Reflect, Recharge and Refocus: Wrapping Up 2024

[00:00:00] Suzanne: you can't pour from an empty cup. You're in a service industry, so if you haven't served yourself first and prioritized your self care, you're not going to be good at that for anybody else in your world,  

[00:00:12] Darine: Welcome to our last episode of 2024. I can't believe it. It's the end of the year, but we are very excited. We are going to be taking a little break. But we're going to tell you a little bit more about that. Suzanne's going to give us a little bit more of the details, and then we'll get into our regular episode. 

[00:00:31] Suzanne: Yeah, I say can't believe this is like our last episode of 2024. So actually we'll be back after the holiday break for January 1st will be your next episode you can expect from us and listening to all of you, you've actually shared That you're enjoying it, which is wonderful. We love the feedback, but sometimes you're not finishing what you're listening to and you're moving on to the next or you're not keeping up with things. 

[00:00:54] Suzanne: So we decided for the first quarter, we're going to start submitting or uploading [00:01:00] new ones on the 1st and 15th of every month. And we'd love your feedback on that to let us know what you think. How's that working? Because we're really doing this for you, the listener. It's not about us. We don't have egos about this. 

[00:01:12] Suzanne: We just want to share. And so we'd love to hear that. So you can expect the first and 15th new episodes going forward for 2025.  

[00:01:21] Darine: Absolutely. And just for anyone who's new, like we've been doing every Wednesday. And like you said, that. We've left some of our listeners feeling like they just, you know, it was one more thing that they had to add on to their list. 

[00:01:33] Darine: So we're going into a, on the 1st and the 15th of every month and we'll see how that is. So send us your feedback when you have it.  

[00:01:43] Suzanne: Yeah, it wasn't negative in any way. It's just some people felt like they had to choose because they only had the 15 minutes at that time. So they're like, Oh, which one do I want to watch? 

[00:01:51] Suzanne: And then they're like, Oh, but I got to get to that one too. And then we're uploading another one. Right. So we thought there was. We don't want this to be daunting. We want this to be informative and, [00:02:00] and that you're enjoying and you have time to really listen and then give us your feedback. Absolutely. 

[00:02:06] Suzanne: We don't need another thing on our to do list. No kidding.  

[00:02:10] Darine: All right. Well, let's get on to today's topic. Today is, you know, it's the end of the year. So this is Published on December 18. So we're just getting into the holiday break and stuff like that. So we thought this is a great time to reflect on our year as you know, as the podcast Beauty Babble, but also sharing tips on how our listeners can do the same. 

[00:02:37] Darine: And we also like We'll have a blog published as well on the Beauty Cult website for anyone who wanted to kind of go back and read more about it.  

[00:02:48] Suzanne: Get the details there for sure. It's something that I think we gotta, we, we have to always, especially if you're a business owner, even if you're not, you are building your clientele if you're working for [00:03:00] someone. 

[00:03:00] Suzanne: So it's really good, even on a personal note, to reflect. And recharge yourself, but on a professional as well. And finding that balance together, I think as beauty professionals is really important. And sometimes they'll, they'll kind of blur lines, personal and professional, cause they affect you. So I think if we look back at the year to reflect and recharge and refocus yourself, you'll be ready for 2025. 

[00:03:23] Suzanne: Cause as we know, this is usually a peak time a year, but then it drops. So. That's why we're doing this a bit early just to remind you of some things you can reflect on, right? So here's to a great end of the year. Find the positives in it and let's look forward to the success of 2025. So how do we reflect? 

[00:03:44] Darine: I think let's use us as an example. So what we do like we do this on a monthly basis, but we also do this on an annual basis and we look back every month and we see, you know, how did we, you know, [00:04:00] which episodes have. the more listeners and then we kind of look for trends and in terms of topics like what's resonating because that's what's important to us like you said we wanted to put content out there that matters to our listeners and we did that for the entire year and we pulled out like our top three episodes we kind of analyzed trends in terms of like topics and length of the episodes so I think that's the positive, right? 

[00:04:31] Darine: Looking what's working. What did we do that resonated and went well and we both, I'll talk for myself, like it felt good to see that positivity in that some of the episodes and topics, like we, because we do this on a regular basis too, like we had an idea of the topic, the trend trends or the topics that are working for us and to see that they are doing well You know, it feels  

[00:04:56] Suzanne: good, you don't want to feel good. 

