Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heidi Holley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heidi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

An 18 year old Minneapolis high school student was being interviewed during the teachers strike earlier in 2022 and was asked a similar question. His answer encompasses the same tendencies I’ve noticed in our industry as well. “An ideal public education system would not be focused on making the most productive workers possible and dehumanizing them. Success should not mean how much you can contribute to the ruling class but what you can achieve for yourself and your fellow workers.”
Isaac Stets, Roosevelt High School Senior

https://www.leftvoice.org/16-year-old-minneapolis-high-school-student-speaks-out-in-support-of-a-teachers-strike/

In order to have any change, we need a vision of what our ideal state or system would be. For the people like me who chose to pursue a career in esthetics, the education system as far upstream as our middle and high school can be better connecting students with their passions. If education occurs from learning from your mistakes, then it’s usually in the safety of institutional education that we learn those lessons best. Without a robust and holistic education system that centers both self and community actualization, it’s only natural that the monotony of the current education system deters some of our neighbors with the greatest potential. Lowering financial, geographical, and racial barriers to entry into esthetics should also be deeply woven into the way an education system could be changed for the better.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

in 2011, I graduated from the Aveda Institute Minneapolis Esthetics Program. This was the first higher education program I was able to fully commit to and complete at the first attempt. I was so excited and confident in my abilities that I started Sapphire Spa the same year I graduated. This again required me to balance two jobs to maintain my independence, meaning that most days would start at the laser clinic and finish at my clients’ homes where I was offering in-home lash extensions. I loved the service and look of lash extensions when I first came across them in California, and that interest gave me the confidence that someday Sapphire Spa would be my full time focus. Nowadays, we’ve developed into a specialty medi-spa that primarily focuses on lash extensions and results driven skin services. I love seeing our reviews pop up on google and elsewhere that remind my Beauty Coaches and I of how appreciative all our clients are of our ambiance and attention to detail.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Mostly attributed to the other entrepreneurs in my family, I was determined to start a mobile custom lash extension business before I was even finished with my training in esthetics at Aveda Institute Minneapolis. Within the same year of graduating, I was already taking clients with my newly formed business, Sapphire Spa. Granted, it wasn’t going to pay 100% of my bills from the very first year, so for the first two and a half years I was also working full time at a laser clinic and Massage Retreat doing massage and esthetics. Over that first couple years, I carved out my niche with the luxury of offering an in-home service that brought in very loyal clients. It was only a matter of time before I took Sapphire Spa off the road and signed my first single room suite lease in Chanhassen in 2017. From there, I experimented with a few similar salon suite services before growing into our first dedicated commercial location in Minnetonka where we still are today. Our current location has three private service rooms ranging from permanent makeup to laser hair reduction and of course, lashes. Growth has been spectacular and into the next few years I anticipate that Sapphire will continue to offer services, consulting, and even begin offering our own esthetics training courses! Be on the lookout, or signup for our mailing list at sapphiremn.com.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Without a doubt, I feel that my consistency has been the key factor in how steadily we’ve grown our clientele at Sapphire Spa. Interestingly enough, if you look up our google reviews you’ll see that reviews from as far back as 4 years ago rave about my attention to detail, results, and care we put into every experience a client has in our spa.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sapphiremn.com
• Instagram: @sapphirespa
• Facebook: @sapphirespaservices

Image Credits
main headshot by Hannah Herrig with Peel Design Co.