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Tess
Hello guys. Welcome back to the Treatment Room Podcast, our first episode of 2025 and we have a very special guest with us today. She is the CEO and founder of podcast Pomp Beauty. And I wanted to share just a little bit about Pomp for anyone who hasn't yet heard of it. POMP is software built to elevate estheticians and it has just been so instrumental to my business. So I'm super thankful for Pomp and just excited to talk to you guys more about it today because I think it'll be so valuable for estheticians listening as well as consumers. Pomp offers a huge selection of curated professional skincare products. When I first started out in the virtual space, I offered one retail line, so partnering with Pomp has just allowed me to offer so much more to my clients, so many more options, and has really just elevated the experience. So without further ado, welcome to the show, Shannon.
Shannon
Thank you. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm also just so happy to be here. We've been working with you for, gosh, a few years now, so it's fun to be on here and chat with you more.
Tess
Yay. Thank you for joining us. I know it's so funny because I feel like we both kind of started in the online space at very similar time, so it's kind of perfect timing to partner up and to start. Shannon, I just wanted to hear a little bit about your career backstory and how you became the CEO of pomp.
Shannon
Yeah, I feel like it's a good question. It's also a hard question because I never felt like, oh, I'm going to be a CEO of a beauty startup company. I feel like I've had a more non traditional career path. So I graduated college during the 2008 recession. And so coming out of that, it was as a lot of people who did come out of that time period, it was hard to find work. And so I just found myself during that time. This was, yeah, we're in 2025, so doing math like over 15 years ago, I was just working so many different jobs and trying to figure out what my path was going to be. I think the consistent theme of my career has been side hustles, figuring things out, working different jobs to piece things together. I mean I have people that, that joke and kind of poke fun at me because I did everything from selling and creating custom lampshades to working retail and as a chef and a crepery on the weekends when I graduated. So I was just always trying to, I always wanted to work, I always was trying to just figure, figure things out. I also, in May, this is maybe a me thing, but I always just never really wanted to rely on others to support me. So I really wanted to create and forge my own path. So working all these jobs, I finally landed a job and I was the third hire at a company that was more, that was in a way similar to Pomp. It was a marketplace that gave specific brands the ability to get in front of people in the government and military sector. And so what was really cool about that is there was just a lot of autonomy, getting to see a business grow from the ground up, testing and trying new things. And I think just the consistent theme was that like kind of in my career path before Pomp was I was always trying to figure things out and I was typically one of the first hires at a company. So after that I was, I've always been interested in the beauty industry and I was living in San Diego at the time and I found out that new face was hiring and they're an at home microcurrent device. And I was their first hire to run and develop their E commerce and E tail strategy when omnichannel was becoming a thing. And so yeah, again like kind of going back to this theme of, you know, trying to be entrepreneurial, being one of the first hires in companies and then obviously just a personal love for the beauty industry that was really exciting for me to get my first taste of it. And then after that again like I just, I love startups and so I was consulting for a lot of new and emerging indie skincare brands. Just love supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses and seeing things kind of take shape. And so, so, yeah, so there was a lot, a lot happening after, after I graduated in 2008.
Tess
Love it. And what about Pomp itself? Like, where did that idea come from? Because it's so useful to estheticians. So those of you listening, like, if you are an esthetician out there who wants to be able to retail to your clients without needing to have all this backstock, basically Pomp allows you to do that. So it's super convenient for us. So supportive for estheticians. But yeah, how did that come to be?