[00:04:57] Suzanne: We're listening, we're listening. [00:05:00]  

[00:05:00] Darine: Yeah, yeah, so that, I mean, whatever our viewers are doing, like if you're a skin care specialist, or you do lashes, whatever it is, like, looking back and seeing what were some of your wins for the year.  

[00:05:12] Suzanne: Start with the wins. Yeah, start with the wins, that's so important, because I think it'll help you resignate to the why behind, why are you doing this, you know, and it, are you actually, Listening. 

[00:05:24] Suzanne: Are you actually following through with what is because sometimes you might want to do something because you see it. Oh, I really want to do this, but your clients aren't resonating with it. Or vice versa. You're, you know, not being you and you're trying to follow a trend and you're going, Oh God, I hate doing this. 

[00:05:41] Suzanne: You know, it's going to resonate in the end for you. And then the, so if you review and say, Oh, that latest thing that was huge on tick tock, I tried it. What did I really get from this? It's like, yeah, you know what? I should listen to my gut. It's not me. I'm not going to do this. And I think that's okay to see those things about yourself in this industry, right? 

[00:05:58] Suzanne: So sometimes you can't [00:06:00] be what the trend is. So, because you're not honoring who you are into the why you're behind what you're doing is again. So, you know, you're looking at, did you, did you grow the clients out of that idea? Did you when you introduce that new service, What was the good and the bad for your clients and for yourself? 

[00:06:18] Suzanne: So always looking at both sides. Honestly, I think it's really good.  

[00:06:22] Darine: Yeah. And I would also look at like, what services did you do most of? And what did you do the least of?  

[00:06:29] Suzanne: Yeah. And then maybe like,  

[00:06:31] Darine: if it's like, those are more popular services, then maybe when you're making your plan for the next year, focusing on You know, maybe just focusing on advertising or marketing your more popular services that resonate with your clients more. 

[00:06:44] Suzanne: Right. Yeah. And then the other is like, when you really hone in on this, kind of like what we did was our, you know, feedback from our clients, what has stood out. Mm hmm. The whole year, like what's been consistently happening or it could even be the other way. The [00:07:00] one thing that client said, and you were like, Oh my God, I never thought about that. 

[00:07:03] Suzanne: I for, or I forgot that, like go back to those things and it'll help guide you into your 2025. To keep going forward with whichever it was. It's like, you know, the trend of whatever came out that your client's like, Oh, that sounds stupid. This yoga facial. Or, you know, it's like, Oh, okay. I hate to say that, but some people just don't get it. 

[00:07:23] Suzanne: And that's okay. So, but it stood out. Maybe you're not doing it or you are doing it. It doesn't matter. It's just more of what did they say? I think it's what we've got to look at is the key of that, right?  

[00:07:33] Darine: I think you also mentioned something in the blog that you wrote that I liked which is like looking at challenges in your schedule or your work life balance because maybe you took on another day of work and it was just a lot like did that, is that worth it like looking at what worked and what didn't because at the end of the day, yes, we all have bills to pay and we all need to, you know, make money but we [00:08:00] also need to take care of ourselves and not be completely what's that burnt out. 

[00:08:05] Darine: Yeah.  

[00:08:05] Suzanne: Yeah. Right. You took something on, like you decided to take, you know, not so many evening times with your clients. I mean, look at that side of it too, because you were trying to do, I don't know, be in a reading club or book club or whatever, whatever it was that you changed, like, how did it reflect you on that way too? 

[00:08:24] Suzanne: Because maybe it felt you, it was good for you, but it affected your over your, your business side of things. Right. Right. It's not saying it's wrong. Review it and look at it. How badly actually did it really affect you? Yeah, was it not a good financial decision for you? Maybe it was not as bad as you thought it was gonna be Maybe it was as bad and you didn't realize how how much impact that financially had on your business You know, it's really looking at Well, you want to celebrate your wins, but you also want to identify the areas for your growth. 

[00:08:56] Suzanne: And that goes in personal and business. I guess you could say, like you [00:09:00] said that I love that scheduling work life balance. We will use schedule, right? I schedule. Yeah. And people might think, what do you mean? I said, literally, like even before we're like, let me put that in my calendar. I got to put that in. 

