Ep 403 – The Invisible Revenue Stream with Shannon Erley

Summary

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Episode Overview

Episode Title: The Invisible Revenue Stream with Shannon Erley
Podcast: ASCP Esty Talk
Date: July 8, 2026
Hosts: Maggie Stasik & Ella Cressman
Guest: Shannon Erley, Founder & CEO of Pomp

This episode dives into the often overlooked “invisible revenue stream” for estheticians—the untapped and under-optimized realm of retail and home care product sales. Shannon Erley shares practical strategies, mindset shifts, and actionable insights on how estheticians can bridge gaps in client care, overcome barriers to retail, and leverage technology to boost revenue between treatments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is the Invisible Revenue Stream?

(02:03–03:59)

• Shannon Erley: Estheticians often miss out on revenue due to gaps in retail sales and lack of follow-up with clients outside the treatment room.
  • Common “leaks” include:
    • Missed product reorders—clients forget to reorder or go elsewhere.
    • Out-of-stock moments—clients leave intending to purchase later but don’t follow through.
    • Lack of periodic check-ins—no ongoing communication for weeks between appointments.
    • Friction in the buying process—cumbersome reordering for clients, like needing to text, wait for an invoice, or come back in person.
  • Quote:
    “If your client runs out of a cleanser, maybe they forget how to reorder... they intend to buy later, but they never do.” (03:00, Shannon)

Key Insight: Revenue opportunities are lost when communication and retail are disconnected from the client journey.

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2. Where Does the Client Journey Break Down?

(03:59–05:10)

• Administrative Overload: Estheticians spend excessive time on manual admin and follow-up, lacking streamlined systems.
  • Quote:
    “They’re spending full days on a Monday or Tuesday on admin time, just trying to follow up, get their ducks in a row for the week.” (04:11, Shannon)
• System Constraints: Limited product line access and inadequate tools lead to missed opportunities.

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3. Why is Retail and Home Care Support Deprioritized?

(05:10–06:10)

• Focus on In-Treatment Care: Estheticians primarily concentrate on what happens inside the treatment room.
• Lack of Post-Treatment Education: Many are not educated or structured for proactive post-care support.
  • Shannon advocates for shifting focus to include “what you really need to do post treatment...because that will help as well.” (05:48, Shannon)

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4. Changing the Mindset: From Selling to Supporting

(06:10–08:40)

• Home Care as Partnership: Ella reframes retail as collaborative, not pushy—“selling as support.”
  • Quote:
    “If we think of selling as support...that mindset shift takes that ickiness away from it.” (06:40, Ella)
• Not Just a Recommendation: Move away from tentative suggestions to confident guidance.
  • Ella:
    “Taking the word recommendation out...We are telling you this is what you need.” (06:55, Ella)
• Ethical Responsibility: Shannon likens incomplete home care guidance to medical malpractice, emphasizing duty of care.
  • Quote:
    “You’re really doing them a disservice...It is like you have to think about what are their concerns and helping guide them.” (07:34, Shannon)

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5. Building Confidence in Retail Conversations

(08:40–09:28)

• Extension, Not Adjunct: Home care is the extension of in-clinic treatments.
  • Quote:
    “It’s the extension of what we’re doing in the treatment room...once you can change that in your own mind, then making these recommendations comes easier.” (08:40, Ella)
• Gaining Experience: Early uncertainty is normal—confidence grows with success and client feedback.

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6. The Problem with Clients Shopping Elsewhere

(10:29–11:48)

• Shannon: $10 billion was spent online on professional skincare last year, with Amazon as the top retailer.
  • Quote:
    “You just spent all this time with your client...and then they go on Amazon...that feels like a bigger disservice to them.” (10:44, Shannon)
• Lack of Visibility: Estheticians lose control and insight into their clients’ routines when purchases happen elsewhere.
• Ella’s Story: Even loyal clients can be swayed by sales elsewhere, sometimes with negative results.
  • Quote:
    “There was some retinol product on sale...first of all, it was close to expiration. And second of all, no.” (12:05, Ella)

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7. Actionable Tips: Closing Revenue Gaps

(12:32–14:33)

• Proactive Client Communication: Follow up before appointments to assess concerns and prepare personalized recommendations.
  • Quote:
    “Are you currently carrying anything in person?... Are there any recent concerns? So then you actually start to think about...recommendations you can start to talk about and educate them on.” (12:44, Shannon)
• Use of Tech Platforms: Digital tools like POMP can help estheticians create curated product suggestions and storefronts, even without maintaining physical inventory.

