Age Has Nothing To Do With Success As An Entrepreneur (Here's PROOF)

So I not only purchased all this furniture, signed a 3-year lease that I, you know, had no idea if it was going to work. So to date, I still am the youngest person to open a school.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

I'm at the point where I am pretty much capped out. I've been capped out, but I'm trying to figure out how to move funds in a way to hire the people that I need to hire.

I didn't even know what ChatGPT was until my mom told me. When it was? Maybe like 4 months ago. No! Yeah. Done it all by myself. And yeah, I would make fun of her for using it.

So for somebody who's on the fence about going on this entrepreneur journey, what would be your piece of advice to them?

As far as like advice, I tell people, if you're going to start a business, you have to— Brand Builders Podcast.

Brand Builders Podcast. Caitlin Shaw with the L&L Beauty Institute here in Abilene, Texas. Welcome to the show.

Yeah, thank you for having me.

So I'm kind of excited to dig into your story a little bit. Um, you've built quite an organization, a business, a brand within the last just few years. Um, and so if you were to give somebody an elevator pitch of what you do and what your business is about, what would that be?

Um, so I have a full cosmetology school, so we have cosmetology, aesthetics, and a lash program. Um, we are pretty much the key to the beauty industry if you want to get your license. Um, so we offer all those courses and then of course help with job placement afterwards and stuff like that.

So how does that, how does the structure of a business like that work? Like, I have no idea how that industry works. So like what, you have students who just pay and they go through the course, so they get certified, or how does that work?

Kind of like college, you know, you, you're gonna enroll and then you're gonna go through the program, you're gonna graduate. Um, uh, compare it to like nursing. Okay. So our students enroll, we do have an application process, so they have to fill out an application process, they fill out their enrollment form, everything like that. Um, we only take so many students per cohort. Um, with that, they enroll, they go through our program, they do have to do a certain amount of hours. Um, we are credit hour school, however, um, which means they don't have to be clocked in for a certain amount of hours like some schools. So our students graduate in a lot less time. Um, and we are also hybrid, so they do a lot of their stuff online from home. Um, but our cosmetology program is 1,000 hours, so if a student does not complete those hours, they don't graduate and they don't get their license.

Okay.

So they have to finish their hours, they have to take their state board exams. Those state board exams include a written and a practical. They don't pass those, again, they don't get their license.

So 1,000 hours.

Wow. Um, since we are a credit hour school, our students get credits. Uh, they get 1 credit per week. Um, as long as all their assignments are done, if their attendance is valid, everything like that, that 1 credit converts to 37.5 clock hours, which that's— then we'll get our— yes.

Why not do some math?

Yes. Yep. Yes.

Okay, cool. Um, would you go back and do it again?

Oh yeah.

Start something like that?

1,000 times over. Yeah.

So, so how did you end up here in this place? Tell us about that.

So, I had to do lash school in the Dallas area. We didn't have a lash program here. I knew I just wanted to do lashes, nothing more. And so I went to the DFW area to do that, got my license, and about 6 months in, had a lot of people reaching out. They're like, hey, I want to do what you do. How do I get my license? And so that's when I kind of saw, hey, we need a lash school here. There's, there's really not one. So I looked everything up. That's kind of the hard thing. There's not a book on how do you, how do I open a school? And I couldn't just go to Google and Google all these schools and call like, hey, how do I open the school? School. Um, so it was a lot of trial and error. I had to figure it out on my own. Um, but yeah, so I decided to start looking for a space. Um, for a school, you do need a certain type of space, um, and it had to have certain amenities included. So started looking for that, um, found a place. And during that time, I had a lash salon, so I had about 8 girls working under me doing lashes and aesthetic services. Um, so got the school. Um, it's over there in the Soda District. So I've loved it. Um, I'll be there 3 years in July.

Nice.

Um, and so it's been a lot of fun. Um, with that, um, so TDLR, they're very particular. You have to fully furnish your school and fully do all the licensing applications, um, pay all the fees. Of course, you have to show them that you're leasing the space. You have to do all of this before they even approve you. So I not only purchased all this furniture, signed a 3-year lease that I, you know, had no idea if it was gonna work, um, and did all my licensing fees, all the applications. Um, and again, didn't even know like, hey, am I gonna get approved for this? Because again, I was 23 years old, so I didn't know if they're gonna come in there and be like, hey, you're like 23. Do you really know what you're doing? Should you be opening a school? Um, I think year to date I still am, um, or to date I still am like the youngest person to ever open a college. Psychology school.

So like in like everywhere.

Yeah. Like if you Google, yeah. So it's usually big investors that are opening these schools. Um, and you'll never see the owner, um, in a school, uh, especially in like the big areas, like DFW, stuff like that. Um, it's like you're gonna go and you're, you know, the, the owner's name is on the stuff, but you don't have access to them. You can't get in, you can't get in contact with them and you're never gonna see them a day in your life.

Yeah.

Um, and that's what it usually is. It's these big investors and then, and then they hire out people to run the school. But yeah. But yeah, so to date I still am the youngest person to open a school.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

Have you, or is there a way for people to go through like an online path or is it just in person?

Yeah. So TDLR, which is Texas, um, they did away with full online during, right after COVID. So it was. Allowable online during COVID I think for like about a year. And that's actually how I got my lash license. We didn't have to drive to Dallas every day. I was able to do a majority of it online.

Yeah.