Shannon
Yeah, so it, it, it evolved and also as a, it kind of stemmed from a personal experience of mine. So working, starting to work in the beauty industry, you know, 15, 13, 15 years ago, I just started seeing a lot of different things from the retail side of the business where if you were a new skincare line, if you weren't constantly innovating, retailers weren't really going to give you another look. It's a really crowded category. And then you have influencers that, you know, don't necessarily have skincare education to recommend certain products and they're just really following specific trends. And it was just really frustrating. More from a consumer experience and then from even more of a personal experience. I was struggling with really bad adult hormonal acne. And so I was going to different estheticians, changing my diet, getting facials and treatments. And then that's when my skin really started to change, was, you know, combining these treatments, but then with expertise and then also layering and just really incredible skin care that was recommended by, in my opinion, like true skin care experts. And so that for me, this was now probably eight or ten years ago, just this light bulb moment of how like these estheticians are incredible, the esthetic space is incredible. These are experts who have gone to school, they have education to not only make a difference in someone's skin, but like the whole industry. And Tess, I'm sure you can speak to this yourself, like you're so passionate about seeing results for your clients and I think that is just so impactful. And I think where my frustration came in was why aren't more people getting skincare advice from licensed professionals like yourself, Whether it's a independent part time esthetician from, you know, to someone who's been doing this for 20 plus years. Everyone has a place in this market to support consumers in how they're being treated with their skin. And so, yeah, so that was just like something that was very personal. And I kind of have made it my mission since Pomp has launched to. For a couple things is one, how do we support the esthetician and the esthetics industry as a whole? Just helping educate the consumer as to why they need to be getting advice from you guys, why they should be getting consistent treatments, why they should be getting skincare recommendations from you and not necessarily going to, you know, a mainstream beauty retailer that doesn't necessarily have products that are highly effective or could, could also just be damaging if you don't have a lot of the education behind it. So yeah, so I'll, I'll pause there because I know that was a lot.
Tess
No, I love that answer. I mean, Pomp really did solve, I think, a big issue for consumers and estheticians. And on the consumer side, you're right, it's like you see, you know, Nordstrom or maybe something like Dermstore, but they're just so corporate. There's no personal connection. And like you had that experience of an esthetician, like helping you and truly changing your life through helping you with the personalized recommendations. Like that's really where it's at. You can see the product online. It might be an amazing product, but somebody's not curating a routine for you. It's just, I don't think it's the.
Shannon
Same type of result exactly. Well, and then too to that point, just the shopping experience for consumers can also be frustrating because you're, you know, filtering through so many different products. You're like, okay, I think I need a pep, you know, a serum with peptides. Because that's what I've heard, you know, is good or trending. And then you're kind of self diagnosing and it just makes it, I think, frustrating for that consumer. And then from like the esthetician standpoint, I'm sure it's like if you've already seen someone, why like you don't want them to have, you know, have this frustration of trying to find products on their own when you are so educated to make, to be able to make those recommendations for them.
Tess
Pomp just makes it so easy because the esthetician, you know, can, can outline, outline a plan for the client and then just have it delivered. Whereas, you know, maybe an esthetician who has a spa and their client needs to re up on product, maybe they're not able to get to the spa. It might just not be the most convenient thing for them. And on the esthetician side, sometimes you just don't want to stock like a million boxes and products. It's a huge burden, especially for new estheticians, like, something I hear a lot. They're just starting out in the career. They're baby estheticians. It's risky when you're starting, you know, a new career. Not everyone is willing to invest like $10,000 or more in a retail line. So. So, yeah, I think POMP is just amazing. I also want to hear from you too, though. Why do you think more estheticians should retail with pomp?
Shannon
I think kind of like what you said, it's. It. It's a. It can be a pretty big financial burden for a lot of estheticians. I mean, we, even. So we work with numerous medical directors as well. And one of our medical directors, she. She doesn't even carry product anymore because it has, even for someone like that, who, who, who can afford to carry multiple product lines, it's still a cash burden for them and for her. And so I think what's helpful with POMP is in actually going to the medical director piece because we have and work with numerous medical directors, we're able to partner with specific skin care lines like Jan Marini is clinical revision. A lot of hydrenity. A lot of these lines that typically do require you to have a medical director. And if you don't, then that's already limiting already. So if there are certain product lines that you would love to educate yourself on and you have the background and expertise, but yet you're kind of missing this medical director piece, that's where Pomp can really also, also fit in. And I think where we have continued to lean into is, I think, Tess, when we started working with you three years ago, I think we had maybe seven or 10 lines, and now we have 35. And so I think for us, we're, you know, constantly getting recommendations from you and other estheticians on what product lines that they want to work with. And so using Pomp as that, you know, true partner of, hey, I've heard about X brand. Would, you know, can you look into this for us? We do that for every. Every request. And so we want to come alongside estheticians more on that retail front of how do we become the best retail and E commerce partner for you? And it's not to negate anything that you have in store, because if you are in clinic, if you are doing a treatment, have your client walk out with whatever you recommend. However, to like what you were saying on that replenishment or between treatments or like yourself, you're 100% virtual. You don't. You can't have a physical storefront and have people come in. And so I think what, why I think more estheticians should be utilizing a software like Pomp is because it can truly support your additional retail needs. But then also from an income perspective, as we know in the industry, retail should be a bigger, you know, a bigger and growing portion of your income. And I think that's where you can lean on software and platforms like POMP to, to really support that. I was talking to an esthetician the other day and she was like, well, how do I, like, sell Pomp to my client? I'm like, you're not selling Pomp to your client. You don't. If. How are you scheduling or, you know, checking your client out with like, your booking and payment payment tools? Pomp's just another tool to help help you with your retail offering. And so I think that, you know, you're not selling Pomp because what we're doing, even from a profit share perspective, we're not an affiliate. And so that's something that I think is huge to, to mention. We work directly with all of the brands and we pass along up to 30, 35% profit and commission directly back to the esthetician now. And outside of shipping costs that we're paying for, we are now just moving to sharing all in, giving all of those profits back to the esthetician. And so I think that's just something worth mentioning because that it goes back to even why. Why I started POMP in the first place on how can we support estheticians in, in their businesses and meet them wherever they're at.
