Stylist Soul Tribe Conversations

Shopify Success: How Jessica Winney is Scaling Beauty Businesses Through E-Commerce

• Lisa Huff

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In this episode of Stylist Soul Tribe Conversations, we dive into the inspiring journey of Jessica Winnie, aka "Winnie." As an esthetician turned web designer, Winnie shares how she pivoted her career during the 2020 shutdowns and discovered the untapped potential of e-commerce for beauty professionals. With her expertise in Shopify, Winnie has helped countless estheticians and beauty pros transform their businesses, generating substantial revenue and creating new opportunities for growth.

From selling DIY facial kits during the pandemic to scaling her business to support other beauty pros, Winnie reveals the secrets behind her success, including the importance of storytelling, marketing strategies, and leveraging digital tools like Shopify. Whether you're a hairstylist, esthetician, or creative entrepreneur, this episode is packed with actionable insights on how to scale your business through e-commerce while staying authentic and aligned with your goals.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • How Winnie pivoted from esthetician services to web design and e-commerce.
  • Why Shopify is more than just a platform for selling products—and how to maximize its potential.
  • The power of documenting your journey and building trust with your audience.
  • Key marketing strategies to amplify product and service launches.
  • How to create sales pages and leverage email marketing to boost revenue.
  • Tips for balancing business growth with personal and family priorities.

Resources Mentioned:

Join the Conversation:

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Connect with Lisa Huff

Audio Only - All Participants:

Hello friends, welcome back to Stylist Soul Tribe Conversations. I am joined today by Jessica Winney, also known as Winnie. She's an esthetician of eight years who discovered web design in 2020 when she was trying to survive the shutdowns in California and having a baby that same year. She said that building her own Shopify site has changed her life in so many ways and is now changing other beauty pros lives too. So do I call you Jess? Do I call you Jessica? Do I call you Winnie? What do you like to go by? I should have asked you that before we hit record. Yeah, just to keep it like across the board. You can say Winnie. it's so funny. I get the same thing all the time from clients and other estheticians who've known me as Winnie for years. And they're like, wait, who's Jessica? And I was like, Oh no, that's so funny. Okay, Winnie is so cute. I love that. so Winnie and I are getting to know each other for the very first time right now. We were just chatting before I hit record, talking about all the little connections we have to each other. But I reached out to her because I was on a Stylist Soul Tribe call about a month ago. And Kate Love, Kate is a member of Stylist Soul Tribe and we were in her office. Her tribe call and we were just having a conversation about websites and I pointed out that, I've had Alana Zilkowski on this podcast before and she's a member of Stylist Soul Tribe. She does web design for hairstylists too. And I was talking to that tribe about how Alana has. realized that the way that websites are being taught in our industry right now, technically isn't really like search engine optimized. Like she just found it interesting. She started kind of dabbling in this. She took some more SEO courses and she was like, you know, the really big name educators that are kind of creating templates and giving everyone the the websites. It's not that they're like bad, but they definitely could be more search engine optimized. And I said that to the group and Kate was like, That's so funny that you say that I have a friend who's an esthetician who does websites for other estheticians and other beauty professionals and she has told me the same thing before and then she and I was like okay interesting who's your friend because then I was like my wheels are instantly turning like I need to have her on the podcast I need to pick her brain and then she goes yeah and she also helps estheticians create Shopify stores and they're seeing like Tens of thousands of dollars of revenue per month from these Shopify stores. And I'm like, Kate, what are you talking about? Who is this person and how do I get around the podcast? And so Kate connected us. And I'm so grateful to have you on. So let's kind of dive into it, Winnie. That's my. perception. how does that all land and kind of, tell us a little bit about you, your story, and then we'll start diving into the nitty gritty of all this. Yeah. So like you mentioned, it happened out of nowhere. If you would have told me in 2019, even the early 2020, hey, you're going to be a web designer or just a designer in general, it would have been like, No, I don't know anything. And, yeah, so like you said, I had a baby literally mid 2020 in July. that would be my second one. We had just, I had just moved counties. I moved my business and then everything in California shut down for nine months. Plus, trying to take off time for the baby, and I just Talk about everything changing, yeah. And at the time, I don't know how it was in the