Are You Ready in Your Skincare Business For a Recession?

Some say it's coming. Some say we're in it. Regardless, we need to be prepared. 

Whether it's a true “recession” or just slow months in general, we all need to make a big-picture effort in our skincare businesses to plan for those times that are slower.

So today I’m throwing it all the way back and giving you a peek behind the curtain on how I survived 2009, all the nitty gritty details I learned from it, and what I would actually do differently.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER: 

• What exactly you need to stock your esthetician bunker with (and, no, it’s not toilet paper).
• How to shop like the savvy sugar goddess you are.
• The secret to building a business that can weather the storm!

If you’ve connected with or been inspired by this episode in any way,  leave us a review and let us know your biggest takeaway - I’d love to hear your own tips and tricks on recession-proofing your business! And while you've got your phone out, make sure to follow us on Instagram @Love2Sugar for more tips, tricks, memes, and exclusive content on all things sugar.

Want more? We’d love to have you in The Sugar Tribe!

If you’ve connected with or been inspired by this episode in any way, leave us a review and let us know your biggest takeaway - I’d love to hear how you embrace Sugaring For All!! And while you've got your phone out, make sure to follow us on Instagram @Love2Sugar.

If you are interested in learning more about Radeq Lab's Premium Prebiotic Sugar Line of products, you can find them at www.radeqlab.us.

Cheers to your Sweet Success!

Transcript

Shannon O'Brien  00:00

Some say it's coming. Some say we're in it. Regardless, we need to be prepared. Whether it's a recession or just slow months in general, we all need to make a big picture effort in our skincare businesses to plan for those times that are slower. So in this episode, you're going to learn lots of things, but most importantly, how I survived in 2009. And what I would do differently, what a recession is and how it actually affects your skincare business. And three, how not to get Sucker Punched because slow seasons always come in what you can do right now to prepare yourself not only for a recession, but any slower season throughout the year. 

INTRO:
Welcome to The Sugar Show. I'm Shannon O'Brien, body Sugaring expert and licensed esthetician who's taken my own skincare business from zero to multiple six figures and has helped over 3000 students learn how to do the same. Now let me tell you, it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the time budget and knowledge needed to grow my small business as a body Sugaring Pro. If we were to press rewind, you'd see the many failed attempts and lessons learned that have helped me build the profitable business that I have today. When that runs on its own, it gives me the lifestyle and freedom that I only used to dream of, I created The Sugar Show to hand you my secrets and give you the simple step by step strategies to help you do the same. So if you're a cosmetologist, or esthetician or wax professional, who's looking to fill your books, make more money in your business and enjoy greater balance between your work and home life, you are in the right place. Let's dive in.

Shannon O'Brien  01:57

Each week, we like to start with some inspiration from our sugar tribe. And this week, I want to recognize newly certified sugar Pro, Betsy M. So Betsy just couldn't get her hands and her brain to work together to get down the mold and flick. But she didn't give up. She worked with our team to get it right. And now she is on to the sugar tribe, and taking her skills to the next level. So but I cannot wait to feature you on the sweet success series here on The Sugar Show to showcase your business. And when your books are full, and you've come out the other side, I really want you to share that with the rest of our audience. So cheers to you bets, and I look forward to seeing you on the podcast very soon. So whether you are a new listener or a longtime fan, and you haven't left a review yet, my team and I would really appreciate it the podcast, Gods really like those algorithms and the software. If people are engaging in downloading and reviewing and putting up the stars, then it really helps us to a understand what we're doing right, and what we can work on. And then also, you know, what's what's really working and what you all want to hear. So we'd love to hear your reviews and, and just download those episodes because they're really, really worth it and going to help your business. All you have to do is tap those five stars and write a sentence or two letting us know how the show has made a difference in your sugar journey.

