rare at the time to have an esthetician working on their own. I heavily relied on recommendations from my clients to continue to grow my business!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Social media and personal recommendations were the foundation for building my business. Our local city Facebook page was asking for recommendations for facials, my Business was brought up several times and I received dozens of messages with new potential clients and my clients continue to share their experience with friends and family! Instagram is a great place to show my work and use the platform to educate my clients on skin care, and energy work, most of my clients find me from Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Riversbeautyesthetics.com
• Instagram: @Rivers.Beauty

Image Credits
@delacruz.photography_