hairstylist world, but all the estheticians, thank goodness, we had so much support from our clients that we were selling, facial kits, Yeah, we were doing, root touch up kits, so it's interesting to hear Oh, right. Industry was going about that. Yeah. Yeah. And I remember, I, you know, I think the first batch that people bought, there was like 80 something that I had sent out and I was like, this is terrible because I was doing it all like in my notes app. what's wrong? Okay. Did you pay via Venmo or is that, or like whatever? A facial at home was Just like a travel cleanser, moisturizer. It was like the cleanser, the toner, like it was Really gentle, you and the people that I knew, like my clients, I threw in a little something more intense for them. Yeah. Like a mask. I gave away like cold rollers and stuff. Just like amazing experience. Yeah. Yeah. And I look back and it's so funny how like janky everything looked, but it was so cool just to remember like, you were just getting creative. Yeah. Yeah. So the first round I was like, this is terrible. I hate this. There was such success with this. So I was like, Hmm, like, I wonder how you can sell and like how I can sell this next batch. And in my head, I didn't know anything about anything. I think I've only knew about like Squarespace because their, their ads were everywhere. I've heard of Shopify, but I think even to this day, most people are like, Oh no, you just sell products on there. Like I didn't think about it. And I remember looking up big things like big cartel Etsy. And I was like, I don't think this is what I'm looking for. and I was, I kept coming back to Shopify on YouTube. I want to sell products, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, okay. So I made a Shopify account and looking in hindsight now, especially talking with other designers, it's so funny because Shopify is such a monster to people like go to platform right off the bat. I think now people are finally like, Oh, wait. This is where it's at, you know, so it's great that I decided to start the hardest point looking back. So I really like through this website together, it didn't take a long time because I had no idea what I was doing. I started listening to podcasts about, e commerce in general, I was learning and I put it together and obviously took the people through the journey and I think that was the biggest. Thing that really led to the initial success of it. Just documenting your experience. Yeah. During covid shutdowns going all in on learning something new. Yeah. Okay. Because a lot of my audience, so my esthetician Instagram was, I grew it pretty large. Mm-hmm So that one studio Winnie and I moved off of that for a while because web design took off so well. People loved watch. They were like, Oh my God. Cause I have two kids. I have right now he's 17 and then I have a four year old now. but yeah, they were like, Oh my God, it's so cool to see like what you're doing. And so they were, I had people from other States like watching and being like, Incredible. I'm so happy for you. This is so cool. Like you just had a baby, blah, blah, blah. In my head, I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just trying to get through like the next month, you know? Yeah. yeah, I launched it. I had like a huge, to me at the time it was, whoa, because I had not big of an income. So when you launched it, what kind of products were available? It was all skincare. So I was just thinking of the brands that I primarily use, which was reality for acne. a lot of acne stuff, skin script, which is more of you're still a professional brand, but they're a little bit more like beginner friendly and then like fun stuff, like the jelly masks and things like that, cold rollers, like I said, and washes stones and just basically anything I could get my hands on because it's like a little Boutique, almost. I mean, obviously you have your license, so some products that you get at wholesale, probably get all of them, but also just like, assuming, kitsch or fair or some of those wholesalers that we know about. Yeah. Fascinating. Yeah, so actually the Alibaba was for the Okay. Yeah, I actually still have cold rollers. That's how many. Incredible. Yeah, because Alibaba, you need really big minimum orders. Yeah, 250 and I still have. That's hilarious. Well, I've made, okay, so I'm totally going to selfishly pick your brain a little bit. I have these journals, which go with Soul Tribe. I have these Oracle docs. I have some merch and I use Shopify for that as well. but I really just, Targeted to stylus whole tribe members. and these journals, that's why I say, I remember Alibaba because these are like really well made and they are made in the U S. But at first, when I had the initial idea of this, companion guided journal that goes along with the stylus whole tribe membership, I looked into Alibaba, but I needed to order like 2000 of them. And there was just no way for me to do that. So I ended up Finding a creator on Etsy that makes these custom leather bound. I mean, they're high quality. They're amazing. I'm obsessed with them. but I, I find that so fascinating that that's the way that you went about it because like I said, I dabble with Shopify, but not in the way that you're doing it. So I would love to hear how did that go from you doing this on your