Darine: [00:00:00] Welcome to this week's episode of Beauty Babble. Today we're talking to Carla Khan, a repeat guest of the podcast. We wanted to talk to Carla again because we had a great conversation the last time, but this time we wanted to talk about the business end of things. Carla, thanks so much for joining us.
Nice 
to 
Carla: be back.
Suzanne: So on our last conversation with you, you touched on a few little things and we thought, oh, I think you can, you can segment into another part of our conversation. We probably would have been chatting for a couple hours, I think. You touched on getting into the industry and you had mentioned you went to go work somewhere first in a distribution company.
So, And then you kind of ventured from there. We thought that's a really interesting journey. You took tell us a little bit about that. When you finished school, you went to work at a distribution and. Was that 
Carla: like? Yeah. Yeah. So when I was in aesthetic school, I was the oldest lady there. I was , I was [00:01:00] 34.
And , I had gone in. 'cause obviously I had a passion for everything. And actually I. A distribution center. They used to come in and give us a rundown of like their skincare, obviously wanting us to come and buy them from them and give us a little education and background on what they had to offer.
And I connected with the lady that would come in and she was like, Oh, I think you'd be a perfect fit. Are you open to coming in for an interview? So I thought that I was going for this interview actually to go work at their med spa and I was super stoked I was like, this is amazing And I walked in and the owner was like, oh actually no, we're looking for somebody for customer service And I was like, okay.
And when I went into aesthetic school, I never had really pictured myself working for somebody else because my ultimate goal was to work for myself because I wanted to have free time to be with my kids. And I had seen that people in the beauty industry had that and I thought, okay, maybe this is, this [00:02:00] is the way to go.
That's not the way my journey led me though. And I ended up at customer service for a distribution and skincare company. And, and I look back at that position now and it was, it was a great way for me to get into the industry. I think it gave me a great opportunity to learn the backend. of the beauty industry.
And learn really, when I left school, I had realized how much I still had to learn. Not that I've ever closed off to learning or anything like that, but I was like, I got out there and I'm looking at this skincare line and I'm like, what you're talking about? Like, this is way over my head. And so I had the advantage of getting to be up close and personal with a professional line and start working with eight certain ingredients and why we do things a certain way.
And so I worked there for two years. And then my youngest daughter needed to be put at a different school. I [00:03:00] wanted her to have a better experience and I needed more time. So I was like, I had already been running just evenings and weekends. I would literally leave my, my, my day job and I would go straight to the studio.
My kids spent a lot of time with grandma and I would go and I would do lashes and I would do waxing and I would do all those sorts of things. And so I felt I had a big enough clientele after doing that for two years actually a little longer. I had actually been doing that for three years cause I had been doing that while I was in school as well.
And was that for yourself? That was for myself. So I worked for myself. There was a wonderful lady that opened up her hair salon to me and she had a room there and she was very kind to me. Very kind to me. And so I was there for a long time and then, yeah, I went there permanently. 
Darine: So. Can I ask, did you rent the room?
Like, what was that like? I think [00:04:00] in our industry, there are different ways that you can work, right? You can have your own space that you lease out. You can rent a room from someone. You can have Do it out of your house. What was that arrangement like? 
Carla: So, like I said, she was very kind to me. When I first started out there she let me go off of just, I would pay a percentage of each of my clients, because I didn't have very many clients.
So to pay a monthly rate would have been outrageous for me. So I started out on a percentage. And then as time went on and as I got busier and then when I was in there full time, I went to a monthly rate. Which when you have a larger clientele is definitely the, the better way to go. 
Suzanne: How long would you say that, that if you don't mind sharing with our listeners, that, that portion, like starting out is such a key thing for everyone to understand is it just doesn't happen overnight.
You got a few clients and yes, you were very blessed that [00:05:00] someone actually. Offered that way for you if you built your clientele, obviously, she saw something in you that was going to fit in quite well there and and then how long did it take to when you when you saw, okay, I'm getting busy here time.
To do a set rate, you're comfortable, you're more confident about that commitment, I'll say, of that monthly rate. About how long was that, would you say, roughly? 
Carla: That was for sure, that was like, probably four years. Because once I once I left the distribution and I was doing it full time on my own I had actually been given another opportunity to work actually at a spot out of town with another beautiful human who I'm very fortunate to have worked with.
And she. offered me a small or a room rental we basically shared in her spa. We were never there at the same time. And she just charged me very [00:06:00] minimal rent. And so I was going back and forth between out of town and downtown where I was. And so I until I was Able to Yeah, so I would say four years. It was a four year hustle.
And when I say hustle, it was a hustle. Yeah, 
Suzanne: and fairness to you mentioned just so people understand you needed the flexibility with your kids to write. So It's not because you were working from nine to nine straight, it's because you needed breaks in your day to help with your kids and whatever needed to be done, be a mom, right?