Yes. Especially with having 2 kids at that time, it worked easier with my schedule. The lash course was 8 weeks, so spent 8 weeks doing that online. But around, I think once COVID started kind of, you know, getting better and people started going back to work, they went back to what's called hybrid. Where they allowed you to do your online theory, which is like your bookwork, your quizzes, tests, discussions, all that online. And then you have to do all of the hands-on in person. And I do think that's a lot better than online. I personally don't think that you can fully learn cosmetology, esthetics, anything in the beauty industry fully online. If somebody— if I want to get my hair done by somebody and they're like, hey, I did cosmetology school online, I would probably leave. So yeah, yeah, there's a lot that just goes into it with sanitation and, um, you just don't realize like all the chemicals and everything like that. And so, um, not only is it dangerous, but you can really hurt somebody. So, sure. Yeah. So I, I think it's important to make sure wherever you're enrolling, again, there are a lot of, um, I've seen on social media, there's a lot of posts that are like, hey, come enroll, we're all online. They're doing that illegally. So yeah, you need to, whoa. Yeah. So it's, it's It's still a thing, people are still trying to do it. Um, but yeah, per TDLR, you have to at least be 50% in per set.

You know, one question I get all of the time is, Darren, how in the world do your videos look and sound so freaking crispy? And so I want to let you in on a little secret. It has little to do with what I do and pretty much all to do with the type of gear that I use. And I've I put together a document with all of the gear that I recommend. If you're looking into going all in on content this year, there's ways to do it on multiple different budget levels, and I'll give all those options within this spreadsheet. But if that's something that's interesting to you, click the link down below in the description and you can grab that for absolutely free. Hopefully it changes your life and you come back and watch more videos. Let's get back to the episode. Yeah. So being the youngest person to pursue something like this, what would you say some of the biggest differences are between you and other people trying to start something of this nature?

Like as if they were older? Yeah.

I think in general, like it sounds like it's, there's a lot of things that have to happen in order to make this thing go and get started, especially from the ground. Yeah. So why hasn't somebody else your age started the same thing? Uh, it's from your perspective at least, 'cause like, I mean, I, I'm, I've kind of been in a similar situation.

Yeah.

I started this whenever I was 21 years old. Mm-hmm. And around here there's nothing similar to this at all. Like even in Dallas there's, there's some.

Yeah.

But nothing to the extent that I'm hoping to achieve, grow it. And so that's why I'm asking.

Yeah. Um, I think one of the biggest things, um, that people don't do it, they're scared. Um, I don't know if it's you're scared to fail or scared of, you know, you look back and you're like, um, trying to think. Give me a second.

Yeah, you're good.

Um, Okay. Yeah. The biggest thing, like I said, I think people are scared to fail, especially from an outsider looking in. It's hard. So there's so many people in this industry in Abilene. I mean, hundreds, hundreds of people. I have the same license that all these individuals do in Abilene as well. Anybody could have opened a school. And not only, like I said, I think failing is terrifying, um, but also the schools that are here have been here for like 40+ years. So I think people look at it as, you know, there's already a school, why do we need another one? But I looked at it as there's a school that's been here for 40+ years. We need something new and we need change. And I was willing to make that change.

And we can make it better.

Yes. So, and that's the biggest thing is I feel like TLR just gives you a minimum and a standard that you have to uphold to. We way surpass that standard and that minimum. Um, we only have to teach our students certain things and provide them with certain things, but I see it as not only are they paying for this course, they're spending, you know, 5 months to a year with you. Um, and they should look forward to coming here every day. They should get what they're paying for. Um, the biggest thing I feel like a lot of schools, they only focus on state board passing rates. So they want you to pass your state boards cuz it makes them look good. Um, and that's about it. Or they teach you the basic stuff. So these people, they graduate, they get their license, but they can't get a job because they don't know how to, you know, they don't know all of the services that they technically can offer cuz they were only taught the basic things. Um, as well as, you know, they weren't taught any of the business side of stuff. So that's a big thing. I was never taught the business side. I, I didn't even know what business taxes were. Businesses were when I very first started. So going into my first year, that was a big awakening. Uh, but yeah, I had— I didn't know what an LLC was, anything like that. And so a lot of schools don't touch on that. They don't touch on anything that has to do with the business side, social media. Um, and so I feel like that's such a big thing because in order to have a business— so in order for someone to be a hairstylist, that's a business. They, they have to understand the business side and be able to operate as a business, or else their it's gonna fail.

Yeah. So it's super important.

You have to have all those key factors.

If you don't know how to run the business, then you can, it doesn't matter what service you're in.

Yeah.

No, it won't work.

Exactly. You could be amazing. You could be the best, you know, service writer in Abilene, but if you don't know how to run a business, it's not gonna work. And it's not gonna last very long.

So for the entrepreneurs listening, what were some of the roadblocks that came up whenever you were starting to try?

Yeah.

And, and, and this can even be like some of your first businesses too. What were some of the things that you learned along the way?

Biggest thing is, or the biggest thing I think was my age. When I opened the school, I had a lot of students coming in with their parents to tour and ask questions. And parents would be like, hi, who are you? And you know, I'm Caitlin, I'm the owner. And how old are you? And so I tell them and they're like, you know, I don't know if I feel comfortable sending my daughter here. You know, you haven't been in this industry long enough to to, um, you know, know everything. And so like, do you really know, you know, what you're doing here? And so that was a big thing. Um, but, and even when I had my other businesses, um, when you're that young, it's hard to kind of get anybody on your side as far as, you know, um, can't really get a loan because also you haven't built a business, so you can't prove that you're making any money. Um, and so, and then also, like I said, I wasn't in the industry very long, but I built my business pretty quickly within those 6 months of having lash clients that I completely was full with clientele. Um, I had to add another person under me to kind of take the overage. Um, and then that's when I opened my lash salon and added some more, um, estheticians and lash artists under me. But, um, yeah, it was just— I feel like the biggest thing was wasn't in the industry very long, but in the short amount of time that I was in, I noticed and realized, you know, what you need to make a business. And, uh, starting my business at 21, I had been into a lot of people's businesses, whether that's, you know, they, um, have a clothing brand, they, they have a salon, they have whatever it is. And so I kind of saw, you know, how they ran their business and what I would change. Um, and same thing going into it with the school. Um, of course my schooling was online, so I didn't go in person and I didn't have this awful experience like some students do, you know, outside of Abilene and so forth. Um, so I didn't firsthand get that experience, but I was constantly getting those messages and things like that. And so, um, I was just like, yeah, I need to, need to make change. And, but yeah, I feel like at this age a lot of people not only doubt you, but they're like, you can't do that. Like, you know, you have to be 50 years old to open a school or whatever it is. And that's the biggest thing too that I think is a benefit with my age. Um, I'm up to date on all the trends. I'm up to date with social media, how all that works. Um, up to date with, you know, your furnishings, how you place everything in the school. I feel like if you walk into a school or a business in general and, um, you know, it's not very eye appealing, um, nursing home type, I don't know. Um, aesthetic. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like if you don't have your business, you know, if it's not in this, especially like these days, everybody wants modern and like simple and just clean. Um, and so I feel like that's a big thing. Uh, when people walk into my school all the time, I'm like, oh my gosh, it looks so nice. I love how you've designed this. We've loved how, you know, you've laid everything out. Um, and everything like that. And so I think that's a big part. Um, people like eye appeal. So if something doesn't look good, I don't think they would come in, you know what I mean? So kind of like a business from the outside. If I'm walking past and the outside doesn't look very good, I don't think I'm gonna go inside.

