Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Paul.
Hi Madison, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I became a certified esthetician in 2019. I got my certification at Cinta Aveda Institute in San Francisco. At the time I was attending SF state as well as getting my esthetician certificate at the same time. During my time at Cinta Aveda, I became fascinated about packaging and wanted to learn more on how we package beauty products that are displayed in places like Target, Ulta, Sephora, etc.
After finishing my AA at SF State and completing my esthetician program at Aveda I decided I wanted to continue my educational journey and move to LA to go to FIDM in DTLA. There I studied Beauty Marketing and Product Development and got my Bachelor in March 2021.
After Covid guidelines were lifted I started working as an esthetician on Beverly Blvd and became a lead esthetician. Fresh out of school with lots of knowledge about Beauty marketing and product development I knew I wanted to do more and start something of my own. After some time I started to look for my own studio space because I had dreams of creating “Face Fuel”. I stumbled across Sola Salon Studios in Glendale. I put my security deposit down for my own suite in December 2021. The building was brand new, and I was excited to get started with my business. Fast forward to February 2022 after filling my LLC, getting permits and getting my own establishment license, I was ready for business.
Slowly but surely I started to gain a clientele. I have met so many different walks of life. Everyone having different skin care concerns, types and goals. I love truly love making others feel beautiful in their own skin. Currently, I work part-time Mon-Thrus at a private spa in Venice and Santa Monica. I am usually at my studio Friday through Sunday but have access to my studio 24/7. I do take evening weekday appointments often.
The product line I carry in my studio is called The Body Deli. They are sourced in Palm Springs and are a natural raw ingredients product line that provides great results to many different skin types. My goal is to either grow Face Fuel and have spas all across the US or start to create my own product line for Face Fuel so one day you can see our products on the shelf of your local beauty store like Alta, Sephora, etc.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a small business is never easy especially if your a one women show. I think for the first month and a half after putting my security deposit down at sola salon studios all I was working on was the paperwork needed to start my business. For example, creating a business bank account, filing my LLC, getting a seller’s permit, Getting a permit from the city of Glendale, applying for my establishment license through the board of boarding and cosmetology. The list goes on as to what needed to be taken care of before even taking my very first client through the doors.
I did learn a lot about the logistics on how to start a business from being at FIDM but had never truly experienced it myself. I had to sit down once a week with my professor who mentored me through a large portion of things as well as friends and family I had contacted about questions on little things.
No one tells you the back end of starting a business and it’s a lot that happens over time. I had to also create a yelp page, Instagram, and Facebook, come up with marketing and advertising. I think all those tasks have been challenging because I single handily worked it out all on my own and had to figure out the next step in what needed to be taken care of before even starting my business.
Another challenge has been how I wanted the studio space to look and feel, the machines, services and products I would be using. All coming down to mapping out what I will be offering to clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Face Fuel?
Face Fuel is a skincare salon in Glendale, CA, providing a safe and nurturing space to explore different options for improving your overall skincare. We will serve you with in-depth knowledge of the most relevant beauty techniques and practices to look your best. Expect us to provide continued education, an excellent client experience, and use only natural raw ingredient products from The Body Deli! We have several different facial services and add on’s that we offer as well as lash lifts, tints, waxing and much more! I’m most proud of the product line we carry because not only is it natural but smells amazing, it also provides solutions for many different skin types. What I want the readers to know is that I hope to expand more of my knowledge to offer many more services for a wider range of clients and become more full-time at my studio then part-time.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something surprising that most people don’t know about me is that I work 7 days a week. Mon- Thurs at my part-time job and Fri – Sun at my studio. Even when I’m not working physically at either location I am cleaning at my studio, or creating content/ advertising/ marketing struggles. I am constantly on the go and working on something. I would love to go back to school and get my medical grade esthetician license so I can also perform laser and other treatments.
Pricing:
- LA Classic facial $155 for one hour and 15 min
- Detoxifying facial $130 for one hour
- hydro jelly facial $110 for 45 min
- glow to go facial $100 for 30 min
- Lions mane facial $80 for 30 min (mens facial)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vagaro.com/facefuel
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/facefuelbeauty/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/madison-paul
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/face-fuel-glendale-2
- Other: https://g.page/r/CcNiwQ3vUFJGEBM/review
Image Credits
The body deli products were taken from their website. I got these photos professional taken by someone who came into sola salon to take photos of everyones suite. It was a photographer named Cara that sola salon hired to come in.