Shannon O'Brien  03:33

So without further ado,

Shannon O'Brien  03:35

let's talk about slow seasons. So in Episode 44, I shared about how sugar saved my life in 2009. When I was starting over in my skincare career because I had gotten a divorce and had moved to a new city. And the big recession, the infamous housing market crash happened all at the same time. Nice timing, huh? Well, I had two small boys to feed and I needed to get my stuff together fast. So tune in to Episode 44 for that episode for more of the details on what actually happened and how I survived it. And I can tell you that the fear was so strong. And there wasn't any podcasts for me to listen to there wasn't a tribe of humans that could lift me up there was my friends and my family and thank God for them. But there really wasn't a tribe of skincare professionals that I felt close to. And so I needed to figure it out. And once I learned how to sugar there really wasn't a group of sugar pros that I could work with. So we solve that, but we'll talk about that later. So what actually is a recession? Let's talk about that for a minute. The definition is defined as a down and turn in our economy for two quarters or six months in a row. And it's actually a natural part of our economy. So it's going to happen throughout the course of our lifetime more than a few times. Historically, it's typical for people to see interest rates rise and housing markets fluctuate, so they spend less and they save more. And as it relates to businesses floundering businesses are put to the test. And typically those with strong foundations thrive and weather the times. The question I have been getting lately is how will a recession affect your skincare business? So I wanted to make sure that I addressed this because these are some crazy times with gas prices soaring and rents soaring. You know, your clients are really working hard to make sure that they're tight with their budgets, they do still want to get the services that we offer. And of course, they want to do Sugaring. But people are really taking a look at their budgets. So really, it's about making sure your business is tight, so that in a recession, you're ready. Even if we can't predict the we did not know that 2009 recession was going to happen. We did not know the pandemic was going to happen. So if you have your business ready, like I did when I kind of had my dark night of the soul earlier, actually, it was a year ago. If you listen to episode 49, no, I think the Back Episode 45, I talked about how Sugaring saved my life, again, because I have a plan. So let's talk about that your business will absolutely suffer, if your overhead is high, so all your expenses, and if your cost of goods are going up, so the gloves, the sugar, if those things are going up, if you offer trendy services that will only be viewed as easy to eliminate when it comes time for folks to closely examine their spending, they're probably going to eliminate those things. So if it's teeth whitening, or the tooth gems, or maybe something that's just a little bit more trendy, you know, it's funny, we thought lashes would take a hit in the recession. And apparently those lash folks are very loyal, because there was not a lot of people that let go of their lashes. And they didn't let go of their sugar. What they did let go of was expensive, fancy facials. And they opted to just buy skincare that was maybe a little less pricey, and kind of skip those facials that they were getting before or maybe get them once or twice a year instead of every season or every month. If your business does not have your clients needing your services and your retail, you're going to suffer. So if they just want to be sugared, they don't need it, then you're probably going to be suffering when those people realize that if they just want to have it done, they want their lashes done. But don't feel that that need that desire that absolutely could not take it out of the budget need, then you're going to really struggle. So you want to create that need in your business, make sure that the services that you provide are something that they can't really do themselves. And they really don't want to be without and Sugaring is amazing for that. A great example is a lot of folks can't do their own Brazilian because of the angles that it's at. So if you get really good at do bikinis and Brazilians, and you show people less razor burn, less irritation, and the ability for someone else to quickly get it done. Because I didn't know when any of you remember the first time you waxed right, and you put that hot wax on and you put the strip on and you were freaked out of your head to actually rip it off. That's what your clients are experiencing. So if they need you to do that, then you'll keep those services and you'll keep that strong foundation if they just want you to do it because they're too lazy. Well, that's another thing they'll probably pull out their wax and get involved, right, but sugar does create that need because people don't want to do that. They don't want to pull out their wax pot and try to do it themselves. So make sure that you are doing such an amazing job that they can't imagine stopping doing it. Okay.

