[00:00] Foreign.
[00:07] Hi, friends, and welcome to the very first episode of Beyond Beauty School. Class is in session. I'm Sarah Ringbolt Foss, licensed esthetician, educator, and mentor. And I'm so excited you're here because whether you're fresh out of school, thinking about going solo, feeling stuck in your career, or just hungry for some real unfiltered beauty industry talk,
[00:31] this podcast is for you. I created Beyond Beauty School because, well, beauty school gives us the basics. But let's be honest, there's so much more we weren't taught. I'm talking business boundaries, burnout, client retention, confidence building, your dream career.
[00:48] And that's what we're diving into here.
[00:51] Okay, first of all, I know you have a million podcasts in your queue every week, and there are so many podcasts out there that focus on the beauty industry and aesthetics.
[00:59] You're probably thinking, what makes this one different and what makes this one so special? And you're probably deciding if this podcast is for you. So here's who I made this podcast for.
[01:10] Estheticians who are employees, estheticians who are solo. Estheticians who want to go solo. The beauty school student who's about to graduate and is freaking out about what's next. The newly licensed esthetician who feels like they're guessing at every step.
[01:25] The spa employee who's been thinking about going solo but doesn't even know where to start. The solo esthetician who's already out there doing the work but feels stuck, burnt out, or unsure how to grow.
[01:37] The esthetician who's unsure about where the economy is headed and looking for help creating a business plan that creates income stability. The esthetician who feels like using their energy is better spent healing others than stressing out over whether or not your calendar is full and the bills are paid.
[01:53] So if any of those are you, and if you're like me and you've ever felt like the aesthetics industry was confusing, overwhelming, or harder than everyone on Instagram makes it look, then this is your space.
[02:05] You're not behind, you're not too late. And now you're not alone.
[02:11] But before we get into what the podcast is all about, I want to share a little bit about me and why this podcast matters so much to me. So I didn't start my aesthetics career right out of high school.
[02:21] In fact, it was a major life change that began in my mid-30s. I'd spent my entire adult life as a stay at home mom. And after going through a divorce, I suddenly found myself with no income, no Job experience and no career to fall back on, all while raising three kids.
[02:38] So I enrolled in aesthetic school with the intention of becoming a lash extension artist. Which is hilarious in hindsight, because twice to this day, I've never done a single set of lash extensions.
[02:48] But what I did find in that classroom was something so much bigger. I fell in love with skin, and I fell in love with this industry.
[02:56] So I poured everything I had into becoming the most successful esthetician I could be. Beauty school gave me big dreams, but it also left me with even bigger questions. And after getting licensed, I quickly realized just how unprepared I was.
[03:11] I didn't know how to get clients. I didn't know how to price myself. I didn't understand what it actually meant to build a career in this industry. And to be honest, I almost quit more than once, more than a lot of times.
[03:23] But I didn't. I kept going, and I made a lot of mistakes, and I learned a lot of hard lessons, and eventually, I built a fully booked business.
[03:33] But here's the plot twist. I was also completely burnt out.
[03:38] That's when I set a new goal for myself. Not just to be successful, but to build a career that allowed me to live my life, not just work through it.
[03:48] And I wanted to pay that forward and pass that on to other estheticians. In 2022, the same beauty college that I graduated from asked me to come back and teach their aesthetics program.
[03:58] I spent the next two years helping students pass their state board exams. But once I stepped into that classroom, I couldn't ignore how many critical pieces were missing. I. I saw firsthand the massive gap between graduation and real success.
[04:12] And that's why I'm here. Over the last year, I've poured my heart into creating something that I wish I had when I was starting out. A course, a community. And now this podcast, Beyond Beauty School, was built to bridge the gap between getting your license and actually building a thriving,
[04:29] sustainable aesthetics career. Because that gap, it's real. And navigating it alone can feel so overwhelming.
[04:39] But here's the thing. I haven't done this alone. I've leaned on so many incredible friends, mentors, and fellow industry professionals who shared their wisdom, their support, and their experiences along the way.