Tess
Yeah. Which you do so well. And I feel like a big selling point for me, when I was getting familiar with POMP was that essentially you can provide more of a selection to your clients and you can meet them in the online space, which I think is something every esthetician needs to do. Like, even if you have a successful brick and mortar, we definitely want to take advantage of the online space because it's just making it convenient, as convenient as possible for your customer. And with so much competition in the retail space, I just think that is like, absolutely critical. So if any estheticians are not doing that yet, I feel that's a huge way to really increase your income for the business. And yeah, POMP has just been nothing but amazing to me from the get go. Your guys's customer service is amazing. That's what I hear back from clients. They're always like, oh my gosh, they're so responsive. They're so Helpful. You guys are just the best.
Shannon
Oh, thank you. We, we definitely, I mean, I know we can always improve and we always want feedback, but we do want not only our brands to know that we're providing great customer service for any questions about product, but then also for the estheticians that they know if they're using POMP to recommend anything for their clients, that we, we want to be that best partner to you guys and, and treat your clients like they're our own. Because that's just so important to us.
Tess
Yes. What was like important to you in building like building out a team?
Shannon
I had no idea what I was doing, what I was doing. I, as you heard from my background, I'm not a developer, I don't have a technical background. So that was something where it's like, okay, here I want to build this platform and software for estheticians and not having a technical background was pretty challenging. So I, back in 2019, I hired three part time developers and just started talking to them about what my vision was, what I wanted the platform to do and how it could evolve. And so initial team was mostly on the, on the developer side and we were fully bootstrapped. So I was funding the business myself and so we were just being as scrappy as possible. And then as the team continued to grow and evolve, really focused on esthetician support. So that's our biggest like team or roles is supporting estheticians and their clients and then as we continue to grow, supporting our brand partners because that's so important to us as well as just being really incredible partners to our brands. And so yeah, so that's kind of how the team team evolved.
Tess
Is there anything you look for when you're hiring somebody?
Shannon
So Nicole and I, so Nicole is my co founder and coo. So she joined. So we launched, officially launched March of 2020 and then Nicole joined shortly thereafter. And something that Nicole and I look for is and it call us old school, but whenever we interview someone and they write us a thank you email back, which sounds small and little. We, the, the direct correlation of employees that we have worked so well with has been just kind of this thoughtfulness that we've recognized in the interview process.
Tess
I mean every employee I have worked with from POMP just has like a special, I don't know, way they like relate to you are so helpful and kind. So I think you've done a great job.
Shannon
Yeah, that's what we try. We really try. Yeah.
Tess
Exceptionally kind staff. So kudos to that. What do you feel like has been the biggest challenge for you as a CEO.