Yeah.

So, um, same thing with social media. If somebody doesn't look eye appealing— or not somebody, oh my gosh— if a business does not look eye appealing from social media, or if they're not up to date on stuff, you know, it's like, why should I, um, yes, and go spend my money here?

Yeah. So talking about social media, how important as social media then for y'all? And like, is that how y'all get most of y'all's clients? Yeah. Or how does that work?

So, um, I think social media is the biggest thing. I stress this to my students. We actually stress this from day one. We have them make a social media account. It's not mandatory. They don't have to. We have some people that are like, no, I don't want social media. And that's okay. Um, but to me, you 100% have to have social media to grow your business these days. Unless, you know, you just want to keep your business small and word of mouth, then You know, that's also a way. Um, but social media, I started right off the bat. Um, I started with Canva, so, you know, it's, it's like that's how everybody kind of starts these days.

Yeah. Yeah.

Um, and so we tell our students, you know, how to make posts, everything like that. Um, if you're not marketing, it's hard for, you know, you're only, say it's word of mouth, it's only getting so far. If you're posting on social media, I mean, we have people view our website from all over the United States. We've even had some like from outside the United States. Same thing with TikTok. You're reaching audiences past the United States. And so I think that's super cool, especially we've had people reach out from like California and they're like, hey, if I move there to go to school and get my license, but then can I move back to California and still use that license? So I think it's really cool that people are looking at moving from different states to come into the school and then, you know, which There's, you can't do that. Uh, you have to transfer licenses.

It's actually kind of a mess, but, um, so they, so they would have to kind of go through a process.

Yes. Um, if that state requires more hours, they'd have to go back to school in California. If they don't require more hours, they just have to make sure with whatever they're transferring, the state is allowing. So, um, like Florida, their hours for esthetician is a lot less than we have here. So say a student moved to Florida, they're able to transfer their license a lot easier than a state that requires more hours.

Got it.

Um, so yeah, but social media, I mean, it's huge. That's how people find us. Um, we have a tour form that people fill out for tours online as well as an enrollment form. On every form we offer, we have a blank where it says, how did you hear about us? 90% of the time it says social media. It'll say Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and so forth. Um, never really ran ads on those platforms. Um, but, um, just kind of done stuff push our social media out, um, try to see what's trending. We recently did hire a, um, social media girl that comes in to take like our videos and stuff like that. And so that's definitely— because I used to just do it all. So not only did I teach, but I did the backend, I did paperwork, I did social media, I did enrollment, I did literally everything. And so I think I realized like, you know, you can't wear all the hats in the business, you know, forever. Um, so we finally did bring in a social media girl, and so she, um, Yeah, so she's been a big help with getting videos and stuff like that. And, um, and so we'll just kind of see what's trending and stuff like that. Uh, but yeah, I feel like if people can't see what you're producing, then they're not, like you said, it's not like, say I wanna go get my lashes done by somebody. I'm not gonna go get my lashes done if I've never seen a picture of how they do lashes. Um, and stuff like that. And so, and then we also talk about booking sites with our students. I feel like booking sites are so key. Um, I don't wanna message somebody to book an appointment. I feel like that's just kind of, you know, you have to go back and forth for like a whole day before you can kind of figure out what appointment aligns. Um, and so with a booking site, they can just go in and, you know, book a day and time that works best for them, works best for you, and it's done within, you know, 5 to 10 seconds. And so, yeah, we really stress booking sites to our students as well.

Yeah, that, that's huge. I know at least like whenever I go to my barber.

Yep.

Same thing.

Yeah.

Like I just go in there, pick a time.

Yeah.

Show up.

Exactly. Exactly. Because usually people in that industry, they're so busy, they can't check their phones 24/7. So if you are having to message them like, hey, do you have an opening this day? And if they reply, no, I don't. Okay, well, when do you have an opening? So you're just going back and forth. Um, like I said, sometimes it lasts over a day. And so by then you could have already had a client booked and in your chair.

It creates less friction with the whole sales process.

Yep.

So do they pay upfront?

Our students?

Mm-hmm.

So, um, They can. We have an enrollment fee. That enrollment fee secures their spot in the course. Um, it's so we can purchase their books, their kits, you know, all the stuff and supplies that they need to get started. Um, and that's another way we set them up for success, um, with all of these stuff that we do provide them with. Um, but they pay an enrollment fee and then we actually have in-house payment plans. We work with local banks, um, to help students get personal loans to pay for their course. Um, we are in the process of getting approved with what's called NACAS. Um, it's a national accreditation, so then we can offer FAFSA. Um, you can't apply until you're open for 2 years. So when we hit that 2-year mark last year, we started the application process, and the application process is about a 2-year process. So it takes about 4 years being open before you're able to start offering like financial aid and VA loans, everything like that.

