Jenna Alvarez, Redondo Beach CA Esthetician: 🌅 What The Fluff Beauty

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Esthetician and lash artist Jenna Alvarez didn’t plan to go into lashes. But a chance suggestion midway through her esthetician program sent her down an entirely different path, one that would take her from running house calls across Los Angeles to building a thriving solo practice in California’s South Bay.

In this episode, Jenna discusses the harsh and unexpected experiences she faced at her first job at a popular lash studio — from illegal worker misclassification to mean-girl industry politics — and how that experience became the unlikely fuel that pushed her to go out on her own. She also talks about what it actually looked like to build a clientele from scratch, which included hauling equipment up apartment stairwells at 8 pm, scheduling full days of house calls across L.A. County, and slowly figuring out that working harder isn’t the same as working smarter.

Jenna also shares what nobody told her about self-employment. The burnout, the identity loss, and the pressure to wear every hat all taught her how to set boundaries and decenter her business from her sense of self. What she eventually learned was how important it is to fill her own cup before she has nothing left to give.

Whether you’re fresh out of school, thinking about going solo, or just deep in the grind and wondering how you got here, this one’s for you.

Topics covered: finding your niche vs. offering everything, the dangers of worker misclassification, building clientele from zero, setting boundaries as a self-employed provider, the glamorization of entrepreneurship, and why being good at something doesn’t mean you should do it.

Note: Since this recording, Jenna has moved her business to Redondo Beach, CA.

Connect with Jenna:

Website: https://www.wtf-beauty.com/

IG: whatthefluff.beauty

Catch up on the last pod episode with esthetician Carla Bonilla.

Want to go to esthetician school in California? Consider an esthetics program at a California community college.