We were lucky to catch up with Lora Condon recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lora, appreciate you joining us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?
Most of the big cosmetic and skin care companies believe women are stupid and uneducated about how their skin works so they deserve to be taken advantage of and have their pocketbooks fleeced. That is why they keep coming out with ineffective products every season with some new miracle ingredient that does not deliver any result whatsoever. I disagree with this. Even though women are not educated about their skin and how it works, they deserve to be better educated and given products that are high quality, do no damage to their skin or body and deliver the results they promise. My philosophy is diametrically opposed to the industry standard. There are so many examples throughout history and currently, that prove my point. Most companies straight up lie for profit.
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 never thought I would be in the beauty industry. I started out working as a drug & alcohol counselor and thought I would be doing that forever. I always loved working with my hands but had no clue how to make money doing that. While working on my Master’s degree, I got a day job at a cosmetology school as the admissions director. One day the esthetics teacher needed a model so I volunteered for one of the students. Within seconds, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I stopped working on my Master’s and went to esthetics school. As I entered the industry, I noticed that all the products I was coming into contact with were all lies based on their ingredient list. They would claim some miracle ingredient but it was halfway down the list of ingredients which means it is not even active in the product. This led me to become known as The Beauty Buster, a beauty consumer advocate. It made me so angry that women believed whatever these companies and magazines told them. Women would spend $300 for a cream that was almost all petroleum jelly and magazines pushed it. Because most people are afraid to speak out, many people in the industry and tv took notice of me and my book Spa Wars – The Ugly Truth About the Beauty Industry. This also led me to being on Dr. Oz, Entertainment. Tonight, Cosmo and working with many celebrities. Clients really appreciate that I will not lie to them about what they can expect from the skin routine I give them in order to achieve their beauty goals.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
My first year in business, I worked so hard I almost had a breakdown. That first year also kept my business going for over ten years. I gave incredible service and quality of service. I didn’t need to do a ton of services, but the services I did, I did better and a little cheaper than the places around me. I believe in under-promise and over-deliver. People were shocked how great the quality was and so they told all of their friends. The referrals were my best advertising. My work is also seen on their face, so they could not hide it. I also catered to women who wanted classic beauty not too trendy so I was able to sustain my clientele throughout the years and not for a short time. The majority of women do not want a crazy beauty trend but basic beauty. I listened to them and gave them what they wanted, not what I wanted. I was always honest about what was or was not possible and I built up their self-esteem. Referrals are always the best!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Before opening my business, I had gone through a time where I completely changed my mindset from victim to victor. I was negative, didn’t think I could do it, had no clue how to run a business and always thought of how things would not work out instead of how they will work out. I brainwashed myself with Bob Proctor, Napoleon Hill, John Asaraff, T. Harv Eker and other successful people. It’s all in my mind. If you spend any amount of time with people in the military, they are professional mind jedi masters and I tried to model myself after them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thebeautybuster.com
- Instagram: @beautybuster
- Facebook: The Beauty Buster
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Thebeautybuster
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZljmhFnnJT3dNie6kWD78A