[04:50] And I'm so excited to introduce you to many of them here on the podcast. These are people who are showing up and doing the work, not just behind the treatment room door, but behind the scenes of their businesses.
[05:00] And you'll hear their stories, their struggles, and the truths they wish someone had Told them sooner. The the podcast that you're listening to is an extension of my original mission, which is to make sure that no esthetician has to figure this out all on their own.
[05:17] So what is beyond beauty school? Well, it's the podcast I wish existed when I was standing in that gap between graduation and what the hell do I do now?
[05:28] This is where we'll have the honest, practical, behind the scenes conversations that beauty school left out. The kind of stuff that you only learn from experience or from someone else who's been there.
[05:42] Right. Every week I'm dropping short solo episodes, like around 15 minutes.
[05:48] And why are they so short? Because I know that your time is valuable and I'm not here to be like other podcasters who sit around and just chat about whatever.
[05:56] I'm here to help you and give you the information you need to create a successful and sustainable career.
[06:02] So you. You're not going to hear about, like, how to start making six figures in a week or how to be the most popular esthetician on social media. Like, there are a million mentors, teachers, and podcasters for those topics.
[06:14] And I am not that. I am going to spend our time together discussing the real challenges that you face as an esthetician. So right now, things that are relevant are things like the economy and how that affects the beauty industry and how we can create a stable foundation for our businesses during uncertain financial times,
[06:33] how to get your first few clients, what to do when you're doubting yourself and the mindset shifts that you need to actually stay in this career long term. And so we're going to sit down and we're going to chat about all of those things.
[06:48] And then every other week we're going to sit down with a guest. It's going to be another esthetician educator, or beauty industry pro. And we're going to talk about their journey.
[06:56] We're going going to dig into their beauty school experience, their career path, what they specialize in, and the advice that they would give to a new or experienced esthetician. So it's for everyone.
[07:09] And the goal is just to make sure that you don't have to figure it out all on your own, because there are people in this industry who want to help you.
[07:16] I know it can feel very lonely. I know you can feel very isolated, especially when you're working in your treatment room all by yourself. And so I want you to feel seen, I want you to feel supported, I want you to feel empowered, and I want you to walk away from every episode with something you can use in your career right now.
[07:32] So like I said, episodes are going to drop weekly. They're short and sweet solo episodes. And then the longer guest style interviews will drop every other week, sometimes once a month, depending on, you know, the holidays and things like that.
[07:44] So what you can expect from me is transparency, integrity, authenticity, support, a little bit of humor, and a lot of real world advice. My biggest thing is authenticity and integrity.
[07:58] I will be as real as possible with you because I don't think that anybody should be sitting behind a microphone and telling you stuff that you can Google on your own.
[08:07] I'm going to be sharing stories and strategies and sometimes hard truths that I wish someone had told me earlier.
[08:14] I also want your input. So if you have a topic you want me to cover or a question to ask or. Or you have someone you'd love for me to interview, send it my way.
[08:23] DM me on Instagram or drop your ideas in the show notes.
[08:27] I really want to hear from you and I really want to have that connection with you on Instagram. So DM me if this already feels like your kind of space, I'm so excited and that makes me so happy because I really want it to be as inclusive as possible with people from all sides,
[08:45] sides of the aesthetics industry.
[08:47] And so I want you to go ahead and hit that subscribe button so you don't miss what's coming next.
[08:52] Next week we're kicking things off with a solo episode about tariffs, which I know can feel a little scary, can be a little polarizing. We're mostly just going to talk about how it's going to affect you, how it's going to affect the beauty industry, what the possibilities are and kind of clear some things up.
[09:07] There's some misconceptions, there's some confusion, and so we're going to chat about that a little bit.
[09:13] I'm really, really glad you're here. And whether you're just getting started or you're finding your way back to yourself in this industry, I cannot wait to walk alongside you.
[09:24] Welcome to Beyond Beauty School. I'm so excited to build something real together and to just watch you thr.