Shannon
Oh my gosh. And I feel like too just talking to your community with, with estheticians, like you guys are all entrepreneurs as well. And so I don't know if you can relate to this, but it's a journey when you're starting something. It is. Is truly a journey. And it's hard kind of every step of the way. And I think for us, what has been the most challenging is we. I knew that we needed to take on capital to really grow pomp and what we could offer to estheticians. And in order to do that, there's fundraising that's involved and that was something that I went into pretty blind and didn't entirely know how time consuming and challenging that would be. And also expectations from investors that unfortunately don't necessarily know the industry. And so that's, I think that's been challenging of managing different dynamics, more on the investment side of in different personalities where, you know, things like this take time. And it's not for us, it's not just linear growth. It's. We want to be so support, supportive and impactful to estheticians. And so for me, that has been more of a challenge. And then I think too, you know, team and HR and all this stuff that I didn't really know. I've never been a CEO. There's a lot of imposter syndrome. And for me it's been a lot of, you know, counseling, mentorship, using executive coaches just to kind of work through all of these challenges that I wasn't really anticipating of, you know. Yeah, kind of like what I said before.
Tess
Yeah, I'm sure there's just been a lot of self growth, stepping into something completely new, building a company. Is there anything you've learned along the way, maybe from like a mentor or business coach that has helped shape you into a stronger CEO?
Shannon
I think it make decisions fast. So if you have to make a hard decision or whether it's let someone go or, you know, we have to go through a budget cut recently and it's like you have to do that fast and you have to tried and which is very difficult for me. So I'm also talking to myself from all the advice that I've gotten. But you have to separate your personal feelings towards either an individual or someone and then separate that and make sure that you're doing what's right for the business and being able to separate that. But also I think what's been helpful as well is leaning on your network and not being afraid to ask for help. And I think. I think that's so important, especially, you know, for estheticians who may be starting out or just getting started. Don't be afraid to tap into your network. You'd be surprised how many people will be willing just to meet with you or give you, like, free advice or do some working sessions with you or. Yeah. Brainstorm on how you want to get new clients. And so I've. I've gotten a lot better at asking for help and tapping into. Tapping into my network or someone else's network and saying, hey, I think, you know, I think you might be connected to this person. I think they can be really helpful in, you know, this thing. And so I think, yeah, I would encourage anyone to lean on your network.
Tess
Asking for help is not easy.
Shannon
It's also hard to do.
Tess
Yes. Easier said than done. But when you're, like, an independent person or you have your own business, I feel like a lot of times those types of people, like, we want to do everything our ourselves. So asking for help, I feel like I struggle with that. But it's something that it's so necessary, Right, to grow to the next level.
Shannon
Yes. Yeah. And even, even, like with estheticians, I proactively, and our team, I think we do a good job proactively reaching out. Like, hey, do you need help? Do you need help building this routine for your client? And it's like, don't be afraid to ask for help. Even, you know, whether you're working with Pomp, ask our team, or if you're working with another vendor, brand or, you know, a social person, like, ask. Yeah, just ask. Ask for help. It is easier said than done, but I think you'll find that people do want, genuinely want to help.
Tess
You touched a little bit on firing and letting somebody go. I know a lot of estheticians are in that hard position sometimes when they're running a spa. Do you have any advice as to how to make that a spirit smooth as possible and when you need to do that?
Shannon
I feel like every. It does not get easier. Maybe it does for some people, but I think it's always hard. But also, Nicole and I care so much about our team, so I think that's also why it makes it hard. I think kind of going back to what I was saying earlier and all of the advice that I've received before is if, you know, you need to let someone go, it go. Do not drag your feet and do it quicker because the longer, the longer you wait, you're dragging out the inevitable. And then ultimately when you do do it and you look back it most likely it was the right decision. But I wish I had more advice on how to do it because it's at least for us, it's hard every single time.
Tess
What about in terms of the brands that Pump offers? Could you touch on like a couple favorite products? Like what are you constantly reordering from Palm?
Shannon
Like, what are what like such. I feel like it's such a hard question. So if I look at what I'm using most days, it's a combination of Hydrinity. Jan Marini is clinical. And then I love color science. Like their under eye, their flecks, their powder spf. So those are my go to. And then kind of like a hidden sleeper for me. I've actually been using Tammy Fender for a while before Pomp. They have an incredible under eye. Their awakening eye gel I love. And then their epipeal is a great like mask exfoliant in one. So those are some of my, my like fun, fun extras. I mean, what are yours? Because I mean, like there's so many.
Tess
So I mean, love. Jan Marini also love Hydrinity Color Science. Face Reality, new to Pomp, which is amazing. Yeah, we should touch on that because. Yeah, just a really easy way to access the brand if you're an esthetician. And amazing for any estheticians who treat acne, rosacea, fungal acne. It's actually my go to for any type of fungal acne.
Shannon
Face reality.