own? Obviously, documenting it, which I'm a huge fan of, document over create, and just sharing your life and your journey into offering this from, to other people. How did that jump take place? Honestly, I think it was because of the documenting. Even now with marketing, I think we've seen it's people want to buy from people and this is before you. And, that's all I knew. I was just like, this is what you, this is my only connection to people at the time too. And especially, I was like, instead of going crazy, I was like, get through it. And, yeah, I want to say maybe, I think people just started to see me like, Oh my God, I sold out. Thank you so much. I'm going to get quarters in. sold out again, and at this time, not a lot of people, they did maybe have Shopify sites or but nobody talked about it. They in their kind of hey, you said your approach. It was like, Oh, yeah, my people, I don't talk about that. Yeah, I want you to like, give me guidance on how you would say I could explain that because I don't know if I'm taking full advantage of what I have right now. So I think it gave everybody a different perspective, which is so funny because this was the only perspective I had going, you know, cause obviously I wasn't going to sell like really intense things to random people, but I was selling the basics. So, yeah, I just remember thinking like I needed as many cells as possible to keep this going. I want to say like estheticians were like, Oh my God, what's your side on who built your site? And I was just like, Oh no, I just, I threw it together and I was just like, yeah, go figure it out. And, that was probably going into 2021. And then I had a couple people ask me like, Oh, About tips and, you know, how to's and I would, this is where I learned. This is what I do. But eventually you do it for me. Like, can you just help me? I'll kick you down a few books, you know, like little changes. it was so funny because at the time I'm like YouTubing as I'm doing it, like, no kidding. Like, okay. Yeah. And then sending the invoice. And it's like, you could have done this yourself, but they ain't. It was a Venmo real quick or something, you know, I was like, sure, 2021, you're still getting kind of back into the swing of things. And, then one of the, this esthetician, she's fairly well known in the industry. Her name is Rianne. She's the master esthetician. She just is so much knowledge. Constantly just put out knowledge. I want to say for even longer than I've had a career, but he has a really successful med spa up in Washington. I believe she reached out and she was like, Hey, how did you make this? I'm going to use, I, and I believe hair companies do this too. When you get a link to your own store on their website and you just get a commission from it. So she's I don't need products yet. I'm not at that point, but can you help me build this site that has my services and whatnot, but then my links. And I said, sure. And at the time I was just looking at websites and in the industry, that was big that I was looking in, which was design and marketing, I tell people now, because I do digital marketing for people, my clients only in the back end, but you have to look for. What are other industries doing? Don't look at ours. Everybody's recycling the same thing, you know, hairstylists, even waxers, even barbers, we're all like recycling the same ideas. I go look outside your industry. What are the real, like the big marketers doing? What are these CEO type people doing? What are designers doing? Like people that have to be ahead of you, have to be on trend all the time. That's where you get ideas. And I didn't realize that until, that's what I was doing. Right. Cause I was like, no, why wouldn't you do that? And everybody's like, who, like what industries were you looking into then? I ended up falling into graphic designers. First and brand designers, because that's who had a podcast that were like somewhat personable. But then there was, you know, a lot of women who were like designers and really just talking about this is how I got started. But I just kept listening and it was like an obsession. finally she was like, yeah, whatever, can you help me build this whole site? And so I didn't need to use Shopify at the time. So I use show it, which I think is a beautiful platform. and it was big for photographers at the time. Now, like it's easy to have templates, which I think it's nice, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it that much longer, but anyway, I had done her sign. She was like, how much do I pay you? And I was like, Oh. I have no idea. And I tried to be official. I was like, let's have a call. I was like, writing it down. What's your budget? Like writing it down notes. And I think I told her like, 800 or something like that, which at the time I was like, Hey, and she was like, yeah, okay. It took me like four weeks, which I told her was going to take me, but the whole time, it was beginning paid to learn how to do it. Dove in and I was obsessed with that. she loved it. It came out, looking back, actually, I'm currently redoing her shop for Shopify now. Love. And yeah, looking back, I'm like, Oh my god, I'm so glad you love the website. But I see now the growth. No kidding. Yeah, she's selling products now. Or is she still just doing affiliate? About to launch. Yeah. Wow. So