Succeeding in the Beauty Service Business: Shara Gabaldon Shares The Roadmap

[00:00:00] Entertainment Insights Don't Take Life Too Seriously Welcome to Brainsky Unleashed Welcome to the program. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. I'm excited to chat with you today. Excellent. So you're in the beauty industry, but you've also been a business person business.

[00:00:52] You're educated in business, you're experienced in business, and you help people. So let's start out with some of the things that you've learned from the beauty industry. If I had any talent whatsoever for either hair or nails or anything, skin, why would I want to talk to you?

[00:01:07] What could you do for me? So I primarily work with beauty service professionals. So like you said, people who are providing a service not necessarily have a product, right? So I'm a beauty professional. I'm a beauty professional. I'm a beauty professional. I'm a beauty professional.

[00:01:24] I'm a beauty professional. I'm a beauty professional. I'm a beauty professional. I'm a beauty professional. So you have to be able to have a product, and you may not necessarily have a product. And so because of my experience in the business and finance industry and then starting out

[00:01:41] as a beauty service provider and being able to quickly grow my own service-based business within months to six figures, I'm able to then give that same knowledge and expertise that wasn't necessarily provided to me, I didn't know what I was doing.

[00:01:58] I just kind of took my knowledge from another field of study or whatever and made my way and paved my way or whatever. So being able to really work with somebody who's in the industry and provide them with that roadmap so that they're not

[00:02:15] kind of fumbling along the way and trying to figure it out on their own. That's what's going to be the benefit of working with me. So you've got the ability to shortcut some of the hard lessons that most people have to learn, right? Absolutely. All right.

[00:02:31] So for the uneducated male who absolutely wants more women listening to his podcast, let me ask you, and this I think is an important question. Is it Maybelline or maybe it's Maybelline thoughts? You know, to be honest with you, I don't know because,

[00:02:51] again, Maybelline is a product, right? And so when it comes to the beauty industry, you know, as somebody who's now in the beauty industry, right, I recognize that there's a difference. So you've got the beauty industry and people kind of tend to lump it together, right?

[00:03:10] So kind of like with me, I'm from California. Everybody thinks California is just one big lump. It's like, no, you've got Northern California. You've got Southern California, right? So same thing with the beauty industry. You've got the beauty industry, but then you've got products

[00:03:24] and you've got services and the way that you market them and the way that you run your business is going to be somewhat similar, but yet very different because your target audience is going to be different, right? Right.

[00:03:38] So I mean, I guess what I'm curious about is, you know, you're a service person, maybe I'm a new service person and I, you know, I do makeup. Clearly. Right. And so I need to. And you did amazing makeup today. Thank you. You look fantastic. I feel beautiful.

[00:03:54] Thank you. It's totally flowing out of me. So how if I was new to the industry, I'm a service person, I am a makeup putter honor and that is a technical term, by the way. Right, right, right. I think you just made that up. No, no.

[00:04:12] You look in the dictionary and it says makeup putter honor and I'm right there, you know. Right. Your image. 11. So, you know, I'm new in the industry and I'm working at a box store and I'm applying makeup to strangers faces.

[00:04:28] How do I, you know, how can I figure out, you know, which products make the most sense for me? My, you know, what I'm trying to achieve. Like is there a way to distinguish that? You know, and that's just, I know that's not the

[00:04:42] business question, but it still has to apply. Right. Absolutely. 100%. So whatever, you know, part of, you know, my, my program and what I really tried to drive home, you know, whether I'm on my podcast or my live or even in my, you know, coaching with

[00:04:57] my clients is really trying to do the right research. And it, the overarching or the, the, the, you know, the head topic is like pricing, right? But within that pricing is making sure that you are getting the right products, sourcing it from the right supplier,

[00:05:19] getting it for the right price and things of that nature. What is that going to come with trial and error? Right. So doing your research, staying up to date with the trends, figuring out what's, you know, new and exciting that's out there, but making sure again that you're

[00:05:37] just sourcing it and trying it yourself. Right. One of the things that I used to do is go get the service done myself before I decided whether this is a service that I want to provide. Is this something that I can stand behind? Right.

