Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shannon Fox. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shannon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

At this time I manage my own social media accounts to keep business expenses down. (Both personal and business accounts). Although social media can be very time consuming and exhausting to stay consistent with I also find it to be therapeutic for me in the creative space. I love content creation- whether it’s for my business or personal blog. Social media has allowed me to share what I love doing with so many other people who I might not otherwise ever come across. Working as an Esthetician and running my own skincare studio in California is a very visual process. People want to see what services look like, what kind of results are produced, what kinds of people are showing up as customers, and even want to see my face to know who’s behind the brand. I’m thankful for social media outlets because it does play a major part in generating customer interest and helps to drive foot traffic into my studio. Social media has also helped to bring more awareness to my newly published book on Amazon: “How to Get Clear Skin Without Breaking the Bank: Top 7 Skincare Secrets Revealed”.

I love being able to have full charge over what goes out on social media as it relates to my business because no one knows what I do better than me! I struggle handing that important task off to someone else whether it be a social media manager or company because as much as I may describe what I do or what I want to put out I don’t think anyone will ever do it as accurately as me. As the face behind the brand I am very hands-on and I know what my business represents more than anyone. I love to be able to share that in creative digital spaces.

Shannon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

From Pro Makeup Artist to Cosmetology school dropout, to print model turned pageant queen & brand ambassador, I’m now a proud California Licensed Esthetician, business owner & founder of Beauty and Skin Depot LLC, a skincare studio based in Orange County, CA, & a newly Published Author of my very first book “How to get Clear Skin Without Breaking the Bank: Top 7 Skincare Secrets Revealed” which is now available on Amazon! My skincare blog is also available to read for free at www.beautyandskindepot.com.

I started out in the beauty industry at just 18 years old launching a part time career as a freelance makeup artist in my mom’s kitchen! After building up my makeup artist portfolio in a few short years I started working as a makeup artist on TV/Film sets for commercials & short films, for magazines & catalog ads, and on model photoshoots for print & editorial projects.

My passion for skincare developed after working as a makeup artist for a couple years. I was doing makeup on so many different skin types for models and actors and I wanted to help them improve their skin. It seemed like the makeup I was doing and the photo editing was only doing so much for concealing flawed skin. Some of them had terrible skin! So I decided to enroll in cosmetology school because I wanted to be a “triple threat” by being able to do makeup, skincare, and hair. I thought it would get me better paying jobs in the beauty industry. Well after one month in cosmetology school I dropped out! I quickly discovered that hairstyling, coloring, and cutting was not my thing! So I did some research and found out about an Esthetician program focused only on skin and makeup. It was a perfect fit so I enrolled part-time and it was the best decision I ever made! I worked a full time corporate job while going to esthetician school five nights a week and also continued my side hustle of working as a part time makeup artist. I was so happy when I finished the esthetician program.

My first esthetician job after graduating was for a well-known massage chain. Although I wasn’t a fan of the that particular franchise I got some good experience from working on customers with multiple skin types of all ages, and I learned about new product lines and how the business ran. After a few months I left and accepted a position as an esthetician at a smaller private-owned spa. I had a lot more freedom to be creative with customized facial treatments there and had more personalized experiences with my clients compared to my first job. It was this spa that opened my mind up to the idea of running my own business one day. I didn’t have the money at the time to start my own business so I continued to work there part time. Although the pay was terrible the owners of the spa really helped me to further develop my skills as a new Esthetician.

After a few months there I decided take a break from the industry to rethink things because I didn’t know if I wanted to be an Esthetician anymore since I wasn’t making good money. I continued working my full time corporate job and after a 2 year break I jumped back into the skincare industry motivated to do my own thing. So I launched my business as a mobile esthetician. I took appointments at client’s homes, at my local clubhouse, and even on occasion at my small one bedroom apartment for family and friends at that time.

Just one year after launching my mobile business and while still working a full time corporate job I had saved enough money to rent out a small shared office space for my business. So I shutdown my mobile business and re-opened with an office location in Orange County, Ca which was transformed into a spa-like atmosphere. Three months after being in my new office space the pandemic hit and I had to close down for around 3 months. That was devastating because I had been building up such good momentum with a new business. I eventually re-opened and was fortunate to gain new clients throughout the rest of the year using various marketing strategies. Towards the end of 2021 I re-branded my business then relaunched with a new business name, new products, new services, a new look and with a better targeted goal. Today I am proud to represent my business “Beauty and Skin Depot”. It’s been a long road full of challenges, life experiences, growth, and ups & downs in business, but after being in the industry for almost a decade there’s no other place I’d rather be than within this industry where all my true passions and creativity come to life.

I absolutely love being an Esthetician and helping educate people from all walks of life on how to take better care of their skin at home. I love helping people solve skin concerns and reach skincare goals. We all know the saying “when we look good we feel good” and there’s no better feeling than seeing my client’s self esteem and confidence boosted from my help with professional skincare treatments, giving them guidance on improving their skincare habits, and from teaching them about better products and ingredients. I think what sets me apart from others in the industry is that I’m relatable. I can relate to my clients because I also struggled with my skin for many years so I know firsthand what those frustrations feel like. I also talk about that in my new book; “How to get Clear Skin Without Breaking the Bank: Top 7 Skincare Secrets Revealed” which is now available on Amazon! My skincare blog is also available to read for free at www.beautyandskindepot.com.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe that I’m always a work in progress, constantly learning, growing, and evolving, but I think staying consistent with marketing, showing up on social media, giving great customer service, being personable and relatable, and producing real life results for my clients has helped me tremendously in building my reputation. My brand means everything to me and I think people can see the genuineness, care, and my passion right away. I really believe in connecting with and following up with people and overtime I think people grow to really appreciate that.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I have always worked a full time corporate job while pursuing other endeavors whether they be side hustles, part time jobs, small gigs, or other investments. I have always been a big believer that having multiple streams of income is a necessity for surviving and thriving! Any businesses I have ever started have always been funded by me out of pocket from hard earned income from multiple jobs and savings. When I launch a business I go all in with everything I have. I don’t like accumulating debt so I typically pay for things out of pocket only when I can afford them on my income. That’s one of the reasons it typically takes me longer to advance in my business goals than maybe other small businesses.

In the early stages of launching my skincare business things like inventory, products, equipment, marketing, uniforms, etc. were all funded by me out of pocket with my full time job or side hustle income. As much as I am an advocate of leaving the 9-5 hustle to pursue your true goals and dreams I do believe that 9-5 job can help you financially launch your business (especially if doing it on your own with no spouse or business partner). I’ve definitely learned that you have to go much harder when operating your own business because ultimately you do all the sales and marketing (not an employer doing it for you) so you’ve got to go out and find your people!

Every year is a work in progress when getting creative on how to get more capital to continue to grow my business (without business debt). But eventually I may consider other avenues of capital to help my business scale.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beautyandskindepot.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/beautyandskindepot
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/beautyandskindepot
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@beautyandskindepot
• Other: Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@beautyandskindepot Google search profile: Beauty and Skin Depot (check our reviews)! Check out my skincare blog on my home website at www.beautyandskindepot.com (New blog posted every Monday)

Image Credits
Shannon Fox (Esthetician) Adrian Moore Sr. (Photographer A)