August 3, 2025 • 40 mins
Kate Sprouse stumbled upon sugaring while teaching at a holistic aesthetics school, and something about this ancient hair removal technique captivated her completely. "Once you touch sugar," she explains, "once I held it, once I got certified, I started playing around with it at home. I sugared any friend or family member that would come around, and I was like this is it? This is the ticket?"
Fifteen years later, Kate's intuition has proven remarkably accurate. Her Portland-based business, Sugar Me, now boasts two thriving locations and recently claimed the coveted "Best Hair Removal" title across all techniques in Portland's 2024 citywide competition. This recognition feels especially meaningful as it signifies sugaring's emergence from relative obscurity into mainstream awareness.
What truly distinguishes Kate's business model isn't just her singular focus on perfecting the sugaring craft, but her revolutionary approach to team building. Rather than viewing employee departures as failures, she's created an ecosystem where team members can flourish under her guidance and eventually open their own studios—with her full blessing and continued support. "I've kind of created a business model where they come, they work, and if they wish to, then they can go out and do their own business as well. And that cycle has kept rolling through," Kate explains. This philosophy of abundance—believing there are always more than enough clients for everyone who does quality work—challenges conventional business wisdom but has created a tight-knit community of sugar professionals in Portland.
For those considering entering the sugar world, Kate offers simple wisdom gained from her journey: recognize that success is "a marathon, not a sprint," appreciate each chapter of your professional development, and understand that business ownership requires entirely different skills than being an excellent practitioner. Want to experience this unique approach firsthand? Visit Sugar Me in Portland, where Kate and her team continue redefining what professional mentorship looks like in the beauty industry.
If you’ve connected with or been inspired by this episode in any way, leave us a review and let us know your biggest takeaway - I’d love to hear how you embrace Sugaring For All!! And while you've got your phone out, make sure to follow us on Instagram @Love2Sugar.
If you are interested in our business planner you can find the SugarBoss Planner here --->https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/love2sugar
The link to our Monthly SugarBiz Blueprint: https://www.love2sugar.com/offers/cMhp76LA/checkout
Cheers to your Sweet Success!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh, my friends, I was able to go to SugarCon this
year, as most of you know,because you saw our socials like
crazy and how much fun we had,and one of the most wonderful
things that happened was meetingnew people at the show.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
So I'll tell you a little story.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I very first day we roll up in our Uber and it was a
couple of educators and myself.
We roll up in the Uber and Ijust started introducing myself
to people in line because youknow I'm not shy.
And so I roll up and I walk upto this beautiful woman, so
classy, pretty blonde Bob.
I'm like, hi, I'm Shannon.
She says, hi, I'm Kate.
And this is Kate.
(00:37):
And this is Kate because shehad brought some of her fellow
sugar pros in Portland.
So we get to talking and, I kidyou not, I feel like I've known
her my whole life.
I feel like we were sisters inanother lifetime.
And I just connected with herin line before SugarCon, so fast
forward to.
(00:57):
I was so impressed by the waythat she runs her business.
When I spoke in the afternoon Iactually surprised her and
called her up onto the stage andjust had her share her journey,
because she really does somereally different things in her
practice and she is just reallya special, special woman.
(01:18):
So Kate Sprouse with Sugar Me inPortland.
She has two locations.
She is our guest today andshe's like once you finish
listening to the episode, youwant to go to Portland and hang
out with her, and in Portlandshe has two locations.
She is our guest today andshe's like, once you finish
listening to the episode, youwant to go to Portland and hang
out with her and have coffee.
So I hope you enjoy thisepisode as much as we enjoyed
filming it.
And so, ladies and gentlemen,Kate Sprouse Sugar Me in
Portland.
Hey girl, welcome to the SugarShow.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh my gosh, okay.
So first of all we were likehow are we not sisters in
another life, I swear to God.
But also just we have.
We had to push record becausewe just couldn't stop talking
about all the cool things in ourindustry.
So I put pause on you and weneed to have the microphones on
(02:11):
so we can share this passion,because it's infectious.
Yeah so we're just going tojump right into it.
And why don't you?
start with the story you weregoing to tell me, and then we'll
backtrack to, like your, your,how you got here.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So yeah, so OK, You're going to tell me the
story about?
Speaker 1 (02:28):
was it about sugar con?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
No, it was just about our industry in general, about
sugaring and just something thatis something that I'm proud of
within my Portland market, whereI am from, portland, oregon, um
, but last year we do this bigthing through Portland, where
it's the best of it's like thebest of you know, you name it
Portland.
Where it's the best of it's likethe best of you know you name
it noodle house, the best ofmassage therapy, the best of
anything, and it's done everysingle year and this last year
(02:53):
it's you know it's under therealm of best hair removal,
right?
So this could be any form ofhair removal and last year, in
2024 it hasn't started for 2025yet, but last year in 2024, the
best of't started for 2025 yet,but it last year in 2024, the
best of hair removal in all ofPortland, oregon was Sugar Me,
which is huge to me because itwas sugaring, was noticed and
(03:14):
brought to the forefront versuswe have ample waxing salons that
are here and salons as well,but I don't know.
It was just really cool to havethat experience last year,
where I'm like they were seen,I'm seen, we're seen, my team is
seen, sugar Me's seen, thesugaring community is seen.
It was, it was a big deal.
So yeah, it was pretty cool, Ijust wanted it yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Changing are the days of what is it that you do?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
to oh you sugar.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Oh you, sugar, Cool, right, okay, so let's back up
and talk about how you got here.
Yeah, what?
Oh my gosh, cause it feels likea lifetime ago and yesterday
all at the same time, right,when you think back on the last
15 years, cause it's been 15 foryou, right?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
15 for me, yeah, 15, 20.
And that's when I opened up myfirst flagship store yeah Over
in Northeast Portland.
And then, in 2014, I didSoutheast Portland.
Okay, so let's talk about.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
What were you doing before?
What was Kate's life pre-sugar?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah for sure.
So before getting into solelysugaring, I had the opportunity
to teach.
I taught for several years at aholistic school for aesthetics
it's the Euro Institute ofSkincare.
We had a Portland chapter hereat the time, and so I had the
ability to teach and that washonestly one of my favorite jobs
, and I think really the two meowning a business and also being
(04:35):
an educator kind of go hand inhand, because it was the fact
that I got to just kind ofimpart, like teach people how to
take on this trade, and so thatwas something that was super
inspiring to me to be able tohave all aged women walk through
our door, be able to teach theeducation of aesthetics, and
(04:56):
have them walk out the door withsomething that they could make
money at you know, help theirfamilies with, do for themselves
, and so that part was superinspiring to me.
Plus, that is where I got totheory sugaring along with
threading and differentmodalities.
But sugaring really caught myeye and it was before anyone was
really sugaring here inPortland, and so I wanted to be
(05:19):
able to demo it as an educator.
So I went up to Seattle and gotcertified this is like a million
years ago and so got certifiedin it, and so I was able to
bring it back down and be ableto teach it at that time, demo
it, and then we ultimatelystarted to certify the students
at Euro.
And then from there, I justonce you touch sugar, at least
(05:41):
for myself, once I held it, onceI got certified, I started
playing around with it at home.
I sugared any friend or familymember that would come around,
and so I was like this is it?
This is the ticket?
Why am I not doing this all thetime?
And so that's what sparked theinterest.
And then, once I got that idea,there was kind of no stopping
me and, yeah, I just kind of ranwith it.
(06:03):
I do feel like my friends andfamily were pretty supportive,
but I think kind of like, whatare you doing?
But that's okay, we're here now.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So, yeah, so that was being able to teach who came up
with the name Sugar.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Bean Uh, it was me and two of my girlfriends
actually.
Um, yeah, that we were justkind of no-transcript.
(06:51):
So really, at the beginning,when I first set my lease, it
was basically just girlfriendsof mine coming up with that,
coming up with branding.
They knew a little bit moreabout branding than I did, and
so we kind of worked on thattogether.
And then, yeah, honestly,friends and family doing the
build out and painting and, yeah, just opening the doors and
(07:12):
just hoping that it would work,and I don't know, I went around
the neighborhoods, my firstlocation going door to door.
You know this was 2010.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
There wasn't internet , there was nothing at all you
know this was 2010.
There wasn't.
There wasn't internet, therewas nothing at all.
So we talked about that atSugarCon.
So, okay, so you open the doors, you're handing out flyers,
you're hoping people will like,want to try sugar.
Did you wax at all in yoursugar?
Me space.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
No, no, no, waxing.