Yeah.

So we definitely are wanting to have those options. Um, I don't think a student should have to choose, you know, between schools. Okay, this school accepts FAFSA and this school doesn't, but I have to go here because I need FAFSA, but I have to get a lesser education. I think anybody, no matter what type of financial range you're in, you should be able to get a good education no matter how you're paying. Yeah. Um, and so that's another reason why we really, really wanna be able to offer that.

So. On your entrepreneur journey, you've done all these things, opened these businesses. Um, has there ever been a time that you wanted to quit?

Oh yeah.

Like, because, because all of us experience the same thing, and even if it doesn't feel like it, yes, like, isn't everybody goes through the same processes in their mind, every entrepreneur. And so Kind of what was that like?

Um, and I think the, the biggest thing with that is, and I don't think I've ever like vocalized it to really anyone besides maybe like my mom. Like I've probably called her and been like, I can't do this anymore. But besides that, you know, you don't really vocalize it to people. Um, but I've told myself all the time, like, I can't do this. Like, I'm exhausted. Um, but yeah, it's, I mean, I've told myself so many times like, I can't do this anymore. I think the biggest thing was when I was doing it all by myself, um, and I had to realize that's one of the pros and cons I feel like too is like, you know, when you open a business, you're kind of doing everything by yourself. Um, and you soon have to realize I can't wear all the hats in the business. I have to delegate these certain things. I have to hire employees. Um, and so that was like a tough thing for me because I was like, no, I, I like to do it all by myself. Um, but it was burning me out. I was exhausted. Um, I have 3 kids now, I have 3 little girls. Um, so not only, you know, do I have kiddos, but they also have activities that they have to do. And, um, so run a full business and then I get home and I feel like it's still a business at home. And, um, same thing with the business line, um, goes off all the time. I'll have students and they're like, oh, I bet it's nice only working 3 days a week. And I'm like, I'm here probably 24/7. Um, and I like, even when I sleep, I feel like my brain is still constantly going. I, I will like wake up in the middle of the night because I'll like think of something and I put it in the notes on my phone. And so, um, it's like, you know, when you're an entrepreneur, I think your brain never stops.

Yeah, 100%. Okay, so, uh, you talk about delegating, so I would consider that going from self-employment mode to business owner mode. Um, with that, hiring people, hiring employees comes a large price tag. —of payroll cost. How was that transition from going to doing everything yourself? Because like profit margins are good whenever you do it yourself, but like you burn out. Yeah, because you're not going to pay anybody. How, how did that transition look? Because really this is something that I'm going through right now too. It's like I'm at the point where I am pretty much capped out. I've been capped out, but I'm trying to figure out how to move funds in a way to hire the people that I need to hire. Yeah. So how, how did that process look for you? Did you take out a loan or did you just have capital saved up from previous?

So one really cool thing that I will always, um, like kind of cherish and hold onto, I've never had to take out a loan for anything that I've done business-wise. Yeah. Um, to this day, um, when I had my lash business, I— you don't realize how much you can make doing lashes. It's kind of crazy. I was also offering just certifications at that time for people who are already licensed that just didn't learn lashes in school. So I built up a big savings. And so with that, I had savings from that. I also had the Lash Bar at the time, which was my lash salon. So I was also bringing in income from booth rent. But of course I still had to pay overhead and so built up a pretty big savings with that. And so of course, doing the school for pretty much a whole year by myself, and not having to pay employees for that first year. Um, again, I was getting to build up an even bigger savings for, you know, bigger plans that I had for the school. That way I'm not going to have to take out a loan. I'm able to invest this back into the school. Um, and that's a big thing with my employees is I want to pay them fair. Um, that's another thing I feel like if you don't pay someone fair, then you're not going to have good employees. Um, if someone's paying someone the minimum, you know, I'm not gonna wanna work there. Um, and do those things, um, especially their effort. I feel like if you're not, um, paying them their worth, they're not giving that job their full effort. Mm-hmm. Um, and so, yeah, so not only do I try to pay my employees a compatible wage, a comp— how do you say that? Competitive. Competitive wage. Yeah. Um, but yeah, so I try to pay them a competitive wage, but as well as, um, Um, yeah, I didn't really have to take out a loan for that.

So who was your, what position did you hire first?

Uh, instructors. Instructors. Yeah. So all, they're all instructors. I, um, currently need to hire an assistant for myself and, um, like, I mean, I still, I do the whole backend and I do all that enrollment and I still will teach certain things. Um, but mainly, so I instructed by myself for the whole first year. After that first year, that is when I was like, I expanded to cosmetology and esthetics. I didn't have a cosmetology or esthetics license at that time, so I had to hire instructors. So it was kind of if I don't hire these instructors, I can't expand. So and also with— I knew especially how big the lash school grew in just that year. And I had a lot of those lash students. They were like, can you, can you do esthetics? You do cosmetology? Like, I want to be licensed in more, but I don't want to go anywhere else. And so I was like, yeah, like, let me see what I can do. And so, um, of course those courses cost more than just the lash course. And so with that, I knew adding these courses, I'll be able to afford to pay instructors, um, as well as of course, you know, not having to dig into a loan or come way out of pocket and stuff like that.

So you mentioned an assistant. Yeah. Do you, do you use AI much for that kind of stuff? Right now, or how much do you use AI?

So the sad thing, I didn't even know what ChatGPT was until my mom told me, which was maybe like 4 months ago. No. Yeah. Okay. I've just done it all by myself. And yeah, I, I would make fun of her for using it, and I'm like, why are you using ChatGPT? Like, what even— what's AI? And, um, I just saw these things that were like, don't use AI, or I was scared that if I used AI, people would know I was using AI and be like, well, she's You know, she doesn't know how to run her business, so now she's having AI do it. And so, which isn't the case, I mean, you have to put stuff into AI to get it to kick back to you. But yeah, she, she told me what it was, and she's 50-some, I think 55. So for her, uh, periodically, yeah. And it's— I use it for my daughter's math homework.