[00:09:12] Suzanne: I got to schedule that in. It just helps. It's so much easier. You have less going on in your head. I don't wake up in the middle of the night and think, Oh my God, I'm supposed to do this for Doreen. Or, you know what I mean? Like, if you put it in, it's done. And psychologically, you're underneath that psychological aspect. 

[00:09:30] Suzanne: It's, have you ever woken up in the middle of the night going, why are you thinking about that for? Had you taken it off the list, it's scheduled in, your brain automatically will say, done. Or you go, oh, I have to, oh no, I got that scheduled. You'll remember, and it's put away. Brain is an amazing thing, especially in the middle of the night. 

[00:09:48] Darine: I think that leads really well into like the second topic of like recharging because if you're constantly thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking about your to do list or balancing [00:10:00] your clients with your home life or whatever it is, you're, then you end up kind of draining yourself. You're more stressed. 

[00:10:06] Darine: So finding ways that you can I'm going to use the word streamline, but you know, like what's going to work for you to make it easier on you to manage your, your life and your schedule. I use like, I use a calendar. I just use my phone calendar, like the Apple calendar, but I have a shared feature with my kids. 

[00:10:27] Darine: I have one with my husband and I put all the shared stuff in there. So it's like, it's in there, it's in the calendar. I won't forget to talk about it because somebody's going to notice and be like, Oh, what's this? So we're all on the same page, that really helps me kind of one less thing that I have to constantly keep remembering and talking to somebody about or whatever. 

[00:10:46] Darine: But there's other ways that you can recharge, right?  

[00:10:49] Suzanne: Right, like that old saying, you can't pour from an empty cup. You're in a service industry, so if you haven't served yourself first and prioritized your self care, [00:11:00] you're not going to be good at that for anybody else in your world, whether it's You personally, your clients, your family, your friends, whoever it may be. 

[00:11:08] Suzanne: I think you got to look at like, for example, you set it, you know, scheduling, like setting boundaries. Is scheduling like you're, you're scheduling in saying, okay, every day 7am I'm going to do my breath work or I'm going to read or I'm going to exercise. I'm going to prep food for the day. So I know I'm nourished properly. 

[00:11:27] Suzanne: What, what are all those things can be for you or review your day? Maybe that's what you do every day, because it's such a busy life, so nothing is wrong with that, and you become, you know, it becomes what's the word I'm looking for, organized in a sense, so you're not having to think about your day, I've shared this in other podcasts when I had my business, I put my kids agendas in there so I knew, like literally, pick up at school is early, you know, after school event, Pick up later like all these things because it's not in the norm, you know, sometimes I have an alarm go off [00:12:00] to remind me So I knew I had a busy day and I'm like, I'm gonna lose track of time with this. 

[00:12:04] Suzanne: Oh, I do that, too Yeah, nothing's wrong with that that more people do that than you can imagine, right? I think Something to is like skedding setting a schedule like if you're busy and you're sitting there doing lashes after lashes after lashes Get up And, and schedule yourself, you know, half an hour, because if you run over or talk to your client, you still have a little time and go outside. 

[00:12:25] Suzanne: I know it can be cold, but you know, take the stairs if it's nearby or, you know, if you're in your home, take the stairs to the washroom or walk around your house a little bit, look outside, just take a break physically, mentally from what you're doing, I think it's important.  

[00:12:39] Darine: I think on that note, I would. 

[00:12:42] Darine: say to take some time to write yourself a non negotiable list of the things that matter to you, right? Because maybe going outside is not the thing for somebody. It's sitting down with a cup of tea, whatever it is. Like I think making yourself a list of these are the things that are important to me and then [00:13:00] figuring out how can I How can I schedule those or how can I fit that into my day so that I can have some time for me and even if it's like, like I said, five, ten minutes, it doesn't have to be a production. 

[00:13:11] Darine: It can just be a few minutes to yourself  

[00:13:14] Suzanne: that you just take. Well, actually, it comes to mind one time I was talking to Tara about this and we kind of laughed together because I said, yeah, it's like, if I've got ten minutes, sometimes I like to do two in one. I'll lie on the floor, legs up the wall, you know, yoga and then put my LED light on. 