And I also knew that, openingthis business, I wanted to be
sugaring.
Only I didn't have we don't dofacials, we don't do anything.
I just wanted to be reallyproficient at this one technique
.
So I knew that myself, and theneventually, my staff members
could really people could walkin the door and be like this is
the place to go.
They do this all day, every day.
Just feel well, taken care ofin that manner.
(08:02):
So, no, I just sugared.
But I will say I opened mydoors.
It was summertime of 2010.
So there were a lot of momentswhere I had to breathe and not
cry, because I was like, oh mygosh, what have I done?
Because I would definitely havemoments of melting down.
I was not a pro by any means atthis point.
(08:26):
I was just going off faith andjust kind of faking it till I
made it and just knowing that Ibelieved in the product so much
and knowing that I believed inwhat could be, and I just you
know, I don't know I just jumpedand then figured it out.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
So yeah, and it worked.
A lot of us did in thebeginning and now we're like we
should have had a betterbusiness plan.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
It just was very like, yeah,done very much on a small budget
.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I did not go big at the beginning, but you can do
that, you know there's not a lotof pre and post, no A warmer
and some pace and some knowledgeand and knowing how to do it
the right way.
Now I highly recommend if wewere to go back 15 years and
redo it, I would highlyrecommend you know a business
plan and oh, 1 million percent.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I did have a business , I did have a business plan.
I did have, like, my financialslike in order.
I just didn't, it didn't take alot of money to get it started.
It was yeah, it just yeah,definitely.
And yeah, yeah it was.
It was definitely still a leapof faith, that's for sure, Cause
I had three treatment rooms inmy.
(09:36):
I still have three treatmentrooms, and it was just myself
just in hopes that it wouldbuild so so what point did you
decide?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
okay, it's time to bring on employees.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It was pretty fresh off the gate, there was one of
my employees came on with mepretty early and that was the
two of us for the longest time,um, working for pretty much
nothing.
Right For that beginning part,um, and then from there we
started to build clientele.
I did run a special, like acoupon to special, and so that
(10:07):
got people in the door as well,and then for that we just kept
rebooking, you know, gettingthem back in the door, and then,
yeah, it just started to grow,I think because also it was such
a niche at the time I gotfeatured.
Our news channel came.
I got to you know, the locallike morning show.
We had a spot on that, whichwas always fun.
(10:30):
Also, always kind of awkwardwhen you're like doing hair
removal on a news anchor and wedid his back and you know it was
like like there's no need toyell, come on now.
So you know, but come on, comeon.
But yeah, it was great.
We had some good publicity atthe beginning and and it started
to roll through within thatfirst year I was out of the red,
(10:52):
so that was great.
And from there we just didincremental growth, little by
little and then by 2014, youknow, I had my second locations.
What?
Speaker 1 (11:01):
made you decide to open a second location.
The need, so many people yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
There was a definite demand and it's funny, portland,
we're such niche neighborhoodsand so we were in a Northeast
pocket and even though we'rejust a few short miles away, in
Southeast Portland, wedefinitely was a different
clientele, different need,different market.
So, yeah, it worked out well.
They both are doing great.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Okay, so you do something a little different and
I explained in the intro abouthow I met you, which was at
SugarCon.
I walk up the first day,everyone's in line and I'm like
hey, I'm Shannon, you're likehey and I think two of the I'm
Shannon, you're like hey and Ithink two of the girls that were
with.
You're like hey and I'm Kate waslike yeah, right, and so we
know each other and what I cameto learn about your business is
(11:55):
you do things a littledifferently with your staff.
It's just not a turn and burn.
You work here for 15 years.
I grind away at you as an owner, Talk about your culture a
little bit and what you do alittle bit differently and how
your employees kind of cyclethrough your business, that
model.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yeah, it honestly kind of happened organically.
I think the core root of who Iam as a human is education and
really being able to gift upon.
I'm no gatekeeper of anythingand I also come from the place
of there's always more right.
I've never come from a place ofholding onto.
(12:33):
I'm always trying to breathelife into just having faith that
there's always more, there'salways plenty.
So with those two things inmind, I think ultimately what
has been brought to my footstepsis that I have a business model
that a lot of women come andthey stay for a couple years and
(12:56):
they get comfortable and ontheir own feet and feel well
cared for.
I'm really proud of thework-life balance and kind of
how I treat my employees.
They're well taken care ofbecause they are everything to
me.
But, once they feel comfortableand if they choose to, they end
up ultimately, a lot of them goout to start their own Chagrin
(13:17):
Studios, and this has just kindof happened organically.
But I've also curated a placethat they know that they have a
safe space with me and thenthere's open communication.
When they want to go off and dotheir own thing, there's no,
it's all love, all support.
They go out, they do their ownthing, yeah.
So basically I've kind ofcreated a business model where
they come, they work and if theywish to, then they can go out
(13:41):
and do their own business aswell.
And that that cycle has keptrolling through.
And that's funny because when Idid meet you at SugarCon, I was
there with three of myteammates that used to work for
me that now have their ownplaces.
But if that I mean we wenttogether as a team.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
That's incredible and that's all done with love and
understanding about what thisworld is all about is is not
gatekeep, and to not holdeverything to yourself and to
empower other women to doamazing things, and I love that
you do that with love.
So how does that work, likewith your clients?
Do you end up losing clientswhen they leave?
(14:21):
How do you work that?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Totally when they leave.
How do you work that Totally?
Yeah, it is.
It is scary, right.
When I say this out loud andI'm not going to lie, sometimes
you do Through the 15 years, Iwon't say that I haven't been
slighted, you know, and thingsdo happen, but it's it's not.
It's not every time, but withour clients.
(14:45):
The clients are sugar me'sclients and that's done to where
I feel like they feel verycomfortable at my space and they
know different techniciansbecause I do run an employee
format so they're not Commissionbased, so it is an employee
format business that I runHourly to do that in Oregon.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Mm-hmm you have to do that in Oregon right hourly.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
You have to do that in Oregon, right?
You don't have to do that.
You can either do hourly.
You can do lease to spaces, youcan do commission-based.
Yeah, I think you can do lotsof different formats.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
It's different here in California and other states,
like in California, you have tobe an employee or you have to
rent a room.
That's completely separatebusiness.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh yeah, okay, yeah, well, I've got I special to
Oregon, you know, which is fine.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
It's fine.
It's just people all over theworld that listen.
So yeah, and countries like inCanada you don't even need to
get licensed Like you can justsugar open your.
I know it's crazy, All thedifferences, but so you have an
employee model which is veryclear.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah, An employee model, and so I think what that
does is lets people know theycome in and they can get sugared
by any of the employees and geta very proficient job done, and
people do fall in love withpeople right.
So at the end of the day, someclients do travel with their
other technician, but some ofthem stay.
So I would say I haven't beenburned so much to where I'm
(16:06):
losing a lot of clients, towhere it's going to make a
difference to my bottom line,because there's more clients
walking in the door and there'sanother esthetician that's going
to come in and people are goingto fall in love with, and then
they're going to build theirclientele and it just is a cycle
that has just worked out for usfor sure.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So let's talk about the employee mentality on that,
right.
So, because I get a lot ofpeople that kind of ask like how
can you be an employee and nottake clients from your boss but
also build a clientele?
It's like a sticky little spot,right, because you want to do
well for Sugar Me as an employee, and so the idea is okay, let's
(16:46):
come on as an employee with amodel like yours.
Let's do as much as we can torepresent that business, as we
should with any business.
And then, okay, I've learnedsome skills.
I'm going to be verytransparent with my boss, which
is you, and what my goals are,what my dreams are, what I want
to do.
You know that's it's.
It's huge to be really open andtalking to you about that, and
(17:09):
then you can help guide them tothe next level.
The idea of the whole time andI want to make sure the audience
is hearing this is that youdon't go from school to three
locations killing it, you know,without doing the work in the
meantime, right, and so the it'sthe work, the dedication to the
(17:30):
work, and it's also the loveand the transparency and the
respect for the space, and Ithink that's really critical If
you're a student that'slistening to this, or if you are
new or you're just signing onwith a spa, is to say, okay,
this is part of my journey.
I have a boss like Kate.
So any of her staff right now,if they're listening, you have a
(17:51):
badass boss.
But I have a boss like Katewho's going to nurture me
through this.
But I'm not going to stab herin the back because that's not
good karma and I'm not going to.
I'm going to practice my craftand get good enough that I can
move on, but I'm going tocommunicate the whole time.