Hey, you can use it for anything you want.

Yeah, it's— I think all the moms do. We're I think, yeah, I do a lot of math in my business. I don't wanna go home and do more math.

So the school system has got their hands full with—

oh yes, yes. Um, but yeah, so now I, I use it periodically for certain things. Um, but I also like it cuz it'll tell you what's trending at the time. If you don't wanna go search for what's trending, it's gonna tell you and give you a breakdown. Also tell you when to post and when to do these certain things. So, um, and then also if I don't know, I know how to reply to somebody, but if I need it kind of expanded a little bit, or words beyond my horizon.

Respectful. Yes. I use that one a lot. I'll put in, I'll, I'll send a screenshot to my ChatGPT or whatever, and I'll be like, how can I answer this respectfully? Yeah. More professionally. But get my point across at the same time.

And I use the heck outta that. Before I started using ChatGPT, um, or like AI, um, the, like my Gmail and Yahoo, it has an AI part now. So I did utilize that to reply to people's emails cuz it would kind of give you like the standard reply or it would kind of know what's already replied versus what you replied to other people. So I really like that. Um, so I did utilize that probably the last 6 months, but yeah, I didn't start using AI till about 5 months ago.

It's getting crazy. I'm just saying from business owner to business owner. Yeah. Look into it. Yeah. Because it's, it's insane. Like, yeah, it can connect all your, like your Gmail, your calendar, everything.

But I know all these people and they're like, you're using Water and you're using, uh, all these things to— so I feel bad because I'm like, am I wasting the— am I wasting the Earth away?

Um, well, I don't think we've ever ran out of water before in the last however many years. Uh, when they're building this huge AI plant—

well, several AI plants— so I'm like, if it was really wasting our energy, like our electric, our water, all these things, I don't think they'd be building them. But of course there's always going to be things on social media. Yeah.

Out. But then they'll go hop in their Tesla and forever— I don't know, it's, it's— I mean, it probably does affect the water situation a little bit. Yeah, because we say use this water now. No, I don't like— I don't just use it just like just because, like for fun. Yeah, it genuinely saves at least us here at Audi Media, like 50 to 60 hours a week. Yeah, easily. Because like there's editing platforms and like it can do editing for you, it can do all kinds of stuff. Yeah.

And so I don't know, I have vendors overseas, so I also have my own lash brand, um, created my own lash supply brand here in Abilene. There was no lash supplier. I had to go on to order, they had to go to Dallas or whatever it was. So I was like, hey, you know, I'm gonna create this too. So have my own lash brand. Well, with that Um, I like it because I can put something into ChatGPT, tell it to make it, and send it to my vendor, a picture of it overseas, or like send a picture to my vendor that's overseas, and then they know how to create it. Um, versus if I just type it out, they're not really understanding what I'm saying. And so if I'm able to create it as an image, then it's a lot easier to get to them.

Yeah. So, so AI is awesome. I'm an AI fan. Okay. If you can't tell. Yes. When it comes to branding, mm-hmm, and we kind of touched on it a little bit, how important would you say branding is to a business?

Uh, I think it's super important, especially to build your brand from the beginning. Um, you wanna get your name out there. People, there's been so many times I've actually wanted to change the name of the school and I've thought in the background so many times like, oh, I want a name with this and that away from Ellen Allen. Okay. Yes. Completely separate it because in my head I'm like, these other big cosmetology schools, they are usually like someone's— the investor's first name, last name, you know, whatever it may be. But it's a name that can be expanded and created, you know, in all these different states. L&L Beauty Institute, so long. And I'm like, you know, I don't know if I like— if, you know, that wants to be put in every state or, you know, if we expand to Dallas and so forth. And so It's kind of been in the back of my head, like, you know, what if I change the name? But I've built my brand off of that name for so long, and that's what everybody knows us by. I don't think it would be a successful or a smart move to change the name, um, because I don't want someone to think, oh, another owner came in, she sold the business, is this, am I still getting the same education? Um, and so forth. And so I feel like if you don't build your branding, then people never really know your name, especially right off the bat. Um, and that's a big thing.

So as far as, uh, the vision and the future of the company and the business, I feel like this is something you have to have physical locations for everywhere you go. Is opening up new locations or franchising like in your plans for the future?

Yeah. So we have some things in the works, some things cooking. Yeah. Some big things that I'm really excited about announcing at the end of April. But yeah, my plan is actually to expand even past Abilene within the next 5 years as far as that. We have a lot of students that drive in. We have— they come from Dallas, Weatherford, Brownwood, San Angelo. We have some from Colorado City, Woodson. I mean, they're all over. I would say 85% of our students don't live here. Um, which is really cool that they're willing to travel in. Um, but not only are they traveling in, they're coming from places that already have schools. And so that's a really cool thing. I'm like, you know, they have schools surrounding them, but they're willing to drive this 1 to 3 hours to come to us, um, because of what we're offering and what we're building. And so I think that's really, really cool. Um, but yeah, and so my plan is I do want to expand past Abilene, like I said, within the next 5 years or so. open a second location. That way we're more accessible to those who live outside. Um, kind of, sort of in a halfway point of where they're traveling from now.

Yeah. So, so how do you come up with vision? A big thing that I like to talk about and think about is the vision of where my company is going, my business is going. How do you come to the conclusion of that vision? Like, do you see other businesses doing similar things, or what does that thought process look like?

As far as like opening another business?

Just the future of your business. Like, do you sit down? Do you have strategies of like, okay, you write out goals, do you write out, how does that?

