Uncle Marketing Live (Derek Norris, Electrology)

Hello.

Hello. Whoa! Ah, okay. I think we worked out as many bugs as possible. Thank you for holding on to us. So welcome to the first episode of Uncle Marketing Live. It's you can tell it's live because we. We completely fucked up the beginning. So for those who are joining live, thank you for taking time out of your day for listening to. If you're listening on a recording, which comes out afterwards, we love you still. But I hope you'll join us live next time, and we would have worked out many of these issues. I wanted this to be live because I believe in engaging in real time, and if you want to chat. From YouTube, you can do that. Uh, after our business case, I'll open it up for any marketing questions you all have. Uh, if you have any, um, pick my brain and I'm happy to respond to that. I'll even send you a link and you can appear on camera. Oh, you know, I, I've cried hearing about remarkable businesses, those that leave me moved at their success. They're the ones that show how Ordinary underdogs can get something done, and they do it with a lot of grit and hard work and innovation and being true to themselves. They have a mission to make something better for the world. If you have good to do as a society, we should embrace that momentum. That's why I get a little bit angry when someone has knowledge and doesn't cough it up. To me, it's like watching a person bleed while you sit on a stack of bandages. But— or they want to charge you hundreds of dollars an hour to stop your bleeding. Uncle Marketing Live is a way to get that knowledge to the businesses that need it while building connections. I want to create a community. I want a way to share and work together. So Uncle Marketing Live is also micro consulting, so businesses can make incremental progress without overhauling everything that they're doing or investing in areas they're not sure about. And you can go at your own pace, but you still get the benefit of guidance and encouragement that a good marketing consultant can provide. Uncle Marketing Live is also meant to cost a fraction of what you'd pay in the open market. And by the way, with AI, I think the entirety of the consulting space is going to change. But one thing AI doesn't offer is connection. It's, it's still valuable. But the very first part of the term AI is artificial, and most of the business owners I know want real human connections. And honestly, I believe there's a real movement that could come from Uncle Marketing Live because there's a gap between meaningful consulting and those who can afford it. Imagine the smallest businesses with the fewest resources doing their best. That to me seems really worthwhile, and I'm certain we can find gems in the forest of the undiscovered business stories that need to be fostered and celebrated. And maybe that's you. Maybe it's my guest today. I want to introduce you all to Derek Norris. He lives in Sacramento or Elk Grove, and he's just getting started on his business. Most importantly, he spells Derek the right way.

That's right.

And full disclosure, he's my bonus brother-in-law. So welcome, Derek Norris.

Thank you, Derek. I'm so excited to be here.

Thank you. Oh man, this is the first of many, I hope. Um, so Derek, can you tell folks about yourself?

Yeah, absolutely. Like you said, I live in Elk Grove, which just borders Sacramento to the south. And my family and I have been here about 16 years, grew up in Sacramento. And I am in the midst of a career change at the age of 48, going on 49 this year. The immense support of all of my family, including Uncle Derek and all of the family on that side. I was supported, encouraged, and guided to leave my job of 17 and a half years doing pest control, which turned out to just be a job and did not go down a career path that I thought it would. And long days, Aching body, and then went from small business to corporately owned over the past two to three years. Once it went corporate, I wasn't only tired in my body; I was tired in my soul, and it was showing at home. And so my wife wanted me home more. My kids are. 10 and 8 and, you know, just need— are a lot of emotional need at that age. So through a lot of discussions at family get-togethers, I was given the idea of taking what I love about my job, which is my customers and serving my community in a way that provides value to their life and to try this thing called electrolysis, which is permanent hair removal. So I went down south, Southern California in Corona, and I went to the California Electrology Academy. Didn't know a thing about it. And I went down there for about 3 months. Spent a couple months up at home after I quit my job and did theoretical study and then went down there to do the practical work with models that would come in and learn hands-on. And it was a fabulous experience. You know, I would leave the first couple weeks You know, kind of crying, missing my family, not knowing if I could even do this. And then after about a month, I have this group of new friends who are on the same journey, and we built this community that we have going now after we've left school. We have text threads and and things of to keep us. Just connected because we're on this venture that is a very niche career. So we want to be able to celebrate each other and help each other out. So I graduated at the end of April, and now I'm home, and the plan is to open my own practice. And so I went from being afraid that I couldn't do electrolysis to Oh, I can do electrolysis, and oh, I'm quite good at it, and I'm enjoying it. And now I have all of the business to attend to of trying to open a business. And so it made all the fear of learning this new trade very minuscule as I look ahead and try to manage my own time now. You know, the plan is to be my own boss And make my own schedule. And that's a new thing. And then all the startup that happens with, you know, trying to find where I'm gonna be and get everything I need. And then also just getting my name out there and becoming part of my community in a different way. And that's its own challenge in itself. And so that's where I'm really excited to be here and a part of what you're doing.