So what's kind of your messageto that newbie that is coming on
(18:13):
board?
What is your message to them?
Kind of an addition on thatkind of scope, right?
Like what is your message tothem on on how to be, you know,
obviously, a good employee, butyeah, I think you nailed it.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I mean coming out of school just really knowing that
it's kind of a marathon, not asprint, you know that it's going
to take a gift and so really,if you hone in on those building
blocks or those chapters thatyou're in and really do the best
(18:48):
that you can in those chapters,you know eventually that page
is going to turn and you'regoing to have your next chapter.
What that looks like you don'tknow in the moment, but it's
like really taking in all theknowledge and all the expertise
of those around you in thatmoment and just really settling
in.
I feel like that's a lot ofwhat I've learned through life
and then also what I see whathappens with my team members and
(19:12):
I will say not all of themchoose to leave.
I have some great core teammembers that stay.
It's not just let's get in,let's work, let's go.
I mean, my team stays with mefor five, six years.
You know they stay for a longtime, especially before they go.
So they, yeah, it's a reallygreat work environment, so a lot
(19:33):
of them don't leave.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
But why would you yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
yeah, yeah, the employees, I mean honestly my
teammates, I don't even callthem employees, I mean they are
like teammates, my team members.
They, yeah, they work really,really hard.
But yeah, I think, for thenewbie coming in, I think, just
really recognizing that, to dothe best that you can in this
chapter, that you are and knowthat there's always you know the
(19:56):
next chapter and what thatlooks like we don't have to know
in the moment, but just reallybe present and take in what you
can in the knowledge and learnwhat you can and experience what
you can at that moment and,yeah, be open to the changes
when they happen.
But yeah, it's definitely, it'sa definite, it's a slow, it's a
slow build.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, yeah, you know, I think for those of you that
are listening, that are new,there's there's two, there's
kind of a tandem.
Things that are happening rightIs is you're a good
practitioner, practitioner,you're getting building your
skills there.
It is not easy to sugar and toknow how to troubleshoot and
what to do in sticky, wink winksituation.
(20:35):
I haven't said that in a longtime, um, and but then also the
whole business piece of thisthat goes hand in hand.
That is a whole different setof skills.
Yeah, I think what happens is alot of people say, oh, I'm
going to go out on my own, butthey've done zero research on
what it takes to have this.
When we talked about businessplan in the beginning, they're
like a business what?
(20:56):
Um?
I mean, how many students havetalked to you that don't even
have a business bank account oryou know?
I mean you have to understandpayroll and one percent.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I don't mean to downplay when I said I did it on
a budget, because I did do iton a budget.
However, I did definitelyutilize all my resources here.
I had a definite business plan.
I had my capital to last me forquite a I mean for quite a
while because I knew I was notgoing to be taking any money
home for my family.
I also, um, I set my family up.
They knew, I mean, my husbandknew I didn't have kids at the
(21:31):
time Um, but we definitelypre-planned for our own personal
finances on the back end too,not knowing that I wasn't going
to be running like, bring moneyhome.
Um, yeah, there was a lot offinancial planning and a lot of
business planning that came intoplay.
Um, yeah, yeah, I met with mylike, I had mentors through the
small business association thatwe have here locally.
I went downtown.
Yeah, I definitely you have tohave your ducks in a row before
(21:52):
starting.
I just, you know I didn't havelike millions of dollars.
It was like you know it can bedone on a budget, but you
definitely need to have your T'scrossed and your I's dotted,
and that doesn't stop right.
I'm 15 years in and there'sthings that are always changing
always, and I definitelyorganization and hard work,
(22:13):
because it doesn't shut off, youknow, it's constant.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
So yeah, yes, your brain is swimming on the regular
.
You know, I would like for staffmembers, team members, to think
about what it goes into to be aboss you know some and for
bosses to listen, becausethere's a lot that goes into
that on our side, on ourresponsibility, that we have to
(22:37):
have kind hearts and open mindsfor our staff, and they have us.
It's this reciprocity thingright, because we're all doing
the best with what we've gotright.
So the owner is laying awake atnight wondering how you're
going to keep the lights on.
You know, like, please, honorthat.
You know honor those owners.
Like this isn't easy for owners.
(22:57):
Like, just because you becomean owner doesn't mean you've hit
the finish line.
It's like it's a whole notherrace, right, it's a whole nother
race, right, it's a wholenother ball game.
And then I think that ownershave to respect the staff
members who are coming in arebeing, you know, um, as amazing
as they can be in arepresentation of you.
So it really is this nicereciprocity if you can do it
(23:19):
right, like you have, um, andyou know asking yourself am I
doing the best in my role tobenefit the other side and the
other side of the fence?
Because then ultimately, thefence comes down and you're all
in it together, right, andthat's what I felt from you and
your team was really.
You know what Fences are down.
We're all in this, we all havea role, and some of them go off
(23:42):
and start their own because thatis what their skill set is, and
a lot of times, people that gooff and start their own, they
stop being practitioners, yeah,you know.
And so if you really really lovewhat you do with your hands in
the treatment room with yourclients, it might not make sense
for you to leave because and tostart your own thing, because
you're grinding away atspreadsheets.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So many, so many numbers.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
You know, and P&Ls and all of these things.
People are like P&L, what isthat?
Profit and loss statements,right, like, if you don't know
what those are and that does notexcite you, being a business
owner might not be the path foryou.
Like, did you realize how muchbusiness you didn't know?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
15 years ago.
It was interesting, I thought Iknew, until you get into it,
and as it grows, it just it getsmore exponentially, Like I mean
there's just more right.
So, yeah, I think also, yeah,Once, yeah, just I asked a lot
of questions and I asked for alot of help and then, um, just
deep.
There were a couple of yearswhere I pulled myself fully out
(24:50):
of the treatment room and justfocused on backend Um, which I
mean that's a whole job on itsown.
You know, yeah, what was thehardest piece.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
do you think that you were surprised about I think I
know my answer.
I want to hear yours Like thehardest part about being a
business owner, would you say?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
hardest part about being a business owner would you
say, uh, I think one of thehardest parts, other than I mean
, other than like crunching thenumbers and Excel spreadsheets
and um, I I just think honestlyI don't know.
I've kind of gone throughperiods.
(25:26):
I just think it doesn't, itdoesn't shut off Right Like it's
.
I think right now, just whereI'm at, is this constant, just
it's always going in my mind.
I think sometimes that part,that balance, is it's probably
the hardest part that I becauseI'm an all-in type person.
(25:46):
So I think that finding thebalance for me, which I preach
to my staff all the time, iswork-life balance, to make sure
that they don't burn themselvesout in the treatment room.
But it's hard, it's like bettersaid than done, right.
So I think that that probablyis the hardest part for me is
knowing when to shut it down.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that's huge.
For me it was payroll and statelaws.
So I'm in California and thelaws change all the time.
Yeah, the way that it not notso much how I was going to pay,
but like knowing the propertaxes.
I finally got a payroll systemthat works really really well,
(26:24):
thank God.
But then, you know, one minutepeople could be commissioned.
The next minute they had to beemployees or else I was fine.
Like that was a big thing.
In California.
You know they're constantlychanging state board rules and
you know one minute you can't dolash tinting, the next you can
like it's it.
That to me was like it's afull-time job just keeping track
(26:47):
of the state's rules so thestate's rules are ever-changing.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Um, I do feel like my payroll company.
They alert me on a lot of stuff, thank goodness.
But if you don't have a goodteam of people that you trust
and support you and the changes,you're like what is happening?
Yeah, like swirl your headaround it's a lot, oh, yeah,
it's a lot.
And then you're like oh, that'sright.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
I need to, like keep up on my sugaring skills Totally
, totally, yeah, yeah.
So if you are listening to this, please don't be scared.
It is possible, we've both doneit, but it is something to
really think about.
You know, and honestly, you canhave a small space, just be
solo, have, you know, a lot ofwork to do as well, but really
(27:35):
have a rewarding career.
And some of us do it.
Just sugar.
Some of us add sugar to ourtreatment menus, which is
awesome.
You don't have to be completely100 percent sugar, like we are.
I do some facials here becausethe girls like they really want
to do them.
So some facials here.
But really, the sugar is thatthing that that brings in.
(27:55):
Brings in the bacon, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Yeah, I, yeah, I learned pretty early on.
Yeah, I learned pretty early on.
I loved facials.
I love receiving, I loveknowing and educating myself
about skin and ingredients, butI talk too much.