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8. Retail Success in Virtual and Hybrid Practices

(14:33–15:47)

• Hybrid & Virtual Domination: Many top estheticians generate six-figure retail revenues through virtual or hybrid practices.
  • “Some of the top estheticians...are making over six figures on just with retail alone...they’re able to make quicker recommendations post consultation.” (15:02, Shannon)
• Efficiency through Tech: Platforms like POMP allow for instant, customized product protocols and eliminate cumbersome manual processes.

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Notable Quotes

• “If your client runs out of a cleanser...they intend to buy later, but they never do.” – Shannon Erley (03:00)
• “If we think of selling as support...that mindset shift takes that ickiness away from it.” – Ella Cressman (06:40)
• “You’re really doing them a disservice...It is like you have to think about what are their concerns and helping guide them.” – Shannon Erley (07:34)
• “It’s the extension of what we’re doing in the treatment room...once you can change that in your own mind, then making these recommendations comes easier.” – Ella Cressman (08:40)
• “$10 billion in professional skin care was spent online last year and Amazon was the biggest retailer...that feels like a bigger disservice to them.” – Shannon Erley (10:44)
• “Some of the top estheticians...are making over six figures...through hybrid or 100% virtual retail.” – Shannon Erley (15:02)

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Key Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------|------------| | Episode intro/guest background | 01:00–01:16 | | Invisible revenue stream explained | 02:03–03:59 | | Where the journey breaks down | 03:59–05:10 | | Why retail gets deprioritized | 05:10–06:10 | | Mindset shift—selling as support | 06:10–08:40 | | Building confidence in retail | 08:40–09:28 | | Clients shopping elsewhere | 10:29–11:48 | | Actionable advice for estheticians | 12:32–14:33 | | Virtual/hybrid retail success | 14:33–15:47 |

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Episode Takeaways

• Retail and home care aren’t “extras”; they’re essential revenue streams and care extensions.
• Client relationships and communication between treatments are key to capturing lost revenue.
• Shifting mindset from sales to support eliminates discomfort for estheticians and aligns with client care goals.
• Leverage technology (e.g., POMP) to modernize and scale retail, especially for virtual/hybrid practices.

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This episode is a must-listen for estheticians ready to reimagine their business, close revenue gaps, and offer holistic, ongoing support to clients—no matter where or how they practice.

Transcript

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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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, certified organic skincare, formulator, ingredient junkie and content contributor for associated SK Care Professionals.

[Maggie Stasik]

We are thrilled to be joined by Shannon early, the founder and CEO of pomp. Today we are talking with Shannon about that invisible revenue stream that so many estheticians are missing out on. Welcome to the show Shannon.

[Shannon Early]

Thank you.

[Maggie Stasik]

Before we dive in, let me tell you a little bit more about Shannon. Shannon early is the founder and CEO of Pomp. With 16 years of experience in, in the beauty and skincare industry. She built pomp, the operating system for modern estheticians to solve a broken system where clients self diagnose and shop without guidance while professionals are constrained by time, inventory risk and lack of scalable tools. Today, POMP empowers estheticians to grow revenue, strengthen client relationships and build income that extends far beyond the treatment room. Shannon, when you talk about the invisible revenue stream, what are estheticians most commonly missing or underestimating in their current business model?

[Shannon Early]

I think. Well, I think it's a few things. Um, I think when I, when I look at it there's, there's a few things at play. One thing we need to double click into is why treatments aren't alone, aren't enough for results, but then how that actually trickles into certain revenue leaks within the treatment room. And when I actually look at those, we're looking at things like missed reorders. So if your client runs out of a cleanser, maybe they don't, they forget how to reorder or they're they're going to do it at home and then they forget or certain out of stock moments. So maybe they're in the treatment room, you recommend a product but you just ran out and then they intend to buy later, but then they never do and then another couple options that can happen. Clients drift between appointments. So sometimes there's a, like most times, even my estheticians that I use and go to, there's no communication from them for four to eight weeks. There's typically not any type of check ins or product reminders. And then the onus really then falls on me or the client to rebook. And then when you also look at also the retail component too, going back to that, there is friction in the buying process. So a lot of times maybe you'll have to text to reorder or you may have to wait for an invoice or pick up in person. And I think what we have found is that clients want to invest in their routine, but a lot of times they hit friction along the way. And when the provider is so focused on treatments and the services, some of that can really fall by the wayside.

