The Sugar Show

Smooth Operators Standing By - Introducing our New App!

November 06, 2022 Shannon "The SugarMama" Episode 55
The Sugar Show
Smooth Operators Standing By - Introducing our New App!
Show Notes Transcript

I am beyond excited to finally announce the arrival of our brand new Love2Sugar App!

This has been in the works for a long time now and it really came from listening to all of you. So this week, I’m diving in headfirst with everything you need to know about this amazing resource for you, my sugar pros!

So what are you waiting for? Head over to Love2Sugar.com/app right now! Smooth operators are standing by ;)

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

  • Why I threw in the towel on social media.
  • One key ingredient you may be missing in your business (and how I built this app to help you find it!)
  • The blood, sweat, and sugar we put into building something dedicated to YOUR sweet success!

Download the Love2Sugar App ASAP!

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 thoughts on our amazing new community! 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?
Download the Love2Sugar App for your one-stop shop for all things sugar and join The Sugar Tribe while you’re there!

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!

00:01

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.


01:12

Welcome back to this episode of The Sugar Show. I'm your host, Shannon, this sugar mama. I've been interviewing so many people for these last few weeks for the relaunch of The Sugar Show podcast that what I haven't shared with you is what we've also been working on. And it's kind of been in between these podcasts and me Sugaring and life and all of that, that I am. This podcast is really, really cool. And for me to share with all of you, mostly because I didn't even think I would do this in in my career. But it just made sense to come all together. So most of you have by now seen all the posts and lives about our new announcement about our new app that we came out with on November 1 For it's the first brand neutral body Sugaring app. And it really came from listening to all of you. You know, so many people right now are just tired of socials and scrolling and stories and reels and loves just like, it just makes your mind spin, right like, and over the last eight years, I have been working really hard to produce all of this content for you all, you know, like the The Sugar, Show podcasts that you're listening to the sugar network, the basic certification courses, advanced courses, all of these things that we have been doing. And they've kind of been housed in the software that I've used to create them, right. So the online school is in Punjabi, and that's where all the classes exist. And the sugar network is on another software. And that's where that exists. And it's like trying to get everything to you in a streamlined way. I think that there were some students and some companies even that felt like, wow, Shannon, you have all this stuff, I don't know where to find it. We thought for a while with socials and link tree that we could put a bunch of boxes up and kind of give you a roadmap, but it's been kind of difficult. And actually I sat my staff down. And they are much younger than I. And I said, alright, what what do you guys need? How can I make this easier for you? And all of them, it was a resounding can you make an app? Can you put it all in one place? Where we just know we go to there, and it's got everything we need in it? Which laughing makes so much sense and is also one of the biggest undertakings. The second biggest undertaking after putting together the entire online school because that was that was before anyone was really teaching online. And everyone thought I was crazy for you know, putting online certification up and apparently it's not so crazy, huh? So we listen to everyone and your that people were tired of Facebook, you know, like some people aren't even on Facebook. So we have this beautiful Facebook community with a 1900 as dietitians that we've vetted and we make sure it's not just anyone in that group and and there's all of these people inside the Facebook community, and then people that are on Instagram or Tiktok only, or LinkedIn or any of that. Like they didn't want to be on Facebook. So they didn't want to be you know, adding another thing they had to look at but then that's where all the meat and potatoes was right? So people aren't wanting to do Facebook anymore. And then there's the hackers that were getting in and we had our Our brick and mortar store hacked and we couldn't get into our Instagram. And, you know, there's all these fake profiles going up, and people really struggling with that. And the software companies that just are so big now that, you know, we all get kind of lost in the shuffle and it just became too much.