I learned that-teacher who wasvery blissful and zen and
phenomenal and she loved all thearomatherapy and I yeah, I just
(28:26):
ended up tackling all the likepeels and hair removal.
I'm like, well, here's a jam.
I got it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
The eight clients in a row of facials.
When I had my like, Tahoe DaySpa was like quiet for eight
hours.
I'm like I'm going to die.
It's so quiet.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
But that's a person I'm like trying to do a
trapezius.
I'm like tell me about yourweekend.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Trying to like have a spa voice but talk yeah, yeah,
yeah, totally get it, okay.
So you know, there's you and Iare going to do another one of
these, because we could talkforever about different topics,
but you know, we just came backfrom sugar con.
Let's talk about that for justa little bit and give a shout
out to sarah her, yeah, butlet's talk about what that feels
(29:10):
like 15 years later.
I'm 16, you're 15.
There's a few of them that werein there longer than us, like
their 20 year mark, know whatthat feels like to have walked
around the auditorium and seenall these brands.
And I think the coolest thingfor me was everybody that was in
there already knew how to sugar, so they just like threw on a
(29:33):
glove, picked up the page andgot involved.
You know that was so incredibleand like how you felt at
SugarCon and like how you feltat SugarCon.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
So I went with zero expectations, right, I had no
idea what to expect.
I looked at the Wova app and Isigned up for my classes, I
locked it in and I was like,cool, cool, I'll find out more
when I get there.
That's the mentality that Iwent in there.
I was super pumped, superpumped.
(30:07):
I was like excited but had zeroexpectations.
So for me not really doing aton of research, I was
absolutely blown away.
Like blown away.
What Sarah did?
I just what she did and whatshe put on on, and you could
tell, if you've ever thrown anevent, that was a top tier event
and she worked her booty off,I'm pretty sure her team that
(30:30):
she had behind her all latehours, long days and to navigate
that many vendors phenomenal,this, every piece to that puzzle
did not go.
It didn't get lost on me I thatthat was a huge surprise.
Yeah, I, it was phenomenal.
Um, as a sugar and as anesthetician, um, and having a
(30:51):
sugaring business, I honestlyfelt like I came out of the dark
into the light and just um,having the representation of all
the different sugar brands thatwere there that you know were
so unique and just so phenomenaland had all this education
behind them, I was just likeeating it up.
I'm like what is going on?
This is the best ever, and justto be around our people right,
(31:15):
when you talk to people, evenyou know, within our industry,
it's, you know, sugaring stillas it's growing.
It's still one that's not asprevalent in other places, and
so it was amazing to just belike, oh my gosh, this booth is
geared towards me.
This booth is geared towards me.
Oh, I want to learn more aboutthis because I actually this
benefits me Like, and all of uswere in the same place.
(31:36):
It was amazing.
The education was amazing.
Everybody that was there was soopen and willing to talk and
share and want to know it.
Just, it was really really goodenergy and palpable if that
makes sense Like.
It was just like filled withlove and excitement.
So it was great.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
I will agree with you .
I I didn't know what to expectyou know, and I I was.
I left there feeling like we didit as an industry and I don't
mean we made money or we putourselves on the map.
We have put ourselves on themap because it really wasn't on
the map before.
But I really felt like all thebooths there were filled with
(32:18):
love and kindness and supportfor one another and you could
feel it in the room.
And I think we've all kind ofjust been on this treadmill
trying to, like you know, getsugar to be a thing and convince
our clients and convince ourfriends and our spouse like yeah
, this is a smart move, you knowand it was like ah, look at
(32:40):
thisour people, these are my people.
Yeah, yeah, it was just this,um, this piece about the whole
thing, and and camaraderie, theamount of hugs and like kind of
screams and like oh my god, youknow, like I've never met you
before and I was like, justbecause you sugar, I think,
(33:01):
think you're cool, right, likeyeah, I'm kind of like this, I
don't know it's.
You know, I think Sarah saidshe was going to do them every
other year, but I don't thinkthe industry is going to let her
skip a year.
I think it's going to have tobe next year as well.
If you're listening, sarah, Iknow she's, and I think that
next time you know now that wekind of get it and get that it's
a cool thing it'll be twice asbig and that is wildly cool,
(33:26):
because she did the first onereally well.
So kudos to you, sarah.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
She knocked it out of the park.
Yeah, I definitely think that,whether it be next year or the
year after, I will definitely bein attendance.
I will bring my team this timenext year or the year after.
I will definitely be inattendance.
I will bring my team this timeand it was just on.
You know my works like socialmedia and stuff and different
people that are in our industry.
(33:50):
They're like we wanted to go.
We missed it.
Next year, next year, next year, like so many comments, yeah,
everyone, now that it's outthere, it's like all right, here
we go, game on, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Okay, I have a cute question for you, because we
could talk for hours and I'llwrap this up in a minute.
But, um, so your kids havegrown up with you only being a
sugar babe.
You know, like they, that's allthey know.
They know sugar.
They've had probably tastes ofsugar when they were little and
they're, you know, on to being12.
Here she's got twins.
They're going to be 12 soon,right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(34:18):
So what do they think of sugar?
Like how, how is that in theirworld?
I just, I, love.
So.
My kids watched me grow.
In fact, I have their boys andI have video of their voices.
Haven't developed yet.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
They're like hey, I'm Mike, hi, I'm Ryan, so make
sure you get videos of themtalking about your business
Cause now they're like I'm Mike,I'm Ryan, so make sure you get
videos of them talking aboutyour business, because another
like I'm Mike, I'm right, do nowright and they're like mom.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
You know she's got a badass right.
You know I.
Do they any interest yet ofwhat you're doing, or do you
just go to work and they don'treally care?
Speaker 2 (34:59):
They are the cool.
I mean, everyone probably saysthis, but my kids are like the
coolest humans.
Um, they love it, they're superproud, they like that.
Their mom does sugaring andthey will give you the little 15
second elevator speech in abouttwo seconds of what sugaring is
versus waxing.
Um, I have definitely broughtthem to work with me.
(35:22):
They've worked the front deskand they know how to greet
clients.
They just think it's thecoolest.
I think that they see the workthat I do and I definitely talk
about it and definitely workfrom home as well.
Yeah, so they're really proudand they love the space and,
yeah, they just I think theylike to see, yeah, just I think
(35:43):
me happy at the end of the dayand when they see that there's
growth and you know we'rehelping people out and sugar
people, they just they're superpumped.
And, to be honest, my daughteris, I mean, almost 12 and my
husband is Italian and, uh, shedoes have, um, she's gifted with
a very strong hair follicle andso, uh, she's super pumped
because she'll never and she'lltell anyone on the street that
(36:05):
she'll never have to use a razor.
So that's a big deal.
So she'll start sugaring hersoon and, yeah, that's awesome,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
I love it.
I love the the example thatyou're setting for your children
, you know, and their friends,of what it what it takes to
build a business it's not justan easy thing, but what
dedication is and what a bossbabe means.
And also like how to createpeople in a business.
Like what a great example foryour kids that having these
(36:33):
businesses are.
And so I always encourageowners and even employees, like
share with your children what itis you do.
Share with your children likehow you started from nothing and
how you did this.
You know, and I love it.
My guess was that you were,that you do that.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Yeah, they just they need to see that it's not all Um
, I mean, there's a lot of hardwork that goes into it, a lot of
grit and a lot of you know thethe base step that they do with
the shops to the cleaning andall that.
And yeah, I just they need toknow the hard work that goes
into it, sure, okay.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
so last, question your two locations.
Mm-hmm.
Do you get to a place whereyou're like, all right, this is
good, we're just gonna rockthese two locations, or you have
a stir in your belly that thereneeds to be a third.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
Yeah, it's funny, I always have a stir in my belly
for more.
That is like a constant with me.
We actually were slotted forthe third location pre-COVID and
before we signed, covid hit andso it worked out to be a gift
to not sign that lease, to be,you know, a gift to not sign
(37:43):
that lease.
So we've been writing out thetwo and we're kind of doing our
thing now, but I do feel thatthere's something around the
corner.
Yeah, we're kind of I'm ready,I'm ready and I think, honestly,
sugarcon re-energized.
I already had this like whenyou I don't know those of you
who are entrepreneurs, arepeople that just have it in them
this like fire, that you're notknow that there's more and
(38:06):
you're just waiting for it to go.
I've been experiencing that fora while and so I know it's
around the corner and I'm justready to to just do the work and
just let's go.
I'm ready.
But yeah, there's something,there's something coming for
sure.
I love it.