Yeah, I, uh, thanks for sharing all that. Um, what's the, what's the relationship, do you think, between pest control and hair removal?

Well, I would joke at school, I said, well, I went from, I went from killing, uh, insects and rodents to, uh, hair follicles. So I, I shrunk down in the size of what I'm Trying to get rid of. Um, but—

Which is the real problem.

Not jokingly, um, it, it, for me, it all comes down to building those relationships with my clients. And there's a lot of communication to get the success that you want, whether it's in pest control or electrolysis. Um, both are a long-term Relationship.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I, I don't know yet. In pest control, sometimes you can work yourself out of a job if you're too good, because people will say, oh, I don't have any ants anymore, I don't have any mice anymore. And then sometimes they'll stop their service, and then 6 months later they'll call back because they realize they live next to a field and a lake, and the reason they didn't see anything was, oh, you were coming every 2 months. So, you know, in electrolysis, there's going to be expectations that customers are going to have, but you have to communicate how realistic your expectations should be because it is a process. You know, we're growing hair by hair, and the hair grows at different stages, so we need to get it a certain stage for it to not grow back. And so It's just about finding what their needs are, helping them feel safe that this is a place for them, um, and then just, just walking that road with them to, to get to the, the results that they want.

Yep.

Yeah.

So like any marketing effort, the first def— the first thing we have to work on is like who the ideal customer is for your service. Um, in your mind, who is it that you want to serve? Who think— who do you feel like you can serve right away? Um, and, uh, and talk about those folks.

So through going to the school, I was trying to get an idea of what Clientele might be the most, you know, looking for a service like that. And, and through the clients that were down in Southern California, it was a mixture. Um, and a lot of it is, you know, you have this desire to not have hair. for whatever your reason is. Some of that might be medical, some of that might be personal preference, some of it might just be, um, just, you know, well, I said personal preference, but, um, but the, uh, the trans community right now, um, is one of the communities I really want to be open and connected with. Under such attack right now as so many groups are, but to be able to have a space where they can come if they're you know getting ready for surgery and have that. There's not a lot up in Northern California right now, not a lot of electrolysis, and I don't think there's a lot of word. And knowledge about who is here. Because opening my own, I'd research, okay, who's around me? What's around me? What's the closest? And compared to down south, it's just, it's not even close. I think it's starting to grow, come up to the Bay Area a little bit more. But it's still quite a niche area in work that—

Particularly Elk Grove, I know, because I grew up there. Yeah, it's pretty, pretty mid— like Midwest, I guess. It would be the Midwest of California.

Yeah.

Very suburban, spread out folks.

And you—

I wonder how challenging it will be to build that without, say, like extended relationships that you have initially anyway. Like, people might be able to search for you online, which you should absolutely do from building out your real digital real estate. But I'm willing to bet that more than 80% of your clients are going to come from some type of referral. System, so have some ideas on that when you're ready. But it's always important, though, that even in if you even if you want somebody to refer you, it's identifying who those people are that you want to be referred, and it can't just be like well they have hair. You know they have to have a reason for wanting your service. And, um, the means to, to pay for it, the means to, you know, commit time to do it. Um, because I mean, it's electrologist— electrology, my understanding is like it can be a very time-consuming process, right?

Yeah, it is. Like I said, it's a bit of a long-term relationship that you get into, uh, because it's, it's not like laser. Laser is temporary. Laser You know, it's a faster process, but we're going hair follicle by hair follicle. But it's permanent. It's the only FDA-approved permanent hair removal system. So for for me, looking for possible customers, clients, I just feel like I need to. Be out and touch all the parts of the community I can, you know, be in and go out to make relationships with like-minded businesses, you know, whether I'm next to a waxing place or a threading place or eyebrows or just a barber.

Right.

As I look for salon suites, A lot of those are usually with the, the neighbors that you would have anyway. So having that kind of community of small business and also in the kind of beautician, you know, other estheticians and stuff like that.

Right.

Um, but it, it's also paramedical as well. You know, we, we do a run-through health history just to make sure that you don't have any, uh, situations that your health is dealing with where we wouldn't want to get like a doctor's approval before we started, uh, or, or if it was just areas we had to be careful of because of certain health concerns.

Are there risks to electrology?

