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“What was your big break?”
InMy Beauty Break, we’ll dig into the behind-the-scenes details the money, the aha!
Aesthetician and entrepreneurRenee Rouleau’seponymous skin-care company has a slogan: “Skin Care Personalized.”
(It’s in fine print under her logo.)
“One size does not fit all.”
“I’m super strategic,” she says.
I’m very clear about my path and where I’m headed and what’s important to me.
I’m always aligning with my core values."
Read on for Rouleau’s masterclass in business and beauty and learn how servant leadership and Madonna?
inspire her toward success.
Allure: You are celebrating 25 years in business this year no small feat!
First of all, congratulations.
What have been some of the keys to your longevity?
Renee Rouleau:One of the things is the art of reinvention.
Most businesses fail within five years.
I’ve been dedicated to putting energy and fuel back into the company.
I also have never lost passion for what I do.
Im continually learning and I think I’ve kept it fresh for myself as well.
While working in a salon, you saw an aesthetician at work and were compelled to become one.
At what point did you want to become an entrepreneur as well as an aesthetician?
I had a coworker who was my mentor as an aesthetician.
At that point, I was only 19 and she was 13 years older than me.
I was just out of esthetic school, working in the salon trying to learn everything.
Five years later, I would sell it and move to Dallas and start Renee Rouleau Skin Care.
[Rouleau relocated to Austin five years ago.]
Allure: Is it ever hard to balance the two roles of being both an entrepreneur and aesthetician?
When those two roles are pitted up against one another, which one wins?
Rouleau:Anyone who runs a company that’s also a service provider is wearing a lot of hats.
They do pull against each other.
Probably 10 years into my company is when I really started to pull back from being an aesthetician.
I wanted to focus more on product development and our website.
It’s challenging, and it’s not an easy move to make.
I took it slow.
It ended up being the right move.
Allure: Today, how much time do you spend being an entrepreneur versus being a hands-on aesthetician?
Rouleau:I’m still hands-on in Los Angeles.
I’d go for two days taking clients, so it was a very small percentage.
Now with the pandemic, I haven’t taken clients since it started.
So, not much.
Allure: When did you look at yourself and say “Wow, I’ve made it”?
What was the moment you consider your big break?
One of my celebrity clients is Demi Lovato, and I’ve been her aesthetician for over 10 years.
Back when I started working with her, she wasn’t who she is today.
“Probably when celebrity clients started shouting [my name] from the rooftops.
That’s a huge day when that happens.”
Allure: I am a firm believer that we learn the most through our mistakes.
What is the biggest failure you’ve ever had in business, and what did you learn from it?
I run things with my gut a lot.
Luckily, I pushed through and made it work instead of saying, “Oops!
Let me go back into the treatment room and start taking clients again.”
The biggest failure was not paying attention and not understanding my finances enough.
Allure: Renee Rouleau is not just your name, it’s your brand.
Do you think that is a risky choice?
It was a strategic choice because I was trying to elevate myself as an expert.
When the company is your name, naturally, people want to know who that is.
There’s curiosity there with someone’s name: “Who is Renee Rouleau?”
I’m an expert and I really wanted to showcase that.
I felt like having a name behind it was going to bring that credibility to my expertise.
It was a strategic choice because I was trying to elevate myself as an expert."
For me, it was a good move, and I don’t have any regrets about it.
Allure: What sets your work apart from all of the other aestheticians working today?
What is the unique value of the Renee Rouleau experience?
When you get a skin treatment, you’re there for 75 minutes.
Allure: What is the upside and downside of being your own boss?
I’ve always said I work for my employees.
On one hand, its great being my own boss, but I work for my team.
Im here to serve them, and I’ve always looked at it that way.
I’m not the star of the show.
And I get the reward of that.
Being a people-over-profits company has been a great mindset for me.
When I put my head on the pillow at night, I know I did the right thing.
The downside is the relentless hours.
Being an aesthetician, you’re working when everyone else has time off.
I couldn’t ever go out on a Friday night, because I worked on Saturday.
It’s alotof work.
What makes a damn good brand?
Rouleau:What’s important to me is building a great company, not a big company.
No one can convince me that a bigger company is a better company.
“What’s important to me is building a great company, not a big company.”
Rouleau:Don’t do it alone.
Being an entrepreneur is lonely, and nobody understands your world.
Now, there are easy opportunities for people to meet like-minded people through social media.
It’s too hard to figure it out on your own.
You’ll make too many mistakes because you don’t know any better.
When people think of Renee Rouleau, what do you want to come to mind?
Rouleau:That I was somebody who was of service to others.
I want people to be happy, confident and feel good in the skin they’re in.
The generosity and having a servant heart mentality that will probably be my legacy.
I just want to help others.
Rouleau:I never see myself retiring.
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