All right.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
It all right, mama well, we will let you get back
to your busy boss.
Babe, mama life and uh audience.
If you are in the Portland area, go to sugar me um and spend
some time uh, not only with Kate, but with her amazing staff.
I met them uh, you know her,your team members and and former
team members um at the show,and there's just something
(38:40):
special about you all.
So kudos to you and what you'vebuilt and your team, and I look
forward to seeing what's nextfor you as well thank you, thank
you.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Thank you, thank you so much.
I appreciate this.
You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Okay, so for those, of you that are wondering about
sugar con.
We will link that and you canpester Sarah Herbst yourself as
to whether or not she's gonna doit on next year and and then,
if you are ready to open yourown business or you are ready to
start sugaring, we are therefor you.
You can listen to otherepisodes of this podcast and you
can also check a look at ourwebsite and we'll walk you
(39:12):
through everything that you need, because we want you to be a
part of our world in the sugarcommunity just as much as you
probably are thinking that youwant to be.
So cheers to you, and we lookforward to seeing you in the
(39:33):
next episode.
Oh, my friends, I was able to go to SugarCon this
year, as most of you know,because you saw our socials like
crazy and how much fun we had,and one of the most wonderful
things that happened was meetingnew people at the show.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
So I'll tell you a little story.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I very first day we roll up in our Uber and it was a
couple of educators and myself.
We roll up in the Uber and Ijust started introducing myself
to people in line because youknow I'm not shy.
And so I roll up and I walk upto this beautiful woman, so
classy, pretty blonde Bob.
I'm like, hi, I'm Shannon.
She says, hi, I'm Kate.
And this is Kate.
(00:37):
And this is Kate because shehad brought some of her fellow
sugar pros in Portland.
So we get to talking and, I kidyou not, I feel like I've known
her my whole life.
I feel like we were sisters inanother lifetime.
And I just connected with herin line before SugarCon, so fast
forward to.
(00:57):
I was so impressed by the waythat she runs her business.
When I spoke in the afternoon Iactually surprised her and
called her up onto the stage andjust had her share her journey,
because she really does somereally different things in her
practice and she is just reallya special, special woman.
(01:18):
So Kate Sprouse with Sugar Me inPortland.
She has two locations.
She is our guest today andshe's like once you finish
listening to the episode, youwant to go to Portland and hang
out with her, and in Portlandshe has two locations.
She is our guest today andshe's like, once you finish
listening to the episode, youwant to go to Portland and hang
out with her and have coffee.
So I hope you enjoy thisepisode as much as we enjoyed
filming it.
And so, ladies and gentlemen,Kate Sprouse Sugar Me in
Portland.
Hey girl, welcome to the SugarShow.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh my gosh, okay.
So first of all we were likehow are we not sisters in
another life, I swear to God.
But also just we have.
We had to push record becausewe just couldn't stop talking
about all the cool things in ourindustry.
So I put pause on you and weneed to have the microphones on
(02:11):
so we can share this passion,because it's infectious.
Yeah so we're just going tojump right into it.
And why don't you?
start with the story you weregoing to tell me, and then we'll
backtrack to, like your, your,how you got here.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So yeah, so OK, You're going to tell me the
story about?
Speaker 1 (02:28):
was it about sugar con?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
No, it was just about our industry in general, about
sugaring and just something thatis something that I'm proud of
within my Portland market, whereI am from, portland, oregon, um
, but last year we do this bigthing through Portland, where
it's the best of it's like thebest of you know, you name it
Portland.
Where it's the best of it's likethe best of you know you name
it noodle house, the best ofmassage therapy, the best of
anything, and it's done everysingle year and this last year
(02:53):
it's you know it's under therealm of best hair removal,
right?
So this could be any form ofhair removal and last year, in
2024 it hasn't started for 2025yet, but last year in 2024, the
best of't started for 2025 yet,but it last year in 2024, the
best of hair removal in all ofPortland, oregon was Sugar Me,
which is huge to me because itwas sugaring, was noticed and
(03:14):
brought to the forefront versuswe have ample waxing salons that
are here and salons as well,but I don't know.
It was just really cool to havethat experience last year,
where I'm like they were seen,I'm seen, we're seen, my team is
seen, sugar Me's seen, thesugaring community is seen.
It was, it was a big deal.
So yeah, it was pretty cool, Ijust wanted it yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Changing are the days of what is it that you do?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
to oh you sugar.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Oh you, sugar, Cool, right, okay, so let's back up
and talk about how you got here.
Yeah, what?
Oh my gosh, cause it feels likea lifetime ago and yesterday
all at the same time, right,when you think back on the last
15 years, cause it's been 15 foryou, right?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
15 for me, yeah, 15, 20.
And that's when I opened up myfirst flagship store yeah Over
in Northeast Portland.
And then, in 2014, I didSoutheast Portland.
Okay, so let's talk about.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
What were you doing before?
What was Kate's life pre-sugar?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah for sure.
So before getting into solelysugaring, I had the opportunity
to teach.
I taught for several years at aholistic school for aesthetics
it's the Euro Institute ofSkincare.
We had a Portland chapter hereat the time, and so I had the
ability to teach and that washonestly one of my favorite jobs
, and I think really the two meowning a business and also being
(04:35):
an educator kind of go hand inhand, because it was the fact
that I got to just kind ofimpart, like teach people how to
take on this trade, and so thatwas something that was super
inspiring to me to be able tohave all aged women walk through
our door, be able to teach theeducation of aesthetics, and
(04:56):
have them walk out the door withsomething that they could make
money at you know, help theirfamilies with, do for themselves
, and so that part was superinspiring to me.
Plus, that is where I got totheory sugaring along with
threading and differentmodalities.
But sugaring really caught myeye and it was before anyone was
really sugaring here inPortland, and so I wanted to be
(05:19):
able to demo it as an educator.
So I went up to Seattle and gotcertified this is like a million
years ago and so got certifiedin it, and so I was able to
bring it back down and be ableto teach it at that time, demo
it, and then we ultimatelystarted to certify the students
at Euro.
And then from there, I justonce you touch sugar, at least
(05:41):
for myself, once I held it, onceI got certified, I started
playing around with it at home.
I sugared any friend or familymember that would come around,
and so I was like this is it?
This is the ticket?
Why am I not doing this all thetime?
And so that's what sparked theinterest.
And then, once I got that idea,there was kind of no stopping
me and, yeah, I just kind of ranwith it.
(06:03):
I do feel like my friends andfamily were pretty supportive,
but I think kind of like, whatare you doing?
But that's okay, we're here now.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So, yeah, so that was being able to teach who came up
with the name Sugar.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Bean Uh, it was me and two of my girlfriends
actually.
Um, yeah, that we were justkind of no-transcript.
(06:51):
So really, at the beginning,when I first set my lease, it
was basically just girlfriendsof mine coming up with that,
coming up with branding.
They knew a little bit moreabout branding than I did, and
so we kind of worked on thattogether.
And then, yeah, honestly,friends and family doing the
build out and painting and, yeah, just opening the doors and
(07:12):
just hoping that it would work,and I don't know, I went around
the neighborhoods, my firstlocation going door to door.
You know this was 2010.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
There wasn't internet , there was nothing at all you
know this was 2010.
There wasn't.
There wasn't internet, therewas nothing at all.
So we talked about that atSugarCon.
So, okay, so you open the doors, you're handing out flyers,
you're hoping people will like,want to try sugar.
Did you wax at all in yoursugar?
Me space.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
No, no, no, waxing.
And I also knew that, openingthis business, I wanted to be
sugaring.
Only I didn't have we don't dofacials, we don't do anything.
I just wanted to be reallyproficient at this one technique
.
So I knew that myself, and theneventually, my staff members
could really people could walkin the door and be like this is
the place to go.
They do this all day, every day.
Just feel well, taken care ofin that manner.
(08:02):
So, no, I just sugared.
But I will say I opened mydoors.
It was summertime of 2010.
So there were a lot of momentswhere I had to breathe and not
cry, because I was like, oh mygosh, what have I done?
Because I would definitely havemoments of melting down.
I was not a pro by any means atthis point.
(08:26):
I was just going off faith andjust kind of faking it till I
made it and just knowing that Ibelieved in the product so much
and knowing that I believed inwhat could be, and I just you
know, I don't know I just jumpedand then figured it out.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
So yeah, and it worked.
A lot of us did in thebeginning and now we're like we
should have had a betterbusiness plan.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
It just was very like, yeah,done very much on a small budget
.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I did not go big at the beginning, but you can do
that, you know there's not a lotof pre and post, no A warmer
and some pace and some knowledgeand and knowing how to do it
the right way.
