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

Tara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I feel like I have a little bit of a unique story! I was in school to be an esthetician, set to graduate, and then covid shut my school down literally 1 day before graduation! I ended up graduating over the phone the next day. But with it being the first shut down and lots of uncertainty, I knew that no one was hiring let alone even open for business! In the last few weeks of school we had a bit of downtime, and I had been using that time to create kind of a mock business outline or even a “mood board” if you can call it that. It was never super serious, meaning I didn’t think it would happen as soon as it did. It was actually jokingly named after my dog, Blue, who I’m obsessed with. I came up with a service menu, made a google doc with links to tools, supplies, machines, products, etc. I would need (I love to shop so this was honestly a casual occurrence for me), and sketched out in my notes app how I would set a studio up. So when I realized I wasn’t getting a job anytime soon, or even leaving the house, it clicked that I had an entire business plan in my hands, all I had to do was enact it. So I started slowly purchasing everything I had written out, putting my studio together little by little, and one day it was ready to open! Sanitation is strict with any esthetic service and I’m only able to see 1 client at a time, so once things started opening back up I was a clean, safe place to relax. 4 years later, I’m forever thankful that I made the decision to create The Blue Room. I have the best job in the world and the best clients in the world. I think that as stressful as owning a business can be, the creative freedom I feel from coming up with all of my own protocols, my flow of treatment, customer service, and social media is so rewarding and something I wouldn’t be able to experience if I had worked for someone else.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Tara Kurowski, I just turned 26 years old, and I’m a licensed esthetician/owner of The Blue Room Face & Body! I graduated from esthetics school in 2020, and have been open for business almost 4 years now! I vividly remember back when I was in high school, I felt really lost when it came to picking a career path. All of my friends were applying to colleges with very set in stone life plans, and I really just didn’t know what I wanted to do, let alone who I was yet. I had a lot of interests, but none of them were really achievable through traditional education. Flash forward to 20, I had developed really confidence shattering adult acne. It came out of seemingly no where and I kind of threw everything at the wall to try and fix it. (I look back now and cringe at the things I did). I got more into researching products and ingredients and suddenly realized I could actually go to school for skin. I knew of a few girls who went to esthetics school, and enrolled to learn more about skincare! I had never even had a facial at that point, my first was actually in school. I fell in love with doing facial treatments on others and seriously, finally found my passion. I cleared my own acne using the brand I have in my studio now, Skin Script, and now I feel so much more confident and capable to do the same for others. I understand the emotional toll adult acne can have. It can really break your self confidence and identity, even though it doesn’t define you, it really can feel like it does. I’m so proud that I found a profession I’m absolutely obsessed with, and that I can really help give my clients their confidence back whether it comes to acne, aging, or any skin concern.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is such a helpful tool for growing a business, but it can also be overwhelming and exhausting. It’s normal to be really excited in the beginning and full of inspiration, but as time goes on I think it can be easy to resent it when it starts feeling like a second job that you didn’t initially sign up for, or frustrating when it’s not reaching your intended audience. As someone who didn’t really use Instagram prior to owning a business, it was a whole new world for me. I entered “skinstagram” as I like to call it, the skincare world of Instagram, I wanted to be on there all the time seeing all of the new things I could learn and implement onto my own page. But when others have been around longer than you, it can feel to them like you’re stepping on their toes when you’re just learning the ropes of what’s “normal” to post. My biggest piece of advice with Instagram is 1, there are technically no truly original ideas. Even if you thought of it, there’s probably someone out there who’s done it already. Give credit where credit is due, but don’t let larger creators dictate what you can and can’t post. 2, post what makes you happy and excited, and what you would like to see. Info Graphics were super popular when I entered the space, and it was kind of boring to me. So I branched out and started focusing on taking aesthetic photos of products. I made my page more of an art portfolio vs teaching skin info. That really set me apart and gained me most of my following. Between that and my service before and afters, other estheticians started flocking to my page and became my market. I have now pivoted more to marketing to clients vs other estheticians, but I try to keep a good balance of repostable content to bring in more engagement! And 3, create real relationships. Find others in your industry who inspire you and will build you up whether that’s a mentor or a friend. Engage with each others content, collab when you can, and also support those local to you! You aren’t in competition with anyone, even if they’re down the street. Everyone is allowed to win and succeed.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

One of my favorite ways to get new clients is referrals. There’s nothing better than a client being so excited to come see you because their friend loved their results! It can be difficult to find a new service provider, whether it’s hair, nails, waxing, etc. Trusting a stranger with your face or body can be intimidating. I love when my clients brag about their results, or their friends ask if they’ve had work done because they look so good! Another way I’ve gotten a lot of clients is actually through Google maps. When clients in my neighborhood see a spa in close proximity, they want to check it out! Who doesn’t love a short commute? I have had lots of clients from my own communication and neighborhood come to my studio which is amazing. And lastly, Instagram. I know when I’m looking for something like new tattoos, I always look up hashtags like #atxtattoo. I try to use hashtags specific to my area so anyone searching for a facial can see my work pop up!

Contact Info:

• Website: Theblueroomatx.com
• Instagram: Theblueroomatx
• Other: Patreon.com/theblueroomatx (training for other estheticians)