Ep 308 – Busting Financial Myths in the Beauty Industry

Summary

ASCP Esty Talk: Episode 308 – Busting Financial Myths in the Beauty Industry

Released on March 5, 2025 by Associated Skin Care Professionals (ASCP)

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Introduction

In Episode 308 of ASCP Esty Talk, hosts Maggie Stasik and Ella Cressman delve into the pervasive financial myths that often mislead estheticians in the beauty industry. Through an engaging "Myth or Fact" game, they dissect common misconceptions, providing insightful perspectives and actionable advice to empower beauty professionals in managing their finances effectively.

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Myth 1: Working Long Hours Equals Higher Earnings

• Claim: To make more money in the beauty industry, you have to work long hours, hustle constantly, and take every client you can get.

• Verdict: Myth (02:44)

• Discussion: Maggie initiates the segment by challenging the notion that relentless grinding leads to increased income. Ella concurs, emphasizing that many seasoned professionals still fall for this misconception. Ella shares, “It’s like a hamster wheel sometimes… It’s quantity over quality” (03:06). They advocate for working smarter by raising rates, offering premium services, and optimizing business operations to enhance profitability without the risk of burnout.

• Key Insights:

  • Quality Over Quantity: Focusing on delivering high-quality services can attract loyal clients willing to pay premium prices.
  • Efficiency: Streamlining operations and adopting effective business strategies can lead to better financial outcomes without extended work hours.
  • Work-Life Balance: Setting boundaries is crucial for long-term sustainability and personal well-being.

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Myth 2: Only High-End Expensive Skincare Products Deliver Real Results

• Claim: Only high-end, expensive skincare products can deliver real results for your clients.

• Verdict: Myth (04:31)

• Discussion: Maggie, initially uncertain due to personal bias, concedes that the belief is a myth after Ella elaborates. Ella explains, “It’s not about how much the products cost, but how well they work” (04:39). She highlights that many affordable lines offer quality and effective results comparable to their pricier counterparts. The emphasis should be on ingredient efficacy rather than brand prestige or price points.

• Key Insights:

  • Ingredient Efficacy: Prioritize products with proven, effective ingredients over those with high price tags.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: Affordable products can provide similar outcomes, allowing estheticians to maintain quality while managing costs.
  • Selective Product Range: There's no necessity to carry an extensive product line; focus on what works best for your clientele.

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Myth 3: Raising Your Rates Will Turn Clients Away

• Claim: Beauty services are just a luxury, and raising your rates will turn clients away from non-essential services.

• Verdict: Fact (06:22)

• Discussion: Contrary to Maggie's initial skepticism, Ella confirms that raising rates is indeed a valid strategy for improving profitability. Ella admits, “When I've raised my rates, it's scary” (06:30), but emphasizes that clients who value quality are willing to accept price increases. Maggie adds that increasing rates can enhance the perception of value, attracting clients who appreciate and are ready to invest in quality services.

• Key Insights:

  • Perceived Value: Higher rates can signal enhanced quality and expertise, attracting a more discerning clientele.
  • Client Loyalty: Existing loyal clients are more likely to accept price increases, while those seeking lower prices may naturally fall away.
  • Target Market: Understanding and targeting the right clientele ensures that rate adjustments align with client expectations and willingness to pay.

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Myth 4: A Strong Social Media Presence Guarantees Immediate Growth

• Claim: If you have a solid social media presence, your beauty business will immediately gain a huge following and clientele.

• Verdict: Myth (09:05)

• Discussion: Ella categorizes this belief as a myth, noting that while social media can be beneficial, it doesn't guarantee instant success. She shares her personal experience of limited engagement despite an online presence. Maggie concurs, explaining that building a loyal and engaged social media following requires consistency, authenticity, and sustained effort, which cannot replace foundational business strategies.

• Key Insights:

  • Engagement Over Followers: Quality interactions and genuine connections on social media are more valuable than sheer follower counts.
  • Consistency and Authenticity: Regular, authentic content fosters trust and loyalty among potential clients.
  • Holistic Marketing: Social media should complement, not replace, other marketing and business development efforts.

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Myth 5: Being Fully Booked Every Day Means You're Making Good Money

• Claim: If you're fully booked every day, it means you're making good money.

• Verdict: Myth (10:33)

• Discussion: Maggie and Ella dismantle this notion by highlighting the importance of understanding business finances. Ella explains, “Are you performing services that have the best ROI?” (10:34). They discuss the significance of evaluating whether high client volume translates to profitability, considering factors like service costs, time investment, and overheads.