Shannon O'Brien  09:23

And the other thing that's really important and we're gonna go over these in just a moment, but the other thing that's really important is if you have not saved properly for the slower months to get you through the light times so I know that summer is we're all riding high the Brazilians are flowing people are buying skincare and sunscreen. Now in that time of bikinis and Brazilians and sunscreen, retail purchasing, if you can make sure that you are mindful of saving your business will get through this low season. Okay, again, go back and listen to how sugar helped me survive. I have, again, because I really talked about the different areas that you need to make sure that you're tight on. Okay. So what can you do right now to prepare? How do you prepare your business right now? All right, let's take out a pen and a piece of paper, and really take notes and be honest with yourself, are you doing these things and if you're not, now's the time to really start to get involved. If you're walking with a dog or you're at the gym, come back to this section of the podcast and really sit down and do this good work for yourself, I promise you, it will make a world of difference in your slow season might even have a slow season as a result. Okay, number one, write it down, create a financial plan. Okay, not just how many services you have times, you know, 60 bucks, or how many hours you work times 50 bucks right? Now, I want you to create a plan. I want you to get a budget and be super honest with yourself on whether or not you have enough money, and you have a savings. Okay? Even when you're having your best month, like we talked about like June and July, we're we're sugar in Brazilians like crazy people. But do you have a plan to keep your budgets tight, and make sure that any of that extra money has is accounted for all right, if you need help with budgets, we have financial coaches that can help you. So definitely get in touch with us. And we can help you work on your budgets, we talk about budgets inside the sugar tribe, and we're going to be talking about it again in the next few months. So if you're not already in the sugar tribe, I highly suggest that you jump in, okay, dial in your savings, underline this dial in your savings, not just your personal savings, but your business savings as well. So I hear a lot of esthetician say I just have one account, it's just my checking account. And I just use it for my business and personal. I want you to put a giant star that says go to the bank and open a business account if you do not have a business account. And I also want you to have a personal savings and a business savings. So that every single month you are putting aside money for those lower seasons. I promise you if you are working on this now, oh my friends, you will be so much happier in those lower seasons. Or if you want even take a vacation. Or if you're saving up for an electric bed, right? You want to make sure that you have that savings dial now, especially if you're making a little extra cash, and you can put it in account for it inside of savings.

Shannon O'Brien  12:42

For reals my friends, set some goals. Set some goals, decide what you want to make monthly, decide what your expenses are, and make an effort to be more frugal in your business. Frugal means tracking those expenses and really staying tight with your budget. Not spending on frivolous things, not buying all these extras. Really ask yourself if I had to get tight tomorrow. And I could only use a certain amount of things. What exactly would I be using. So for sugar, for example, you need some sort of a prep cleanser, some sort of a powder, sugar, of course, and a finishing serum or a finishing lotion. That's it to start as far as products go. You don't have to have all the bells and whistles necessarily. You can get really, really frugal, and I highly recommend instead of having all these extra bottles on the shelf, you take a look at investing your money in retail. We'll talk about that in a minute. So look at areas that you might be able to trim down now. Not when you're desperate. Okay, if you are spending frivolously at trade shows, bring a budget. Ask yourself what you absolutely need, and what you can get deals on. But absolutely trim your spending now while it's fruitful. And by the time you get to that slow season, you'll have enough money to be prepared. Okay, curb unnecessary spending, do you really need that new piece of equipment for what you're doing? If you do save for it first and then purchase it? Okay, and we can talk about big, big spending as well in one of the next podcast episodes where it's really important for you to be mindful of being able to purchase big purchases, make big purchases, and not just go ahead throw it on a garden, throw caution to the wind because you're going to make all this money. Okay, cut down your unnecessary spending now in preparation for recessions or slow seasons that are coming up. Or at least delay it if you're shaking your head. You're like nope, champ.