that's probably exciting on your back end, like knowing the audience she has and knowing that that's getting ready to roll out. That's very exciting. Yeah. So she was the first person and I think once she said something, a couple other people had me on their radar. And then I had another, the second person was the freckled esthetician. Her name's Haley. And I know that so vividly because we still work together to this day. And we built her site and show it. She had such fast growth after that. She's in Texas. and give us some numbers. What are you talking about when you say that? so she started off with like 80 products. She was home based. She was just getting started. So she's ordering these products to her house or she starts with pre order? Yeah, so she's ordering these products. So she's sitting on inventory and right now it's 80 SKUs. Okay, and then about how deep are those SKUs going? What was that investment for someone to get into that? So to invest with me, I said 1, 200 because I was like, maybe a little bit and she's going to be selling product. so I did the website and then I want to, I didn't know exact numbers back then, but she told me, oh my gosh, I didn't know that, people would be so excited about this. I'm loving this. And the majority of people purchasing were her existing clientele. But she had a lot of bigger following at the time in her area, which is near Dallas. So people were like, how do I buy? She's people are reaching out. I did not expect this, And so she was on that website. and then it wasn't until we switched her to Shopify was when it was the first time I felt like, Oh, I know what I'm doing. Like I really cracked a code here. This is exciting. Yeah. I think I can do a really good job and you can make a lot more money. And she was like, okay. that's how our relationship has been. So you just tell me, explain it. What's going to happen. And I'm like, yeah, I think we should do this. She's like, okay. she has hit over 500k, by herself. Just from her Shopify store? so, no, her retail now, her Shopify, her whole business, with her Shopify, she's hit about two. Wow! Mm hmm. nearly doubling her annual revenue just by adding that piece in. Yeah. So this incredible, I will say a big part of that is she talks about constantly, she links to it. She talks about email marketing, and this is all something we've implemented to, sells. Yeah. And that's what's kept her growth. And I say that really, because that's such an important piece. I do have had people, not so much recently who have been like, okay, well, my sites up, I haven't Like you can see it's just that kind of secret sauce like that it factor you can tell when someone has it you can't you can't teach anyone how to do what they either have it or they don't. And it's the people that really build those connections and almost build that like personal brand, but then now has something to offer that does serve their clients well, but people, like you said, love the person that they're buying it from, that why would they go somewhere else and get it when this person that they love following online has that same exact thing and you get to support them? Exactly. So have you worked with hairstylists ever? Yeah, so my first hairstylist was she actually was an esthetician, but she owned a whole boutique in Kansas, I want to say. and so that was the first hairstylist that I'd done because she had like two or three hairstylists on her team. It was just an esthetician and a nail artist. That was the first time I had to do one of those big drop down menus where it's like shop skin shop. Yeah. shop body shopped all these. that was really cool because, she used the same line as Kate does. And so I know these products really cool. I think one thing that really set me apart in this industry is that these Girls do not have to explain to me what they're looking for, what their client is looking for. They don't have to explain what they do, especially if I'm like, I know ingredients, I know services, I know how to cook about it, And I think that's what's made the process so easy for people to be like, Why wouldn't I do this? You know, really? So legality wise, I think what stops a lot of people, I know a lot of people, using like Vegaro or square, it comes with an online store. And so they like dabble in this, but mostly it's their clients. Buying product and then swinging by and picking it up. Legality wise, as long as you have a retail tax ID, is it totally okay to really sell probably any product, right? Or is there any gray area where that gets? No. So I mean, obviously like in your state, it really depends. Like, for example, when it comes to a website online, everybody has to have a privacy policy. You have to have in Shopify ensures you have to have like a shipping and return policy, even if it's no returns, like you have to have that stated. So that's the important things, which is great. You should have that anyway. Other than that, the really restrictions I've seen have been, With brands enforcing that so hey You can't have an add to cart button, but you can't have them contact me or you know something like that We don't want regular people coming to buy which I mean my personal opinion. I'm like we're We're investing thousands of dollars of how you're telling me I can't sell this like yeah And