Tess
Yes. And more affordable price point for like teenagers or just a client with a tighter budget. I mean, so much of my routine is Face reality. Glymed is on Pump.
Shannon
Yes.
Tess
Sneaky Sleeper for me is revision. I'd never tried revision until this week. Love that.
Shannon
Yeah.
Tess
Yes. The neck product and the.
Shannon
Oh, I do love their neck product.
Tess
Yes. Is my absolute new favorite tinted spf. I'd never tried it, but it's like that's what I was looking for.
Shannon
Love that. I love it. I love Sleeper products.
Tess
I know, I know. So there's always something new you can discover on Pomp. Like I've been using the platform for years, but I'm constantly trying new little things and finding gems that. And then I just think of certain clients, I'm like, oh, they would love this or that. So yeah.
Shannon
Yeah.
Tess
How many products do you think are on Pump in total?
Shannon
Oh, my goodness. I think so. We have 35 brands now. We are launching a couple new lines in the next month. So stay tuned for what's new. I think total SKU counter product count, I want to say around 2000.
Tess
Wow.
Shannon
1500 to 2000 across 30. Yeah, 35. 35 lines.
Tess
That's incredible. Yeah. And something else I wanted to highlight was not only is it the skin care, but, like, for me, I also want to make sure my clients are on acne safe hair care and makeup. So accessing brands like Scene Hair Care, Color Science, Jane Iredale. Glow Skin Glow.
Shannon
Yes.
Tess
Yeah.
Shannon
Glow Skin Beauty. Yep. That we just launched with them. Yeah.
Tess
Yeah. So lots of, you know, other little additions you can make to their routine that are actually big game changers. And it's nice for you because you get trained on the line, you're familiar, so you don't have to say, like, go try this random acne safe shampoo. You can get at, you know, Target or something.
Shannon
Yeah, exactly. Well, and I think actually to that point, what also makes Pomp unique for even, like, clients like, like yours, you can recommend and curate their whole routine. But then we do have the ability, we've opened up, with the exception of certain brands. So, like, Face Reality is completely gated. You have to be approved by Face Reality and Palm Acne certified before we can open that up to you. But we're developing a really exclusive program with them. So more on that to come that we're excited to share. But what's really great about POP now is with the exception of some products that are. Are truly gated and they have to be recommended by your esthetician. If there are products like what you were saying, like, like. Like the Scene hair care or Clean skin club towels or like any thorn supplements or things like that, they. Your clients can still shop without even having to connect with you, and then you're still getting that full profit or commission on that. So we're really trying to also make Pomp a destination source for your clients where they know that every brand we work with has been vetted by our medical director team of estheticians, that we're just not. We're not just adding any brand on there. And so it gives your clients the ability to shop as well with. And supporting you and. And not necessarily having to, you know, go elsewhere.
Tess
Totally. Yes. So to elaborate on what Shannon is saying with, I think most of the products, they require the esthetician approval. Right. But there is still a good selection of products that your clients can shop on on their own. And sometimes, you know, like to, like, have the parameters of, like, this is what's recommended, but, like, you pick what lip gloss shade you like or which condition?
Shannon
Exactly. Like a Jane Eyre Dale. Yeah, exactly. You. I recommend this, but you select what, what color you like or I recommend the. Yeah. Seen shampoo if you want fragrance or fragra free or. So it gives them the ability to kind of like shop a little bit more, but within those parameters for sure.
Tess
Yeah. Yeah. So awesome. Is there anything that you're like excited about for 2025 that's coming to Pump?
Shannon
Oh, gosh. We. So I did allude to some new brands. I can't share any yet, but stay tuned. So. So keep your eye out for some new, new partnerships with some new brand launches. We also, we're partnering with ASCP as well, so becoming a integrated partner with them. So I know a lot of estheticians, especially coming out of school, needing insurance. We're directly partnering with ASCP and then also Square. So now we're a new partner with Square. So we have if also if you're, you know, getting started or going off on your own and you're looking for new booking or payment tools, we have direct integrations with, with Square and some other partners. So just some exciting things that are coming and yeah, stay, yeah, stay tuned for more.
Tess
So exciting. And subscriptions as well. Should we touch on that and maybe. Yes, after paying.