[00:05:51] So there, there is basically as, as the, the business person in this, the maker put her honor has to figure out what products to use. And so what you're saying is there's no real necessarily ideal way to shortcut that decision. You basically have to purchase your Maybelline, purchase

[00:06:09] your Bobby Brown, purchase your CoverGirl, purchase your Avon and go, this sucks. And I really like this and this one's pretty good. But you know, and so you've got to buy all this product. And then if you don't like the ones you've bought,

[00:06:22] your host so automatically right out of the gate, you're losing money. Right. So that's why you do what's called samples. Okay. So when, you know, for somebody who's in the makeup industry or, you know, somebody who is, you know, providing a hair, you know, services or skin

[00:06:40] services or things of that nature. You know, when you're starting out, you're trying to figure out, okay, what supplier, what product line do I want to go with? But a lot of these businesses have what's called samples.

[00:06:52] So that enables them to get a, you know, some of their products, try them out for either a reasonable price and, or a lot of these companies will even give you free products because they stand so firmly behind the quality of their products. Right.

[00:07:11] They're like, no, we know if we give this product away, you're going to become a customer of ours. So, you know, the, the, the cost of entering, you know, when it comes to, to figuring out what supplies and things shouldn't be that much. Right.

[00:07:25] It shouldn't be that much of an investment because like I said either it's, you know, they have a reasonable pricing, which is like a dollar, two dollars, whatever, right? Or they have free samples. Okay. All right. So that kind of covers my question there because I

[00:07:39] was really thinking like, you know, as far as entering into the position, is there a high overhead just to get in it doesn't sound like it's too bad. So, you know, you would be surprised. So my concept or my way of teaching, you know,

[00:07:54] again with business and finance background is go ahead and, and again, this is what I did. Okay. So I'm going to tell you what I did. I started off with one service. Right. And before I started off with that service, I did my research.

[00:08:11] So I figured out what was the market area price that people were charging? What was required in order to be, you know, certified or learn what are the, the cost of all of this? What, what is my profit margin? How long does it take?

[00:08:28] You know, all of those things. Right. So I started off with providing one service. I got really good at that one service and I started researching other services. So as I was going and making money, I was then investing into the next thing. Right.

[00:08:45] My next thing was teeth whitening cosmetic teeth whitening. So prior to, you know, four or five years ago, you could only get your teeth whitened at the dentist and it's really painful and it's expensive. And so now they have a lower percentage of

[00:09:04] products that's not as intense and it's considered a cosmetic procedure over a dental procedure. Right. And so researching that. And so each, you know, two or three months or whatever, I started researching an adding service as adding services, excuse me, as I go

[00:09:24] and I'm reinvesting it back into my business. So rather than me starting out from the jump with, you know, four and five services and I'm investing in all this stuff, right? I'm starting off with a low barrier to entry, low investment and then getting off

[00:09:43] the ground, you know, making a name for myself and building upon that. That is what I recommend to my students when they're getting involved, you know, is to go ahead and start with one thing, get good at that, work out the kinks of running your own business.

[00:10:02] You know, figure out how to market your clients, figure out how to, you know, provide good customer service and all of those things, right? That is required for starting a business and then slowly start investing back into the business. So that way you're not just coming out with

[00:10:21] two, three, four, five, ten thousand dollars of investment, right? And that to me makes more of a sound, you know, business decision. That would lead me to think that the biggest mistake or one of the biggest mistakes would be to try and just be

[00:10:39] everything to everyone, which I mean in any business is a big mistake but would you say, because I was just going to ask, what is the biggest mistake that these people make as they begin their careers or as they function within their careers in the beauty industry? Right.