all these random people are probably selling the same thing on amazon. Like it's just ridiculous. No kidding Yeah, and so fair to say probably with time you would think that would be the trajectory that brands would be going because why would? They not want that right? I think so. Yeah It's so funny because I I tell people look i'm on your side. I am I think you should be making as much as money as possible. I tell people I'm literally building you a money making machine. So how do we get that for you? Right. And so I say, okay, well, there has been moments where I've even looked like, what are these restrictions? Okay. Well, can we do a private shop? Can we do a password protected shop? And so, you know, if I can, I'll try to find workarounds. And so, or the, the products on their site, but there is no contact button, but I show them how to market on the backend. To let people know your clients, to your email cause to me, I'm you should be able to sell these products. if you can sell them in the store, it's 2020, almost 2025 now, why not be able to have The internet. I mean, you work so hard to grow this following and to build this community. Why not? And I think there's a lot of, inside of Stylist Soul Tribe, people do monthly masterclasses, different members of the community. And it was probably two years ago now, at this point, someone did a masterclass about setting up, your Amazon affiliate account. And so there's tons of hairstylists that are doing that. And then Prime Day comes around, and they're Sell it, they're linking all the heatless curlers and the hair brushes and all their favorite tools You make like eight cents on amazon affiliates like you don't make shit through amazon affiliates And so everyone will say like oh that's something I want to focus on just like as an extra little Side revenue and it's like sure you can put your time and energy into that But I think what you're saying You Revenue wise, but like I pay 39 a month for Shopify. Is that just what it stays no matter how much you sell, right? Yes, exactly. So, you're saying anything that you would link to on Amazon, potentially, you should just create that in your own online store? If you can yeah, and I and I tell people that and I go look i'm not telling you to do it now But that's keep something in your mind because I say look Just like social media is for all of us. It's a whole avenue to our job that gets added the whole branch, right? Like oh gosh Yeah, and I go so is an e commerce store You have to put in that time and in that investment, but it will create revenue and so I say look we'll start with your products you have now You Let's talk for six or a year. You let me know if it's going well, if it's not. Ask me questions about how we can better sell things. I have some girls who take full advantage and Hey, can we sit down and talk about what's in place? I know I can be doing better, but I just don't know. I don't have to. Yeah, and sometimes just having someone to bounce ideas off of is so valuable. Yeah, and I tell people like I've linked people directly to what I've purchased on Alibaba and I tell them you can't ask them for their WhatsApp or whatever, make a relationship with these people and say, Hey, this is my situation. And I'm willing to refer people to you. Can I do this and they will try to work with you if you're willing to work with them. If a lot of people I think ask and they take a hard no and they're like, Oh, okay, but Do these people want to make a relationship with you? And so that was been one thing too, where I was like, Hey, I'm just asking, like my situation, this is where I'm at. This is my budget. Worst they can say is no. And then you end up in the exact same situation. If you didn't even ask. So how many products are you selling in your store, on your store right now? So actually I just, took down my store. Because I was like, I'm building so many sites. Like you said, that's a full time job. Yeah. so I'm selling stuff on the back end. My site is like password protected right now. And just my clients have it. So I'm not like crazy selling, even with just my clients. It's like an easy, like, One to two hundred dollars a week with not having it public. when I did have it public, it was like an additional for me about eight hundred dollars a week. Okay. When I was in my client's home, it was about 1, 200 to like 1, 800 a week. And how many products was the most amount on your site at one time? Probably, honestly, no more than 150. And what does your house look like? Like, do you have a warehouse? Where are all these things living? How are you packaging this all up? Because I'm telling you, I have a little bit of merch money, and My office, when it's time to ship stuff out, becomes chaos. Yeah. Yeah. It's so funny. I'm all looking around like that. It's, oh gosh, I looked back at this video back then. Oh my god, my poor son's bedroom, but they were my two sons and my husband, they're so down for me. they were probably stoked. Yeah. His room, I have this video, I'll have to send it to you. It was covered in boxes and it was like his bed on the side. But he was like, so I think too, I make them a part of it. what do we do? They love getting facials. And then when they see the money come in too, I'm like, look, it hit my 17 year old. Now he jokes. He's look, you fund my