Shannon O'Brien  14:55

I gotta buy this new machine. I'm gonna put it on a card. Maybe just to let A little bit, you know, do you really need that entire new skincare line? Can you work with what your rep tells you are the hottest selling products or, you know, maybe you work on just selling a bunch of core products. And then moving on to the next round of products or offerings. Okay, be frugal and be tight with your money. Now, I promise you will, you will thank me in these next months and years, okay, work with your rep, make the most of what they offer. If they're having a sale, and you can afford it, go ahead and bulk buy, be careful with bulk buying. So for example, with sugar, that you're not storing your sugar in somewhere that's really hot, and it's going to affect the consistency of your paste. Make sure that if you are buying before a busy season, or you are buying now because you have product, because you have the money to buy the product, and you are purchasing for the slower season so that you're covered, you don't have to spend any more money, take that bulk. And be smart with it and understand how much you've been using in the busy months and prepare yourself and store that product somewhere that you absolutely know it's not going to get too hot, and it's not going to keep cooking in the jar, or the product is going to go bad work with your rep with what they know the sales are coming up, whether you can save on shipping in certain ways. And definitely buy in bulk. Okay, backup with the savings and the tracking of the monthly expenses. Have a emergency fund. Okay, we talked about savings. But it's also important to earmark funds for an emergency. Okay, I want you to auto save some of your money and put it into an emergency fund. So for example, in the pandemic, when I just went through this terrible life season that I just went through, if I hadn't prepared by putting together emergency funds and saving those funds, for a time like that, we would have been in deep, deep trouble. Okay, take a little bit out each month, put it into your budget and put it into an emergency fund that you don't touch, I promise you, you will thank me, when your table breaks down, or something happens in your shop and you're not able you think you're not able to cover it and you remember that you've been saving with your emergency fund, do not touch it, do not dip into it unless it's an actual emergency. Okay? Now, remember, auto save, and also tucking away in extra busy summer months is going to be huge for you in the slow seasons. Now also, in a slow season of business, we have more time and freedom. So if you have more time and freedom because your books are not as busy, this is not time to sit back and paint your nails or, you know, maybe paint your shop or redecorate a little bit but like give that a half of an afternoon. Right? You're not going to be sitting on your tail just kind of hoping clients will go in No, it's time to create plans. Okay, number one, maximum use of your slow time is to create a marketing plan. But I actually want you to implement it. Okay, not just taking a class from one of the marketing gurus and then just leaving it inside your notebook. Okay, we are often so busy working in our businesses, that we don't have the time or brain space left to work on our businesses. This is the perfect time to change that. Okay, and thanks to the invention of the internet marketing our businesses is easier than ever, not quite as like, oh, just toss it on the internet and the people will start arriving kind of easy. But really being able to put the word out there and let people know that what you offer, oh, my gosh, you can do that for free. You can do it 50 You'd even have to do a full video like I used to do back in the day, you can put together a you know 32nd Reel about a few things that you do and let people know. Take a look at your area and see where you can be marketing in the slower times people want to hear from you. They want to hear what you do. Okay. So even if you've invested major dollars and hours into creating the most beautiful website, or making the most perfect Instagram feed, people need to find it. So you need to get in front of people and send them to that website, that Instagram page, give them your handle Okay. Sit down and plan out how you plan to attract your ideal client in the next couple of months. How do you plan to attract more people? Okay, There are so many ways and we talk about it all the time inside the sugar tribe that you can have marketing winds that bring in an influx of people. Okay? Now remember Sugaring is cyclical, too. So the number of bookings that you have now in your business is usually based on what you were doing last month, and a few months ago. Remember, they're booking every four to five weeks. So if you have a slow day, I want you to look back in your books four weeks ago, and see what you were doing four weeks ago, it is probably true that exactly four weeks ago, you were sick, and you canceled your appointments that day. Maybe you had jury duty, and you canceled your appointments that day, and you're wondering why you have no appointments today? Well, it's because those people, all of those people would have been coming in today. Okay, so you have to look forward and see which of your days are slow and start to fill people in those days, start talking about referrals and things like that. So I definitely recommend a short term plan, getting out and pounding the pavement meeting your neighbors getting involved, and a long term plan where you have a content calendar, and you can take this quiet, slow time to really plan out the next bunch of months. Okay, take the time, shut it down, drop the kids off at school, do whatever you need. If you see you have a three hour break, go to your local library, it's super quiet in there. And sit down with some blank calendars and do this for you and your business. And I'm promising you, your books will thank you for it. Okay, take a good long look at your marketing plan. All right, now is the time batch up a bunch of marketing. Okay, take all the service sites services that you offer. And do a quick little post about it, do 10 or 12 and schedule them for the next couple of weeks. Let people know what you're doing. Let people know in the area, we have a local, it's called fulsome chat on Facebook, put it up on the chat. Let people know around you, the businesses around you ask your friends. Okay, so write this down and be really honest. This next one, how does your website actually look? Maybe it's time to upgrade your website. And I know that so many of you kind of put it up there and just forgot about it. And if you are kind of hesitate to send people to your website, because it's really not up to par and it's really not as pretty as you like it. Or maybe the pricing is wrong, now is the time to fix it in the slower seasons. Okay, if your site is not where you want it to be, put up a giant star highlight, do whatever you need, and say update my website, do it. Now the site is slower seasons, okay? Even if you already hired a professional to design your site. And the thought of having to shell out more money to redesign has kept you from, you know, giving it the face, look at needs.

