This month’s spotlight is Licensed Esthetician and owner of Beauty That’s Me Esthetics Studio Regbe Issac. Read on to learn more about Regbe and her amazing journey to entrepreneurship.
Could you briefly explain some of your responsibilities in your current career role?
As an Esthetics Spa Owner and Licensed Esthetician, I find myself wearing multiple hats. My role as an Esthetician is to use my knowledge of skin conditions and offer treatments utilizing skincare equipment/tools, and skincare products to help maintain and improve clients’ personal appearance. As a spa owner it requires me to take a step back from the day-to-day skin and beauty treatments and take ultimate control of every aspect of the studio. I switch gears and focus on balancing the books, dealing with suppliers, increasing profit, branding, marketing, hiring and cashflow.
What inspired you to develop your idea?
I come from a family of creatives and artists, starting from my father who was a wood sculptor and builder, down to my siblings and I. Naturally, I knew that even though I took the traditional route of higher education and beyond, I knew that when the timing was right, eventually my investment in my education would lead me to where I am today. It gives me so much gratification to be able to use my creative abilities to truly help people. Every day I am grateful for that!
Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently when you were first starting out?
As interesting as it may sound, I wouldn’t do anything differently. My journey and all the challenges and obstacles that I faced has brought me to where I am today. I believe that if you stay the course and are consistent without wavering, you will be successful no matter how long it takes you.
What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning of your journey?
When I first started my journey, I started off as a mobile Esthetician, while still working a full-time job as a Senior Program Analyst for the department of Defense; the biggest challenge was the work and life balance. As entrepreneurs, sometimes we are driven to achieve and are willing to spend any amount of time getting there, which can spill over into your personal and family life. But on the flip side, the amount of hard work you put into it, allows you to see and enjoy the fruits of your labor, so it’s a double edge sword. The key for me is day by day I learn to be efficient and prioritize the things that are most important for a better life balance.
What have you enjoyed most about starting your own business?
I take great pride in knowing that I’m solving problems others have, pertaining to skin wellness and beauty! I also really love the fact that I can set my own priorities. I make my own schedule, allowing me to spend time with the most important purpose in my life, which are my husband and children. I love the fact that I get to make the decisions on how best to steer my business on the day-to-day operations. Each day is filled with new opportunities to challenge myself, be creative and learn something new; I rarely experience the same day twice. Because every day, I learn something new about the act of owning a business. Whether it’s something about taxes, about accounting, or the plethora of other things that go into running a small business. There is nothing like being successful through your own leadership, abilities, ideas, and efforts!
What is unique about your business?
Beauty That’s Me believes that beauty and wellness are truly personal. It is why we develop a tailored, customized approach to skincare for every one of our clients. We take the time to get to know each individual, understand their unique skin challenges and concerns, and build an exclusive experience through advanced skincare services and products. We are also intentional in providing a decorative ambiance to provide a calm, warm, and relaxing experience.
What advice would you give to someone who is trying to become an entrepreneur?
Everyone’s path and journey is different, but my biggest advice would be, if you are interested in the entrepreneurial route, I would say continue your education, learn about the things that interest you most, be an expert in it, and use your educational profession to fuel and fund your business idea, and when you are ready to go full on entrepreneur, I say feel that fear and go for it with no hesitation! Also, surround yourself with like-minded individuals who are in the same industry who have experience in owning a business that you can learn from. There is room for anyone in any industry, No one can be you! It’s how you set yourself apart that will determine your success.
What strategies did you first use to market your business?
I started off purely referral based. I built My clientele base during my time as a mobile Esthetician while still maintaining a professional job. From there, I tapped into my existing customers to spread the word about my products and services by reminding them to share their experiences and incentivizing them to bring new clientele. Once we opened our physical location, our biggest marketing tool became social media. Learning the fundamentals of how social media works and altering our strategy to capture the attention of our target audience has helped us tremendously in building new clientele with a larger reach.
How have your priorities changed from when you first started?
My focus has changed. After I transitioned from my profession to full time entrepreneurship, it afforded me the latitude to take my business to the next level. I realized the success of my business requires an almost religious level of focus on the goal at hand. Every day I am driven by my passion to truly help change someone’s life by helping them see the beauty within themselves!
Outside of all of your hard work and efforts toward building your brand, what do you do for fun? Hobbies?
With the little time that I have, and at this stage in my life, I truly love spending time with my husband and our three children. Together we absolutely love holding family debates and watching movies in bed. As of recent, my husband and I have been enjoying exploring restaurants in our local community, it’s been fun because I truly love great food!