It is officially October, which means – we celebrate you, the esthetician, all month long.
I wanted to focus this month as much as possible on the business side of things. If you know me, you know I love skincare, but I may actually love operating a business even more. It's challenging, every day is a little different, there's a whole lot of problem solving, and when it works out—a lot of reward.
So today, we're starting with the overarching topic of why some spa businesses do better than others. Now, I fully admit I don't have all of the answers. There are so many factors that go into building a successful business, but I want to talk about something I think sits underneath a lot of them: what makes a business feel like a respected, trusted brand—and how that can ultimately help create a thriving business.
Most estheticians don't open their own business because they're excited about becoming marketers, salespeople, or brand strategists. They open because they're good at what they do, they love skincare, care about their clients, and they have a vision for creating something of their own.
You probably had an idea of how you wanted your space to feel, the kind of treatments you wanted to offer, the products you believed in, and the type of experience you wanted your clients to have.
Then you actually opened the business.
Suddenly you're making decisions about pricing, treatment names, retail, booking policies, your website, Instagram, emails, promotions, photography, decor, and a hundred other things that don't have much to do with performing a facial.
It's easy for those decisions to become disconnected from one another. You see another esthetician doing something that seems to be working, so you try it. Someone tells you that you need memberships, so you create one. You hear that you need to post every day, so you start posting more. Your website was built two years ago, your Instagram has evolved since then, and somewhere along the way your treatment menu became a collection of services you added because clients asked for them.
None of these decisions are necessarily bad. The problem is that eventually the business can start to feel like a collection of ideas rather than one clear point of view.
And I think clients notice this more than we realize.
The businesses we remember
Think about the places you genuinely love going.
It could be a restaurant, a small hotel, a coffee shop, a boutique or your favorite salon. Usually, there isn't one single reason you love it. It's the combination of things.
You like the way the space feels. You like the people. You trust them. You know what to expect, but there are still little details that surprise you. You recommend it to friends because somehow saying, "You would love this place," feels like enough of an explanation.
That feeling is something I think about often when it comes to the esthetics industry. We want to create a space for our clients where they aren't simply coming in because they need a facial. We want them to genuinely enjoy the whole experience + they rebook because the relationship has value beyond a single appointment.
Those businesses have built something much more valuable than a business. They've built a reputation, an experience, a brand.
Your business is communicating before you ever see your client
A client starts forming an opinion about your business long before they step foot in your business.
Maybe they find you through Instagram, or through a friend. They look at your website, read through your treatment menu, look at your photos, check your reviews and eventually decides whether or not they want to book.
By the time they walkw through your door, they've already developed an expectation of who you are and what the experience will be like.
Then they meets you.
They notice how they're greeted, how the room feels, whether you seem rushed, the questions you ask during the consultation, how confidently you talk about their skin, and on and on.
After the treatment, the experience continues. It's how checkout feels, whether you pressure them to buy something, whether you give them clear recommendations, and what your follow-up looks like. All of those things are your brand.
A brand is not just a logo, your instagram feed, or the font you've chosen for marketing. Your brand is the collection of experiences that teaches someone what to expect from your business. And when those experiences consistently reinforce one another, something really powerful happens: people begin to trust you.
Know what you believe
One of the most important things an esthetician can do as a business owner is develop a point of view.
Not a niche, but a genuine philosophy about the work you do.
Maybe you believe we have become far too aggressive with the skin and your approach is centered around barrier health. Or maybe you're fascinated by Korean skincare (that's wy you're here, right?!) and prevention. Whatever it is, that philosophhy should make its way into the rest of the business.
It influences the treatments you offer, the products you carry, what you talk about online, how you educate clients, the language you choose, and so much more.
This is where a lot of business owners get uncomfortable because having a point of view means you won't appeal to everyone. But you don't need everyone. You need enough of the right people to understand why they would choose you!
The experience has to match the promise
One of the quickest ways to lose trust is when the business someone encounters online doesn't match the experience they have in person. This has happened to me a few times, most recently with an aesthetic practice that has started venturing into functional medicine. Their social media is incredibly well done, and I'll admit, I bought into the experience they were selling. The messaging felt thoughtful and highly personalized, which was exactly what drew me in. Unfortunately, the actual experience didn't quite live up to that promise. And I think that's where branding really matters. It's one thing to tell people who you are and what they can expect from you, but the real trust is built when you actually deliver on it.
For example, if your brand communicates a highly personalized experience but every client receives the same facial, there's a disconnect.
Or if your website feels thoughtful but your confirmation emails are confusing and your checkout feels rushed, there's a disconnect.
None of these things individually will ruin a business. But together, they shape how someone feels about it which has a lasting impact.
If you want to be known for exceptional experience, think about what happens before and after the facial, not only during it. Your brand becomes stronger every time the experience matches what you've promised.
Your existing clients are part of your brand
We spend a lot of time in this industry talking about attracting new clients. But a healthy spa business isn't built entirely on new people walking through the door.
It's built on the client who has been seeing you every six weeks for three years. It's the client who trusts you enough to stop buying random products online, or who sends her friend to you because she knows you'll take care of her.
That kind of loyalty doesn't usually come from a promotion. It comes from hundreds of small experiences that have reinforced the same thing: I trust this person.
This is also why community matters so much for a small spa business.
Your clients are not just transactions. Over time, they become part of the story of the business. They talk about you, share their experiences, leave reviews, bring friends and help new clients feel comfortable choosing you.
That is marketing, too. Arguably, it's some of the best marketing you'll ever have.
You shouldn't have to convince people all the time
When bookings slow down, it's natural to feel like you need to do something immediately. Run a special, create a package or post more, sound familiar? And sometimes those things are appropriate, but before assuming the answer is more marketing, it's worth looking at the business itself.
Is it clear what you're known for? Does your treatment menu make sense? Does your website sound like you? Does the experience match what you're communicating online? Are you giving existing clients a reason to stay connected to you? Do people understand why your approach is different?
Marketing can bring someone to the door. It can't create substance once they get there.
The goal isn't to build a business where you never have to market yourself. Lets be honest, that's unrealistic. Instead, the goal is to build one where marketing isn't constantly trying to compensate for a lack of identity.