Now I highly recommend if wewere to go back 15 years and
redo it, I would highlyrecommend you know a business
plan and oh, 1 million percent.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I did have a business , I did have a business plan.
I did have, like, my financialslike in order.
I just didn't, it didn't take alot of money to get it started.
It was yeah, it just yeah,definitely.
And yeah, yeah it was.
It was definitely still a leapof faith, that's for sure, Cause
I had three treatment rooms inmy.
(09:36):
I still have three treatmentrooms, and it was just myself
just in hopes that it wouldbuild so so what point did you
decide?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
okay, it's time to bring on employees.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It was pretty fresh off the gate, there was one of
my employees came on with mepretty early and that was the
two of us for the longest time,um, working for pretty much
nothing.
Right For that beginning part,um, and then from there we
started to build clientele.
I did run a special, like acoupon to special, and so that
(10:07):
got people in the door as well,and then for that we just kept
rebooking, you know, gettingthem back in the door, and then,
yeah, it just started to grow,I think because also it was such
a niche at the time I gotfeatured.
Our news channel came.
I got to you know, the locallike morning show.
We had a spot on that, whichwas always fun.
(10:30):
Also, always kind of awkwardwhen you're like doing hair
removal on a news anchor and wedid his back and you know it was
like like there's no need toyell, come on now.
So you know, but come on, comeon.
But yeah, it was great.
We had some good publicity atthe beginning and and it started
to roll through within thatfirst year I was out of the red,
(10:52):
so that was great.
And from there we just didincremental growth, little by
little and then by 2014, youknow, I had my second locations.
What?
Speaker 1 (11:01):
made you decide to open a second location.
The need, so many people yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
There was a definite demand and it's funny, portland,
we're such niche neighborhoodsand so we were in a Northeast
pocket and even though we'rejust a few short miles away, in
Southeast Portland, wedefinitely was a different
clientele, different need,different market.
So, yeah, it worked out well.
They both are doing great.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Okay, so you do something a little different and
I explained in the intro abouthow I met you, which was at
SugarCon.
I walk up the first day,everyone's in line and I'm like
hey, I'm Shannon, you're likehey and I think two of the I'm
Shannon, you're like hey and Ithink two of the girls that were
with.
You're like hey and I'm Kate waslike yeah, right, and so we
know each other and what I cameto learn about your business is
(11:55):
you do things a littledifferently with your staff.
It's just not a turn and burn.
You work here for 15 years.
I grind away at you as an owner, Talk about your culture a
little bit and what you do alittle bit differently and how
your employees kind of cyclethrough your business, that
model.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yeah, it honestly kind of happened organically.
I think the core root of who Iam as a human is education and
really being able to gift upon.
I'm no gatekeeper of anythingand I also come from the place
of there's always more right.
I've never come from a place ofholding onto.
(12:33):
I'm always trying to breathelife into just having faith that
there's always more, there'salways plenty.
So with those two things inmind, I think ultimately what
has been brought to my footstepsis that I have a business model
that a lot of women come andthey stay for a couple years and
(12:56):
they get comfortable and ontheir own feet and feel well
cared for.
I'm really proud of thework-life balance and kind of
how I treat my employees.
They're well taken care ofbecause they are everything to
me.
But, once they feel comfortableand if they choose to, they end
up ultimately, a lot of them goout to start their own Chagrin
(13:17):
Studios, and this has just kindof happened organically.
But I've also curated a placethat they know that they have a
safe space with me and thenthere's open communication.
When they want to go off and dotheir own thing, there's no,
it's all love, all support.
They go out, they do their ownthing, yeah.
So basically I've kind ofcreated a business model where
they come, they work and if theywish to, then they can go out
(13:41):
and do their own business aswell.
And that that cycle has keptrolling through.
And that's funny because when Idid meet you at SugarCon, I was
there with three of myteammates that used to work for
me that now have their ownplaces.
But if that I mean we wenttogether as a team.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
That's incredible and that's all done with love and
understanding about what thisworld is all about is is not
gatekeep, and to not holdeverything to yourself and to
empower other women to doamazing things, and I love that
you do that with love.
So how does that work, likewith your clients?
Do you end up losing clientswhen they leave?
(14:21):
How do you work that?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Totally when they leave.
How do you work that Totally?
Yeah, it is.
It is scary, right.
When I say this out loud andI'm not going to lie, sometimes
you do Through the 15 years, Iwon't say that I haven't been
slighted, you know, and thingsdo happen, but it's it's not.
It's not every time, but withour clients.
(14:45):
The clients are sugar me'sclients and that's done to where
I feel like they feel verycomfortable at my space and they
know different techniciansbecause I do run an employee
format so they're not Commissionbased, so it is an employee
format business that I runHourly to do that in Oregon.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Mm-hmm you have to do that in Oregon right hourly.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
You have to do that in Oregon, right?
You don't have to do that.
You can either do hourly.
You can do lease to spaces, youcan do commission-based.
Yeah, I think you can do lotsof different formats.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
It's different here in California and other states,
like in California, you have tobe an employee or you have to
rent a room.
That's completely separatebusiness.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh yeah, okay, yeah, well, I've got I special to
Oregon, you know, which is fine.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
It's fine.
It's just people all over theworld that listen.
So yeah, and countries like inCanada you don't even need to
get licensed Like you can justsugar open your.
I know it's crazy, All thedifferences, but so you have an
employee model which is veryclear.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah, An employee model, and so I think what that
does is lets people know theycome in and they can get sugared
by any of the employees and geta very proficient job done, and
people do fall in love withpeople right.
So at the end of the day, someclients do travel with their
other technician, but some ofthem stay.
So I would say I haven't beenburned so much to where I'm
(16:06):
losing a lot of clients, towhere it's going to make a
difference to my bottom line,because there's more clients
walking in the door and there'sanother esthetician that's going
to come in and people are goingto fall in love with, and then
they're going to build theirclientele and it just is a cycle
that has just worked out for usfor sure.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So let's talk about the employee mentality on that,
right.
So, because I get a lot ofpeople that kind of ask like how
can you be an employee and nottake clients from your boss but
also build a clientele?
It's like a sticky little spot,right, because you want to do
well for Sugar Me as an employee, and so the idea is okay, let's
(16:46):
come on as an employee with amodel like yours.
Let's do as much as we can torepresent that business, as we
should with any business.
And then, okay, I've learnedsome skills.
I'm going to be verytransparent with my boss, which
is you, and what my goals are,what my dreams are, what I want
to do.
You know that's it's.
It's huge to be really open andtalking to you about that, and
(17:09):
then you can help guide them tothe next level.
The idea of the whole time andI want to make sure the audience
is hearing this is that youdon't go from school to three
locations killing it, you know,without doing the work in the
meantime, right, and so the it'sthe work, the dedication to the
(17:30):
work, and it's also the loveand the transparency and the
respect for the space, and Ithink that's really critical If
you're a student that'slistening to this, or if you are
new or you're just signing onwith a spa, is to say, okay,
this is part of my journey.
I have a boss like Kate.
So any of her staff right now,if they're listening, you have a
(17:51):
badass boss.
But I have a boss like Katewho's going to nurture me
through this.
But I'm not going to stab herin the back because that's not
good karma and I'm not going to.
I'm going to practice my craftand get good enough that I can
move on, but I'm going tocommunicate the whole time.
So what's kind of your messageto that newbie that is coming on
(18:13):
board?
What is your message to them?
Kind of an addition on thatkind of scope, right?
Like what is your message tothem on on how to be, you know,
obviously, a good employee, butyeah, I think you nailed it.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I mean coming out of school just really knowing that
it's kind of a marathon, not asprint, you know that it's going
to take a gift and so really,if you hone in on those building
blocks or those chapters thatyou're in and really do the best
(18:48):
that you can in those chapters,you know eventually that page
is going to turn and you'regoing to have your next chapter.
What that looks like you don'tknow in the moment, but it's
like really taking in all theknowledge and all the expertise
of those around you in thatmoment and just really settling
in.
I feel like that's a lot ofwhat I've learned through life
and then also what I see whathappens with my team members and
(19:12):
I will say not all of themchoose to leave.
I have some great core teammembers that stay.
It's not just let's get in,let's work, let's go.
I mean, my team stays with mefor five, six years.
You know they stay for a longtime, especially before they go.