[00:13:30] Suzanne: And listen to some music and I just it just stops me from thinking and it's that quick recharge which helps me because I don't have hours in a day sometimes to do that. So I'm like, I got to find those wins as small as they are. And it's such a big deal taking those moments to prioritize self care in the day and if you've got to schedule it in. 

[00:13:50] Suzanne: Schedule in or there's times like why didn't I think of doing that? Why did I just decide to go on Instagram, you know? Yes Yeah, stop by  

[00:13:59] Darine: the default, [00:14:00] right? Like if but if you have your list of the things that you enjoy Those can be your your default to you.  

[00:14:06] Suzanne: Mm hmm, and it can be daily Because it can  

[00:14:09] Darine: just be a few minutes, right? 

[00:14:11] Darine: It doesn't like I said doesn't have to be something that takes  

[00:14:15] Suzanne: It's really about, you know, rekindling that motivation, right? Like, I think that's what so many people have said to me. It's like, I just don't feel motivated. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I've just, well, because you've given everything.  

[00:14:29] Darine: But that brings me to the other point of yours. 

[00:14:32] Darine: Connecting with your why, which I actually really love this. Because we forget. You're burnt out. You're tired. It's the end of the year. You've just been through the holiday season and you're just like, why am I doing this?  

[00:14:45] Suzanne: Or you don't feel like your clients appreciate you or you're not alone. Like just keep bringing it up and we'll tell you. 

[00:14:53] Suzanne: Yep. We've been hearing that.  

[00:14:56] Darine: Well, and I, you know, It's not just the [00:15:00] beauty industry. I think everybody feels that at some point in their year because we just, we lose sight, we lose sight of what it is that we're doing because we're in the doing of it, of the day to day. So I think, you know, you had put down like journaling about your purpose and your passion rekindling like why you started because a lot of times we forget like, did you start because you want to help people if you're like a skincare specialist, maybe you want you had. 

[00:15:27] Darine: I had concerns with my skin when I was growing up, so that led me to my career. So you know what I'm saying, like, just what was it, what was it for you? And just reflect, like, sit with that again and revisit that and remember your why.  

[00:15:43] Suzanne: And it could even be like, well, I really don't, I didn't like my career. 

[00:15:47] Suzanne: And my last text said, why don't you get into this? Nothing's wrong with just being honest that it doesn't have to be about you personally in a sense of physical or looking could even be that I hate my career. I [00:16:00] needed a change. This seemed better. Right? So you look at those why's behind it.  

[00:16:06] Darine: It could be like, it could have been, you know, you wanted to have more control over your schedule. 

[00:16:11] Darine: You didn't want to be a slave to the nine to five. That could be the why, like, whatever it is, I mean, you don't have to like, yeah, I agree, 100%, yeah.  

[00:16:21] Suzanne: And then on there, we want to talk about, okay, so you've gone through those, right? You're, you're looking at your, your reflecting, your recharge, now it's like, okay, refocus. 

[00:16:32] Suzanne: Okay, so plan ahead. Let's look at 2025. Keep it simple. I mean, how many times do I have to say that, right? Consider a couple things in your career, your, and this includes everything, so you want to, you don't want to just think about like for me, self care. is also learning. Like I thrive from learning something new. 

[00:16:51] Suzanne: That's just who I am though. It helps me. It could even just not even be part of the beauty industry. It could be something else. It could be nutrition, which is kind of in it, but you [00:17:00] know, I love learning something new. That's who I honor myself. Maybe it's that I teach yoga, so maybe it's a new Reflection of my yoga training, or it doesn't always have to be is what I mean by that. 

[00:17:11] Suzanne: When you focus 2025, try to hit your career, your personal aspect, your self care, all of it. It's not just, you know, set your goals basically, but I would still look at what do you want to achieve next year? And on a personal note, I think it's really important. And then your career, your business, your career. 

[00:17:30] Suzanne: Even if you're working for someone else, you're still creating a clientele.  

[00:17:35] Darine: And keep it simple. I think too, like, you know,  

[00:17:40] Suzanne: retention.  

[00:17:40] Darine: Okay. End of the year. We're always like, Oh, I'm going to do like, just give yourself a break too. And I hate  

[00:17:47] Suzanne: that improved client retention. Cause everybody's saying that like, like a lot of people, there's, there's some people I know who are really busy. 