Shannon O'Brien  23:10

Honest, your website probably needs a lot of help, I gotta go back and take a look at mine in the slower seasons. It's the perfect time to deal with any website shame that you might have. And make sure that your content and design is on point. And if it's not, in this low season, you have a lot of time to do that. Okay. So no matter what stage your business is in, you need to make it easy for your visitors to take the action that they want to take. Okay, so act as if you're a client. Is it easy to find your business? Is the sign easy to see? Now it's time to take a look at those things. Lay on your table? What is the ceiling look like? Oh gosh, there's cobwebs or the fan is dusty? Or whatever? Walk through the client experience? What is it like to book with your software system? What is it like to engage with you go to your website and see if it needs an upgrade and if it's difficult or your links are broken, now is the time because these these tools are really serving your business. And it might be the reason actually why you're slow. Because sugar people we get sugared every four to five weeks, sometimes three, most people are loyal. Okay, so it's time to make your old website a little bit jealous and have a site that works as hard at for your business as you do. Okay, get that site looking exactly like you want to represent your business and have it speak for you don't just put Brazilian $60 Put a little description of why your Brazilian skills are so styled while you why you does such an amazing job at Brazilians not just Brazilian price. You got to make it a little bit sexier so people are going to want to come to your business. Take a look Your Instagram, are your links all good? Are your posts and your highlights really showing off your business? Have you painted your room since the last time you did a post, or maybe you changed up the blankets, they need to know what they're coming in for. So if you do that now and schedule your posts for the next couple of months, now you have the time while it's slower, or while you're listening to this podcast, you have the time while it's slower to really prepare yourself. Okay. You know, it's funny, I get a lot of people this next one is kind of interesting with the slow seasons, people say, Oh, well, you need a side gig. If you get a side gig, you know, you sell an MLM something or, you know, you do something on the side, you know, that's going to be what gets you through the slow seasons. Well, I agree with that. But I'm going to tell you, your side gig is inside your business. You already have clients. And if you don't, you were talking about that in other podcasts about how to get clients. But if you already have clients, they are your side gig, you have the ability to upsell them and give them extra services and sell them retail, contact your clients, they are your side gig, okay, you don't need to go selling some other company's products and making 20% profit, you can make a really good profit. And if you're an employee, that is even better, because you don't have to Shell out the money for the inventory. Okay, your side gig is that commission that you're gonna make off selling the products inside your businesses shop,

Shannon O'Brien  26:40

increase your retail sales, there's your side gig right there, contact your clients work, a referral program they want to help you. You might also be surprised when you reach out to those that you haven't seen in a while that they just needed a nudge. That's it. Whenever we personally reach out, my staff is shocked because they always book two or three more appointments and people say, you know, I've been meaning to book that appointment. Thank you so much for reaching out. Or you know what times have been really tough. But you're right, I do deserve it, I'm gonna come in and get clean. I'm promising you you reach out personally, and it will pay off. What if you didn't took 15 minutes each day to put in calls to people that you haven't seen in a while. And it equal two to three services? That's 150 bucks, potentially plus? Okay, so reach out, because it's just a matter of sitting down for a few minutes and making some phone calls or even texting in some cases. Okay, reach out to these people personally, and I promise they will jump back on your books. Okay, so let's talk about money. Again. I'm kind of diving in and out of some personal business stuff and money stuff. Because sometimes I think when it's all money, it kind of makes you the brain spin a little bit. But let's get back to money a little bit. And talk about prioritizing and paying down your debts, okay, in the slow season, take all of your debts and put them out on a table, I get a bunch of what I do is I take some blank paper, and I will actually put things at the top and walk through and put things in buckets. Okay, so go ahead and take a blank bunch a couple of blank pieces of paper and write down your debts, whether they're your personal debts, or your business debts. Now, your business debts are what your business is going to pay off, okay, we want to consolidate those bills, your personal, of course, you want to consolidate, but that's what your paycheck pays for your business. And by the way, you should be paying yourself inside of your business that is one of your bills, in essence, right? I want you to always have a handle on your credit report and your score. So that you can understand what you need to pay down so that your credit score goes up if you ever need a business loan to remodel or you want to purchase a piece of equipment, okay? Make sure that you check your business credit report and what your score is. And you have a very honest conversation with yourself about your credit card spending and paying down that debt. Now, here's the thing. Let's get really honest here. So many of us work so hard in our businesses. And we take a hit when we're not making the six figures like some of those gurus tell you you can make. We are concerned about our futures because sometimes we just don't pay attention to the money side of this. Right. But I can promise you that if you take a minute and get super honest and understand where you're at A few things might happen. Number one, you might realize you're really not all that bad off. If you just tighten up in a few spots, that you'll be okay and you'll make it and you'll you'll, you can organize yourself a little bit better.