Carla: Big time. Yeah. Yeah. Because I was driving my daughter back and forth to school. And so I would literally go out of town during the day, go pick her up from school, drop her off at home with grandma, and then go to the downtown studio. 
Suzanne: So your day was probably a good 16 hour, however, how much time you actually had to be able to work on clients with a little bit left.
Right? A hundred percent. Yeah. And your availability would have been not [00:07:00] as much right in fairness. So I'm just sharing so people understand your, it is, it is hard to build a clientele. It's very 
Carla: hard. Yeah. And it comes building trust. 
Suzanne: Yeah. And the rapport that's for sure. Trust and rapport. Definitely.
And referral. Yeah. So you went from there and then what was your next, what happened next? 
Carla: I, I after COVID, that's actually when I made the big, the big, big change. Actually in the middle of COVID, funny enough, is I had decided that time with my kids was more important than, than this current hustle I was doing.
As much as I appreciated every single one of those opportunities. So I gave. You know, I told the, the lady out of town that it just, I wasn't going to be doing that drive anymore, and I actually left the downtown studio because there was an opportunity to rent one of those those collabs, [00:08:00] the collab studios.
There's a few of them around. And there's one right downtown, right close to where I was downtown, but obviously I thought maybe this would be a little bit faster with referrals. There would be more camaraderie between the hairstylists. There were no other estheticians in there at that time. And so in the middle of COVID, I decided to move into one of these collaborative studios.
Suzanne: So who are you with, in one studio with other hairstylists and you had your own little room ticketing or you had your own room and they had their own, is that what 
Carla: you're talking about? Yeah. So basically there's one floor. There were 36 studios and so each professional ran their own business.
Out of their studio. And I was one of the studios. So I was all on my own. I rented the smallest room they had and and, and did my own thing. I was the only there were there were actually that's not true. There were two estheticians in there. We were neighbors.[00:09:00] But all in all. I, I, I was the only one offering the services that I did.
They didn't do lash extensions or anything like that. So how was that 
Darine: different than what you were doing prior? Cause then just for our listeners to get a clear idea, cause you were renting a room in a spa and then now you've moved into your own studio space. What is the difference between the two and what did you find?
Was the, you know, the pros, and maybe what are some of the cons? 
Carla: Yeah. Yeah. So the biggest difference was I was inside of somebody else's business when I was renting the room. So it was kind of like I was under that umbrella. And when you're in somebody else's business, I would say the biggest con is that everything that they represent and everything that they're drawing in for their business is kind of what you get for your business.
And it's not always a match. So for me, [00:10:00] I. I always liked being kind of fancy. I was a little bit bougie. And so this this studio space that I was able to rent was very bougie and it came with a very bougie price tag. But my clients loved it. They would come in and they're like, Oh my God, Carla, like.
This is amazing. What a beautiful space and it, it had access to right, right in the brewery district downtown. And, you know, everybody loved coming there. It had heated underground parking had all the things, but that was a whole new hustle for me then, because now, so when you're inside somebody else's business I wasn't necessarily getting enough referrals.
Just because the demographic that she was dealing with wasn't necessarily the demographic that would have been drawn to my services. sO that's why I moved, thinking that I was going to move into a space where there would be more camaraderie. The hairdressers would be like, because I didn't do hair.
[00:11:00] Like, I always say, I can do everything but hair and nails. Other than that, I'm in. And so I thought with, with hairdressers, it would have been like, oh yeah, like we've got a girl down the road that does lashes and waxing and facials and chemical peels and all those things. But I don't know if it was just because it was during COVID or what it was, but there wasn't actually as much of that as I thought that there was going to be.
So it had the look I wanted. But then I was also completely by myself because being inside of the salon, it was nice, I had the camaraderie, but I didn't have, I was in a hair salon so I wasn't able to bounce ideas off of the hairdresser at that time either, right, which is something I really desire. And so when I was downtown at my own studio, then I was all by myself and I was there just for my clients.
And I mean, that's good too. And there's some personalities that would do great at that. They just want to go in, do their job and leave. I am not that person. I'm [00:12:00] super social. And so now now I've lost my words. That's 
Suzanne: okay. 
Carla: Yeah, so then I actually ended up the next step in my journey was actually moving back in with another hairdresser in her private studio, but now that was in a residential area.
So talk about not having any you know, any, any what's the word I'm looking for, you know, where people can see you all around, no visibility. Yeah. And so I needed to get into a space where I was surrounded by people, like minded and that I wasn't completely isolated and I didn't only have hairdressers to talk to.
That's a 
Darine: lo I love I love your t all of that, because there's so many options! 
Suzanne: There are so many options 
Darine: to fit your need of whatever season you are in your life and what you [00:13:00] can give or what you can afford sometimes, 
Carla: right? And I mean, going out on your own into your own studio, like, it's just like everything else in the beauty industry, you never stop learning, you never stop growing.