lifestyle. So yeah, he wants to go start an e commerce store. That is so neat. Yeah. it's, it's rough. It's sometimes it's a lot even, and there's been moments, you know, where my man has been like, okay, Jess, What's the plan? I just need to know the plan. what's happening, you know? Okay, you got a plan? Cool. Yeah, as long as we have that. Wow. Because even the packaging, people don't realize when they sit down and they're like, okay, and I'm like, okay, you need printing labels, a thermal printer. Yes, and even that, and I don't know about you, and maybe this is like such a stupid little thing, Rolo thermal printer, which is right here on the ground. I have such a hard time connecting it to Wi Fi, connecting my computer, getting things printed, it's so stupid. I wanna, like, ship it all cute and bundle it all up and have this, like, perfect setup. I've yet to figure that out. That's gonna be a 2025 goal of mine. Especially now I'm talking to you. I'm so inspired. that I just had to ask, like, the real ugly behind the scenes because I've done such a small scale of this that I'm, like, People also don't realize, but like you said, it's the thrill of it. Like, that is fun, especially if someone does what you're saying and they, hire you and it's this very intentional, like, roll out, build up, build the pressure, build the excitement, open the doors. I am just obsessed with this. I think that is so fun. So now you, are you still working, I would say, behind the chair, what do you call it? With friends, right? So I'm like, is it behind the chair? Yeah, behind the table. I don't know, behind their head. I don't know. Yeah. So it's so funny. I just moved really close to home to a super cheap, accessible area where I was like, I want to do the minimal amount of effort possible getting to work because I was having a commute. I was like, You know, it's so crazy. I realized I hit this and I told Kate this too. I go, dude, like, I remember being like last year, like, Hey, it would be really cool if my web design portion of my business just replaced esthetician and that I can just be an esthetician for fun because I want to. And that's where we're at. And I miss that because, you know, when I really I started in 2018 is when it really took off. And I remember I just had fun. I just love throwing stuff together and doing all these things. And I think we've gotten to a point in the industry and maybe similar to hairstylists where It's become so curated. It's like if you don't do it this way, you know, why aren't you doing it this way? And so and so does it this way And no, you got to be a specialist in this niche. Otherwise, what do you do? So similar to the hair industry. And I got, so I became an acne specialist, which I did a good job at, but for a couple of years and it just became a lot. It's very emotional, very personal. It was a lot of handholding. And I was just like, okay, this is a lot. I've done a good job with it, but I think it took a lot of the energy out of me, especially after having the baby that I was like, I, I just miss having fun. I miss sitting down and be like, Ooh, what can I mess with today? You know? And, and finally I was like, You know what? That's my goal. I wanted to replace the esthetician role with my web design business and that way when I go to work as an esthetician, I'm just chilling. I'm in that exact same spot. How many days a week are you in the studio? Two. Tuesday, Thursday, two six hour days unless I mark them off because I have other things like today's a Tuesday. I'm not in the salon, just because it's New Year's Eve. and I could not agree more. It's funny how similar our paths are and I am madly in love with it. And there's been times or I'll read these quotes or I'll, hear from other people that say like, you really have to like go for it. You have to like quit your job, go all in. And I'm like, I get a headache if I stare at my computer five days a week, eight hour days. Like I cannot do that. I like getting dressed. I like getting out of the house. I like physically touching people that, you know, in that way. And so I totally agree. I think last year, I haven't run the numbers for 2024, but I know in 2023, behind the chair was 15 percent of my annual income, like 85 percent was from my online business, but I still like to spend two days a week behind the chair. I practice what I preach, my hands are still in hair, I still know what I'm talking about, and it just fulfills something in me. But I like variety and it sounds like we're kind of the same in that way. It's so funny. I think after the baby, you know, you go through your, I went through mental health stuff and it was just really hard. And so I did get to a point where I was like, I don't want to be around anybody. And I think that's when web design came in. And I was like, it gave me anxiety just to be, have to be there and give the energy all day. Cause I don't think I've had the energy for a long time. and finally, I think This, this past year, I started to come out of that, Like, it's so funny. I think the, the anxiety makes me feel like, Oh my God, a full day? That sounds crazy. But once you get there, you're like, Oh hell yeah, like, this is cool. And so, even my Or if you had five full days in a row, that really does start to drain your energy, you know? But a couple, you