So they, yeah, it's a reallygreat work environment, so a lot
(19:33):
of them don't leave.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
But why would you yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
yeah, yeah, the employees, I mean honestly my
teammates, I don't even callthem employees, I mean they are
like teammates, my team members.
They, yeah, they work really,really hard.
But yeah, I think, for thenewbie coming in, I think, just
really recognizing that, to dothe best that you can in this
chapter, that you are and knowthat there's always you know the
(19:56):
next chapter and what thatlooks like we don't have to know
in the moment, but just reallybe present and take in what you
can in the knowledge and learnwhat you can and experience what
you can at that moment and,yeah, be open to the changes
when they happen.
But yeah, it's definitely, it'sa definite, it's a slow, it's a
slow build.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, yeah, you know, I think for those of you that
are listening, that are new,there's there's two, there's
kind of a tandem.
Things that are happening rightIs is you're a good
practitioner, practitioner,you're getting building your
skills there.
It is not easy to sugar and toknow how to troubleshoot and
what to do in sticky, wink winksituation.
(20:35):
I haven't said that in a longtime, um, and but then also the
whole business piece of thisthat goes hand in hand.
That is a whole different setof skills.
Yeah, I think what happens is alot of people say, oh, I'm
going to go out on my own, butthey've done zero research on
what it takes to have this.
When we talked about businessplan in the beginning, they're
like a business what?
(20:56):
Um?
I mean, how many students havetalked to you that don't even
have a business bank account oryou know?
I mean you have to understandpayroll and one percent.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I don't mean to downplay when I said I did it on
a budget, because I did do iton a budget.
However, I did definitelyutilize all my resources here.
I had a definite business plan.
I had my capital to last me forquite a I mean for quite a
while because I knew I was notgoing to be taking any money
home for my family.
I also, um, I set my family up.
They knew, I mean, my husbandknew I didn't have kids at the
(21:31):
time Um, but we definitelypre-planned for our own personal
finances on the back end too,not knowing that I wasn't going
to be running like, bring moneyhome.
Um, yeah, there was a lot offinancial planning and a lot of
business planning that came intoplay.
Um, yeah, yeah, I met with mylike, I had mentors through the
small business association thatwe have here locally.
I went downtown.
Yeah, I definitely you have tohave your ducks in a row before
(21:52):
starting.
I just, you know I didn't havelike millions of dollars.
It was like you know it can bedone on a budget, but you
definitely need to have your T'scrossed and your I's dotted,
and that doesn't stop right.
I'm 15 years in and there'sthings that are always changing
always, and I definitelyorganization and hard work,
(22:13):
because it doesn't shut off, youknow, it's constant.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
So yeah, yes, your brain is swimming on the regular
.
You know, I would like for staffmembers, team members, to think
about what it goes into to be aboss you know some and for
bosses to listen, becausethere's a lot that goes into
that on our side, on ourresponsibility, that we have to
(22:37):
have kind hearts and open mindsfor our staff, and they have us.
It's this reciprocity thingright, because we're all doing
the best with what we've gotright.
So the owner is laying awake atnight wondering how you're
going to keep the lights on.
You know, like, please, honorthat.
You know honor those owners.
Like this isn't easy for owners.
(22:57):
Like, just because you becomean owner doesn't mean you've hit
the finish line.
It's like it's a whole notherrace, right, it's a whole nother
race, right, it's a wholenother ball game.
And then I think that ownershave to respect the staff
members who are coming in arebeing, you know, um, as amazing
as they can be in arepresentation of you.
So it really is this nicereciprocity if you can do it
(23:19):
right, like you have, um, andyou know asking yourself am I
doing the best in my role tobenefit the other side and the
other side of the fence?
Because then ultimately, thefence comes down and you're all
in it together, right, andthat's what I felt from you and
your team was really.
You know what Fences are down.
We're all in this, we all havea role, and some of them go off
(23:42):
and start their own because thatis what their skill set is, and
a lot of times, people that gooff and start their own, they
stop being practitioners, yeah,you know.
And so if you really really lovewhat you do with your hands in
the treatment room with yourclients, it might not make sense
for you to leave because and tostart your own thing, because
you're grinding away atspreadsheets.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So many, so many numbers.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
You know, and P&Ls and all of these things.
People are like P&L, what isthat?
Profit and loss statements,right, like, if you don't know
what those are and that does notexcite you, being a business
owner might not be the path foryou.
Like, did you realize how muchbusiness you didn't know?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
15 years ago.
It was interesting, I thought Iknew, until you get into it,
and as it grows, it just it getsmore exponentially, Like I mean
there's just more right.
So, yeah, I think also, yeah,Once, yeah, just I asked a lot
of questions and I asked for alot of help and then, um, just
deep.
There were a couple of yearswhere I pulled myself fully out
(24:50):
of the treatment room and justfocused on backend Um, which I
mean that's a whole job on itsown.
You know, yeah, what was thehardest piece.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
do you think that you were surprised about I think I
know my answer.
I want to hear yours Like thehardest part about being a
business owner, would you say?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
hardest part about being a business owner would you
say, uh, I think one of thehardest parts, other than I mean
, other than like crunching thenumbers and Excel spreadsheets
and um, I I just think honestlyI don't know.
I've kind of gone throughperiods.
(25:26):
I just think it doesn't, itdoesn't shut off Right Like it's
.
I think right now, just whereI'm at, is this constant, just
it's always going in my mind.
I think sometimes that part,that balance, is it's probably
the hardest part that I becauseI'm an all-in type person.
(25:46):
So I think that finding thebalance for me, which I preach
to my staff all the time, iswork-life balance, to make sure
that they don't burn themselvesout in the treatment room.
But it's hard, it's like bettersaid than done, right.
So I think that that probablyis the hardest part for me is
knowing when to shut it down.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that's huge.
For me it was payroll and statelaws.
So I'm in California and thelaws change all the time.
Yeah, the way that it not notso much how I was going to pay,
but like knowing the propertaxes.
I finally got a payroll systemthat works really really well,
(26:24):
thank God.
But then, you know, one minutepeople could be commissioned.
The next minute they had to beemployees or else I was fine.
Like that was a big thing.
In California.
You know they're constantlychanging state board rules and
you know one minute you can't dolash tinting, the next you can
like it's it.
That to me was like it's afull-time job just keeping track
(26:47):
of the state's rules so thestate's rules are ever-changing.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Um, I do feel like my payroll company.
They alert me on a lot of stuff, thank goodness.
But if you don't have a goodteam of people that you trust
and support you and the changes,you're like what is happening?
Yeah, like swirl your headaround it's a lot, oh, yeah,
it's a lot.
And then you're like oh, that'sright.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
I need to, like keep up on my sugaring skills Totally
, totally, yeah, yeah.
So if you are listening to this, please don't be scared.
It is possible, we've both doneit, but it is something to
really think about.
You know, and honestly, you canhave a small space, just be
solo, have, you know, a lot ofwork to do as well, but really
(27:35):
have a rewarding career.
And some of us do it.
Just sugar.
Some of us add sugar to ourtreatment menus, which is
awesome.
You don't have to be completely100 percent sugar, like we are.
I do some facials here becausethe girls like they really want
to do them.
So some facials here.
But really, the sugar is thatthing that that brings in.
(27:55):
Brings in the bacon, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Yeah, I, yeah, I learned pretty early on.
Yeah, I learned pretty early on.
I loved facials.
I love receiving, I loveknowing and educating myself
about skin and ingredients, butI talk too much.
I learned that-teacher who wasvery blissful and zen and
phenomenal and she loved all thearomatherapy and I yeah, I just
(28:26):
ended up tackling all the likepeels and hair removal.
I'm like, well, here's a jam.
I got it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
The eight clients in a row of facials.
When I had my like, Tahoe DaySpa was like quiet for eight
hours.
I'm like I'm going to die.
It's so quiet.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
But that's a person I'm like trying to do a
trapezius.
I'm like tell me about yourweekend.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Trying to like have a spa voice but talk yeah, yeah,
yeah, totally get it, okay.
So you know, there's you and Iare going to do another one of
these, because we could talkforever about different topics,
but you know, we just came backfrom sugar con.
Let's talk about that for justa little bit and give a shout
out to sarah her, yeah, butlet's talk about what that feels
(29:10):
like 15 years later.
I'm 16, you're 15.
There's a few of them that werein there longer than us, like
their 20 year mark, know whatthat feels like to have walked
around the auditorium and seenall these brands.
And I think the coolest thingfor me was everybody that was in
there already knew how to sugar, so they just like threw on a
(29:33):
glove, picked up the page andgot involved.