[Ella Cressman]

So you kind of touched on some of these things. But where do you think estheticians usually break down in that client journey, process, communication, time, confidence or systems or something else like that?

[Shannon Early]

All of the above. We see it across the board in everything you just said. A lot of times they don't have the systems in place, or maybe they're really limited on a specific brand or having limited access there. And then a lot, what we hear a lot too is actually on the admin side. So what we have heard and found with a lot of the estheticians that we support is they're spending full day on a Monday or Tuesday on admin time just trying to follow up, get their ducks in a row, who are they seeing for the week. And a lot of that follow up can become pretty time consuming and a pretty big burden on them.

[Maggie Stasik]

You touched on this a little bit already in your intro here. But why do you think retail and home care support gets deprioritized even though we know it's impacting business revenue and obviously the client's goals, their results?

[Shannon Early]

I, I think a lot of the time you don't really know a lot from what we hear in the industry is you don't really know where to start. And so what? And we absolutely love, love, love every single esthetician that we work with because you guys are the true experts in changing the skin and you care so much about your, your client success. And a lot of that focus is typically within the treatment room or service itself. And then because you're so focused on that, a lot of some of the extra things on the like that can really help support the client journey is just not, it's not, it hasn't been a focus. And so one of the things that we also just in general like to do is educate estheticians on A lot of the stuff that you really need to do post treatment, post service, because that will help. Help as well.

[Ella Cressman]

I think home care is such a partnership, Right. If we're looking at, like, clients, practitioner and home care, like, it's really this, like, partnership in all of that. And I think that approaching that with your clients, too, and being able to support them with what they need at home is the conversation. A lot of estheticians get into this business to make a difference to care, to heal, to support. And we feel like sticky in selling. But if we think of selling as support, as this teamwork effort, that mindset shift takes that ickiness away from it, too. It's really, really important because it is part of the healing that you're wanting to do. It is part of the caring that you're wanting to provide. So taking the word recommendation out, I think is something to think about not recommending. We are telling you this is what you need. This is what you need. Based on what you told me you need kind of a situation. And so I think that is a challenge with a lot of estheticians is not wanting to feel like that car salesman or whatever. Like this is what you need and this is why you need it. So that's something to think about.

[Shannon Early]

I love that. And I know we've talked about this stat a lot in the industry. 80% of the results are what you're doing at home, outside of the treatment room. And I do like the frame, the mindset shift around. It's not a recommendation. You're not selling it. You are supporting the treatment outcomes and their goals. And retail, to your point, should be viewed as care, not pressure. We. One of our medical directors, I will not quote this in the. In the best way, but he said you're really doing them a disservice. And also in the medical field, it's actually considered malpractice if you aren't taking full care of your patient, if they're coming in for a concern. And obviously, it's a little bit different with aesthetics, but it is like you have to think about what are their concerns and helping guide them through that process. And I'm not a salesperson either, so I. Yeah, it's like you don't want to feel icky and like a car salesman, but there's. It's so much broader and it goes beyond that because it is a lot about the care that you guys are putting so much into.

[Ella Cressman]

It's the extension of what we're doing in the treatment room. Yeah, it's not an adjunct, it's an extension. And once you can change that in your own mind, then making these recommendations comes easier. It's like, no, this is what you need. This is why you need it. You, this is the pain point that this is covering too. And I think that, I think that's the biggest hurdle. It's not the biggest. I mean, social media is the biggest for me, but yeah, I crave is biggest for you. Yeah.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Okay.

[Ella Cressman]

But like, that's one of the bigger hurdles too. It's, it's, it's definitely a challenge. It is confidence, especially when you're first starting out. Right. When you're first starting out, you're like, you can, you can buy this thing if you want to. I mean, if you want to. And you can rebook if you want to, I guess. But it's like once you have that first sale and they're using it and they're rebuying it, you're like, yeah, you, like, get confident, you know?