05:19

And so I did my research, I sat down, I said, Okay, well, I've got to solve this problem. That's what we do, right? So I sat down and really took a look at a lot of the different companies that offered the ability to build an app, I looked at developers to build apps, I looked at all these different companies that you know, provide the sun, moon and stars, but really didn't deliver. And I came across a software platform that I just love, what they stand for, I love who they are. The company is called heartbeat. And they really have been, just personally like the founders have been helping me put this together, which is wildly cool to just like, I know, the guys that run this, they have teamed up with me to make sure that this goes really smooth. And that is the kind of customer service that I was looking for, for myself for my team, and to be honest for all of you. So we're working really hard, you're gonna see a lot of improvements over the course of the next months and years, just because these guys are so devoted to making sure that we have what we need to be able to provide community for all of you. And, you know, I want to talk about community for a minute, because especially in this time, it is so incredibly important for us to feel supported to feel, you know, the definition of a community is to have a fellowship with others. And from the beginning of time, humans have depended on community for survival, right, like clans back in the day had to share food and care for each other's children and just to meet their daily challenges, well, it's a little bit different. Now we're not you know, having to go out and hunt for our food and feed each other's children. But we are having to go out and find knowledge and feed each other's businesses and work on each other's clients and help each other in this in this world right now. So that we can make sure that we make it. And, you know, we were coming together so that in this community, I imagined that the guys in the cave, you know, the clans back in the day, they got together to discuss ideas, and figure out like how to use their skills to better hunt or fish or, you know, I mean crate language for God's sake, you know, and here we are, fast forward to 2022 and 23 and beyond. And we really need to come together and be the strong support for one another. Because if we don't, we're on an island, and we're not going to learn, connect and grow. To be honest, you know, the best I'm still a student, the best information I find is through all of you in this community by teaching you by listening to you, by I mean some of you have brought companies to me that I've never heard of before, you know, and that's what community is all about is, is really coming together and sharing ideas, supporting each other in a positive way and helping each other grow. And that is the ultimate goal for love to sugar is to make sure that you all feel supported, that you all get new fresh ideas to run your businesses, and that that we can really grow together. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of you who have been in our Facebook community and a part of our sugar tribe. And maybe you're an alumni of ice sugar university or you you're currently in one of our classes or you come to attend one of my lectures at one of the trade shows, whatever it is, I want you to feel like if you're listening to this now it's a virtual hug. I just I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done to support each other and to support me and my team you know, in the in the communities, the threads the Facebook world, you know and I don't want to pick on Facebook because my god we I mean they're they're just a giant beast in a great way in a lot of ways. And I'm able to see pictures of all of your children and my my nieces and nephews and you know, I'm able to see memories and you know, Facebook isn't all bad. I mean, it's how I've met a lot of you right? But I am so thankful that the ugly that some groups have turned into or Just the just kind of the snarkiness that some people get, or they just really aren't.


10:07

Gosh, they just aren't really loving and supporting that is the opposite inside our Facebook community it we are asking good solid questions, we're responding in a positive way people are getting really great ideas to help grow their, their community, it's just we've kind of outgrown this Facebook bang, sucks IV music, we really have outgrown it right. And so inside of this app, this hub is is the heartbeat of the sugar industry, to be honest. So I love that the company that we partnered with is called heartbeat, because it really has made me think about just how positive all of you have been, and you have become the heartbeat of the sugar industry, you really have no matter what professional company you use, no matter what your level is in this industry, you really are the heartbeat, and you need a platform. So we built it for you. And I, I just I couldn't be any more thrilled. You know, the other side of this is that being a part of a community really has a positive effect on your mental health and your emotional well being. There really is that sense of belonging and social connectedness, right? I mean, I feel better when I'm with all of you, whether it's on a podcast, and I feel like I'm spreading some wisdom, whether it's sitting in a class, and I'm learning something, I just I feel better having that human connection. And I love being in the treatment room with my clients because I feel their energy. And I feel the energy when I'm at a trade show with all of you. And I'm so glad we are done with the locked down ridiculousness that we all went through because that was really tough. A lot of us just not having that social connection just broke us in a lot of ways. So I am glad we were back, you're back. And I'm glad that we have this opportunity. So I did want to read you the manifesto that we had put together before actually the pandemic, where we came together as a team and decided what our manifesto was for our community. What we did was we sat down and just tried to decide, you know, who are we who, who is this sugar community? What are we all about, and we came up with this manifesto. We are extraordinary beauty experts ambitiously creating our own sweet destiny. We show up, we want to learn, we want to inspire, we don't follow trends, we create them to provide only the best for our clients, we are confident, we are determined, we are passionate, we are beautiful together. We know simple ingredients can do great things, we put down that wax stick and know that it's more than a treatment. It's an experience. And as a tribe, we engage together, show up beside each other and learn from each other. We are building sugar empires to lead the way and influence the new beauty industry. We care about our planet, and our skin. And we bravely have made the sweet switch to something better. It was pretty cool, right? And we were, we were practically in tears when we finally put this thing together. And it just I don't know, it just really makes it more than just a ball of lemon sugar and water. More than just, you know, extracting hairs in the direction of hair growth or less pain or room temperature or better for sensitive skin like all of that it's better for us. It's especially better for us if we come together. And we want to make sure that everyone has access to that. So now if you are on Instagram or Tiktok or LinkedIn or not on any socials at all, I don't know how you're going to find us, I guess email, we'll send you an email. But if you are not on any of those things, you at least can be a part of the community where you can grow with us where you can feel good with us where you can have a bad day and probably link in and chat with someone who can pick your spirits up. Okay. So let's talk about what you'll find inside of this community. And you know, you're thinking it's just to, you know, for my hair removal, how did this become such a big thing? Well, again, it's because we're with people all day. It's because we want to make sure that you're performing with the techniques properly, not just watching Then on YouTube, and you know, hoping to make it up, we


