Meet Jess - The Esthetician with 26K Followers
On today's episode of the Spa Business Building Podcast, I have a special guest, Jess, with Days with Jess over on Instagram. She is a solo esthetician, and she is really killing it over on Instagram. So I invited her here to give us some insight about her business and how she grew her Instagram account for her business.
And I really think that you're gonna find this episode to be so valuable. So without further ado, here we go.
Welcome Jess, it's so nice to have you on the Spa Business Building Podcast.
Thank you for joining me.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, so why don't you introduce yourself? Tell me a little bit about your business.
Yeah, so I'm Jess, also known as Days with Jess on Instagram. I've been an esthetician for seven years. I have a solo aesthetics practice in Madison, Wisconsin, and I've had that for about three years now.
Awesome. So what made you decide to go into esthetics?
I just really love the connections that I get with my clients, like the genuine, like, relationship, you know, seeing them every month. And I've always been fascinated by skin. Actually, growing up, I wanted to go into, like, the dermatology field, but obviously that's a lot more schooling.
So this was definitely a better route for me. Awesome.
What would you say your focus is in your business when it comes to skincare? Do you have, like, a particular service that you prefer, or, like, modalities?
Honestly, I don't do a ton of modalities. I have, you know, just, like, microdermabrasion, red light therapy, nano-infusion. But honestly, I really just try to make it easy for clients.
So I really just kind of customize whatever they need.
Awesome.
Yeah, I love that. And I think that a lot of estheticians are pulling that into their business. It's more of just like, let's make this about you and what your concerns are.
So yeah, yeah, I agree.
What's the, what is the name of your business?
Blooming Esthetics.
Blooming Esthetics. I love that. So what made you decide to want to go out on your own to open your studio?
The flexibility. I was really tired of working, you know, all the evenings, all the weekends. I felt like I was missing out on a lot of like family, friend time, holidays as well.
I was having to work on all the holidays. And then also just wanting to be able to offer like the types of products that I want to offer and the services and not have to like be constricted to a certain protocol.
Yeah. And I think that all of us can relate to that for sure. I think that's kind of the push behind why we open our own businesses.
What would you say some of your biggest challenges that you faced in your business, like getting it off the ground?
So the biggest thing for me in my circumstance, when I opened up, I was still working at a spa whole time. So I felt like I couldn't really fully invest my time into opening my business. And I did that for about a year.
And then also just not knowing like the type of marketing that worked for me. So I was spending money on Google ads and Facebook ads, I would say probably again for the first year. And it just wasn't working for me until I started focusing more on Instagram.
And that's kind of how it led to my success.
So when did you finally decide that it was the time to just go all in on your business? And cut ties with working for someone else?
It took me about a full year of doing both. And it actually was kind of a weird situation. The spa that I worked at actually closed down.
So it kind of really forced me actually to do it. And it was the best thing that happened to me, honestly.
The universe was speaking.
It told you what you needed.
That's really great. So you had mentioned that you were kind of leaning into different, kind of throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what marketing worked for you. But then you kind of started seeing this growth in Instagram, and it made you kind of lean more into focusing on that as more of your marketing, would you say?
So moving into that with Instagram, how would you say that you kind of started growing your audience there?
Honestly, just posting a lot. And reels specifically get a lot of views and traction. And it does take a lot of time.
So it was definitely really discouraging at first. I think it took about a full year of me posting reels, like, almost every day to finally, like, see something. So definitely don't give up.
Yeah, that's relatable. And I will, I just want to backtrack for listeners that the reason I asked you is because, on the podcast, is because I started following you on Instagram, and I was like, wow, like, you do such a great job, and you have so many followers. Like, I love watching your stories.
I love your different content. I love it when you're funny or when you, you know, are talking to the camera and giving some advice. Like, you do such a great job.
I think that Instagram and social media in general is just can be so confusing and trying to figure out what works for people. But I think you've definitely honed in on what works for you and your audience, and that's, I wanted to highlight that here today. So that's my end.
So moving to the next question, what type of content do you find resonates most with your followers?
Honestly, the funny ones are like the meme-related ones. I think people like when, you know, you can give them a good laugh.
Right. Do you feel like you get the most likes and like engagement?
Yes, absolutely. And the shares, comments, things like that.