Uh, no, but there are certain what we call contraindications, um, is what they— the word that I learned at school. Um, so we'll go through your, your health history And, you know, if you're pregnant at the time, you know, we're gonna avoid maybe the belly area and the breast area.

Okay.

So there's just different things. If you're on, you know, chemotherapy, if you, you know, if you've just got a sunburn, you know, I'm gonna avoid that area. If you've got acne, there's just There's, there's kind of chronic, like long-term things, and there's like local things where it's like, okay, we're just gonna avoid this area where you have a sunburn for now, and we'll re— we can check back in a few weeks and see how that part of the body is healing. Because, you know, electrolysis is— it's kind of giving you a bit of minor trauma because you're killing that hair follicle, so it takes a day or two for that area to heal, but there's no long-term damage or scares or anything like that. It's just about finding the right modalities to help get that hair out and get it gone. So yeah, it's— I've been talking with other students who left, friends, and they've just been getting started working on people. And so, what I've heard a lot of times is from school is a lot of the times you're gonna be working on people's faces a lot. A lot of surgery prep. But, you know, It's anywhere on the body. It's any hair type. It's any skin tone. And so I'm open to any and everybody.

Is that Harley in the background? I can hear her.

That's Harley. Yeah. You've got the chill dog. I've got the dog that would be on my lap if I let her right now. She wants to play ball.

That's fine. It's okay. So where are you kind of in the process Of this, of setting up the business now? Have you, have you picked a name? I know we were talking about that for a while.

Uh, yeah, you know, I, I, I've kind of stuck with Precision Electrolysis. Um, I might add like a by Derek at the end of it. I, I kind of see that trend where people add their name to it.

Yeah.

Um, it's not absolutely sure the name yet, but it's the one that I've landed on that— okay, that I'm— that I'm okay with. If I— if I needed to put a name out tomorrow, I'd be— I'd be okay with that. But I always like, is there a better name? Can I find a more You know, yeah, a name with a little bit more pizzazz or a little bit more humor or something.

Yeah, it's always a trade-off because you pick a name that exemplifies what you're trying to do, um, but it might not be the most memorable, um, and it might not spark anything emotional. You know, it's very— it's a very logical thing, which is fine for like SEO purposes, or just when you say I'm you know such and such, people know that that's what you do. So there then the next question is oh how long you've been doing it and stuff like that. Or you have a wilder name that it's like oh what is that? And then it's it's a little bit more then you have a longer conversation even like well this is what I'm thinking about. So it really depends. You know, one way to think about it might be like, well, what does the client need in terms of their relationship to your business? You know, it's like, do they just want kind of no-frill relationship with the, um, with the, the business, and they just come in, they get there, they get zapped, and then, uh, they move on? Or do they want to be part of something a little bit more different? Um, you know, you mentioned like the trans community, for example.

Yeah.

You know, those folks are, generally speaking, not extroverted, but they are more presented. And so should you also have a name that goes along with that, would appeal to them from that emotional side?

Mm-hmm.

You know, that's something to look at. And the other thing you could do, and I think we've talked about this before too, is like you have your business name established and And then you can always roll a fictitious business name on top of it if you want to create a brand, for example. And so, you know, you could still like cash checks both ways, but the one you present out might be a little bit more— a little bit more of a grabber from that standpoint.

Yeah.

Stuff to think about, um, you know, but once you have that picked out, the next step really is, you know, we need to secure all the digital real estate— domain names, social profiles— start thinking about a website so you can start booking, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Um, and then, uh, move into, you know, signage and logos and things like that. That can all kind of happen at the same time.

Okay.

But also it can be very fast. It could be like, oh, this is the name, and in, in a week or two you can have something up and running. So if you give yourself that kind of timeframe, That once you have your name, we can start the entire process of the identity that goes with it and how to tell your story and, and building more of a presence that way. So then that— then you can have, you know, a business card. That when you do actually go end up networking with folks at At community events or referral groups and whatnot that, you know, you can tell them what you're doing and they expect a card. I mean, yeah, this is like, this is like 3 months of cards.

Oh my gosh.

No, it's crazy. So, but you need to have that kind of marker anyway. So the sooner you get that name— you don't— I know you're waiting to take the test, right? The final test, is that right?

Yeah, I'm waiting to get the date for the state exam, state board.

The naming stuff can happen on top of that. It doesn't— we don't have to wait.

Yeah.

So if you want to do that, then Um, I would say settle on the name as, as soon as possible, and then we can just move forward with everything else. Okay.

Yeah, I'd love some homework. So settle on the name. Yeah.