• Key Insights:

  • Profitability Assessment: It's crucial to analyze whether each service contributes positively to the bottom line.
  • Service Optimization: Focus on high-ROI services to maximize earnings without overextending resources.
  • Financial Literacy: Estheticians need to grasp financial metrics to make informed business decisions.

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Myth 6: Competing with Large Spas is Necessary for Survival

• Claim: As a solo esthetician or small spa owner, you need to compete with the big guys to survive.

• Verdict: Myth (12:50)

• Discussion: Ella firmly rejects this belief, emphasizing the unique advantages of being a solo practitioner. She compares solo estheticians to specialty stores versus department stores, suggesting that niche businesses can thrive by offering personalized and flexible services that large spas cannot match. Maggie agrees, highlighting the opportunity for customization and differentiation as key strengths of smaller operations.

• Key Insights:

  • Niche Positioning: Specializing allows solo estheticians to cater to specific client needs and preferences.
  • Flexibility: Small businesses can adapt more readily to client demands and market changes.
  • Unique Selling Proposition: Differentiating through personalized services attracts clients seeking tailored experiences.

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Conclusion

Throughout Episode 308, Maggie and Ella provide a comprehensive examination of common financial myths in the beauty industry, debunking misconceptions and offering strategic advice to foster financial health and business growth. Their candid discussions underscore the importance of informed decision-making, financial literacy, and leveraging unique strengths to thrive in a competitive market.

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Notable Quotes

• Ella Cressman (03:06): “It’s like a hamster wheel sometimes… It’s quantity over quality.”

• Ella Cressman (04:39): “It’s not about how much the products cost, but how well they work.”

• Ella Cressman (06:30): “When I've raised my rates, it's scary.”

• Ella Cressman (10:34): “Are you performing services that have the best ROI?”

• Ella Cressman (12:50): “That is a big old myth.”

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Connect with ASCP Esty Talk

Have financial myths or anxieties holding you back? Share your experiences on Instagram, Facebook, or email getconnectedscpskincare.com. For more insights and updates, visit the ASCP website or check out the show notes for additional resources.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Maggie Stasik]

Hello and welcome to ASCP's SD Talk. I'm your co host Maggie Stasik and ASCP's program director.

[Ella Cressman]

And I'm Ella Cressman, licensed esthetician and content contributor for Associ Skincare Professionals.

[Maggie Stasik]

Ella, I am really excited for today's episode because we're about to dive into some of the biggest financial myths in the beauty industry. There's so much misinformation out there, and I'm sure we've both heard some of these myths and maybe even believed them ourselves at one point. So instead of just talking about them, how about we put them to the test? I thought it'd be fun to play a game called Myth or Fact where we'll throw out these common opinions or misconceptions about money in the beauty biz and see if they hold up or if it's just, well, a myth. So, ready to bust some myths with me?

[Ella Cressman]

Don't just stand there, bust some myths.

[Maggie Stasik]

Okay, so Myth or fact? If you want to make more money in the beauty industry, you have to work long hours, hustle constantly, and take every client you can get.

[Ella Cressman]

Myth.

[Maggie Stasik]

Myth. Yes. All right. The fact is, working smarter, not harder, is often the key to boosting your income. You can raise your rates, offer premium services, and build more efficient systems to make more money without burning out. But I will say, when I first started in the industry. I believed this myth.

[Ella Cressman]

I think a lot of people believe this myth. Especially just starting out and in even saying just starting out, I work with people daily and in the industry who are 20, 30 years in that still think this. My observation has been that it's just like a hamster wheel sometimes. Like you're just on a hamster wheel. Go, go, go, go, go, go. But it's quantity over quality.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. A hundred percent.

[Ella Cressman]

Yeah. I've seen like those who are the most successful are having quality working hours, not just racking up the number of hours. Does that make sense?

[Maggie Stasik]

Yes, totally. You gotta set boundaries, find that work life balance. Work smarter, not harder.

[Ella Cressman]

Yes. Also think about in, in that vein. If you're working more, if you're not working, let's just say you're taking time off or you're going on vacation, then you're not earning. So how can you make money in those times when you're not there? Because honestly, there is physical limitations. At some point we can duplicate ourselves. We can't duplicate ourselves. But how can we duplicate or triplicate our efforts would be key.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Ella Cressman]

Okay. Okay. Ready? I like this game. It's myth or fact. Only high end expensive skincare products can deliver real results for your clients. How about that one?