15:02

want you to be certified. We want you to pick a professional sugar supply company, we want you to do all of these things to make sure that you have the best products and services offered for your clients. And to be honest, it's on all of our reputation. Because if you're terrible at sugar, and you don't get any better, clients are gonna think that sugar is terrible. It's not the sugar, it's the operator. I say that every time people are like, Yeah, I got sugar when send them off. I love it. I'm promising you it's not the sugar, it's the operator. Yeah. So inside the the app, you first of all, you're going to click on the link, if you haven't already. If you have, then that's awesome. We'll talk more about what's inside, you're going to click on the invite link. And you're going to fill in everything about you, it's pretty simple, what sugar you use, what level of sugar pro you are, just so that we can understand who you are. When we're having an event or talking amongst each other, we can understand, oh, that girl's new, or oh, she's a beauty student, or oh, she's an educator, just so we understand who we're talking to, right? Because it's always good to know what level and what place people come from. So all of November, we're going to be pushing this app pushing this app pushing this app so that people will get out of the Facebook community and come to it, or they will learn about it through Instagram and get inside of our app. And then the goal is by December 1 to be off of Facebook. Now, we'll keep the group on there, just so that if anyone is on Facebook, Facebook does a really good job of kind of getting people into your group. So we're going to keep allowing them to do that. But we are going to be encouraging everyone to go to the app and ask questions and share their wins and these things inside the app. And we will be solely doing everything inside the app starting December 1. Now what you will find that once you get in there is so much more than just the community that we've had, you are going to get sweet news that is in our industry. So trade shows that are coming up. If there is something that you need to know about a summit or a speaker, or I don't know, anything that's coming up, that's pretty spectacular that you would need to know as a sugar Pro or beauty professional, we'll put it in the sweet News area, which is kind of nice, because otherwise, like how are you going to find out this stuff, right, we're going to be reaching out to each of the sugar companies and the magazines, you know, writing for skinny magazine. ASCP lets us know of good things that they're doing. So those folks we're going to be kind of a hub for the events that you can go to not just ours but other people's as well. You're gonna get a direct link to the episodes inside of the The Sugar Show podcast that you're listening to. Now, what's cool about that is so on Sundays, when I Launch this podcast, it will actually pop up as a notification on your phone because your app is on there. And all you have to do is push the button, you can start instantly listening to the latest episode. So that's wildly cool. We are also going to have the sugar network is going to be directly linked on there. So the sugar network, the goal was to get as many certified sugar pros as we possibly could on there, it has not taken off as big to be honest as I thought it would, I thought more people would take advantage of it. I mean, we have tons of tons of folks on there, which is great. But now it will give you that central place to just click the button you type in the city and state that you're looking for. And if there is a certified sugar pro in that area, then they will pop up for you. So there is a great directory. The reason why we created a directory and didn't say oh, just Google someone in the area is if you Google someone if you've done that before, you usually get kind of like waxers that you have used sugar as a search word you know as a keyword. And they're just trying to pimp off your of your sugar word, right sugar wax, they call it which is not sugar, wax and sugar. So those folks, you know, you might call they don't really sugar, or maybe they sugar but they use stuff from the internet and they're not really even certified their staff isn't quality. This way, you know what Sugar Company your colleagues work with. And so for example, if you work with a certain line and you want to refer somebody within that line, you can just pop in and search a city and see what see what's, what sugar line they weren't using, and and make sure that they're certified because that's really important. We are going to have a direct connection with each other. So