I'm telling you, my mind literally never stops. Um, and it's so bad. I don't know how to stop working. Um, but I'm constantly just thinking of things. Um, I, I'm not on social media a whole lot as far as, you know, scrolling and all that, so I don't see a bunch of like what other schools are doing in the area, or not in the area, but you know, beyond. Um, and so I feel like a lot of it's just, I wanna grow and I wanna grow big. And so I'm constantly thinking like, what can we change? Can we add another location to, you know, make this more accessible to those who drive in? Um, and even like the layout of our school, um, I have a lot of people that come in and they're like, I've never seen a school look like this. And that was a big goal of mine was I don't want this to feel like a school. I have it kind of like a salon type spa setup. Even a lot of people who come get services, cuz we do offer services to the public, they're like, I don't feel like I'm in a school. I feel like I'm in like a high luxury salon. And that was my goal is not only putting our students there in that position, um, they're getting used to, you know, the salon type feel, the salon floor. Um, and then people are more likely to book appointments. Appointments because, you know, yes, they're students, but they're being highly trained by people who have been in the industry 20+ years. Um, and we have a very big aesthetic where we're at. And so I feel like a lot of people, that kind of draws them in.

Yeah. Do you ever feel like you work too much? Oh yeah.

I get told that probably every day.

Do you get told that?

I get told to leave work. By who? So Christine, my mom. Okay. She, um, they're all clocking out, you know, at the end of the day. And she's like, what are you doing? And I'm like, I'm here. I haven't, I have another hour of time, you know. She was like, do you not need to run errands? No, I need to work. And so she's like, you need to go home. And I just love it. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like, I will never work for somebody again. Number one. Um, I love working for myself. Um, but also just being able to, and that's like my peace and quiet when the school's empty. I mean, it's a huge school. Um, and it's like I get to look and I'm like, I did this. I did this by myself. Um, I didn't have any help. I didn't have a book to tell me how to do this. Um, and so, but yeah, I, I don't really stop working. I am getting better. Um, I used to take my business phone in my house at night with me. It stayed on my bedside just like my other phone does. Um, I leave it in my car now at night. So, um, same thing with my computer. I used to like, I have 3 computers. I used to take 2 of them home. Um, and I also have an office at my house. So, um, and I would try to work from home even after I've just worked the whole day. Um, and it's like, you know, midnight and Um, yeah, it's, it got to the point I'm like, no, I need to leave these at the school. I need to only work when I'm here. Um, cause it'll drain you. But like I said, when you love what you do, you don't feel that draining until it probably gets to that, you know, end point when you're like, okay, now I don't want to do this anymore cause I'm burned out. And so that's where I've kind of came in where, okay, I'm leaving the business phone in my car. Um, and especially a lot of our students, if they are texting late, it's not an emergency. I mean, we're a cosmetology school, not an ER. And so, um, it's not something that they need answered, you know, right then and there. It can wait till the next morning. And so that's why I was finally like, okay with leaving my phone in the car. Um, they do have other contacts, you know, our instructors and Christine and stuff. So if it is emergent, they can reach out to them and then I'll, you know, be able to get, um, called. So, yeah.

Um, have you felt like, 'cause I know like this for myself too, and I always love asking other people who work. Mm-hmm. Do you ever feel like as a consequence of working like this, because this is not like, you don't just work from 9 to 5 like a normal job. Um, like you said, it's pretty much 24 hours a day that you're thinking about this stuff. Have you ever seen or noticed your relationships in your like personal life suffer from this?

Oh, yes. Um, like I said, I have 3 little girls. And, um, and so that's a big thing is I, I talk to people all day. I talk to people all day. I answer the phone all day. Um, it's just constant moving. I don't really sit down. I'm, I'm busy all day. And so by the time I get home, I'm exhausted. Um, and not only that, you know, I, my 9-year-old's in dance and we're in soccer and we just have a lot of stuff to do every single day. And so, um, I've had to tell myself You know, when you leave this business, when you walk out of the door, leave everything here, you know, don't bring it home. Don't, um, I used to be really bad at, um, answering the business phone at home, you know, on a Sunday, which I've gotten pointed out to where we've had people come in and they're like, she answered on a Sunday. Like, I'm, you know, I'm so glad and I enrolled. And so, and then I'm like, oh, so I should answer the phone. But then I'm like, you know, it could have waited till Monday, uh, for me to return their call. Um, but, um, I used to take my business phone on vacation with me. Um, I took it on vacation with me the last, I guess, almost 3 years up until, uh, we just went somewhere over spring break. That was the first time I left the phone at home. And I think I had anxiety. I was texting my mom. I was like, did anybody like text or call today? And I would tell her, I'm like, do not reply. Like, I will send you something to reply to these people because I like to do it a certain way. I think that's why I haven't hired an assistant and like things done a certain way. Um, customer service is really big to me. I feel like if you don't have good customer service, then people aren't gonna wanna come into your business. Mm-hmm. Um, especially spend, you know, 5 months to a year at your business. Yeah. And so, um, yeah, that's the big thing to me is customer service. But, um, but yeah, it's, it got so bad to where, like I said, I mean, I was taking my business phone on vacation, my computer. Um, we, uh, did, and we never posted it, I don't know why. We did like a funny TikTok one time where I took my computer into the ocean. It's like when you're a small business owner, but you're on vacation. Um, and yeah, but it's real. I mean, I was literally like on the beach with my computer and I feel like you're just working all the time. Um, but you do have to find that balance, live in life and work. Um, or else it's going to ruin your relationships. And I don't want my kids to look back like my mom was always working. Um, and same thing with like my partner. I, um, he'll be like, you know, Can we like sit down and have a dinner and not be on phones? And I'm like, yes, sorry. Because usually if I'm on my phone, it's, you know, it's business. And so it's hard. And, and he's one who's like, you know, you need to like take a break. You're going to burn yourself out. And, um, I, uh, I have lupus. Um, and so I get sick a lot. I get sick really easily. Um, and so there's been a couple of times I've been like really sick and, um, hospitalized. I still take my computer and my phone into the hospital and they're like, Caitlin, like, you gotta stop. I think this is like someone telling you, like, you're, like, you're killing yourself. Like, it's like you're, you're working yourself to death. Um, for an instance, I was really sick on Sunday. Um, really, really sick. I didn't want to miss work on Monday. I had 3 tours and an enrollment scheduled. I don't want to reschedule those. Um, so I had a mobile IV guy meet me at 8:30 before school started and gave me an IV so I felt better by the end of school. So. It's just little things like that. It's like, you know, you'll do those things and, but anybody else would've called into a job. And so, um, but my uncle, um, he lives in California. He, uh, he started a gym and then he wrote a book. And so he's like an entrepreneur, but me and him were talking last time I was there and he said that he heard somebody had said, um, like another entrepreneur was like, I would rather work 24 hours. Than work an 8 to 5 for somebody. And I don't agree with that more. I'm like, you know, I, I would, I would much rather work 24/7, 25/8, whatever it is, than go back to an 8 to 5, um, and stuff like that. And even though I am working all the time, I feel like it is nice. You still get to work around your kids' schedules. I get to be at all their events. Um, I get to go to her school. Um, we want to take a vacation, I can, you know, block my schedule or whatever it may be. Um, but yeah, that's a Big thing that I've had to, I'm still learning with that. Um, separating business and home life. Yeah. It's very hard.