[Maggie Stasik]

That's a tricky one. And I'm going to say. I don't know, I'm biased here. I'm gonna say that's fact.

[Ella Cressman]

It is a myth.

[Maggie Stasik]

A myth.

[Ella Cressman]

Myth. Er, it's not about how much the products cost, but it's how well they work. So there's so many options now, especially not just in the professional realm, but especially in the professional realm. We have all accessibilities. I'd say. So many of these affordable lines have quality products and they can provide similar results to these perceivably higher end line. So not always. Is more expensive mean better? It's important that when you're choosing the product lines that you're pairing with, whether you're recommending them like from a, from a big box beauty store or that you're carrying them, that you're looking at productivity efficacy instead of just the pretty packaging. So look at the ingredients rather than the brand name or price tag.

[Maggie Stasik]

Another thing in this same vein is that there is this myth or misconception that you have to carry the full range that that brand manufacturer offers.

[Ella Cressman]

Absolutely. And I'm not sure I'm working with a brand right now that does drop shipping. There is something about drop shipping. I want to make sure that I'm having relation like I'm the relationship management is with me with my clients. But having that as like an option, I'm not gonna lie, I had been against it for so long, it's kind of nice now for some of those special things. So I don't drop ship everything but I also don't need to carry this very, very specialized thing in all the time. So I just drop ship it sometimes. So I love that as an option too.

[Maggie Stasik]

So myth or fact? Ella beauty services are just a luxury and raising your rates will turn clients away from non essential services.

[Ella Cressman]

Fact. In in smart alec font fact.

[Maggie Stasik]

All right, listen people, we know the truth here. Raising your rates is a good strategy for improving profitability. Why?

[Ella Cressman]

Because you're working smarter. So raising your rates is also raising the perception. I have to be honest, when I've raised my rates, it's scary. It's really, really scary. But there's. And the people who are gonna fall off for 10 bucks, 20 bucks are, that's fine if they can't swing that much a month. It's a hard conversation to have. But at this time in our my career, it's easier to raise your rates than ever because everybody else is doing it everywhere.

[Maggie Stasik]

So clients are willing to pay more when they perceive enhanced value or quality in your services. And if you've got a loyal following, of course, you know, 5, 10, $15 increase, you may have a couple that drop off, but that loyal following is there to stay with you.

[Ella Cressman]

And let's talk about future clients too, because their perception is there that like if somebody just go like looking for you, searching you, doing an Internet search and they see your prices are middle or a little bit higher, there's a little natural tendency to go, oh, they must have some difference in quality. So the people who you want to, as I say, rock with you will rock with you. And the people who are going for lower price, they're not going to. And so you have to really analyze who is your target market, who is your perfect client. I think in school we come out and we say, I'm gonna offer lower prices. I'm gonna, I just wanna get people in the door. And that might really be a mistake to set yourself up that way. Hold that thought. We'll be right back.

[Narrator]

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[Ella Cressman]

Okay, here we go.

[Maggie Stasik]

Let's get back to the podcast Myth or fact? If you have a solid social media presence, your beauty business will immediately gain a huge following and clientele.

[Ella Cressman]

I can't even sarcastic font this because this is absolutely sometimes a myth and sometimes a fact. I'll be honest with you. Okay, for me this is a myth. Yeah, this is not true because I my social media presence is like creeper status only I am not a content creator by any means. But I know there's that demographic who do perceive this as they don't. They only have a thousand followers. I am not going to go to them or they are looking at your before and after. So I hate that there is a generational difference, but I think it is probably both. I do not think it is everything. In fact, I loved the what if your social media went away podcast that we did recently, so check that one out. But you can't rely solely on that. But what are your thoughts?

[Maggie Stasik]

Your business is not going to blow up overnight if you have a massive following. I think we can agree to that. It takes time also to build that loyal, engaged social media following. You need to have consistency, authenticity, engagement is key. It's hard to be that solo practitioner to your point, and be engaged and constantly posting. And also being the business owner and the esthetician and expecting instant results I think is not realistic.

[Ella Cressman]

I agree a thousand percent. Okay, I have another one on that note. Myth or fact? Maggie, if you're fully booked every day, it means you're making good money.

[Maggie Stasik]

Myth.

