Francis Tesmer Built What Should Have Existed Decades Ago and Nobody Can Look Away

There's an entire workforce out there, millions of women, who have been told for decades that their career has a ceiling. Francis Tesmer decided that was done. She didn't just talk about it, she built the first ever college degree pathway for beauty professionals in partnership with L'Oréal and then put over $1 million in scholarships behind it so that money would never be the reason someone couldn't walk through that door.

Francis is back on Liftoff because every time we talk to her, the impact has grown. Graduates are building bigger businesses, earning more, leading differently, and their daughters are watching. When a woman's child looks at her and says "I believe women deserve jobs at the highest level" because of what she saw her mother do? That's not a career program. That's generational change. Whether you're in the beauty industry or not, this conversation will make you rethink what it really looks like to turn passion into power and who gets left behind when we don't.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You know that moment when you realize the people you admire just didn't wake up successful. They figured it out as they went. That's the part no one really talks about. So I am talking about it. I'm Jeannie Weldon, and this is Liftoff Journeys. This is where I sit down with leaders, founders, and executives to talk about how they actually became the people they are today. We skip the titles, we skip the bios, we focus on the choices, the detours, and the instincts that shape their journey. Because when you understand how someone else navigated their career, it changes how you think about your own. Let's see where today's journey takes us. You might recognize our next expert because she has been on liftoff so many times. We just love what she's doing and invited her back again. Introducing Frances Tesmer, the founder and CEO of Rolfe's Global Institute, also of LEED. She's partnered with L'Oreal to create the world's first college degree pathway for beauty professionals. With a workforce that's 92% women, Frances is personally committed to elevating an industry long overdue for recognition.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Thank you so much. It's wonderful to be back with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Frances, the beauty industry is comprised of 92% of women, and your lead program offering is the first ever higher education pathway from an associate to bachelor's degree. Talk about how this is reshaping the career possibilities for every beauty professional because it's so important for us to do that.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Absolutely. You know, as we've talked about it before together, forever, for too long, this space, the workforce of the beauty, have had such limited opportunities, and they have not for too long received the respect and the credibility that they deserve, not to mention that they have not experienced financial freedom to the extent again that they deserve. So here we are for the very first time. The goal of our program has been to change all of that, right? And I've shared that with you before. What I love about Beautician is the fact that they love what they do, they are very passionate about what they do. And the goal of our program is to turn this passion now into power for themselves, for their life, for their community, for their family.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

That in itself is life-changing for so many. Talk about the changes you're seeing from the graduates in terms of their professional confidence, their business leadership, and their social impact.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Absolutely. And that's so important. Our goal from day first has been to take away any barriers for anyone in this space to be able to have access to higher education. So the scholarship that we have given and we have created for everyone who wants to take their career in this space to the next level is here, is available for them. You don't have to have a big loan or big anything or pay back to create a better life for yourself. That shouldn't be the case in general. But we our focus has been the beauty industry, and therefore we've created that. For example, I give you an example. One of the students says to me, you know, not only that this scholarship, this financial support, this mentoring has enabled me to get a degree and now have a better life, better finance, everything. But also, my daughter looks at me and says, Oh my God, I believe that women deserve to have jobs at the highest level. And why not? And now the family is impacted. The next thing, the community is impacted, right? So we are addressing this and say, okay, come on. We're the beautiful industry. Let's make the life of this workforce beautiful because it's important, because they matter. All they have to do is to go to the website, leadinstitute.degree. That's it. The rest we will take care of.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

That was awesome, right? I thought so, and I totally wasn't expecting half that conversation. And like always, I learned something new. One of the things I hope you can take away from today's conversation is this there is no single path to growth, but there are great ideas that you can integrate into your own style. You know me, I'm a big fan of the air method, authenticity, inspiration, and relatability. And those are the patterns that will lead you to success. When you start noticing how people make decisions, how they pivot, lead, and handle those very real bumps along the way, the ones we all call life, you get much clearer about your own next move. And that's what we explore here on Liftoff Journeys and across everything we do at Liftoff Enterprises. We look at conversations, we do it through media and experiences designed to help leaders grow with more trust and confidence every day. If this episode resonated with you, there's more waiting for you. Whether it's another journey, a lift off with Genie Weldon TV interview, or one of our liftoff spotlight episodes, find what speaks to you and use it to cross that trust threshold and go from stuck to unstoppable. Thanks so much for listening. Until next time.