We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Zamora recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
My parents set the bar pretty high in my eyes. Though we were never rich, they made sure we never went without. My father put himself through school while working multiple jobs just to make sure he could give our family a good life—& he did. I always admired how selfless he was when it came to providing.
My mom is the rose that grew from concrete. She didn’t have the easiest childhood, but it made her unstoppable & an incredible mother. She taught me through her actions to never give up & to always show up. I learned tenacity and grit from both of them. Thanks mom & dad!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Yes! My name is Sarah, I’m a licensed aesthetician & owner of Bamboo Aesthetics+. I’ve been in this industry professionally for five years and a business owner for a few months. I became an aesthetician for a couple of reasons, but the most important one was to help people while doing some thing that doesn’t feel like work.
My first job outside of aesthetics school was working for celebrity aesthetician, Renée Rouleau. I never would have expected that type of experience! It was a very glamorous job at times, but I knew I needed something a little bit different. I wanted to be more hands-on and build relationships with people. So, I moved on from there and started leaning into my potential.
From then on, I said yes to a lot of things—scary, intimidating things. For example, I said yes to being a speaker at a conference (hello stage freight and zero public speaking experience), yes to being a make up artist for a television series (this was my first paid MUA gig… like, ever), yes to teaching skin care classes and I ran a spa for a couple of years. I kept trying these intimidating things, which ultimately led me to business ownership. It has truly been one of the best decisions of my life (outside of motherhood)! The creative and professional freedom I have has allowed me to be the best version of myself both personally and professionally.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There are two major lessons that I had to unlearn. The first one was that my value depended on my ability to perform. I feel like generationally, I bought into the idea that if I just work as hard as I possibly could, I would be respected and rewarded somehow. That is such toxic thinking though. I’ve learned that my value has nothing to do with other peoples opinions. In my 30s, I am barely learning how to work smarter, not harder.
The second lesson that I had to unlearn was that there is a time limit to success. It’s easy for us to compare our lives to others’ and feel like all of our efforts have been for nothing or don’t amount to anything because we like to compare ourselves to everyone else. I had to really dig deep and understand that my story, my process, and my resilience happened at the right time. I’ve learned to like the time it’s taken for me to get here and the hardships that I’ve had to endure. There really is no time limit to when you’ll feel successful. Success also looks completely different to everyone, so I would say to anyone reading this, do not kill your own joy by watching what other people are doing. They’re not you. Just keep moving forward & don’t give up.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I’d like to think that my authenticity, honesty and years of experience are what attracts people to me. I’m very professional, but I’m also your best friend too. Every treatment starts off with a quick recap of what we’re doing skin care wise, then I give a skin analysis and then I get into the human connection. I pay attention to the small details. When someone enters my treatment room, I try to sense their energy. I also ask lots of questions—do you need silence today? Want a glass of wine after? Okay so how was your date with that guy from hinge?! Connecting and anticipating peoples’ needs it something I absolutely love doing. I love being a safe space for people.
Contact Info:
- Website: sarahzamora.glossgenius.com
- Instagram: @bambooaesthetics_plus, @selfcarexsarah
- Facebook: facebook.com/selfcarexsarah
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCe69KdniDvwsB1aX9tVwfMA
Image Credits
Sidney Joseph and Tamara Atwood