[Ella Cressman]

True. That is absolutely it is a myth. Here's the thing. Understanding your business's finances is key to the long term success because you really have to understand if you're busy every day, are you still profitable? So are you performing services that have the best ROI or return on investment? Think of for example the price of chemical peels and how your able to perform that treatment in about 45 minutes to an hour versus let's say doing two 30 minute services that don't equate. So peppering those in understanding what your specialty is, are you charging enough to be profitable taking into account your overhead, your other business prices and then are you being efficient? So pricing is key. Also efficiency and the number of people isn't as important as are you profitable with each. So if you have three that you're profitable with versus 10 that you're not profitable with, you could do the math and it's going to say nope.

[Maggie Stasik]

I think this is a really hard one for some estheticians, at least to wrap their head around. And we've talked before, Ella, that we come out of school, I think you said you've done this and you basically, you know, copy paste the menu that you did in aesthetics school and that's what you're offering in your place of business and it doesn't make you profitable. It's maybe not the best menu of services for the demographic that you're targeting. You might be killing yourself working like mad and you're still not making money.

[Ella Cressman]

Absolutely. You know who's a good resource for like looking at your menu and also looking at profitability in all fairness, are product representatives. So whoever you align with as far as products for your back bar or even your retail, have a conversation with your representative. They'll usually will help walk you through it. Based on for a couple reasons. One, they have experience with other people in the area. So if you're brand new, they can kind of help navigate you to what to expect for the area you're in. But also they can clue you in on what is the most profitable, what's the most popular treatments. And they can, and I mean, they're really resourceful for that if you get a good one.

[Maggie Stasik]

Myth or fact? As a solo esthetician or small spa owner, you need to compete with the big guys to survive. Ella has spoken.

[Ella Cressman]

That is a big old myth.

[Maggie Stasik]

Big old myth. Okay.

[Ella Cressman]

I think it's a huge myth because I never paid attention to that. But who I. I guess here's some differences as I see it.

[Maggie Stasik]

Tell us.

[Ella Cressman]

The benefit of being solo versus a large place is, in my opinion, the opportunity for flexibility with your clients. And by flexibility, I mean customization. Sometimes if you're working in a large spa, you are held to protocols. SOPs are standard operating procedures. They have signed up for X facial, they have signed up for X treatment. And this is the protocol you follow. You start with this and you end with this. And there's not a lot of deviation. Maybe a little wiggle room versus if you're a small business or a solopreneur, you have more opportunity to wiggle. I guess it's the best thing you can scratch it, control, alt, delete, and start with something that's important for that because you're not answering to somebody else. The other thing about, and this is like a perk, an industry perk. One thing I love is going grocery shopping on a Wednesday or going to Costco in the morning on a Tuesday or something when it's not busy. And as a solo esthetician, you can make that happen versus not being tied to a schedule necessarily, that you may if you work for big spa. That's my opinion. What do you think?

[Maggie Stasik]

I agree with you. It's hard as an esthetician, first going out on your own, to not recognize all the large spas and see that as competition. But for a solo esthetician, you said it. You're. You have differentiated yourself. You're not that big spa. That big spa, whether it's corporate or not, doesn't matter. That is attracting a certain type of clientele. It's not the same clientele that would choose to come and see you. You have an opportunity to customize, be unique, differentiate yourself, offer all those little perks that that big spa does not.

[Ella Cressman]

I would think of an analogy here would be like shopping at a department store versus a specialty store. So sometimes a specialty store just gets you a little bit better. Would you say that would be a fair analogy?

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Ella Cressman]

Like, I know this is my style that I like. I'm going to this store. I know the majority of the stuff in here is my style or my size or my favorite colors are mixed in here, and I don't have to shovel past the men's department or luggage or whatever, you know, and sometimes it's like, I want a lot of things, and I'm not sure. So I want to go to the department store and. And be exposed to more. So for me, I love boutique shopping. I love small, um, and I think a lot of people are like that, especially when we're talking about personalized things like skin issues. So not necessarily do you have to compete with the big guys. I think there's room for everybody at the table.

[Maggie Stasik]

Well said. Now, listeners, we want to hear from you. Do you have financial misconceptions or anxieties that are holding you back? Share with us on social media through Instagram, Facebook, or by emailing getconnectedscpskincare.com thank you for listening to ASCPSDtalk. And as always, for more information on this episode, or for ways to connect with Ella and myself, or to learn more about ascp, check out the show notes.