[00:10:54] So you're absolutely right. Like that is probably, I don't want to say it's one of the biggest mistakes, but that is definitely one mistake. And so I think you will be rather surprised at what I find is most common. Do tell. And the biggest mistake and is absolutely

[00:11:15] like mind boggling to me. And that is people who will be a nine to five employee, right? Your W-2 wage earner, they have a J-O-B. And they decide whether they either lost their job or they decide to quit their job. And they decide to just plunge into

[00:11:41] self-employment, okay? With no prior experience. With no financial, you know, what is it called? Savings. You know, they don't have any kind of safety net. Thank you. I couldn't think of the word. They don't have a safety net, right? And they have no experience.

[00:12:06] They don't know what in the world they're doing and that is what I find, okay? And I'm looking at them like, you've got to be kidding me. So where's the strategy? What's your plan? You know what? You see that in a lot of things.

[00:12:22] It's not just your industry. A lot of people make this mistake. And I mean, look, they're betting on themselves. And anytime they're going to bet on something, absolutely. But the problem, and there is a problem with betting on oneself, and that's by

[00:12:40] doing it without having a flaming clue as to what you're doing. Now, it could be successful, but your chances are reduced if you haven't done any homework. Absolutely. I 100% agree. And I've actually had this conversation on live several times. I have a podcast.

[00:12:57] It's part of, you know, my coaching program is making sure that you have a successful strategy in place to leave your nine to five. Right? So it's a lot harder for me to give advice or I shouldn't say harder. You know, it's a lot harder to come

[00:13:14] behind somebody's mistake and then like clean it up. Right? You're like, okay, this is, okay, you made this mistake. Okay, now here's how you, you know, you fix it. But it's a lot easier for me to come in, you know, and say, hey,

[00:13:29] this is our six month plan. This is what our goal is. You're going to have to put your nose to the ground, you know, really grind it out. You're going to have some sleepless nights, you know, some long weekends, whatever, but knowing that this is your goal.

[00:13:45] And again, I'm doing this based on my experience. This is what I did. I'm going to play devil's advocate for a moment here. Because I agree on principle. We both agree on principle. You know, it does make more sense for anyone. It doesn't matter.

[00:14:01] I mean, look at it with sports, right? That's something I know nothing about because I mean, if you look at me, I clearly have never played a sport in my life. But let's talk sports for a minute. You know, if you're going to perform in a sports environment,

[00:14:14] the first thing you're going to do is get on a team or, you know, get something and that, that, that thing, that entity will have a coach, right? And, you know, in business, we don't do that. Most of us don't. But this is me playing devil's

[00:14:28] advocate for a moment because we do agree that that is probably the smartest, fastest way to skip some of the whopping mistakes that all of us end up making because all of us are new to it. But the devil's advocate angle in this is how many people

[00:14:43] are really tuned to do it? Very few, I would argue, because if you're going to make the move, chances are you believe in yourself so much that your head is clouded from seeing the importance of getting a coach. Maybe you think that you cannot

[00:15:00] afford the coach when in reality what the coach is going to do up front is going to prevent you from blowing money on mistake after mistake. Absolutely. But still playing that devil's advocate, how do you get people to understand the importance of it and actually do it versus

[00:15:14] agree with you and then make all of their mistakes only for you to play clean? Right. You know, what I try to do is really just create that level of trust within me, within my followers, within my community showing them that I am the authority, that I am

[00:15:31] the person that they know has the knowledge and expertise. But again, somebody who has done it before, who worked full time for the federal government was building a part-time service-based business making eight to ten grand a month only working part-time and then being

[00:15:54] able to grow into the online course, you know, academy space and things like that. So if I'm looking to trust somebody, I'm going to trust somebody who has done what I want to do, right? And so I think that it is important, you know, it takes

[00:16:12] a certain mindset and what I've realized in probably the last year or two even when it comes to people's level of trust. And so I think that it's important to have a level of healthiness, right? Within their mindset and, you know, when you're at a certain

[00:16:33] level of being emotionally and mentally educated and healthy, right? You've worked through your limiting beliefs and, you know, you're at a different place. So you know that working with somebody who has experience is actually an experience. And it's not a time to say, hey, it's not an expense.

