We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sabrina Rivera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sabrina, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
From MANY years in vocal performance! Theater, recording my own songs, choir, and trying out for American Idol. I sang a Martina McBride song. Her voice is just SO powerful. I promise you, once you’ve had to write five critiques for other cast members and vice versa, you build some thicker skin. Also showing up to my studio on days when I am not booked or busy. That has got to be the biggest mind trick ever. If you want to take your self-esteem for a ride, open a business that requires you to physically show up and deal with people. Just keep going. We all start somewhere. I’ve also worked since I can remember. Retail cashier, restaurant hostess, collections, business development with fortune 500 companies. Nothing is as rewarding and as intimidating as opening your own business. But just do it and show up and repeat that.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
The most exciting thing I get to do as a business owner is decide and create everything. Most important to me is to create a welcoming , good vibe in my treatment room. I think great results start here. It is important to my business to establish a relationship of trust between clients and myself.
In order to do this, I practice listening more than talking. I also make it a habit to ask questions to learn more, rather than making statements. Building consistently good results is all part of building trust. Sometimes it does take a series of treatments to achieve results as well as discipline on the client’s end at home. I make it a point to provide transparency in order to manage expectations. These are all very important to building trust and authenticity at bask!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Vision-everything flows from this. My vision is to create results and enjoy doing it. I want clientele I enjoy, otherwise what is the point? I do not believe all money is good money. I was intentional with every inch of space in my studio. I carefully created the space to be comfortable, clean, inviting, professional.
Budget/data-you have to know metrics in your business. What is selling? What isn’t? What is the cost per treatment? Be intentional and take your time. Don’t be afraid to adjust. The most fun part of this journey is that I can literally choose to stop or start something at anytime.
Discipline- be consistent. It is HARD in the beginning. There are days and weeks when I have no clients or no new clients. The first six months for me were such an emotional rollercoaster, but I as I’ve added more entrepreneurs to my circle in and out of the beauty industry, this is common. As one of my friends and mentors says “everyone’s journey is different, but being a biz owner is not easy”. The first time I made profit, I was so excited! Then it was time to turn around and pay taxes. I did choose to invest in a CPA team that does my book keeping, they helped me reduce my tax burden and estimate my taxes. They ask me questions about line items consistently, those questions are imperative to me understanding my business and being wise in my approach to decision making. So all that to say, know your numbers and keep showing up. There really is no key to success and YES everything looks better on the internet. Working hard is never something to dread, and I can tell you that anytime it gets tough in my business, I hop on linked in or indeed to look for jobs, and I’m instantly rejuvenated to work my business!
If you are going to embark on this journey, you need a network. If you live in or around Houston there is no limit to the type of network you can find. I have never enjoyed my network more than I have now. Entrepreneurs are AMAZING people and literally most of my client base is entrepreneurial in SOME capacity! In the first three to six months of opening my business, I attended events at WCE (Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs). It is positive to get out and speak about your business. That practice is invaluable. It builds confidence, and keeps you motivated.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Email me your proposal with your professional details. [email protected]. Let’s talk, I am definitely a person who will just give you a call. If we decide it’s a vibe, let’s do coffee or juice! I am always down to gift my time and advice over coffee or juice and also always down to plan a cross promotion if it makes sense. For instance, one of my neighbors at the studio owns an amazing medspa (Elevate Skin Clinic), and we have co collaborated on cross promotions in the past. I have collaborated multiple times with Loyl’s Natural Pet (I GREATLY appreciate their support in this journey, and my Havanese, Webster (@the_happy_havanese) has been a client since way back). I also like to donate where it makes sense. If you have a cause reach out. I do need lead time to execute these things well, so I like to start planning 60-90 days out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vagaro.com/baskhouston
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baskhouston/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bask-brows-and-skin/100092019845707/?_rdr
- Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/PXpRvB7upWv4XosF9
Image Credits
Neydi Sanchez
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