Hello, this is my FIRST EVER blog post as Kat Jeske the Esti, if you don't know me, Hi. I'm Kat, I'm a 27 year old Licensed Esthetician, small business owner, single mom and a Brazilian Wax Specialist. I own Wallie Wax Co. here in Salina, KS. I have 5 amazing women who work with me. I have always loved to write, I once was Editor in Chief for our local Odyssey a lifetime ago. I'm rusty so no judging my grammar, yes that means you Mrs. Stueve. My high school English Teacher who told us if we took a gap year we would never go back to school and the best job we'd ever get with a diploma would be working fast food.
I'm here to say you were dead wrong Mrs. Stueve. Quite honestly that message you sent to so many young minds like me who had NO idea what they wanted to do and absolutely no money to invest in school, was toxic. I took a 4 year gap. I worked my ass off waiting tables, living on my own, until I felt that spark. The spark happened sitting on the floor of my Elm street house I shared with two coworkers, one of whom had a makeup collection, bigger than I had ever seen. I started playing around with makeup and the art kid inside of me finally felt joy again in being creative.
Fast forward, I'm researching how the hell do you make doing Makeup a Career? Well, I found out what an Esthetician was and that they specialize in skin with a broad range of services. Cool, let's do it. Oh it's 15K? and I get no financial aid because my parents make too much money? Dope. Back to the drawing board, 4 years of working 3-4 jobs. 5 AM starts as a Barista ending with 9 PM closing's at the Makeup counter in the Mall. My Boss at the Makeup store saw something in me and helped me tremendously. She is the reason I got to go to school.
Beauty School is a trip. A school full of women, sprinkle a few men and add about 10 tablespoons of attitude and 2 cups of unnecessary drama. Being 22 at the time I was one of the older girls in my class, I stuck it out and graduated on time in March of 2019. By April I was setting up my first treatment room at this beautiful Salon my Hairstylist had built, The Fair Fox Salon & Spa. I used a (quite small) tax return to furnish my room and began as a Booth Rent Esthetician right out of school, it was a big jump that most don't take. I was so honored to work with such talented, like minded Hair Stylists who sent all their clients over to me for a wax or facial.
I had my books open 9 AM to 9 PM, Monday through Saturday, as you should when you first start. The days of having one brow client at 10 AM then nothing until your facial appt at 6 PM weren't for the weak. Truth is, building a business as service provider requires a serious amount of hustle. Word of mouth is always the best way to build your clientele. I was still handing out business cards to any and everyone. One thing I struggled so hard with was how to run everything, the ordering, scheduling, taxes, sales, retail, inventory, education and social media. But I wanted it, bad. I wanted my books full and to know I did it out of pure passion and hard work.
All in all, beauty school doesn't teach you much, and it's up to YOU to continue on educating yourself via social media, classes, conferences, podcasts, workshops and trainings. That's what makes a good service provider. Now how the hell did I go from just me in a small room inside of a salon to a 2500 sq ft building in the heart of Downtown with a full team? Good question. I get told daily "I have no idea how you do it all" Shit girl, me either. I don't think I ever saw myself growing so big, so fast. I've now been an Esthetician for 5 years, expanded twice and brought the FIRST EVER Wax shop to my town. Truth is, there wasn't anything like what I was doing, as a stand alone brick and mortar. There was definitely a need for it, but I just happened to get to it first.
So here's where I'll be telling all my dirty little secrets. My advice to first time business owners, Estheticians, Hair stylists, women owned businesses, single moms and other 20 something year olds not quite sure what to do yet. My stories of being a Waxer, the good the bad the ugly, and just to vent a little bit too. Hehehe.
Until next time,
The Salina Esthetician aka your fav coochie waxer,
Kat Jeske
xoxo
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