19:41

what's wildly cool about this is you can directly message anyone that's inside our sugar world, which is really cool. Because there have been times where for example Amberlynn she's in there and she's an amazing sugar pro but she also is A wizard with brows and lashes. So Amberlynn, I might reach out to her and say, Hey, someone is using this product, and it's really messing up their browser browser falling out, or they're, you know, really not sure how to do this technique or whatever, I can reach out directly to Amber and say, Hey, really quick, what lash company do you use? What glue Do you love? I know that you really are having success with lat laminating or whatever. Like, you can just pop her a quick note, if you know specifically, she'll know the answer, right, which is really nice, then it just comes up on your phone, and you answer quick and send it back. And we just share each of the love with each other. So that's really exciting. I'm really excited because Anna actually just outside of Chicago asked for this resource. And we have a resources section that has forms. So there's downloadable client consent forms, plant history forms, there's a reflective self tinting forms, if you're gonna be tinting using an Sugaring, then you can use that downloadable form. So thank you, Anna, for nudging me to put that section inside the app, I also have recorded a beautiful meditation for you sugar pros, if you have not heard it already, I hope that you download it. And you can find it here in the app. And so if you're inside your treatment room, especially over the holidays, and you just need to chill, it's not very long, it'll just like you put your hands on the table and your treatment table. And it walks you through a meditation to just kind of get through the rest of the day, that might be really helpful for you. As well as we have a manifestation journal in there. And we're going to be having other downloadable links, as well. So that you have access to that right at your fingertips before we had this before. But it was hard for you to find on the inside of our online school. And so we just made it easier. And then in there, if you once you get in all of that is free. And then you will see a section for the sugar tribe in there. And the sugar tribe is actually the advanced stuff. So all the Brazilian classes, pregnant bellies, marketing classes, business classes, live coaching, all of that is inside the sugar tribe, you'll see a tiny little lock next to it, if you're on the the free area, it'll you'll see everything that's available, you'll see a tiny little lock, you click on that. And then all you have to do is just upgrade to the sugar tribe, there's no commitment, there's no, you know, you can just jump in there and stay for a few months and watch some of the trainings and then be done. If that is fine. Or if you want to watch live coaching with me every week, then you can do that and very easily have access to that. Now, what am I, one of my very favorite things to do inside the sugar tribe is the live coaching. So you will see we have an event section that has all the events that we will do for the next bunch of months. And we will have events in there. And in there, we will have live coaching as well. And then courses that we're going to be added inside the Advanced sugar Knowledge Library. And I love doing the live coaching, I am going to ask some of the educators to do a little live coaching for you all as well. But the live coaching is really your chance to sit with me in my office and say Shannon, how do you do this, or I might bring up a I might bring up a something to think about with your budgets are your finances. And I might ask you about how your q3 is going. Or I might ask you what you're doing for your holiday gift, gift giving. I'm constantly kind of giving you some homework to think about for your business, because the goal is to make sure that you have the strongest sugar business skincare business that offers sugar in all of the land.