[00:17:55] Suzanne: But that's what they, they, they focus on. So when their books go down, like they're on [00:18:00] top of their, their, their Okay, so they find things that they can do to keep their books busy. They lose we'll talk about lashes. This has been kind of across the board in Canada anyways. Not sure our U. S. listeners can Share with us or not, but some are taking their lashes off. 

[00:18:18] Suzanne: They're not doing it anymore. So in your whole business has been that so what are you doing now? Relook at and staying on top things of what else can you offer? So maybe it's a new skill Maybe you've always wanted to try something new and bring it forward. So yeah Learn a new skill bring something refreshing and it could be really simple Like, think of the self care, think of the holistic maybe it's changing your room environment, more soft lighting, or the music, get a new playlist, like change, it could be that simple. 

[00:18:55] Suzanne: Right. And like I said, the updating your offerings, like a new, [00:19:00] something new, don't go, I would avoid like doing a whole review of your menu. It could just be one thing so you're not overwhelmed. I've got this new service, this new treatment, this new whatever. That's what you're going to focus on. Keep it simple. 

[00:19:15] Suzanne: And you can always grow from there.  

[00:19:17] Darine: Yeah. And I think it can also be the opposite of that in terms of you've looked back and you've reflected and you have a service that isn't booking very much. Take it off your menu. Don't offer that anymore. And that leaves you space to focus on the ones that are resonating with your clients and The ones that you like to do. 

[00:19:37] Suzanne: Yeah. Like one of the things in the consulting side of the business is that some said, well, you know, looking at the website, there's so many treatments, so many, it's like, I go on there. I would, I don't know which one to pick, especially when it comes to skincare. Right. We kind of overdo it. So is there another way? 

[00:19:56] Suzanne: Oh, I have an idea. Chat GPT that how can [00:20:00] I change my menu into one description so that I can now take control of prescribing my client what they need? Like how do you reword this? all your offerings. Like, cause some have like 10 facials. It's 15. Like, you don't have to have all that, so sometimes it's just simplicity again. 

[00:20:19] Suzanne: So again, it's that refresh, renew, revive kind of look, even on that side of it.  

[00:20:25] Darine: I agree. 100%. Especially with the facial thing. I think, you know, just changing your description, like facial is customized to your skin care concerns, whatever they may be. Because your client is not going to, you know, they're, I, you know, had people book for one thing and it's like, no, you don't need that. 

[00:20:42] Darine: Like you need this, this is what's actually going on. So,  

[00:20:46] Suzanne: and that changes it. Cause then you're like, you're all set up for this. And they're like, Oh, I can't even do this. Cause you're contraindication. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Another one too, that I think that we need to address is. [00:21:00] Investing in your education, understanding why, like if you're, for example, learning your product line or score, learning what would be an example, like servicing and communication, like do something different just to recharge your brain on how to work with people. 

[00:21:18] Suzanne: And what types of personalities, that's a fun one, types of personalities and you're noticing in your treatment room, whatever service you have, you have the same kind of people coming to you. Why don't you take a course on why is that? Why am I attracting that same kind of person? I think a lot of people do that in their dating world. 

[00:21:38] Suzanne: They, why am I keep attracting that kind of a person in my life? Well, this is the same in our client world, right? You know, sometimes that kind of reflects and will help you look at things and could be a good thing. It doesn't mean a bad thing, but you know, how come I'm having these amazing, I have some people have shared, they have amazing clients. 

[00:21:59] Suzanne: [00:22:00] Amazing. So have you ever thought about why? No, I never thought about why. Well, hone in on that a little bit more, you know, it could even be as simple as that, right, but, or, you know, you, you really want to understand, I get a lot of people saying sometimes, you know, well, skin care, like I just find it overwhelming. 

[00:22:16] Suzanne: Yes. Yes. So I can say it, it can be very overwhelming. So what, what are some things you can do to keep on top of things so I think educating is really good.  

[00:22:28] Darine: Absolutely. And thinking about January tends to be a little slower for a lot of folks in our industry. So that can be a time that you invest in yourself. 

[00:22:42] Darine: Yeah. To take advantage of the slower times.  