You know that was so incredibleand like how you felt at
SugarCon and like how you feltat SugarCon.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
So I went with zero expectations, right, I had no
idea what to expect.
I looked at the Wova app and Isigned up for my classes, I
locked it in and I was like,cool, cool, I'll find out more
when I get there.
That's the mentality that Iwent in there.
I was super pumped, superpumped.
(30:07):
I was like excited but had zeroexpectations.
So for me not really doing aton of research, I was
absolutely blown away.
Like blown away.
What Sarah did?
I just what she did and whatshe put on on, and you could
tell, if you've ever thrown anevent, that was a top tier event
and she worked her booty off,I'm pretty sure her team that
(30:30):
she had behind her all latehours, long days and to navigate
that many vendors phenomenal,this, every piece to that puzzle
did not go.
It didn't get lost on me I thatthat was a huge surprise.
Yeah, I, it was phenomenal.
Um, as a sugar and as anesthetician, um, and having a
(30:51):
sugaring business, I honestlyfelt like I came out of the dark
into the light and just um,having the representation of all
the different sugar brands thatwere there that you know were
so unique and just so phenomenaland had all this education
behind them, I was just likeeating it up.
I'm like what is going on?
This is the best ever, and justto be around our people right,
(31:15):
when you talk to people, evenyou know, within our industry,
it's, you know, sugaring stillas it's growing.
It's still one that's not asprevalent in other places, and
so it was amazing to just belike, oh my gosh, this booth is
geared towards me.
This booth is geared towards me.
Oh, I want to learn more aboutthis because I actually this
benefits me Like, and all of uswere in the same place.
(31:36):
It was amazing.
The education was amazing.
Everybody that was there was soopen and willing to talk and
share and want to know it.
Just, it was really really goodenergy and palpable if that
makes sense Like.
It was just like filled withlove and excitement.
So it was great.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
I will agree with you .
I I didn't know what to expectyou know, and I I was.
I left there feeling like we didit as an industry and I don't
mean we made money or we putourselves on the map.
We have put ourselves on themap because it really wasn't on
the map before.
But I really felt like all thebooths there were filled with
(32:18):
love and kindness and supportfor one another and you could
feel it in the room.
And I think we've all kind ofjust been on this treadmill
trying to, like you know, getsugar to be a thing and convince
our clients and convince ourfriends and our spouse like yeah
, this is a smart move, you knowand it was like ah, look at
(32:40):
thisour people, these are my people.
Yeah, yeah, it was just this,um, this piece about the whole
thing, and and camaraderie, theamount of hugs and like kind of
screams and like oh my god, youknow, like I've never met you
before and I was like, justbecause you sugar, I think,
(33:01):
think you're cool, right, likeyeah, I'm kind of like this, I
don't know it's.
You know, I think Sarah saidshe was going to do them every
other year, but I don't thinkthe industry is going to let her
skip a year.
I think it's going to have tobe next year as well.
If you're listening, sarah, Iknow she's, and I think that
next time you know now that wekind of get it and get that it's
a cool thing it'll be twice asbig and that is wildly cool,
(33:26):
because she did the first onereally well.
So kudos to you, sarah.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
She knocked it out of the park.
Yeah, I definitely think that,whether it be next year or the
year after, I will definitely bein attendance.
I will bring my team this timenext year or the year after.
I will definitely be inattendance.
I will bring my team this timeand it was just on.
You know my works like socialmedia and stuff and different
people that are in our industry.
(33:50):
They're like we wanted to go.
We missed it.
Next year, next year, next year, like so many comments, yeah,
everyone, now that it's outthere, it's like all right, here
we go, game on, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Okay, I have a cute question for you, because we
could talk for hours and I'llwrap this up in a minute.
But, um, so your kids havegrown up with you only being a
sugar babe.
You know, like they, that's allthey know.
They know sugar.
They've had probably tastes ofsugar when they were little and
they're, you know, on to being12.
Here she's got twins.
They're going to be 12 soon,right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(34:18):
So what do they think of sugar?
Like how, how is that in theirworld?
I just, I, love.
So.
My kids watched me grow.
In fact, I have their boys andI have video of their voices.
Haven't developed yet.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
They're like hey, I'm Mike, hi, I'm Ryan, so make
sure you get videos of themtalking about your business
Cause now they're like I'm Mike,I'm Ryan, so make sure you get
videos of them talking aboutyour business, because another
like I'm Mike, I'm right, do nowright and they're like mom.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
You know she's got a badass right.
You know I.
Do they any interest yet ofwhat you're doing, or do you
just go to work and they don'treally care?
Speaker 2 (34:59):
They are the cool.
I mean, everyone probably saysthis, but my kids are like the
coolest humans.
Um, they love it, they're superproud, they like that.
Their mom does sugaring andthey will give you the little 15
second elevator speech in abouttwo seconds of what sugaring is
versus waxing.
Um, I have definitely broughtthem to work with me.
(35:22):
They've worked the front deskand they know how to greet
clients.
They just think it's thecoolest.
I think that they see the workthat I do and I definitely talk
about it and definitely workfrom home as well.
Yeah, so they're really proudand they love the space and,
yeah, they just I think theylike to see, yeah, just I think
(35:43):
me happy at the end of the dayand when they see that there's
growth and you know we'rehelping people out and sugar
people, they just they're superpumped.
And, to be honest, my daughteris, I mean, almost 12 and my
husband is Italian and, uh, shedoes have, um, she's gifted with
a very strong hair follicle andso, uh, she's super pumped
because she'll never and she'lltell anyone on the street that
(36:05):
she'll never have to use a razor.
So that's a big deal.
So she'll start sugaring hersoon and, yeah, that's awesome,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
I love it.
I love the the example thatyou're setting for your children
, you know, and their friends,of what it what it takes to
build a business it's not justan easy thing, but what
dedication is and what a bossbabe means.
And also like how to createpeople in a business.
Like what a great example foryour kids that having these
(36:33):
businesses are.
And so I always encourageowners and even employees, like
share with your children what itis you do.
Share with your children likehow you started from nothing and
how you did this.
You know, and I love it.
My guess was that you were,that you do that.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Yeah, they just they need to see that it's not all Um
, I mean, there's a lot of hardwork that goes into it, a lot of
grit and a lot of you know thethe base step that they do with
the shops to the cleaning andall that.
And yeah, I just they need toknow the hard work that goes
into it, sure, okay.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
so last, question your two locations.
Mm-hmm.
Do you get to a place whereyou're like, all right, this is
good, we're just gonna rockthese two locations, or you have
a stir in your belly that thereneeds to be a third.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
Yeah, it's funny, I always have a stir in my belly
for more.
That is like a constant with me.
We actually were slotted forthe third location pre-COVID and
before we signed, covid hit andso it worked out to be a gift
to not sign that lease, to be,you know, a gift to not sign
(37:43):
that lease.
So we've been writing out thetwo and we're kind of doing our
thing now, but I do feel thatthere's something around the
corner.
Yeah, we're kind of I'm ready,I'm ready and I think, honestly,
sugarcon re-energized.
I already had this like whenyou I don't know those of you
who are entrepreneurs, arepeople that just have it in them
this like fire, that you're notknow that there's more and
(38:06):
you're just waiting for it to go.
I've been experiencing that fora while and so I know it's
around the corner and I'm justready to to just do the work and
just let's go.
I'm ready.
But yeah, there's something,there's something coming for
sure.
I love it.
All right.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
It all right, mama well, we will let you get back
to your busy boss.
Babe, mama life and uh audience.
If you are in the Portland area, go to sugar me um and spend
some time uh, not only with Kate, but with her amazing staff.
I met them uh, you know her,your team members and and former
team members um at the show,and there's just something
(38:40):
special about you all.
So kudos to you and what you'vebuilt and your team, and I look
forward to seeing what's nextfor you as well thank you, thank
you.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Thank you, thank you so much.
I appreciate this.
You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Okay, so for those, of you that are wondering about
sugar con.
We will link that and you canpester Sarah Herbst yourself as
to whether or not she's gonna doit on next year and and then,
if you are ready to open yourown business or you are ready to
start sugaring, we are therefor you.
You can listen to otherepisodes of this podcast and you
can also check a look at ourwebsite and we'll walk you
(39:12):
through everything that you need, because we want you to be a
part of our world in the sugarcommunity just as much as you
probably are thinking that youwant to be.
So cheers to you, and we lookforward to seeing you in the
(39:33):
next episode.
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