Uh, and you don't even have to wait for like when you come back, you can just tell me. It's like, this is the name.

It's like, great.

So then at that point, you know, you'll need a location. I know you're working on that part of it. What are you thinking right now in terms of location?

So I spoke with you about this suite that I toured a few weeks ago. So far as I know, that's still available. Last week, found another spot about, yeah, about 15 minutes from my house, 10, 15 minutes. And I've reached out, I've emailed, I've called, I've texted. I went by there today physically, and there's a sign on the outside that says, you know, appointments only, no walk-ins. It's, uh, It's an eyebrow thread. It's, it's, I can peek in the door. I can see that there's multiple rooms. So there's a room for rent in this place where they're doing— somebody's doing eyelashes, somebody's doing this. So, uh, I'm pushing and knocking on the door physically.

Yeah.

Um, and seeing if I can get somebody to give me some details about the size, the cost, what's included. Because that's, that's my other option as I continue to search. So I've got those 2 right now as I continue to look online, drive around, trying to ideally find something in Sacramento or Elk Grove area that isn't too crazy far.

Yeah, I mean, the truth is, and folks who don't live in Northern California, you know. And, and for something like this where people have to make an explicit go, it doesn't necessarily need to be in like a high foot traffic place like a, like a shop or cafe needs to be.

Yeah.

You know, this is, um, it can be a little bit more, uh, out of the way as long as like there's enough parking and It's not— they don't charge you $10 to park and stuff like that, right? So yeah, and then you being convenient enough so that you can get home, pick up the kids, you know, take them to soccer and then do another round after soccer or something like that, right?

Right.

It gives you enough home life flexibility or work-life flexibility that you can manage that part of it and Then it's like based on your reputation and growing that people want to come back to you that way.

Right.

And then they'll travel with you no matter where you go, ideally, you know, once— as long as like not, I'm moving to Denver or even the Bay Area, right? So it's— it is maintaining— you're gonna have to maintain some kind of footprint, but like the actual location, as long as it's not Icky and doesn't feel unsafe, right, then you're probably okay, uh, wherever that is. And at least this for this first opener, right?

Yeah.

The, the, the sweet salons that we've talked about, they're great because it's usually well-maintained, immaculate. You walk in, it's like sliding door openings, you know. And so those are nice, but they are a little pricey. But if you're just getting started and you need your first, say, 10 clients or something like that, maybe that's completely viable. And they were month to month too, right, in terms of their leasing?

The first place was week to week. It was— you pay week to week. The— you sign a 1-year at the Okay, at the minimum it's a year.

Okay, but still a year. Hopefully you're in business still for a year. Um, yeah, and then that, you know, gives you time to build up your client base. And, uh, then, uh, if you don't love the spot, then find a new one while you're, you know, still available. You're still taking clients, right?

Right, right.

Yeah. So what other immediate marketing help could you use right now?

Well, that's the problem. I don't know.

Okay.

I mean, I don't know. You know, that's, um, yeah. It's, it's so new and so foreign to me, uh, that every bit of information is, is brand new information to me.

Sure.

And so, um, you know, for, for where I am at, I will, I will plead dumb. And, you know, uh, I, I really am Relying on a lot of help from friends and family to say, have you done this?

Yeah. You should do this.

Um, because what's, what's weird for me is not just knowing what to do, but knowing the sequence and the time frame and, and trying not to, to waste any of this time that I have right now.

Right.

To, to be ready and to be the most successful.

Right.

And I know it's, it's gonna start slow. I know it's gonna take time to build a clientele.

Yeah.

But I just want to know what the next right step is, you know, and if that's 5 things that I focus on, if it's one thing, okay. But I think for me right now, like you said, get the name down, commit to a name. We did work on a website as part of our senior project at school, so I have the bones of a website started. You know, you helped me with the business plan, so I've got a model of pricing and services. And it's really just for me trying to schedule my time right of studying, acquiring the supplies that I need, right? And then finding the space and getting all of the— obviously getting my license, but then like, that's the insurance and all that. So there's, there's just such a A weight of things I know that will have to get done before I like get in and start. And I'm just trying to get these ducks in a row and not, and not miss anything. So yeah, I feel like I'm a newborn in the business. And so the baby steps are where I am.

Well, the nice thing is you have no luggage. You know, you have no baggage, right? So yeah, you can start with— from a very— and, you know, being— coming into this late in your life, later in your life, um, gives you an opportunity to say, oh, I don't have time for any kind of bullshit, right?

Yeah.