[00:17:00] Now you are really limiting your client base because you have to find people who have the right attitudes. You've got to find people who are humble enough to know that they don't know everything and into society that's even harder. So do you do anything to help

[00:17:19] people, you know, as a bunch of flaming A-holes that think that they're, you know, God's gift and think that it's, you know, the worst thing in the world when they take a gut punch, that's all we do. So how do you find these unicorns and help them?

[00:17:36] You know, I think it's a matter of attracting. So very similar to, you know, attracting your right clients when you're providing a service with a coaching-based business, attracting that same client, right? Making sure that they know this is who my program is for,

[00:17:58] but this is also who my program is not for. Right? So if you still have work to do, you have limiting beliefs, you look at spending money on your business as an expense versus an investment. Right? I literally had a client who was making $40,000

[00:18:20] a month spending about a thousand on Google AdSpend, which is great because that's a great return. And she had a, I think like a fire or a flood or she had something at her salon. So put her out of commission for like three months. And so she wanted

[00:18:38] to get back in the game and she, you know, scheduled a session with me, so I'm, you know, listening to where she's at and her story and whatnot. But surprisingly enough, she didn't want to spend that thousand dollars a month to get back in the game per se

[00:18:54] to start making that $40,000 a month again. Right? And so that kind of client, like you said is not that you don't have the mindset. You're not where I need you to be because even as educated as I am, and I'm not book smart, right?

[00:19:14] I'm hands on, I'm life experience, you know, all of those things. Um, I know that as much as I know there's always room for growth. I am a, you know, lifelong learner. I love to educate myself on things. And when I work

[00:19:34] with a coach, when I work with somebody who is teaching me, right, and they say, hey, we've got this idea. Are you open to this idea? I'm like, absolutely. Because I'm trusting that you are the market or, you know, you're the the expert in this field.

[00:19:50] So I'm open to ideas. This is what I've been doing that has gotten me this far. But I'm relying on your expertise to take me this far, right? So again, I think it takes a certain mindset. And so what I really try to do

[00:20:06] with whatever content I'm sharing, my content, my content, I'm sharing my behind the scenes, my lives, my stories, reels, whatever. Um, I'm really trying to showcase who I am, what I'm offering, the kind of client that I want to work with so that when somebody does

[00:20:26] reach out to me, they know that they fit in this box and we're ready to go. Right? So I don't have that work to do where I really need to say, hey, you know, I want to talk to a therapist about that, you know, like you're already

[00:20:42] you're already in that space where you're ready to receive. You are open and receptive to new ideas. You just don't know what those ideas are. Yeah, right? I think the biggest misconception with people when they are maybe frustrated with their job or they say, you know what,

[00:21:06] I can do my job better than, you know, than my company can. So I'm going to go out and compete against my company. You know, I'm going to show them and the reality is these people also maybe dabblers and I don't know of a single dabbler

[00:21:22] that has really accelerated through life in a way that is impressive to anyone other than themselves for a few minutes as they dabble. Absolutely. 100% agree. Um, I actually experienced it very early on, you know, because I came from left field per se

[00:21:42] and kind of took the beauty, the local and online space beauty industry by storm. Um, you know, I had a lot of copycats, right? And at first I was offended. I'm like, you know, I spent a lot of time and money and, you know, right?