realize at the end of the day, you're like, No, I feel better now after going to work than not. This is me going out also right now, because this is my social life right now. In a place like my goal to was like, not only to replace that, but like with my kids, I wanted to be more present. My son is a senior. My other son's probably going to go full time to school, in the next year or a few months. And I was like, you know, I've never done that. And I've heard all these designers, like, you know, I've been able to be this more present. I was like, I work, from home more. And I did. I've been there. I was, you know, throughout my entire son's football season, I was able to volunteer and be there. And just, be here for all his things and my little one, we are so close. It's been so cool. I sit down and look and I'm like, dang, a lot of moms don't get to do this. No, a lot of parents don't. I'm just like, so emotional, like, oh my gosh, like, and this is such a blessing. And he knows too. He's like, yeah, I'm just going to build a website. He tells me, or even when he's sitting down, he's like, all right, it's time for my facial. The little one, he asked for skincare. So sweet. So sweet. I know you're saying like hair industry versus skin industry, but I really would say, and I, this is just why I'm so passionate and why I have this podcast and why I do what I do. I think the beauty industry one is obviously very misunderstood by people that aren't in it, but truly for those of you that are listening, that are in the beauty industry in any way, shape, or form. The possibilities inside this industry truly are endless. From you sharing what you're doing with e commerce, To what I'm doing with a mastermind. I just am obsessed with connecting with people like you and hearing all the possibilities. And spreading that message to more people, because I think a lot of people have that pull for something more. And again, it's 2024. And I just feel like back when I was brainstorming, whatever my what's next was, I knew it was something. I knew I wanted to utilize the internet in some way and social media in some way. And I was listening to Gary V and trying all these different things and YouTubing and all the content creation, all the different things. But I knew I wanted something beyond that. And I just know a lot of people who I end up crossing paths with feel the same way. So I love just highlighting stories like this and sharing. One, your story's going to inspire other people to, you know, who knows what we can't even fathom could be their big idea that could exist a couple of years from now. But also obviously you can help the people that are listening to this because I know we have some estheticians as well so if anybody wanted to work with you and wanted to Pick your brain or start bringing e commerce and what would that look like? Yeah, so, the easiest I mean the biggest way right now is going to my instagram So it's at by winnie b y w i n n i e and I will have it linked in the show notes and then you can click the link in my bio. There's literally an inquiry form right there. If you just have a quick question, let's say you have a Shopify site or you're just even thinking about it. I have estheticians DMing me all the time. I have people shouting me out all the time because especially right now after black Friday, seeing people's numbers or even just seeing people's pictures and I know they don't think of me like, They have stacked orders, like, Hey, I can't, so you got to come pick them up. And I'm like, this is crazy. So cool. So if, you know, any questions, I'm super open to them. But if you're really looking into something to work together with, I have two options I try to cater to, you know, if you just need the essentials, you're not somebody who needs, this full blown custom website you're just getting started or you're just dipping your toes in, then there's an intensive option. That's like five day turnaround and you get your website. the full custom, which typically is about five to six weeks. that is more for my girls who have client portals. resources page. private shops. They have pages. They we've had, we've, have courses on there implemented onto Shopify. So they want, they're like, I want everything one place. They've implemented POS via Shopify. So now they've replaced their entire, like booking system. Now they just use their booking system for scheduling and cost in Shopify. So like you mentioned earlier, I think we're finally, thank goodness out of the hole, like, well, my booking system is my website, You're like, okay, we have a website. Steven, even you saying, I mean, we're like coming up on 45 minutes. Like, I want to keep picking your brain, so I'm just going to go there for this last question then. Because I was looking at, under your talking points, how Shopify does more than just help you sell product, and I didn't really ask you that. That still is boggling my mind that you are hosting everything through Shopify. Like, when I think, like, my website is hosted through Wix, but you can click shop and it brings you to Shopify. And I think it's fascinating that you're saying. You're doing everything there. So I guess break that down a little bit for me, selfishly. Yeah. So most of my girls, they have, so they have their, their basic intro. It's like, not