We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sandra Sanchez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sandra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
The biggest new trends that come out every year! let me explain, clients look in social media this new trends and everybody wants that, they don’t even know how much money we have to put in to education (for every new trend there is a a training process that cost money), money invested in new machines, the amount of consumables, disposables, safety materials, etc that we have to use in order to keep everyone safe to prevent any contagious skin disease to spread, all that is very expensive, plus in each state there is different rules and regulation that enforce you to get more and more licenses and separate permits, all that is more money, and if they decide to change those rules to pair them with other bills in legislation, some time then you’re no longer able to to certain services because then they are out of your scope of practice.
People are always looking to find the best deal, and that’s great, but when we have to invest so much in the things mention above we end up with low ROI.
I hear other aestheticians struggling because clients are jumping form place to place to take advantage of the first time client discounts and then you don’t see them any more!
Example: When I went back to school to get my medical aesthetician degree, I was so excited because I was going to get a bachelors degree with it and they state decide to change that, that was a bummer also the state decide to cut the curriculum and make a separate curse for electrolysis and laser, and now I have to add another $10.000 to my debt if I want to do any of those modalities, then they change the way micro-needleling was categorized, and for all that you have to get new licenses too!
The funny part is that the department that regulates this they don’t even have that clear so have to get more licenses to be on the safe side and be cover.
Also when we talk about new trends all the devices that we have to buy are really expensive, and you can’t use any other thing (consumables) other than what they sell to you, that makes it more expensive, and before you realized the industry come up with the new model 3000 wich is the new trend and we go all over again to this cycle!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
OK, I study cosmetology first, because I always like the beauty industry, I was always doing hair do”s, hair cuts, make up etc to my friends and their kids, so that’s why I decided to study that! Then I move to Fl and decided that I wanted something more relaxed and fun with in my scope of practice, so I decided to go the waxing route. While doing that I realized that I wanted to work more in depth with skin, that’s why I decide to take the Medical Aesthetician Curse, I kept working with the company I started doing waxing while I took the classes, but I knew that I needed to go somewhere else, because in this company it was a waxing center only so I wound’t be able to do any of the thing I was learning at school, but I was also in the process of buying my first house, so I still needed to be there for that reason: I got the house then COVID happened so I could venture to do anything else at this point it was better just to stay there since that was already set and running anyways, and After 6 year of working with this company I decided that it was time for me to go solo ans start this adventure!
I like to have a respectful, friendly professional bond with my clients, due to the the nature of my work I have my client in a very vulnerable situation, and i like to make them feel safe, supported, understood, appreciated, etc! I see my clients every month and we share our stories and most of the time THEY say that they await every month’s appointment because is for some there only self care time that includes a good laugh, therapy session. I think that’s what I like the most because I am able to help them with their beauty needs but also with a good talk that sends them home happier than when they walk in! you have to think that I see them every month, sometimes I work with the whole family, and I see how their kids grow, they become part of my family in a way!
I am very attentive to detail, and I like doing a thorough job every time, my studio is a very clean relaxing and serene place, like I said for some people this is the only self care expense, and I will give then the best service I possibly can, because every one deserves to have that self care/love experience.
My brand as the name says on it Relax Wax Rejuvenate I want people to know that even waxing can be relaxing, and that here is a place were you can relax, feeling welcome a and pampered ll the time
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I think that every one’s history is different and maybe for some my struggles are not that big or vice versa! But fortunately my own clients, are so nice to remind me that I am resilient even when I don’t even realize that! Unfortunately when I started working on the waxing center I was getting divorce, and that was obviously an eye opener in terms of all the things I needed to do on my own, or all the things I needed to learn since now it was my own solo decisions, just that was a very scary place because I use to be only a wife and a mom, and now I was my own person that have to make decision and own the consequences of those decision good or bad. Now you have to understand that I got married when I was 19, so my whole adult life was guided by the trust I put in my ex-husband, and that made my life easy because I was not responsible for me I guess, plus I am from Mexico, and I am 44 so I was raised in a conservative society, so you can imagine all the personal stigmas I have to face, and having teen age kids when that happen didn’t made it easier! So anyways I decided that I needed to better my self with more education and a house and now a business! and while all that was happening all my beautiful clients always have encouraging words and they always point out to me all my accomplishments, also a coworker once said I Sandra says I am going to do X she will! She always does! and all that made me realized that I was indeed resilient!
Most of my family is in Mexico and been here without them to support you emotionally morally even physically is really hard, I can’t say that I fully understand all the immigrants that come and are not able to go visit their love ones because I am very fortunate to be able to go an visit not as often as I want to but I can, but that is something that makes you resilient in some ways.
As an immigrant having to almost start all over again in another culture and in another language, is hard. I had to fight my fear of not been able to understand all the time, I had to go to classes to learn the language because when we move to US as family, I saw in my kids’ school how the other kids translated to their parent all that the teacher needed to say to them, and that made me realized that I needed to learn the language so I did’t put my kids in that position and that is resilience but I didn’t know that, I learn the value of volunteering in their schools, that was another thing that help me integrate to the community but for that you need to be brave and do it! and every time we move inside the US it was starting all over again, that I guess helped me prepare for the new stage of my life as a divorced woman (don’t forget about my conservative background) cause right now this could sound like, in which century is this lady living in? hahahaha and now as a business owner having to understand legal documents, while I am still leaning the language, been liable for any mal-practice etc, is very scary but that is where your resilience keep you moving forward.
Also be your own boss, and your own employee, and your by yourself all day long can be a hard thing to deal with when you start a business, is a very lonely journey, for a person that struggle with depression some days are very hard to keep your self motivated, because your are building something from the ground and is not like all the previous clients I had all follow me, some did some didn”t and there is going to be long days with long hours and you get cero appoinments and you have to keep cheering your self up as much as possible, because is once again another new start.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
when I started working with the waxing center (my previous job) everything was new, we were not recognized at all because it was a new franchise, but they did not pay for any publicity in radio or TV like other companies. So I focused in ask all the new clients that come to give me a review, on yelp, google, etc. I was the only aesthetician that did that and sure enough, people started reading my reviews and that how I gain a huge clientele.
Now I am doing the same because people go online to find everything, that is the new word of mouth referral whether you like it or not!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: relaxwaxrejuvenate
- Linkedin: Sandra Sanchez
- Yelp: Relax Wax Rejuvenate
- Other: relaxwaxrejuvenate.booksy.com