We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gina Stoll a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
I am incredibly happy as a business owner. I grew up in the salon industry.
Right out of highschool I had a “regular” job. I absolutely hated it. It was boring not being able to interact with people as you get to in a salon. It was unfulfilling. So many dos and donts. Having to ask for permission to take off of work and have it approved or not was wild to me. I just wasn’t used to that in the world I grew up in. I got in trouble at the job with HR because I had bought everyone in the office Valentine treats for Valentine’s day. That when I knew I wasn’t cut out for the corporate world.
The only time I ever thought about how it would be nice to have a “normal” job was about the time Covid hit. My industry really took a beating. Even now with how the economy, it’s not the same as it once was. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love what I do. I love helping people feel their best. Helping them relax. And also healing people. I’m doing what I came here to do.
Gina, 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?
Again I grew up in this industry. My mother and Grandmother were both hairstylists. Although I can’t do hair to save my life, I do have what my clients call magical hands. And Ive always been obsessed with picking at blackheads. So naturally, I gravitated towards aesthetics. I started off with facials (Dermalogica products) and waxings(Nufree soy wax) Eventually I got into chemical peels and other facial type of services.
About 16 years ago I saw an ad from Xtreme Lashes. That peeked my interest. I grabbed the bull by the horns and took the class. I immediately fell in love with doing them. Plus the instant gratification was fantastic. It’s took a few years for them to catch on but once they did…they nearly took over my business.
I recently took courses to become a reiki master. I was always told I was an Empath. And have always be drawn to want to help people. Reiki helps me fufill that want/need to help.
I’ve also completed a Psychic development class. Turns out I am a natural healer. And have some very cool abilities.
I really feel complete in my line of work.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Honestly, word of mouth has been my best “advertisment”
Most my clients call me their go to for beautification, relaxation, healing and therapy.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
What helped me build my reputation has been my consistency with my work. My perfectionism with what I do. Always on time. And my reliability. I take my clients time very seriously. We all have busy lives and want to feel like our schedules are important and respected.