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, I think it's about. Well, at least for me, it was getting buy in from the client. I knew they needed it. I needed them to know they needed it.

[Ella Cressman]

Hold that thought. We'll be right back.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Ella Cressman]

Okay, here we go. Let's get back to the podcast.

[Shannon Early]

I think too, there's, there is an educational component kind of on both sides, I think for estheticians and aesthetic professionals. Have like the education around the reality of the industry and where your clients are shopping. Because we know, and I've, I've shared this stat many times. I know you guys have probably heard it, but it's such an alarming number to me that I just like to continue to share it. But $10 billion in professional skin care was spent online last year and Amazon was the biggest retailer. And for me, that actually feels icky. Like, for me, that feels like, okay, you just spent all this time with your client, you know, hour, hour and a half in your treatment room and then they go on Amazon or they go then self diagnose some things that you maybe were talking about in the treatment room, and they're just doing it on their own. And I feel like that's a bigger disservice to them. And then you have no clue. You have no visibility. What are you putting on your skin? What they're. What they're doing? And so I think there's. There's that component as well.

[Ella Cressman]

I have a story too, by the way. You do find out when they come to their next appointment. I had a client who has spent years, who spent years with me, who knows. Knows what she needs to be using, right? Like, taking the declaration that I give, she came in and I'm like, what is going on with your skin? She's like, oh, it's at the grocery store, in that back section of the grocery store, far, far away where they have the bread. That's like, last day there was some retinol product on sale that she got. I'm like, why would you do that? I didn't say that like, that. I said, okay, well, let's talk about it. Can you use it on your elbows? Where else can we use this? But like, first of all, it was close to expiration. And second of all, no. Yeah, yeah.

[Maggie Stasik]

Shannon, if an esthetician is listening right now and thinking, I know I'm leaving money on the table, what is one the easy, simple shift that they could make this week to start closing that gap?

[Shannon Early]

Well, I think, look, what, like, are you carrying any products in your treatment room? I think because everyone does have an offer retail in a very different way. So are you currently, like, do you currently carry anything in person? Kind of going back to even the. The client experience? One of the things that I would say, and there's a point to this, a lot of estheticians may follow up, post treatment, and they'll say, hey, how's your skin after microneedling or whatever, I want to check in a lot. Aren't actually following up ahead of time or checking in ahead of time. So, hey, you're coming in in a couple days. Are there any recent concerns? So then you actually start to think about, okay, Shannon's coming in in two days. They're getting this treatment. I already know she's told me that she's struggling a little bit more with. With dryness or melasma or some things. I'm actually going to get a couple of recommendations ready of maybe product that you have in the treatment room already that you can then start to talk about and educate them on. And then also, I will do a shameless plug for POMP as well. Because a platform like Pomp, if you don't carry inventory, you can essentially get started today and create a bunch of recommendations or a storefront or things that you can be then further supportive to the clients that you're seeing this week. So that hella to your point, they're not going in the grocery aisle in the back trying to find a product you're actually then going to direct them to. Hey, here are some things if you do want to browse anything, these are things that I would highlight or recommend should you want to try to find something on your own.

[Maggie Stasik]

I know that there are estheticians who are they are considering something like a virtual business, a consultation business, or they have one now. And that kind of platform really provides a benefit in terms of being able to create a protocol, a home care protocol or make those recommendations where having that in store retail shelf space is not a possibility.

[Shannon Early]

Yep. And I think so. Some of the, some of the top estheticians, and they're making over six figures on just with retail alone, are either hybrid or 100% virtual. And they're able to make quicker, quicker recommendations post consultation. They don't have to fill out like we had some that were filling out Google forms or creating a whole canva design of what their routine should be. And so with a platform like comp, they're actually able to make very, very quick host virtual consultants recommendations that's pretty much instantaneous after after they get off.

[Maggie Stasik]

Now, listeners, we want to hear from you. Share with us on social media through Instagram, Facebook or send us an [e-mail] in the meantime, thank you for listening to ASCP SD Talk. For more information on this episode or for ways to connect with Shannon early and Pomp Ella or myself, or to learn more about ascp, check out the show notes.