Yes. I remember one moment, and I've shared this story before, but what I think it was like our, me and my wife, we'd just gotten married at that point and the business was 2 years old. Yeah. And I was literally working, it was just me. I didn't have an office, I didn't have anything, so everything was at home. Yeah. So I would just work from when I woke up till I went to bed and I brought my laptop into bed one night. It was like 11:00 PM and I was just working and she was like, are you ever gonna stop working? Yeah. I was like, you're right. I gotta, I gotta lay this down. Yeah. Um, anyway, so like that was a moment where I decided whenever I had a, a space, so now I leave my computer here. Yeah. 99% of the time. Because I know I will go home and want to keep working 'cause I'm like, oh, I gotta finish this, or I, I gotta do this.

I think that was the realization. And then you, and then it takes someone saying something and maybe a couple of times, 'cause I mean, I think people have probably told me this a lot, but it's just now kind of in my head. Yeah. And, um, that, you know, oh my gosh, you do need to finish this, but it can wait till tomorrow. Me finishing it today versus, you know, 12 hours from now. It's not gonna change anything.

You know, it's still gonna get done in the grand scheme of things. Yes. It's gonna be fine.

It's like, I feel like when you own a business and are an entrepreneur, you're, especially in the first couple years, you're always in like fight or flight mode. And, uh, you think you have to, you know, reply to people in 10 seconds and return people's calls, um, you know, right away and answer emails and all these things within you know, a non-realistic timeframe to make your business work. But, and that's what I did for the last, you know, however many years. But now I'm like, oh, I can reply tomorrow and they're still gonna come enroll. They're still gonna, you know, my school's still gonna be here. And so that was the biggest thing was I had to realize like, we're still gonna be here. It's, it's okay to, you know, take a break and stuff like that.

I had, I've been working on that, so like this last Saturday. I had like 2 or 3 people text me. People, these are new inquiries. I didn't know them. Like they're like wanting to put things on the books, schedule things, and every, it took everything inside of me, but I didn't answer till Monday morning. Yeah. And it felt kind of good. Yeah. And they're still gonna, yes, go through and book a shoot.

I think it takes you taking that step back to realize like it's gonna be okay. Yeah. And.

It is. Yeah. So for somebody who's on the fence about going on this entrepreneur journey, starting a business, whatever it is, what would be your piece of advice to them before getting started? That's something that you would've wished somebody had told you before you started.

Um, so kind of like our students, we try to set them up for success. Um, I give them a, I put together a PDF now. I used to, I just kind of texted it and it was all everywhere. Now I've made a PDF, kind of how to start your business. I wish someone would've done that for me. Um, I put in there how to get your LLC, reach out to Tanya and she'll get your LLC. She can get your EIN. Um, how do I open a business bank account? Do you wanna sell retail in your salon or spa? If so, you need this, you know, sales tax ID. A lot of people don't tell you that. And so now you're selling product and you don't have a sales tax ID, and then you're not getting taxed properly on that stuff. Um, and so, you know, I feel like a lot of schools or a lot of businesses in general, like I can't go reach out to someone and be like, hey, how do I start this business? So I, I wish that that was like a thing, or I wish more schools would, um, lean more towards, you know, I'm not only gonna graduate these students so they can get their license, but I want them to start a successful business.

Um, it, and I think that's the biggest, trying to think what would, so would you say, cuz it sounds like summing all that up, it sounds like you're saying to me you wish you would've had somebody to show you the way. Yeah. At the beginning, like a mentor or your school or something.