even like a, Hey, this is my shop. It's, I have some people who are like, Hey, I still have my website over here. I want to keep it, but I do want to shop if I shop. So I'm like, all right. But most girls, yeah, they, it looks like a basic website. It's, you know, Hey, you know, this is where I am. This is what I do. And then you start scrolling down, you shop by product shop. I said, website into their shop as well. and yeah, like I said, there's an about page, there's a contact page, there's an FAQ page, there's a policies page. because most of the, scheduling systems like Vegaro, like Square, I know for a fact, Mango Mint, Boulevard, Jane app and Acuity for sure in bed. So we keep everything on the website. Book on their website. It doesn't even take them which is bad for SEO, right? We don't want to click the site but so they'll click book a booking page on the site and it's on their site they're not having to leave the site at all, which is great I also always code in because shopify does not come with the links page that you can like have like a link tree kind of vibe That's another thing. Why would you want to continue still use something? That's not your website. Yeah You So I'll code in for everybody, no matter what project you choose. We'll do a links page through Shopify. yeah, I can code that in. Like you would've asked me to do that. And that doesn't cost extra than the 39 a month. No. See, my wheels are even just turning as you're saying this right now. I'm like, I'm paying for Kajabi, which, and then I, that's linked to my website. I'm paying for Wix. I'm paying for Shopify. The amount of subscriptions that I have that all just, because over time you build things out and eventually I need to do like a whole clean out of everything and really streamline it for multiple reasons. But yeah, you're blowing my mind. Yeah. So big Shopify fan, you would say. Definitely. Yeah, we do sales pages and this is something I'm really going to push in 2025 because everybody's like, what's a sales page? I'm like, boys in the beauty industry. And I'll leave them with this because the beauty industry, we do the whole, Hey, this is what I offered out or something's coming. Nobody cares. Hey, this is what I do. Okay. Go book it. And that's it. We don't launch, we don't tell the story. We don't even give our products time to shine. Even if it's one product you're bringing on. And then we're like, Oh, all right, well, I love this storytelling aspect that you're talking about. And so that's something I really want to get into in, I kind of do it with my custom girls. Cause I'm like, Hey, they're. Paying for a nice big project. And I'm like, you're kind of infused marketing with it too. So that way they know like how to launch as soon as they get their website. we don't launch, we don't give our services and our products time to shine. but then we're like upset when it doesn't work out Yeah, dude, nobody's, you know, you're not talking about it enough. And I tell people, if you feel like you're being annoying online, good. Because if you're not being annoying, what only three percent of your audience is seeing it anyway. So if you're annoying, then that means you're, like, mediocrely coming across their radar. But if you're just feeling, like, average and being polite and not overly doing it, almost no one is seeing that. Yes. Exactly. So yeah, I really am like, because I want them to make so much money too. And I've seen that it's possible. and I'm all about doing less like this Shopify should work for you. I tell them just link, talk about it, do the fun and just have your link chilling in that story. It goes to a sales page that tells them about You know, for hairstylists, maybe the type of extension that you do, talk about it, make sure your before and afters, you talk about why's, your why's. And client experience. what's your life like that you're dealing with right now? What's your life gonna be like after that? Like the problems you're gonna solve? Guarantee you stuff like that on websites I feel like we need to do another podcast episode on this page, because I'm obsessed with what you're talking about. Yeah, so I mean, yeah, I'm so excited to start talking about it. So yeah, it's crazy because I think, oh, well, in the design world, everybody knows. But in my head, I'm like, nobody knows this in the industry. Different ways of marketing. Why are we not utilizing that? Incredible. Okay. I am excited. I feel like I'm going to be one of those people sliding into your DMs very regularly. I'm very grateful to have made this connection. like I said, I will put all of Winnie's information in the show notes. I'll put your Instagram, I'll put your website. you can send me anything else. that you want me to link, and like she said, she's a real person. She answers her DMs. Shoot her a DM if you have any questions or any thoughts. thank you again, Winnie. I would not be surprised if this is not the last episode that we have together, because I feel like we could go off on many little tangents. This is so fun. No, thank you so much. This is really cool. And thank you to Kate. Thank you, Kate. So, so glad for that connection being made. Okay, well, thank you everybody so much for listening. like I said, everything will be linked in the show notes and I will talk to you all next week. Bye!