The Esthetician Podcast
Welcome to "The Esthetician Podcast," your ultimate guide to thriving in the esthetics industry! Hosted by Kari Jo Patterson, a seasoned esthetician and business coach with over twenty years of experience, this podcast is designed for estheticians at every stage of their career who are looking to build a successful and sustainable business. Every episode of "The Esthetician Podcast" provides you with practical tips, proven strategies, and inspiring stories to help you navigate the challenges of building an esthetics empire.
The Esthetician Podcast
Building a personal brand that attracts clients: Kimber Jaynes of Borboleta Beauty on industry, relationships, social media strategies, and business growth
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Welcome to the Esthetician Podcast, where passion meets prosperity. Your host, Kari Jo Patterson, transforms from a solo esthetician into a successful business owner, achieving ultimate time and financial freedom by the age of 38. Kari is the author of Fearless Prosperity, empowering estheticians to build their empire and achieve financial freedom, and the creator of the Empire Growth System for Estheticians. Get ready for some empire building wisdom Now. Welcome your host, Kari Jo Patterson.
Kari Jo:Hello everyone and welcome back to the Esthetician Podcast. Today I am so beyond excited to introduce a guest who was literally a huge inspiration in my own entrepreneurship journey. Joining us today is Kimber Jaynes, and she is the visionary and the founder behind Borboleta Letta Beauty. It is a brand that has revolutionized the lash industry. It has premium products, but they are so committed to empowering lash artists worldwide. Kimber, she started her business from selling lash products in the trunk of her car guys and then she ended up building this international brand. Okay, we're not just talking in the United States, we're talking international brand. That is nothing short of inspiring. She has dedicated to elevating the beauty industry and fostering supportive communities, and today's episode we are going to dive into her insights on branding and discuss the evolution of borboleta and explore strategies that really helped her propel herself forward. Kimber, welcome. I'm so excited to have you here, Kari.
Kimber:this is so exciting to be on here. Thank you so much. This is kind of such a serendipitous moment because we've known each other for so long, and then to actually get to be here with you and having you in this thrive. Thank you for having me as one of your guests. I'm really excited.
Kari Jo:I'm so excited because when I was growing my company, it was at a very pivotal moment of my business, when I was just getting ready to hire people and bringing people on, I found Kimber's Instagram. I don't know what it was, but she just had the it factor. I started soaking up everything that Kimber did, so much of what you did, soaking up like everything that Kimber did, so much of what you did. I was like loved you, but it was funny because you were growing this amazing brand. I didn't even know how to grow a brand, but I just started kind of copying little things that you did. Let me give an example One of the things that you had, which I think people know nowadays, but like brand colors. So like you had like blue, the tail blue and the black and the white, and I was like, oh, that's such a good idea, I'm going to do that too. So I did white, black and gold.
Kimber:Yes, and here it is.
Announcer:Black and the gold. Look at you carry it.
Kimber:I love your book, by the way. I love like you were like such a simple thing that you extracted. And I'm the same way, Like I'm not the person that invented brand colors, but I obviously like, admire certain brands. And Tiffany blue to me was like the inspo for borboleta. I'm kind of a girly girl but for me I was like I don't know, if Tiffany's can have a blue, then I want a blue too, and blue has such a significant meaning and, yeah, I kind of you know I myself look at the brands that I love and admire and like extract certain things from them and it shows, Kari Jo, like you put it on the cover of your book, you're so like true to your brand and your colors. That's amazing.
Kari Jo:I actually didn't know that. That's why you did blue, but that's really cool Story of how why you chose to do.
Kimber:The blue is from the Tiffany's. It's funny because I'm not like especially at the time that I started borboleta, I was not a client of Tiffany's by any means, but it's just the admiration of brands that you love. And Tiffany's has been around for a century and you'd'd grow up seeing them in the magazines and have some of your favorite icons wearing their things on the red carpet. And to me, I always associated things in beauty with pink or more of the feminine-driven colors. And then, as I started to be more aware of what drew me to Tiffany's yes, I love the jewelry and I love all those things, but I was like it's actually the blue. For some reason the blue draws me into Tiffany's. And as I started to concept and think more about what my brand would be, it was very obvious like I had a connection to the color blue and I wanted that to be part of our heritage.
