We recently connected with Erin Painter and have shared our conversation below.

Erin , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was opening my own business after spending 13yrs in the spa industry as a licensed esthetician. It’s scary, it’s expensive, it’s hard work no one sees and you have no idea how it will turn out! After working for others for so long, I finally decided to go out on my own… in January 2020, what could go wrong? I was open for 9 weeks before a deadly pandemic shut me down for 102 days, followed quickly by 2 more shutdowns! During this time, I really thought about what I wanted. Should I go back to get my Master’s Degree? Should I find “essential” work? I realized, my work was not only essential but my true calling. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Even with the pandemic, my only regret was not opening my business sooner!

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?

I was always a waxer, I just didn’t realize it. When I was 12 my sister took me to get my brows waxed for the first time. Afterwards, I thought, I can do that! So I started doing my own brows with these little strips from the drug store. Eventually, my friends let me do their brows too! Post college, I was waxing a friend’s back and complaining about my umteenth bar job. He said “Why don’t you just do this?” A lightbulb went off. “I could get paid to do this?” I looked around for schools and started in October 2006. That was it. I finally had a career I’d been doing for so long for free and never even knew i wanted to do it forever!

I do a variety of services including facials, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and full body waxing. I specialize in Brows and Brazilian waxing for female anatomy.

I only use personally vetted, high quality products. My knowledge and experience in the industry, paired with my sparkling personality leave guests feeling more confident with themselves. 😉

I’m so proud that I finally opened my own studio. I love my work so much and it’s exciting to watch my business grow.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

If i had to go back in time, I would absolutely choose this career path again. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else. I’m an esthetician and a business owner. That’s what I do. Many estheticians begin their Esthetics program right after high school. I did it a few years post college. So I absolutely would have done it sooner had I known. But experiences lead you down the path you’re supposed to take, so I guess I needed to put my time in the service industry first. I will say, my experience in restaurants, bars and retail have absolutely helped shape my customer service.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

To be a successful esthetician and business owner, you have to be willing to work. It’s very important to build trust and meaningful relationships with all your guests. Essentially, put your money where you mouth is and make sure you can back up everything you tell your clients to ensure success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://estheticsbyerin.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esteerin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esteerin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-painter-27101970
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/esteerin