So what I needed, you know, before COVID is definitely not what I needed now. Now I just want to, I have, I have an amazing clientele. I'm very fortunate. I'm very supported. But along that journey, I've never lost connection with any of those people that had also helped me through my journey. So. It's about keeping that community, you know, you never want to burn bridges, you never want to leave someplace a bad taste in their mouth.
Moving studios was always probably one of my biggest like dreads is I would just like get so stressed out about having to tell them that I was, you know, I was going to go on another path. Because everybody has been so wonderful to me. So I think growing that community, but, but following your own heart is really [00:14:00] important.
Suzanne: So true. And how did you, how did you come across your new place and what made you choose? Oh man. 
Carla: Change. My new 
Suzanne: place. Cause you changed, right? You, you, this is a last move you did not that long ago. That's how I got to meet you. Yes. And well, I mean, I met you once before, but I officially met you cause I get to see a little more 
Carla: often now.
Yes, yes. Well, I said this new space. I'm like, I'm never going to leave. I'm like, you guys are going to take me everywhere with you. I knew the owners of this space quite a long time ago, right when I had first left my, actually my my distribution job. I had first met the owners here because I had been looking for new products to bring in, whether it was skincare, waxing, that sort of thing.
And I actually met, met the owner at a waxing class that I had signed up for. And I knew somebody that was there. So like I said, keeping that community, keeping friendly, that's so important here. So it [00:15:00] was somebody I actually knew from my old distribution job that knew somebody here. And she was like, Nope.
They are wonderful. They're amazing. So I've been following their journey for quite a few years as well and watching them develop their space and what that's all become and grown to. And I knew that they had this room available and I knew that I needed some place that had more visibility. And I was just ready to grow.
And this was a place that you could grow with because the owners also grow with you. So. It's been a really refreshing change 
Suzanne: all around. Wow, it's been quite the journey you've had in your seven years, I'd say. But it's interesting, like Doreen said, it's so true, so many, so many people are getting into this industry because they want to work around and with their families.
Yeah, but there's some, there's some challenges with that there's, you know, like you said, I think you shared that already that [00:16:00] pluses and minuses with it and, and, you know, you having to really hustle, you know, I don't know how many people are going to get up in the morning drop their kids drive out of town.
Come back, pick them up and then go to another location to continue working. I know you said your situation was a little bit different, but you're not the only one out there in the same situation. And I think that in the industry that so many. of us need to understand that it is a hustle and it doesn't stop, does it?
Carla: It never stops. And, and, you know, I say, I always tell people, I'm like, when the ups are up, are up, you feel fantastic. When they're down You're on Indeed because you get a little worried. You're like, how, how am I going to do my Costco run this week? You know? So, so it never stops and you always have to keep evolving and, and, you know, I've been really fortunate.
I made a great connection with somebody who, you know, could build my website and [00:17:00] lose those sorts of things and work with me there. And so I'm constantly like, okay, marketing genius. Tell me what my next move is because I have been really slow and I think that's something that everybody needs to know is like you can have a great clientele.
I have wonderful regulars who have been with me for years. But sometimes they move, sometimes they have financial things that, you know, these sort of services aren't something that's in the budget right now. Things happen. So, you know, I'm always accepting new clients. I'm always open to fitting somebody in because you never know when that's going to change.
On that topic, 
Darine: what do you, what do you do for marketing and branding your business? We've talked a bit about this on the podcast and just kind of a quick rundown of, is it social? Is it advertising? What kind of things 
Carla: do you do? So I'm still at the beginning of this this whole [00:18:00] journey, not even going to lie to you, I'm terrible at it, I'm absolutely terrible at marking myself, I always say I'm really good at doing the things so my social media girl, website girl, everything, I pay her to do the social media but she's been telling me more recently that really you have to pay me.
for advertising at this point that that's really the only thing that's getting a lot of the algorithms going essentially. So we've been looking at getting into more like the paid advertising. She says Google is actually where it's at right now is you're wanting to pay the advertisements on Google more so than the social media platforms.
And then we've been talking about doing more SEOs as well, just getting more reach. Nice. 
Darine: Do you have any advice before we wrap up for the day for any estheticians that are aspiring to start 
Carla: a business? I mean, if you have that dream, it's, if you love what you're doing, and you have the [00:19:00] dream that you want to be out on your own and you want to build that clientele, I say go for it.
The hustle is absolutely worth it. I wouldn't change it for the world. Every person that walks into my studio, you know, you build these relationships with, if you're a people person like I am, there's no happier day than coming into work and being able to spend your day with some of your favorite people.
Because in reality. I spend more time with my clients than I do my friends, and some of them are just my most favorite people in the whole world. So to be able to come into work and not feel like you're going to work, it is the best that it can be. 
Suzanne: Wow. I like that. It's a great day, isn't it? It is. Well, Carla, thank you so much again for taking the time and talking with us and our viewers.
I know that we can Doreen will add that how to contact you again, if anything, they have questions or that or with us as well, you [00:20:00] know, you can reach out. So , thank you for all the time today and we will probably see you again, I am sure. 
Carla: Thank you.