Shannon
Yes. So we have a firm looking into afterpay, so we're able to break up payments if, you know, if your initial, if the initial skincare routine is a little pricey for your client, which people appreciate.
Tess
Yeah.
Shannon
Yes. So we're able to split those up. So that's great. We've also added product subscriptions, so if, you know, like your client's always ordering a certain product every 60 days, we can get them on a product subscription that's at a slight discount. And so, yeah, just doing more things to, to help help make that skin care purchase easier for your clients as well.
Tess
Yes. And I, I will say, not that it's about the discounts, but throughout the year there's some, you know, fun little incentives that pump wrinkles in for, for clients. And it just, it's nice because it supports the esthetician directly.
Shannon
Yeah, exactly. And we try to sample as much as possible. So if there are certain brands or new product launches and you really want to get your hands on it, we always have estheticians and just encourage you guys to reach out to us directly. And we, we like to work with the brands on getting product in your hands. And education is huge. So we're doing a ton of live training and education with the brand specifically. So that's something that they lead and we facilitate. So just. Yeah, just using POMP as that resource for retail education, supporting your clients, and then obviously you're, you know, making an additional income stream on top of that.
Tess
Yes. Which is incredible. I mean, yeah, for me, it's been, again, just so instrumental to my business. It's the. Right now, it's the main way I connect with clients and offer retail, so I can't recommend it enough. Shannon, for any estheticians who are listening, how do they sign up for pomp?
Shannon
Yeah, so you can go to pompbeauty.com and then sign up that way. Also, I am big on connecting with everyone individually. Tess. As you know, we talk a lot and I talk a lot with many of our estheticians. And so email me directly to reach out if you have any questions or if you want to. Want to do a demo with me. My name, My name. Shannon. Just a reminder, but it's shannon@ pompbeauty.com. sha n o n@ pompbeauty.com so feel free to email me directly. Direct line to me. So I'm also happy to connect. Connect with anyone.
Tess
Amazing. And Shannon is so friendly, as you guys can tell. Really easy to chat. Chat to if you're interested in POMP or have any questions. And that reminds me, I'm going to put my referral link in the show notes for any of you guys who want to connect with POMP that way. But yeah, I think this was amazing. Thank you so much for your time, Shannon.
Shannon
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Tess
Awesome. Anything else you want to add before we let you go?
Shannon
I don't think so.
Tess
Thank you so, so much. Thank you guys for listening and I'll talk to you in the next episode.
Podcast Summary: The Treatment Room Episode 163 – Elevate Your Esthetics Business + Retail Online with Pomp Beauty
Release Date: January 17, 2025
Hosts & Guests:
In the first episode of 2025, Tess welcomes Shannon, the CEO and Founder of Pomp Beauty, to discuss how Pomp Beauty is transforming the esthetics industry by empowering estheticians to elevate their businesses and streamline retail operations online.
Tess introduces Pomp Beauty as a crucial tool that has significantly benefited her own business:
"POMP is software built to elevate estheticians and it has just been so instrumental to my business." ([01:08])
Career Backstory: Shannon shares her non-traditional career path, marked by resilience and entrepreneurial spirit.
"I never felt like, oh, I'm going to be a CEO of a beauty startup company... I always wanted to work, I always was trying to just figure, figure things out." ([02:52])
Graduating during the 2008 recession, Shannon navigated through various jobs—from selling custom lampshades to working as a chef—before finding her footing in the beauty industry. Her experience as one of the first hires at multiple startups honed her skills in business development and e-commerce strategies.
Inspiration Behind Pomp Beauty: Shannon discusses the personal and professional motivations that led to the creation of Pomp Beauty.
"I was struggling with really bad adult hormonal acne... my frustration came in was why aren't more people getting skincare advice from licensed professionals like yourself." ([06:59])
Her personal battle with acne and dissatisfaction with the impersonal nature of mainstream beauty retail inspired her to create a platform that bridges the gap between estheticians and consumers. Pomp Beauty was developed to support estheticians by providing a curated selection of professional skincare products without the burdens of inventory management.
Supporting Estheticians: Shannon emphasizes how Pomp Beauty alleviates financial and logistical pressures for estheticians:
"Retail should be a bigger, you know, a bigger and growing portion of your income." ([12:57])
By offering a vast catalog of over 35 brands with approximately 2,000 SKUs, estheticians can recommend tailored skincare routines without the need to hold extensive inventory. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for new estheticians who may not have the capital to invest heavily in retail lines.