[00:22:46] Suzanne: Exactly. I think we kind of talked about this one too. Well, not to that specific, but streamline your, your operations, your work place. So you're evaluating, maybe it's your booking system hasn't been doing very well, not consistent or you need to improve it.[00:23:00]  

[00:23:00] Suzanne: Remember that it's the member experience that's really important. Your client experience your product inventory, you should really be doing a check through your devices. What haven't you been using? What are you using? A lot of, do I need to update? Do I need to service it? Like, what do you need to do your product inventory? 

[00:23:20] Suzanne: Oh my God. I haven't used this cream. Like it's full. Right. So then reevaluate your choices that you're doing and that strategy behind it, you know, which could lead into the next one, your marketing strategies, you know, sure they align with your goals. So that could be like where I'm always saddened to hear when someone has spent so much money on a device or products for that matter, whatever it may be, and they're not using it. 

[00:23:45] Suzanne: You know, it's like, Oh, you spent like 5, 000 on that. It's a lot of money, you know, or, or hearing the words of, well, I bought that machine, that device, and I'll never make my money out of it. Yeah. Like, okay, how about [00:24:00] flip that into something positive and go, okay, how can I do this? Yeah, there is a way. There is a way to do it. 

[00:24:08] Suzanne: So try to get the negativity out and try to find a new approach to it. I think it's really important. So, you know, you're, I love the ending part embrace the new year with confidence. And really, that's what this is all about. Right.  

[00:24:21] Darine: Absolutely. Well, and I think we will kind of go through our, we're going to tell you about our top three episodes of 2024 and we are going to think have a playlist on you. 

[00:24:36] Darine: That's the goal. That's a goal on the Beauty Cult YouTube channel for the if you want to go check out those. But our number one episode of 2024 was episode nine and it's the Naya Cinemide episode, which our ingredient episodes are Pretty popular, so if [00:25:00] anyone has an ingredient they want us to dive into, let us know. 

[00:25:04] Darine: And our second, in second place, we have Exploring Holistic Wellness with Steph Steves. And that was episode six, and Steph is a A holistic practitioner, I would say she offers Gua Sha and buckle massage and hair brushing, very unique services, but super, super warm person and environment that she creates. 

[00:25:27] Suzanne: Well, she brings in that other side of it too, about her own personal experiences, right? Trauma and things like that. It was a great, great, great, thanks for that one, Steph.  

[00:25:39] Darine: And our in number three, we have episode 32, which is Sidesco Certification for Estheticians. And we had guests on that episode. 

[00:25:50] Darine: Yes, we did. We had Vanessa  

[00:25:51] Suzanne: come and speak about that, I believe, if I'm not mistaken.  

[00:25:55] Darine: Yes. And so again, that is kind of just diving into the [00:26:00] possibility of where you can take your career in the beauty industry, right? And that's, I, one of my favorite things about this industry is that it's not linear. You can go in so many different directions and different ways. 

[00:26:14] Darine: You would not anticipate that your you would end up, you know, In it that, that CDESCO certification episode, we actually chatted, yeah, with Vanessa from the Aesthetic Institute  

[00:26:27] Suzanne: Training  

[00:26:27] Darine: Centre, yeah. Yeah,  

[00:26:28] Suzanne: that offer that program. Mm hmm.  

[00:26:31] Darine: Yeah, we're, we love all our episodes equally.  

[00:26:36] Suzanne: This is just the biggest traction, biggest response. 

[00:26:38] Suzanne: This is, again, like, like you shared at the beginning, we did our own evaluation because then we're excited to say, okay, what was it? What were the ones and we love the fact that it kind of hit each topic was kind of what we were after all year Anyways, so I'd love that. It was like three of the three things like that. 

[00:26:58] Suzanne: So absolutely  

[00:26:59] Darine: Yeah, [00:27:00] and we're always open for guests we have in the show Description we have a form that you can fill out if you have questions or ideas Submit yourself off as an idea of to be a guest on the show as well.  

[00:27:15] Suzanne: Mm hmm. Excellent You Okay, well, that is it for our last episode of  

[00:27:23] Darine: 2024. Well, happy holidays and happy new year to all our listeners. 

[00:27:29] Darine: We'll see you in 2025.