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

Lily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I can say without a doubt, I am so happy as a business owner. I’ve always prioritized freedom and that’s what my business offers me.

During hard times growing my business doubt could creep in from time to time. Understanding that you’re human and everyone has those feelings is crucial to owning a business. Knowing it’s part of the process, part of being human, but not actually accurate.

The first couple years of my business I thought a handful of times, that doing a regular job would be so much easier. Something about the clock in, clock out, get a paycheck and not having to do my own taxes, felt way better than solving the current crisis that felt like it could ruin my life at the time.

I would even entertain job searching and one time I submitted a couple applications. When I got asked to come in for an interview for one my gut turned. I knew it wasn’t right. I never went to that interview and I never applied for another job again.

The bottom line for me was, if I had made it that far, obtained that many clients, paid my bills up to that point, who’s to say I couldn’t keep going. And even further, actually become successful doing it.

Not everyone is a business owner, and that’s ok. I think for me I always enjoyed knowing it was all on my shoulders. There will never be a day I’m laid off, or losing my job in any way. There’s no one to be mad at, other than myself, when something goes wrong. There’s no one else cutting my checks, and more importantly, there’s no one deciding my worth outside of me.

I enjoy making my own schedule, I enjoy my client relationships, I enjoy the sky being the limit to my success and financial achievements. I enjoy the freedom that comes with knowing I’ll show up for myself every single day.

Sure owning a business is hard, there’s a lot to figure out, there’s a lot of long days and it’s usually always taken home at the end of the night. But my god it’s so rewarding, it’s so fulfilling and it can offer you the world if you go after it.

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’m a solo Esthetician and Nutrition Coach specializing in acne and inflammatory conditions of the skin. I own a skin studio in Fort Collins, CO. I also provide online courses for clients as well as furthered education for Estheticians. Social media is another piece to my business, offering others to follow along on my journey.

I found skincare and beauty to fuel my soul from a young age. During my own battles with acne I dove into the world of holistic healing, along with my Esthetician license. I found a whole world to be discovered, and through healing my own skin and educating myself on the mind, body and souls connection to skin, I’m now able to help others find their way to clear skin too.

I preach a healthy lifestyle, balance and homeostasis within the body. I’m not your typical Esthetician putting you on a 10 step regimen, but I am going to dive into your health and wellness and find the building blocks to bridge the gap from inflamed, red, irritated, acne prone skin to healed, balanced, glowing skin.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the first couple years of being an Esthetician I worked for a large spa. We took in the general public and offered a wide variety of facial options.

I enjoyed working at this spa and even became the lead Esthetician. But after a couple years there I found myself feeling really pressured to sell, unable to niche down in what I offered my clients and restricted to specific guidelines.

This is when I decided to go off on my own and build my own business. It was by far the scariest thing I’ve done and the path was, in no way, linear.

But by doing so I was able to fully embrace my unique approach to skincare and esthetics as a whole. I was able to step away from the ”sales” mentality and more into a space of helping everyone I possibly could.

I knew working for someone else would only ever continue to put walls around what I offered my clients and how I could offer it. Becoming an independent Esthetician fed the unique parts of my soul and gave me the ultimate freedom in my career.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Ironically, I built my business during the shut downs from COVID. I used my stimulus checks to fund my business in the beginning and, do to the current state of the world, found an extremely low rent space. It was extremely scary to be funneling in all the money I would possibly need to survive, into a new business that had no clientele yet, although my trust in myself was unmatched.

Everything was shut down and I had no knowing when I could even begin working, but by the time shut downs started to let up I had a fully functioning spa room. I lived off of my savings and, due to a relationship at the time, I had a good living situation help keep me up and moving forward.

I was broke, so damn broke, but I made it work and I’m a firm believer everything happens for a reason. Those stimulus checks offered me so much and really gave me the opportunity to build my spa room from the ground up. During that time, due to the shut downs, I also had a lot of time. And if you’ve started a business, you know how much time it takes. So, I also got pretty blessed in that area too, being able to fully dive into my new business head first.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lilysesthetics.com
• Instagram: @lilysdye

Image Credits
Sweet Justice Photography