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

Alright, Valorie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

One story that really sticks out to me is with a client that has been with me since the beginning of me opening up my own Esthetician business. We’ll call her Sarah. Sarah had come to me in the very beginning of my business because she had never had a facial before and really just wanted to see what all the hype was about and at the time I was running promotions so I could get my name out there which meant all of my services were discounted. It was a win for both of us.

With all of my first time clients I will always do a client consultation to get to know them and their skin better. For Sarah, her main concern was the hyperpigmentation on her skin, dullness, and dryness. She just needed a really good pick-me-up facial to get her to feel refreshed and relaxed. With the little products that I had at the time I performed a simple facial on her and gave her the results of looking a lot more hydrated and bright. Although her hyperpigmentation from old scarring was still visible I let her know that if she were to keep up with consistent facials, change her home routine (which I provided) and look into more advanced services, like chemical peels that I offered, she would be able to achieve her skin goals over time.

From that day I have been seeing her consistently for 2+ years. She comes to me for regular facials (roughly every 2 months) and she has now reached her skin goals that she first desired! She has been with me from the beginning, literally day one, and I have been with her every step of the way. I began to offer more advanced services which fast-tracked us to reaching her skin goals in a shorter time frame. Sarah was new to skin care when I first met her and now when she comes to see me were back to the same simple facial that I started with but this time its just for maintenance. The scarring is cleared up, her skin it always hydrated, and she has a routine that works for her busy schedule to keep everything balanced in her life. She has trusted me with pretty much her entire self. She has done multiple services with me from full body waxing, eyebrows and even lash services.

For me, clients like this will always have a special place in my heart. I have been able to bring out so much confidence in them while also educating them on everything skincare that they’ll be able to keep with them for life. When my knowledge expands so does theirs. Shopping for products is much easier for them now that they know exactly what their skin needs. I will always give my clients the honest truth and be realistic with them when it comes to their expectations of their skin goals and because of that I have such a high client retention rate.

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 back background and context?

My name is Valorie and I am a Licensed Esthetician owning and operating Skin Haus By Val in the city of Chino, CA. I began my interest in this industry back in 2019. I was working different office jobs and none of them really brought me any joy. Something about sitting behind a desk was not appealing to me and I had my son in 2015 so being away from him and missing all of those “firsts” when he was a baby really got to me over the years. I wanted a career that was going to allow me to work flexible hours and/or create my own hours. I googled for days how I could achieve that and I came across Salon Success Beauty Academy. I didn’t know much about being an Esthetician and I only had a facial once in my life when I was 14. I decided to take a tour of the school and get some more information. I learned that it was going to be demanding of my time and I needed a different job that was going to allow me to work evenings when I got out of class, which meant even more time away from my son. The program was 4.5-5 months and I just reminded myself that it was going to be a small sacrifice for a huge reward. So I signed the paper and I enrolled in school. During school is when I really fell in love with Esthetics. To me it was like magic what you could do for skin and I knew that I made the right choice.

I was set to graduate April 12th of 2020 and you know what’s coming next…Covid. They shut the school down March 18th and during the pandemic they allowed us to finish our hours online. In July they opened the school back up, I took my final and I finally graduated. August of 2020 I opened up my own spot in Phenix Salon Suites in Chino, CA. I had no idea how this was going to turn out so I prepared myself to shut down after the 2 months if it was not profitable and work on a plan B. October 2020 is when everything changed and I was booked everyday that entire month and from there the rest is history. In August of 2021 I moved my business to where it is currently inside of The Bronzed Beauty Bar in Chino, CA and I am fully booked with a consistent client base.

I currently offer advanced facials, full body waxing, brow laminations, brow tinting, lash lifts and ear piercings. My business has come a long way since offering simple 30 minute facials. I help clients with all concerns such as acne, hyperpigmentation, acne scarring, and hydration concerns. The goal that I have for all of my clients is to have HEALTHY skin and not perfect skin. I want them to be able to walk outside with no make up and feel beautiful. I really believe the one thing that sets me apart from others in this industry is that I am really myself at all times. My clients will come in and sometimes I step into the role of their unpaid, unlicensed therapist. They come to me and know they can vent and unload whatever it is on their mind and I’ll be here judgment free and leave my space feeling so much more relaxed. I am the Esthetician that you can come to and we can talk about anything and everything and my space is a vault. Nothing leaves that room. I am also realistic with my clients in regards to how achievable their skin goals are. My services are an investment but it is an investment that everyone deserves. I give my clients as much knowledge as I can so that they can treat themselves at home even if they aren’t able to come in so often.

I pride myself in the business that I have created and the space that I have created. I want future clients to know that I am with them every step of the way and I want the same things that they want. Each client is different and everyone’s skin is different. What works for someone else might not work for them but that’s what I am here for. I am here to guide them and assist them along the way to healthy skin.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I would like to start off by saying that social media is still really confusing to me. What I did in the beginning was just consistently post everything I was doing for that day and sort of give a behind the scenes look in my stories. This was showing clients what they can expect when getting a facial with me and show the relaxing environment. I would also engage with clients. They would follow me, I would follow back, and anything great that happened in their life or anything that they were excited about I would also congratulate them.

My only advice would be to just be consistent and to be yourself. Don’t get lost in the hype of becoming an influencer. Just post what you want to post and make it fun and educational for potential clients.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Honestly the best source of new clients comes from referrals. I have a ton of clients that find me from Facebook groups of people needing to find an Esthetician in the area. I’m not even on Facebook so I can’t see whats being said but a lot of my clients have found me from there. Referrals are always going to be the best way in my opinion. If I am asking my best friend who does her facials and she swears by her Esthetician I’m probably going to check them out because I trust my best friend and her skin is always looking great.

Contact Info:

• Website: grouper-walrus-pnwt.squarespace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skinhaus.byval/?hl=en