Shannon O'Brien  30:12

And some of you might realize that you're gonna have to kind of tighten the belts. And if you tighten the belts now, while you're in the busy season, or if you're listening to this in the slow season, and you say, Okay, I'm gonna really tighten my belt now, because it's just not worth overspending and getting my business into such debt. But make a budget for your business budget for the amount of sugar that you need, take a look at the last bunch of months and say, Okay, what I've been using a case a month, or four cases a month, and if you are, God bless you, that means you are Sugaring your full head off, or it means that you're overusing your paste, and you need to start budgeting the amount of paste you put in your hand. So put those budgets down, what is your insurance costing you? What are the cotton rounds, and nitrile gloves and sugar costing you really write those down and understand how much you're spending every month. Then take a look at your credit score a look at your credit cards, any loans that you have put that all out and be really honest, just rip off the band aid. Because if you address it now and talk to someone who's completely neutral, a lot of times it's hard to talk to a spouse about this. But take someone who's completely neutral to help you take that into bite sized chunks. And I promise you that if you get your finances tight and you consolidate things, you will have an easier time in the slow season. And you'll really have an understanding of where your business actually stands. Okay. As it relates to Sugaring, if you are a sugar Pro, get your sugar techniques tight. You want to work a little bit quicker without snapping hairs, we want to inflict less pain. A lot of times if we slow down, we slow down to go fast, right? If you slow down your technique, it'll actually speed up your your treatment times. But really, really, I'm promising you get the sugar skills tight. Because the more people that you can fit in an hour, the bigger the raise that you've just given yourself, okay? Your clients crave your touch, and your techniques. So get that touch, right, that's soft, flick that soft, quick, just sliding across the skin flick that's really going to help it hurt less, and people need the service more. Okay, I want you to ask yourself, would you pay your prices for your services? And I'm not saying are your prices too high or too low? I'm saying are your techniques? Just okay. Are your techniques? There? All right. Are you charging top dollar but you're really still causing pain or you're seeing a whole lot of ingrowns still on these clients. Get your techniques right jump inside our tribe? Get a hands on class from one of these amazing educators that are around the country. Ask yourself Would you pay if you walked into your treatment room and it was a mess?