And so what if we I think like one of the things people are going to want to know is, so in terms of like the class makeup, for how much percent— what percentage was male and what percentage was female?

Based on that school, I would say 85% female.

You're a minority. Welcome to the club.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

But, but like, that's, that's, that could be a positive or a negative. Um, and so if it is a negative, then you have to find a way to address— hey, Arlie! You have to find a way to address that part of it. Um, and then if it's a positive, then, you know, no sweat, you can lean on it. But, um, when it comes to who you are. And what I would profess is like, oh, the way you're going to build trust is because people like you, you know, they like coming to you, they trust you, and they have an authenticity with you that— I mean, literally, these people are going to be baring their skin to you. So, um, it can be a very It can be an intimidating thing if not handled properly, right? So yeah, we want to make sure like your story is super clear. And if that means, uh, you coming a little bit more forward about who you are in relation to the community and as a whole, that I don't want to like recruit your kids, but kinda. I mean, to know that they are— that you are like an established member of society, you know, coaching soccer, doing these things, volunteering at school. And it's that kind of personality brand enrichment that you have to do a little bit of. Um, just to like show up and say, I'm not creep, I'm not a creep, right?

Yeah, yeah.

And I mean, most people aren't going to assume you are, but you just want to put it— you just want to take it off the table. It's like, no, this is not that at all. This is about helping people, um, and you loving what you're doing, that part of it, and the loving people around you and the loving environment that you come from all can kind of benefit. Hello, Hori, you got the ball. Um, yeah, has, has a lot more to do with how people start to work with you, right?

Yeah. Okay. And that, you know, in, in pest control, that was, that was easier to— because I was going to people's houses.

Yeah.

And so when I would talk to them, if they opened up at all, then I had that opportunity to share about myself and my family. And that's how I got so many referrals, was people just felt that personal connection to me and they would get somebody else coming out to their house and they would say, well, you— where's Derek? Is it— if he's on vacation, just wait till he gets back because I don't want you to send anybody else. And so we developed really deep relationships with my customers. And, you know, it's, it's what I want in my new career. It's just like you said, but it has to— it's going to come in a completely different way. And it's a little bit more work on my side to do.

Well, as long as I feel like you are open to it, Like that it's not just business, but it's personality, it's relationships. Once you kind of identify that part of it and are comfortable with that, then that's something we might want to express through marketing as well. So through social, through the website, whatever.

Yeah.

That when people do look you up, It's very clear the the quality of your person comes through.

Absolutely, and I've noticed that in some of my friends' websites. One of my the lady I stayed with actually, Krista. She's a part-time instructor, and she has her own practice, and she's building up her clientele. She's not full-time, so she's. teaches at the Academy and you go onto her website and if you've met her for a day and you look at her website, you're like, yeah, that's Krista. Yeah, I feel it. And so, that's absolutely something I want to, you know, kind of burst out of those opportunities to let people know who I am and that there's a place.

And that's one of the reasons you get into business for yourself is to be able to express who you are, right? So, um, we are getting close to time. So, uh, so you have homework for next time or before, uh, and, um, hopefully that helps. This helps today, hopefully. Uh, it's never about me. I want to make sure, like, people know it's not— I'm not doing this for me per se. I really, really do want to help folks. And so I'm really appreciative that you kind of joined on and all the technical issues resolved and we were able to, you know, start sailing. But yeah, well, we'll be in definite contact. I'm going to open up the chat stream if anybody wants to Chat. There's Alice. Yeah, we know about the audio. If you do want to chat, go ahead and sign into the or be on Yahoo. That's the best way. But if not, you know, that's okay too. You can just tell us. You know how we did. That's always valuable.

Yes.

And if you think this is of value, please, you know, like, subscribe, share, all that fun stuff. Uh, the Patreon, I'll post that up. Thank you, Alice. So the Patreon, uh, You can become a member for as little as $5. We are going to meet every Thursday, 12, except for holidays and if I can have to skip. But the next week I've got— oh, here we go. Moto Media, I'm really happy to hear about enthusiastic business owners willing to take a chance on this point in their careers. Thank you. I'll subscribe. Thank you. Um, next week we're going to feature a personal trainer, uh, so we're gonna enjoy talking with her about that. Um, Derek, my man, I'm so glad you did this for me. Uh, and, uh, I appreciate everybody who joined in live and sat through the issues, but, um, Now we've got it down and we're gonna rock and roll in the future. Uh, yeah, so thank you all.

Thank you, Derek. I appreciate your time so much.

Thank you. Take care.

All right, you too. Bye.

Bye.