[00:21:58] And then I said, you know what? This is a compliment. And at the same time, not only is it a compliment, they can't duplicate me. They can try, right? But they can't be who and what I am. So I'm going to take them copying me

[00:22:16] and stealing my content, you know, and all of these things as a compliment instead of being offended and continue to do what I do and continue to be true to who I am, right? But very much so, I was actually talking with my,

[00:22:36] I have a professional organizer that I work with. She keeps my life organized, literally. And she has some people that work with her that have kind of somewhat tried to do that, you know, that's like, they're good at what they do. And I told her, I said, listen,

[00:22:52] if they were good at what they did and they were capable of being you, they would be you, right? And I think they are. Right, but they, exactly. But they're great at being an employee. They're great as being an assistant at taking your direction, okay? But they can't

[00:23:10] be you, right? That's a good thing. And, you know, to me, not just a compliment sometimes when somebody tries to rip me off, I mean, why wouldn't they want to rip me off? Look at this, I'm like a freaking work of art.

[00:23:24] But, you know, it's not just a compliment. It keeps, it keeps you, it keeps me sharper. You know, as people start nipping at her heels, you want to continue to sharpen your sword. Right. So it doesn't hurt. I mean, it's not fun. Nobody ever loves that.

[00:23:42] No. I love being ripped off. Somebody's just stolen my content or somebody's throwing an idea. Oh, fabulous. But I need another idea. How do I create a better idea? Absolutely. Well, it's funny that you say that because, you know, in the early stages, I used to like monitor

[00:24:00] when I had unfollowers when people would block me, things of that nature, right? And so I would get these alerts that so-and-so blocked me. And I'm like, why would they block? Like who would block me? You know, I don't even know who this person is.

[00:24:14] So I would go and look at their page from my personal page, right? And look on their story and oh my gosh, they screenshot my income chart. They screenshot my review that I had, you know, screenshot, right? Like somebody messaged you and tells you,

[00:24:34] oh, this is great. Now, whatever. So they would steal my content and then post it. Well, of course, if they posted it, they got to block me. So that's kind of how I would find out, you know, or somebody would tell me or whatever.

[00:24:46] Somebody would send stuff to me. And so you're right. It made me sharper. And so what I found was watermarking everything that I post. So I have different formats of my watermark and depending on the type of content that I post, right?

[00:25:02] Obviously if it's a video of myself, like, I don't need a watermark. I mean, if they want to steal that, by all means, put me up for it, right? Right, right, right, right. If they want to water it, yeah. I still need a video of me, right?

[00:25:16] I'll be a bedroom wallpaper. Right, I watermarked my stuff. Literally my income charts. I watermark, you know, any graphics, videos, any of the work that we've done. Like I said, any conversations that I've had, whether it be email, text, DM, whatever, I watermarked. Protect your intellectual.

[00:25:38] Exactly what you said. It made me smarter. It made me sharper. No problem. You want to steal my content. You got a freebie. I'm moving on and I'm being smarter about it, right? Yep. All right, so we're coming to the close of this interview

[00:25:52] as we are limited on time. But there's one very important question we haven't gotten down to. Is a relationship with Bobby Brown make up as toxic as a relationship with Bobby Brown himself? You know, I'm going to say no. Okay, good.

[00:26:10] Probably wouldn't want to say yes to that. I'm going to say no. I'm going to say yes to that. I'm going to say yes to the same thing. I'm going to say no. But I think that as a relationship with Bobby Brown says no to this problem,

[00:26:28] you just know that the way he talks about the relationship probably and he thinks he has the right to say no. So it's actually a commitment to the relationship. That makes it better for me to understand how our relationship in perspective is a long-term relationship.

[00:26:44] As we are limited on time. web of course, Lux Beauty and Body Co. That's L-U-X-E, beauty, B-E-A-U-T-Y and A-N-D, body, B-O-D-Y-C-O. And as she said that's on the gram because apparently saying it as the gram,

[00:27:03] people know what that means. I unfortunately just learned that. I don't think I think I'm in your error then. Oh my God, you're fantastic. I'm not alone. Wonderful. All

[00:27:12] right. Well, listen again it was wonderful having you on. It was great talking to you and I wish you all the best. Absolutely.