Shannon O'Brien  33:26

Take a look around like we talked about earlier and ask yourself like alright what I come here? Or is it just Okay, is it not very inviting are warm or snuggly. Go get sugared by someone else. See how they're doing it. If you don't experience any pain, and their room feels and smells and sounds and just is overall yummy. Might be time to take the slow season to boost up your room and really make some changes and be honest with yourself. Okay, start bundling your services, sugar pros, if you are a master at the Brazilian, I want you to start offering brows and underarms right now. So that if you are doing three and four services on someone and their budgets get tight, they may let go of say underarms, but they're not going to let go of brows and Brazilians. But if you only have one thing that you offer, they might do that thing and stretch it out to five or six weeks or seven weeks. Okay, we don't want them to do that. We want them to have four services, maybe take one like underarms off, no problem. Come back and do those in the summer. All right, but bundle those services now and make sure that people are getting more than one service from you. You've given yourself arrays by the same client market to your clients. Say hey, you're doing a Brazilian and you know as you're getting ready say hey, while we're here, I can do your brows for you if you want Do you want your upper lip done? And I usually do it when my back is turned, I'm kind of getting my sugar ready. I'm like, Hey, you want me to just touch up? You have any hair on your face, you want me to touch up? You know, we can have that too. And they usually are very grateful that they don't have to make another appointment and go to their friend or whoever else they're been going to for years. Make it easy for them. Open your mouth and ask them if they'd like you to just handle it. Handle that quick for them. Okay. Don't forget to offer up you know, I can sugar that. While you're doing facials. If you are a self tanner, if you're a tanning expert, if you are a lash expert. Absolutely. Give yourself a raise by saying would you like me to sugar your brows before we start your lashes? I'm going to sugar your upper lip. And again so that if you feel like Oh, am I calling out that their brows or their lip need to be done? Do it while you're getting your lashes together, getting the sugar together getting the facial products together? Well, you're not even looking, you can say hey, do you need anything? Do you want me to you know, sugar brows quit sugar, that lip, you have a chin hairs, because we can add that on to while you're here and it'll save you some time. And they're usually pretty appreciative. All right, if you are shivering brows already, and you can in your state wanted to add on a quick tint. Sometimes I'll just give you a $20 upsell, okay? Are you Sugaring bikinis? Well get them dialed in with a deluxe treatment where you'll might extract some ingrowns, add a mask some treatment products to get that skin perfect. Add these products into what your clients are already spending on. And there's your marketing plan, right work with the clients that you already have. And if I've said this before, I will say this 45 More times retail, retail retail. A quick tip and a really good thing to get yourself in the habit in is take a look the night before at the clients that you're gonna have the next day and see what they've purchased in the last three months. And when and I guarantee you it's probably time for a new bottle of ingrown hair serum or moisturizer, or a cleanser or a sunscreen. If they haven't bought products from you in the last few months, you need to be talking about it. Because I guarantee you they need a little something and they just need to be asked. You know I think about all the time when the girl that does my hair never really tells me what she uses. I get on her case all the time because she washes my hair. I'm like, Oh, that smells amazing. She doesn't say anything. And she'll use a conditioner. I'm like, Oh, that smells amazing. While she's doing my hair. She doesn't tell me what it is. I'm like, sweetness, you have got to let me know what you're using on my hair because I want it to look like you do when you do it. So ask your clients telling your clients oh, by the way, I'm using this amazing shea butter lotion on you to finish up I freaking love it smell this boom sale, your give yourself a raise right then in there, even if it's a slow season.

Shannon O'Brien  38:09

Okay, we've covered a lot of topics in this podcast and I tried to get really right down to the point. If you would like to dive into this a little bit more extensively. We talk about all of this and more inside of the sugar tribe. And I highly recommend that you are a part of our Instagram and our Tik Tok we're starting to work on those areas a little bit more for just quick tips and tricks. But inside of our sugar tribe is where it really where all the magic happens. And I do demos we talk live, we talk honestly. And really, it's It's where our advanced stuff lives. No matter what Sugar Company you use. We love all the professional companies. And we really are just about the technique and the business piece of it. Okay, so check the link links in the show notes below. And we can give you more direction and resources. And we highly recommend that you join the sugar tribe to take your Sugaring technique and business to the next level. So if you have been listening to The Sugar Show, then you know that we do once about once a month a sweet success story. And that is a podcast interview with someone who is killing it in our business. And so if you feel like you should be interviewed for a sugar success story, a sweet success story. And go ahead and we'd love to hear from you. So go ahead and send us a DM or an email to Hello at love to sugar.com and let us know about your successful sugary journey. So I hope this episode gave you this swift kick in the backside that you needed to have a plan for your business to really think about your business and work inside of your business even when it's Low, because all of us strong Boss Babes have a plan, you have to have a plan and goals and you have to write it out. You can't just wing it that maybe worked in the very, very beginning, but it's not going to work and to keep your business sustainable. And if the pandemic and the recessions that we have spirit experienced before have not proven that, I don't know what will sow a strong Boss Babes sleep at night having faith that we will not only get through the slow seasons, but on the other side of it is a crazy busy season because we have prepared and we learn to enjoy the slow times too, we take a minute we take care of ourselves. And those are the times that we can get a little rest and be still and prepare our minds and bodies for the next big push. So in the slower times, don't be so hard on yourself, prepare for the next round of your business gets still take some time for you, because it's actually giving you a little bit of a breather, and if you've prepared for it, then you won't be freaking out.

 Because on the other side of this is the next sugary sweet season that is going to really really kick your business up 100 notches and I look forward to hearing all about it. So until next time, sugar pros stay sweet