24:00

And so that's why we do it by live coaching and you can ask questions I can you can give me some examples of what's going on inside your business and I can hotseat it out with you and make sure that that happens. So live coaching and events are amazing. And all of that when it's time for the live class, it just pops up on your phone, hey, five minutes until the sugar mama goes live. Just push the button right there on your phone take you right directly to me, or to whatever whatever educator is, is providing that class at the time. And then the sugar mamas favorite things is an area that we used to have before and we're bringing it back. But it'll be inside the app which will make it super easy to find and it has all the discounts that you get as a sugar driver. So there's ASCP on there. There's different sugar companies on there. There's product companies, there's accessory companies, and we will have direct link to how you order their products at a discounted rate. So there is that I can honestly tell you work that being part of this community. And really paying forward my passion for sugar has made me a better person. It has taught me patience. As an educator, it has taught me really how to explain more than just the mold and flick. Because mold and plague is hard to get. Right, the mold and flick is not easy. So we honor those of you that are just learning. But then we also take that to the next level and take your skills to the next level, be it in business or sugar technique. And helping you all to take that to the next level has really taken my business to the next level because we practice what we preach inside our shop at Sugar mamas in in Folsom, California, and my staff is able to utilize these skills. Even they jump on that app and you know, connect with each other and connect with all of you. Or they may even go oh shoot, I don't want to bother Shannon, I just want to you know, watch this pregnant bellies class because I kind of forget how to position the pregnant woman. And we don't feel so isolated. And I don't feel so isolated. I to be honest, I really enjoyed the time on zooms and such during lockdown. And I was able to do the spoonfuls of sugar for those of you that remember those days and sitting in my backyard and my fluffy pink robe. And I was able to, you know, kind of encourage all of you through those crazy times, but it just until I'm able to really interact with all of you. And you know, just send a quick DM and say, oh my gosh, Amber, you know, it's like your birthday today freaking love your face, like whatever it is, you feel like you have other people in your corner. And that's what in just the month that we've been doing this the beta Launch of this, it's really changed how I love all of you, and how I have more patience and, and a deeper understanding of all that we are going through inside the treatment room. So the podcasts have kicked it up a notch. I mean, we just talked to Therese Clark, for example of Lady sweet about self care down there. And, you know, we're kicking things up a notch to really expand what it is that we're teaching all of you. And all of this can be at your fingertips now. So I kind of feel like to be honest, like the ability to have all of you inside an app on my phone, and I can get in touch with all of you and shoot you some thoughts that I have, or, you know, the latest podcasts like it really is the way that you are going to have access to all things sugar, and I hope that you enjoy it, I hope that you engage with it. You know, there's a lot of people that will download the app, or maybe they're in the community. And maybe you just kind of lurk, maybe you just, you know, kind of listen, you watch the replays, you didn't really have time for it. Like, the more you engage in anything in life, the more that you engage in it, the so much more you're gonna get out. So if you show up to these live coachings, and you interact, you might meet your next sugar bestie, you know, inside one of these community groups, you know, I encourage you to reach out and introduce yourself to someone that you never would have thought you would have talked to before. You know, I still have my original SD bestie Rhonda, I'm going to interview heard, by the way, Rhonda out in Texas. And we've seen each other live, I


28:40

think three times in the last 20 years. But we reached out to each other because we were similar. We were both spa owners, and just had this connection. And that's what this is. And we're going to start doing some fun things with SD bestie sugar besties, as it is we're starting to do those fun things in 2023, where we're going to really dive into identifying what it means to be an SD bestie, a sugar bestie. And what it means to really reach out and not just take but to also give. And so we're going to work on that in 2023 as well. So, so much here, so, so so so so much. I can promise you that. If you just engage with it for a couple of days, you'll be shocked at how much information is in there that you didn't even realize that we've been doing for the last eight years and all these different places. But we have now brought it to you to have this opportunity at your fingertips. So I highly encourage you to download that app. It's free for God's sakes. download that app. It's just love to sugar.com forward slash app super easy. We'll put the links in the show notes. The links are all over our socials. I'm going to probably make a t shirt that has the link on it as well. And, and engage you know, this is the year of engagement and the is the year of really coming out of your shell. And I promise you, this will directly impact your business. Because if you can get ideas and you can get your skills better, your clients will experience a better you, they will experience a better service, they will be happier, I promise you, oddly enough, their skin will be smoother. And their results will be better mostly because you know, now you have better technique, and you have a better just a better skill set all around. And so their experience was better and it can only Boost Your Business. So if you have any questions, always you know that you can get in touch with us all the information is in the show notes, you can always message me. Now you can DM me straight inside the app. And it's not a mystery anymore of where everything exists all inside the app. So please download it today. I am honored to be the administrator of this I am honored to have other educators Hand in Hand walk with me down this and other sugar companies that see the value in embracing each other and working together. It is an honor to be your host of this podcast. I truly believe this is oddly never what I thought but what I was meant to do in my life and I am just really grateful to all of you. So thank you and I look forward to seeing you on this sweet inside.


SUMMARY KEYWORDS

sugar, app, community, people, companies, socials, business, sugaring, love, podcast, sat, facebook, classes, bestie, listening, Shannon, clients, coaching, sugar mama, link