That's awesome. Yeah. And I think it's important for people to know that it's okay to try different, you know, different types of reels and posts.
Like for me, sometimes the funny ones don't always hit, you know, but then when it's just like me, a talking head, those seem to hit better. I don't know. So it's about like kind of figuring out what works for you.
Does it take you quite a while to kind of figure out like, oh, this is what's, what's good for me.
Yeah. I don't honestly, I still feel like struggling sometimes to figure out what people like. I feel like it changes all of the time too.
So it's hard to keep up sometimes.
Yeah, I agree. Um, have you found any specific strategies or tactics to be particularly effective in growing your account?
Um, just trying to be consistent. Um, and don't be afraid to hop on like trends. I try to catch them pretty early on.
Um, and then if you choose to use like audios, I try to use the trending audio. So they'll have like the little arrow next to the name. Um, and then I'll try to use the audios that have like really low uses.
So for me, low uses is like 10,000 uses or less.
Okay, that's helpful.
So for an esthetician or anybody really in the beauty and industry, um, beauty and wellness industry, that's struggling to like gain traction on Instagram, would you have any advice on where to start or what mistakes to avoid?
Um, so the biggest mistake I see is not having the location posted anywhere in their bio. I actually see this a lot. And I don't think people want to like look at your profile and have to like jump through so many hoops to try to find out where you're located.
I just want to like one easy click. Um, and then also just, um, I see like people will have, it'll be like a really salesy kind of vibe. So like all their posts are just like, oh, discount this, discount that.
And there's not really any value to their post, if you know what I mean.
Yeah, I do. Um, so you're saying maybe like nurturing your audience more instead of trying to just sell to them all the time, giving them more value added content of, you know, different, maybe switch it up a little bit.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, and then I guess advice is, again, just going back to consistency. I know I've said that a lot, but that's really what it comes down to, I think.
Um, and then learning how...
Do you have, like, a schedule for yourself that you try to say, like, I'm going to do so many posts a week at this time? Do you kind of, is that where your consistency comes in?
Um, yeah, I used to say every day, um, it kind of got to be a little bit too much. So I try to do Monday through Friday and then take a break on the weekends. But, you know, three to four times a week, I would say, is pretty consistent.
Um, and then, you know, posting on your stories as well, just so that people can kind of see your personal life too. Um, just, like, kind of get that personal connection.
Um, so when it comes to, like, story, I'm sorry, when it comes to, like, stories and posts, are those, like, different con, that's different content that you're posting, like, separately, like, your, your stories is going to be something different than you would post in a reel or, like, a carousel?
Yeah, I mean, I share my, um, most of my, like, posts and reels to my stories, but in addition, I'll post, like, openings that I have in the stories. Um, I just guess I don't want that kind of stuff on my feed. Mm-hmm.
Um, and then, you know, on the weekends, if I'm out at, like, a coffee shop or something, just so, like, people know, like, hey, there's a real person behind the camera. Um, learning how to edit, um, CapCut is gonna be your best friend. Um, and at the beginning, I used a lot of templates, and then eventually I just kind of learned how to use the editing features.
It's pretty easy once you kind of get to know it. Yeah. I don't know if you've used that before.
I use it for the templates right now.
I don't really do my own.
Um, I feel like when it comes to my reels, like it's pretty basic unless I use something from CapCut right now. And I think that's your that advice is great. Just like starting with what you're comfortable with.
The more you use it, the more comfortable you'll get with it. Kind of build that confidence.
Yeah, absolutely.
For sure. That's great advice. So when it comes to like combining social media in your business, how do you balance that time commitment of managing like your social media presence and running your business?
Honestly, so I will like batch edit a bunch of videos, and I keep them in an album on my phone. And then I usually have like three to five just sitting there ready to go whenever. And I usually do this like right before bed and yeah.
Do you have a like a schedule of when you're creating your videos? Do you try to block time off to like a day or time in your schedule when you're in your studio to just create your reels?
Honestly, I don't, but I do get to work about an hour beforehand. Yeah, and then if there's ever like a gap in my schedule, I'll definitely take advantage of that time as well.
Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, I think that I know sometimes for me as well, I try to come in early and that's kind of my time to be like, okay, get ready.
Now what admin stuff do I?
