strangers are your biggest supporters

​dear diary,

one of the biggest lessons i’ve learned over the last 3 years is that strangers are more likely to support you and your business/project than friends and family. the people in your life claim that they’re so excited for you, and will support you, but they don’t.

one big example is my career as an esthetician. my best clients are strangers who booked. it’s extremely rare that someone in my personal life books with me. i’m not saying they have to, it’s just something i’ve noticed. 

family and friends tend to not see your business/project as legitimate. they think it’s a “cute little side hustle”. no ma’am, i have a LICENSE FOR THIS, I WENT TO SCHOOL FOR THIS. they show up when you’re in school and need people to practice on, but once you have the license, skill and experience to charge what you’re worth, it’s crickets.

sometimes it’s also other beauty professionals. i have many friends in the beauty space (estheticians, cosmetologists, barbers, nail techs, etc.) and usually we’re all super supportive of each other. once they think you threaten their business, they will throw you to the wolves unfortunately. this actually just happened to me. this stylist (who i know and considered a friend) was cutting my husband’s cousin’s hair and also waxed his eyebrows and the back of his neck. whenever he said the wax really hurt, she then decided to tell him that my sugaring hurts worse.

excuse me? for context, i have sugared her before and she said it was great. everyone has a different pain tolerance and they’re entitled to their opinion, but i thought it was kind of ugly to put me down, and my line of work.

my husband thinks that she was just nervous that he’d want me to do those services instead of her, and that’s why she said it. i do choose to believe this, but i just don’t appreciate her bringing me up in the first place.

if you have to put others down to get to your goal, you’re pathetic in my opinion. i don’t put down waxers even though i do the sugaring. i think sugaring is better because of the product, not the professionals. i also think there are some really amazing waxers out there. we have the same goal for clients, just different ways of getting there and that’s okay. plus, having multiple options helps clients find the right fit for them. everyone is different and has their own preferences. 

what do you think? have you ever been in a situation like this before? what helped you have a better mindset about it?

until next time!

love,

cherry

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