Enhancing Consumer Experience: Pomp Beauty enhances the shopping experience for consumers by providing access to expert-recommended products in a user-friendly online platform. Shannon points out the importance of personalized recommendations:
"It's like you're not selling Pomp because you don't have to sell them directly... it's just another tool to help with your retail offering." ([16:02])
Consumers benefit from curated product selections vetted by estheticians, ensuring that recommendations are based on professional expertise rather than fleeting trends.
Comprehensive Product Selection: Shannon highlights some of her favorite brands available on Pomp Beauty:
"I love color science... it's my absolute new favorite tinted SPF." ([28:29])
User-Friendly Tools: Pomp Beauty integrates seamlessly with existing booking and payment systems, such as Square, enhancing the estheticians' ability to manage their businesses efficiently.
Financial Incentives: The platform offers a profit-sharing model, providing up to 35% commission directly to estheticians, enhancing their revenue without the complications of traditional affiliate programs.
"We pass along up to 30, 35% profit and commission directly back to the esthetician now." ([15:51])
Subscription and Payment Flexibility: Upcoming features include integrations with Afterpay for payment flexibility and product subscription services, allowing clients to receive regular shipments of their favorite products at discounted rates.
Team Development: Shannon describes the evolution of her team from part-time developers to a robust support system focused on esthetician and brand partnerships.
"We are constantly getting recommendations from you and other estheticians on what product lines that they want to work with." ([15:03])
Hiring Philosophy: Shannon and her co-founder, Nicole, prioritize thoughtfulness and genuine communication during the hiring process, believing that these qualities contribute to a harmonious and effective team.
"Whenever we interview someone and they write us a thank you email back... we have worked so well with has been just kind of this thoughtfulness." ([20:47])
Fundraising Difficulties: Shannon candidly discusses the challenges of securing capital and managing investor expectations, particularly when investors may lack industry-specific knowledge.
"Expectations from investors that unfortunately don't necessarily know the industry." ([22:10])
Imposter Syndrome and Personal Growth: Navigating the complexities of leadership without a technical background has been a significant hurdle. Shannon emphasizes the importance of mentorship, executive coaching, and leaning on her network for support.
"I've never been a CEO. There's a lot of imposter syndrome." ([22:34])
Decision-Making and Leadership: Shannon shares key lessons learned, including the necessity of making swift, tough decisions and maintaining objectivity to prioritize the business's best interests.
"You have to separate your personal feelings... and make sure that you're doing what's right for the business." ([24:14])
Shannon reveals her go-to products from Pomp Beauty, which she personally uses and highly recommends:
"I love color science... they're so responsive. They're so helpful." ([28:29])
These products not only cater to various skin needs but also support estheticians in providing comprehensive care to their clients.
New Brand Partnerships: Pomp Beauty is set to introduce several new brands, enhancing the platform's diversity and product offerings.
Integrated Partnerships: Collaborations with ASCP and Square are in the pipeline, providing estheticians with streamlined booking and payment solutions directly within the platform.
Enhanced Customer Support: Continued emphasis on live training, education, and responsive customer service to ensure estheticians can maximize the platform's potential.
Subscription Services: Introduction of product subscriptions and flexible payment options like Afterpay to accommodate clients' financial preferences and encourage consistent skincare routines.
"We've added product subscriptions... making that skin care purchase easier for your clients as well." ([36:02])
Shannon invites estheticians to join the Pomp Beauty platform by visiting pompbeauty.com. She encourages potential users to reach out directly via email for personalized assistance and demonstrations.
"Email me directly to reach out if you have any questions or if you want to do a demo with me." ([38:13])
Additionally, Tess mentions that a referral link will be available in the show notes, offering an easy way for estheticians to connect with Pomp Beauty.
The episode wraps up with both Tess and Shannon expressing mutual appreciation for the collaboration and the value Pomp Beauty brings to the esthetician community. Shannon reiterates her commitment to supporting estheticians through innovative solutions and excellent customer service.
"We want to come alongside estheticians more on that retail front... to support your additional retail needs." ([15:51])
Key Takeaways:
For estheticians looking to elevate their business and streamline their retail processes, Pomp Beauty offers a comprehensive and supportive platform tailored to the unique needs of the esthetics industry.