Oh, I need to like film some reels or do some stuff, and then I have a bunch of stuff in my pocket that I can try to edit later and put out there in the world later on if I need it. Well, I think, honestly, I love all the advice that you're giving. Like honestly, like this is so helpful.
And I hope that people can go to your Instagram and take a look and kind of see exactly what I'm saying about like how well you do, and like you've grown this Instagram account. How long have you had your Instagram account?
So since you started your business?
Yes, but I think I just posted a lot of like generic, like preset Canva type templates. And I was definitely at fault for being very pushy on the discounted things just because I wanted people in so badly. And it took me a while to figure that out.
Do you feel like once you started kind of leaning into being like showing your face and being yourself is when it kind of started taking off?
Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
And I think that's the hardest part is like putting yourself out there and feeling like, oh, I'm going to mess up or I'm going to look so stupid. Like, yeah, put our faces out into, you know, onto social media. But I think that it's so important because when it comes to our brands, like we are the face of our brands.
Like people want to see who is going to be doing their services. They want to feel your energy through the screen. So I think it's important, but you do a really great job.
Thank you.
You've given me a lot of inspiration in my own videos. Like, oh, that's a good idea. Be more confident and, you know, just like don't be afraid to show up and be consistent.
There's one thing I do want to add that I felt like really gained a lot of local clientele, just because, you know, you can have so many followers, but if they're all over the world, it's not really going to do much for getting clients in. Paying for the boosted ads, and that's something I still currently do. So I just made like one post that's like highlighting like what's included in a facial.
And then I set the location to, I think, like a 20 mile radius of Madison. And I don't really spend that much. I think I spend currently about like 120 bucks a month.
Like it pays for itself, honestly. That's the biggest thing.
So that's pretty helpful in attracting new clients or?
Local, yeah.
Local clients. That's really awesome.
I think that's super helpful because I get a lot of people asking like, is it worth it to do the ads? I think if you can do it the right way and know how to, like you said, target those people, then for sure. Otherwise, you're just kind of throwing money out there.
But yeah, I think it can be helpful for sure.
That's really great advice.
So looking ahead, what are your goals for your business and for your Instagram presence? Do you have any goals set or kind of what you're thinking in the bigger scheme of things?
Yeah, I mean, just as far as like, aspiring other estheticians like, hey, you can be successful as an entrepreneur. And then for my business, just really like maintaining amazing relationships with my clients.
Yeah, I have a face show with you next week, and I'm looking forward to it.
I'm very excited.
Like, I watch your videos, obviously, and I'm like, oh, that looks so nice.
I can't wait to get on your table.
I know it's going to be fantastic.
I'm very excited.
I'm really excited.
Well, thank you so much for meeting with me today and sharing your advice on social media. I really think this is going to be helpful because I know a lot of people, that's where they feel like they struggle the most when it comes to marketing themselves because there's so many... It's just, it's really unexplained.
Like, you don't know what you're doing, and you just kind of, like, are winging it. And I just want people to know that I feel like that's kind of how we all start, is just winging it, you know? It's trial and error.
Figure out... One question I want to ask is, are you utilizing the analytics? Are you tracking your numbers and things like that?
Do you kind of look, or are you just looking to see, like, your growth and how many... How would you say you know that you feel that you're successful in that?
I honestly don't really look at the analytics. For my success, I just guess it's more about the clients that I get and how filled my books are.
And honestly, like, I think that's kind of great because when we look so much into those numbers, it can be very disheartening when we feel like we've put so much time and effort, and then you're like, I got, like, no views. Like, it's all just, like, vanity metrics sometimes, in my opinion. So over, you know, just looking too much into it, I think that it can really just, like, steal your joy if you feel like you've put so much into it.
So I like that you don't focus too much on it. Your metrics, you're calculating at a different, you know, a different way. Perfect.
Well, thank you so much for coming onto the Spa Business Building Podcast. Can you tell listeners where they can find you?
So on Instagram, dayswithjess, there's periods in between days and Jess.
So it's days.myths.jess.
Yes.
And if anybody is interested in scheduling services with you, where can they find your business?
Just go to bloomingmadison.com. Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
So thank you for joining me on this episode of The Spa Business Building Podcast. If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave a review. That is how others find me and how my podcast grows.
Until next time, stay fabulous, stay inspired, and happy business building.
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