And not even a mentor, just somebody that I could've took a step back and just asked rather than Google. I think I had to Google everything. Yeah. Um, and but not only that, I wish I also would have had— not that I didn't have more like supportive people, there were, there were plenty of people who supported me, but there were more people who doubted me. Um, but that was a big thing. And okay, well, I'm gonna prove all those people wrong and I'm going to make this business successful, um, and do whatever I have to do to make it successful. Yes. And, um, I'm— yeah, I'm gonna grow this to bigger than even what I could have imagined. And so yeah, I just wish that there was someone there that also could have told me like, don't give up, you know, cuz I didn't really have that in my corner. I was the one in the back of my head saying, don't give up. I was picturing, you know, little Kaitlyn over here and, you know, I didn't imagine, you know, me being where I was right then and there. And so, and just where I started, I mean, I was a server through nursing school. I worked at Chipotle. Chick-fil-A. Um, yeah, everybody starts somewhere. And so I think that was a big thing was, you know, do I keep going or do I give up and go back to like an 8 to 5 or go back to being a server? Um, but, and yeah, I feel like as far as like advice, I tell people, if you're gonna start a business, you have to give it your all. Um, if you don't give it your all, it's just not gonna work out. You can't say, oh, I'm gonna open a business and, you know, work on that business one day a week. And like halfway do it. You literally have to work 24/7 for the first couple of years and you're going to have late nights, you're going to have early mornings, but you look back and it's all worth it. I told some people the other day, the biggest thing was for me, if I, you know, didn't open this school and I was just still doing lashes, never got my esthetician license, if I was just still where I was back when I was just, you know, little lash artist, If I look down the road 5 years from now and I was like, what if I would've opened that school? What, what could have been and what, uh, like difference could I have made in this industry? Mm-hmm. Um, and so I think that was a big thing for me was I don't wanna have that in the back of my head. I wanna be able to say I did this and I'm still doing it. Um, and so yeah, glad. Yes. Um, and customer service is huge. If you don't have, in my opinion, I feel like there are businesses that don't have great customer service, but they still, you know, have clients and so forth. Um, but customer service is so huge, and I think that's like a big thing to bite off. Um, client is always right, or your customer is always right. Um, and there's always a way to fix, or fix this, fix a situation and find a solution. Um, and so, you know, there are going to be people that are upset, there's going to be people that don't like what you do, or, you know, the service that's provided. Um, but there's always a way to fix it. And so that was a big thing that I had to tell myself, you know, you're not going to make every single person happy that walks through this door. Um, and not everybody is going to, uh, trying to think of what I feel like when you're an entrepreneur, you have to want it. If you go into this business, um, whether it's the beauty industry or whatever it may be, and you are like, oh, I want this to be my part-time job, you can't be a part-time entrepreneur. You literally have to give it your all, and it has to be your full-time job. Yeah. And yeah, and I think those are the cons sometimes, um, because it can be exhausting, it can lead to burnout. Um, especially like I said, when you're first starting business, you're doing it all by yourself usually. And so, um, but it's worth it. Yeah. And that's Amazing. And that's what all these students that we have, they are constantly like, you know, if you did this, you know, you were a single mom with two and you have three little girls now and, um, you built this business what it is today at your age. They're like, I, I can do this. I'm like, no, you can. And this is why I do what I do. I wanna be a light to those people and students and not even just at our school, anywhere. I wanna be a light to others where if I could sit down and, you know, figure this all out by myself. Had no guidebook or anything and I did it and I made it successful and it's still growing and building off of what it is today, then anybody can open a business. Yeah. Yeah.

Um, what, what does success look to you in your, your eyes?

I would say freedom. So as far as, um, in making people happy, if my students are happy, my employees are happy. My students are graduating, getting their license, and they're building a business. Um, that to me is, we, we have made success. Um, and like I said, with freedom, um, my goal is, you know, I, thankfully with the schedule I have now, I'm still able to show up to my kids' events and be at their schools and stuff. But I do wanna be more accessible for those things. Um, I feel like I'm always on a time crunch. I have to be here at this time and then, you know, the next place at this time. Um, I actually set alarms throughout the day to like remind me things. Um, at the school they're like, oh, there goes Caitlin's alarms again. And so it's just because I have so much to do in a day. So my goal is, you know, and I want to get successful to the point where not having to do that. I'm having help to where I can be more accessible to my kids, to my partner, to, um, and like just to be home and to relax. I feel like I can be home and relax at this point, but it's still, you know, I still want to be working. Yeah. So I do want to get to a point where, you know, I have more freedom. And so, and I think a lot of people, they're like, oh, you have a business, you have so much freedom, you can just do whatever you want whenever you want and go on vacation. But realistically, that's not how it works. I mean, you have to, um, especially having employees. I, if I'm going and leaving for, you know, a couple days or a week or whatever it is, to make sure everything's set up for them or I have to make sure I've done everything that I need to do before I leave. So usually the week before I leave is insanely busy.

Yeah. Um, you usually have less time. Yeah. At least for the first few years in the business until you can afford to delegate all that work to others. Exactly. And still be able to pay yourself. Exactly. So it's like, it's a weird, and I don't know what that timeframe looks like for most businesses. I haven't got there yet and we are, 4 years in. Um, but I always like asking people what does success mean to them because everybody's answer is different, everybody's why is different. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah, yeah. Um, where can people find you on social?

So it's on Instagram, we're LL Beauty Institute, and then same thing, Facebook, L&L Beauty Institute. Um, our website's www.llbeautyinstitute.com. Um, and then we're in the Soda District. So nice. Um, we, you know where the mill is? Yeah. You know the big brick building across from the mill? That's where we're at. Nice. So yeah, it's a historic building, so we can't put a sign on the outside, so we're kind of hidden. But, um, but yeah, we, we really enjoy being there. Um, and we've loved it. Nice.

We'll go check them out on social media. Hope you guys found some value in today's conversation. We'll see you in the next one. Peace. If you've made it to the end of this episode, and I hope you enjoyed it, I wanted to encourage you to check out the rest of our videos, the rest of our podcast. There's tons of educational stuff talking about building a brand. We bring in a lot of brands that are faith-based to dive deep into what it is exactly that is working for them, what is not working for them, just to encourage other people like you who are building brands. And so if this interests you take a look at the rest of the channel. You will also see I'm sitting right here in our content studio. We're located in the middle of Texas and we film tons of content for businesses, entrepreneurs, content creators all around the state. So if you're interested in looking at more of our services, our website howdymedia.com is available in the link down below. Check out the rest of our stuff. So hope you guys enjoyed today's episode and we'll see you in the next one. Peace.