Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosa Castillo.
Hi Rosa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am Angeleno, born and raised. My mother immigrated here from El Salvador in the midst of a civil war. While she worked as a live-in housekeeper, she went to night school and obtained her cosmetology license. Ultimately, she had to sacrifice her goals in order to support herself financially as a single mother. Now, I pay homage to a dream she sacrificed for mine with my very first business: The Bare Minimum Facial Bar. I have her original cosmetology license hanging in my establishment as a reminder to never stop pushing higher and carry the dreams of my family, especially my mother.
My work experience comes from retail, wholesale, and e-commerce. The higher I climbed in job roles, the more demanding my schedule became, with a dependency on coffee to keep me going. Stress and dehydration was affecting my health, especially my skin. I decided to do my research on skincare to see what I could do to combat the wear and tear from my hectic lifestyle. The more I learned, the more I felt connected to the skincare industry and decided to pursue a formal education as an esthetician. I enrolled at SMC in 2019 and after 600 hours got my esthetician license.
As a working esthetician, I kept seeing the same pattern, especially with first-time clients: they were absolutely clueless and wanted help with a simple routine. Social media is flooded with misinformation or routines with a “one size fits all” mentality. I learned everyone’s time, budget and skin are unique and have different needs. Funny enough, “The Bare Minimum” was a term that came to fruition with a simple 4-step routine I created for my clients. Many of them did not have the time for lengthy routines and just wanted a minimal but effective routine. That’s when I knew I was on to something marketable! This starter idea eventually became my business plan: creating a safe space, free of judgment, both time and cost-effective, with focus on each individual’s unique skin needs
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Working capital is definitely one of the biggest challenges. Opening up a small business, especially a physical location, can be very costly and result in profit loss very early on. Being “creative” with the business has allowed me to make the best with what limited resources I have to pull from. I am fortunate to have had an amazing support net, as well as a being a recipient of the California Dreamfund, which has helped achieve some of the hefty initial business purchases.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The Bare Minimum Facial Bar focuses on 30-minute facials customized to fit each client’s unique skin type and concerns. Each facial begins with a full skin analysis, focusing on educating our clients on how they can approach their future regimens. Estheticians are only 20% of your skincare routine, the other 80% is what you do at home, which is why we take time in laying a proper foundation of education seriously! With a proper approach to your skincare needs and consistency of routine, we can get you maximum results with just The Bare Minimum.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Physical and mental limitations have been the most humbling lessons I have had to learn. When you become a small business owner, you never really clock out; learning to listen to my body has been the most challenging. As many of us know, the first few years as a new business can feel like a roller coaster, so finding time for self-care and stepping away from the business can be a struggle, especially when there were moments where my future felt questionable. Learning to not feel guilty for taking time for myself, even putting business needs aside to make room for my personal needs is so important. We need to be able to hold space for ourselves, our well-being, and the connections we have in life, no matter how full of a plate we make for ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebareminimumfacialbar.godaddysites.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebareminimumfacialbar?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Other: https://thebareminimumfacialbar.glossgenius.com/services
Image Credits
@och8jos
