We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Pierre-Louis recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Well, the manner I started my business didn’t come from 100% a positive place. It arose from comparing myself to others and overthinking about my future. Although overthinking isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it did contribute to many of my anxieties. On the other hand, I’m glad it did because it helped me get to where I am now. When I was in undergrad, I made comparisons to all of my childhood friends. I used to wonder why I was still in school after getting up every day at 7 AM to go to track practice, follow that with class, work, and then go to bed and repeat the process. I was striving to not worry from anxiousness from racing at track meets or worrying about what I’m going to eat for supper and simply trying to make ends meet, while looking at others and seeing them traveling all over the world, living what I thought was luxury. Then, I was looking for a means to become like them by traveling, purchasing anything, and eating whenever. I was comparing myself to other people without realizing that I was working just as hard because I was thousands of miles from home, from Miami, Florida, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, didn’t know anyone at my university, worked three jobs on campus, and had to get up every day at seven in the morning to train. Since I believe in having various sources of income, but I also wanted to do it in a way that empowered others, I made the decision to consider other potential sources of earnings outside of the traditional academic setting. although I never minded and still don’t mind working a 9 to 5. I wanted to see what it would be like to be an entrepreneur. People, especially women, feel so insecure because they don’t know how to take care of their skin conditions including hyperpigmentation, ingrown hairs, PCOS, and dark spots. I know how it feels because I’ve experienced some of those issues. Consequently, I made the decision to work in the beauty sector in order to encourage people to walk about with confidence by helping them feel good about themselves. I did research I went to esthetician school and now I’m in Orlando obtaining my masters degree while being the owner of Rays esthetics.
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 am a 23-year-old Haitian American striving to make it in life by encouraging and educating others about their skin. I knew I wanted to help people feel secure in their skin, but I didn’t know how because I was still trying to create my own path in life. I knew I had a passion for skin and treating it, so I chose to become an Esthetician. I wanted to provide services that allow individuals, particularly women, to feel comfortable in their own body. I wanted people to know that I was there for them in their most vulnerable times, whether they were wearing a swimsuit, working out, or even at home. The amount of people who go through skin issue without the proper education on their skin is massive and I want to be the one to lessen the statistics. After attending Esthetician school and learning more about the skin, Fitzpatrick skin types, and the various ways the skin may be damaged, I understood that I needed to conduct more research, but it had to be genuine in order for me to learn hands on. I subsequently began performing facials and waxing and concluded that this is what I wanted to do. I would now consider myself an expert in my profession, with plenty of opportunity for growth. What makes me the most proud is having people of all gender tell me I changed their confidence level. That truly means the world to me because that’s the main thing I want to do.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
Being that I am in school for my masters degree, financial deadlines are pivotal At one point, I became extremely overwhelmed with paying rent for my suite, paying school dues, and paying for all other everyday necessities and I accidentally forgot to pay for rent without telling the owner and I was extremely flustered and scared but she completely understood :)
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
After the appointment I follow up with each client to see how their doing and if they have any questions about their appointment. I also have new client deals so clients can test out my business and my services without paying full prices and I also have loyalty cards for clients that choose to support my brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: raysesthetics.glossgenius.com
- Instagram: Raysesthetics
- Other: Tiktok: Raysesthetics01