Kimber:And that comes up over and over like almost every podcast I've done our heritage and that comes up over and over like almost every podcast I've done any interview that I've had. Someone comments on the blue, which is so funny. So I love that. Kari Jo, I appreciate so much the recognition of like I noticed color and so I did the same thing, like that's how we create and I love the book still like an artist. It kind of insinuates what you're saying, that we get inspiration from so many things around us and then we make it true to us. And so just like I use Tiffany's as kind of like my pinnacle of branding for my colors, I love that you could look at for Boletta and say the same thing, like it gives me kind of like that Wow, did I really? Like was I able to inspire someone through that?
Kari Jo:So thank you for sharing means a lot yeah, and I gotta tell you one other thing that I totally do. I say copy or you inspired, I don't know so in your building, like your first headquarters that you made, you had that black wall that said like for Valetta and it was like shiny behind the front desk.
Kimber:Yeah, I brought that huge sign, you guys, it's like 10 feet tall acrylic and I have literally hauled that sign with me to pretty much like our new office building is just a couple blocks away. It's kind of been an ordeal, but I love it and I love that you recognize those small things. That's amazing, yeah.
Kari Jo:I do, I just like picked apart everything. So I think it was so helpful because it was just like all those tiny little things that you were doing, that's literally what built my brand. Which is why I'm so excited to have you here is because I feel like you have so much knowledge and so much inspiration for how we can help these estheticians brand themselves to building a business. That was like obviously you know the will because I followed your will, so like we can kind of teach it to these estheticians. You know, in my book I talk about how there's six phases of growing your business, and a lot of the listeners are in this survival phase of trying to build this brand, trying to get noticed, like do I give up? Do I keep going Because I'm not where I want to be yet? And so I was wondering, like what would you say is the first and most critical step in building a brand that can attract clients and set them apart from a crowded market?
Kimber:First of all, just your drive and that sounds silly to some people, but it is. It's like your ability to wake up every day when you're not in your thrive, when you're not where you want to be, when you feel like it's the world against you. You know, you hop on whatever social platform you're on and you seem to see everybody else in there thrive and you're like, oh my gosh, I have one person on my books today, or I have nobody on my books today, but I still have to go into this environment. Like it is your drive and your discipline that actually will set you apart, because I promise you, I promise you, every person that you've seen online that you admire at one point was sitting right where you are sitting and you did not know them at that point. They are not sharing that story. You are watching them as they caught their flow, as they continue to stay disciplined, as we didn't see all of the things that they went through to get to where they are. They went through that. You have to go through that too.
Kimber:Most people give up during that time because it's boring. There's always a fallback plan. You have to have something that drives you. It's your why. Why are you showing up and taking guests? Why did you choose to be in the beauty industry, Kari Jo?
Kimber:You could give us a million examples. I could tell you all my reasons why I started my business, but my why will not be your why, and you have to figure out what that is and what really drives you. It can't be money, like yes, we need money to survive, but money has never been my driving force. It shouldn't really be. Anybody's like you're going to make money doing anything. You could make money, like working anywhere, so why would the money be the driving force for you? It truly might be that you want to wake up and you want to change people's confidence.
Kimber:Whatever that is, write down your why. Just write it down, Kari Jo. We talked about this before the episode. Get out your notebooks, girlies. Okay, we're going to have a lot of things that you need to write down in this, and if you're not at a place that you can come back to this episode with a pen and paper but that's the first thing I would say to write down. If you're just feeling stuck, you don't know what you're doing, but you're like I still want to be in this industry, I'm too invested in it Well, write down why you're waking up every morning to show up and provide the service to clients.
Kari Jo:Also, I didn't learn what my why was until I really got pushed up against a wall. You know what I mean. Like I thought that, like I knew why I was starting a business, but then when I started struggling and I kept showing up, like it was like, why do I keep showing up when I, like I'm struggling? That kind of helped teach me my why. But I love that. I think it is exactly what you're saying. So, when you're first trying to build a brand and it's so easy to get overwhelmed with social media and trends and logos and aesthetics and everything like that but what would you say are some of the non-negotiables that somebody should focus on to create a strong and lasting brand similar to like what you've done?
Kimber:Again, you guys, pen to paper.
Kimber:I think so many of us creatives like we can allow so much to live in our brain because we like create in our brains, but putting your pen to paper is the first thing I would say. So write down your why and then, underneath that, like this is so simple, you guys, but write down simple goals. I want to have this many people on my books by the end of the year, or this many people. I always put a timestamp on it. Whether you want to do it by month, quarters, annually, whatever it is, it's up to you, but you have to write it down and you have to have timestamps on it. So many times people are like, well, I wrote it down, but I'm like, well, when did you tell yourself you were going to get this done? They're like I don't know, I was just going to wait. So you have to just be really disciplined with your creativity. And I think again, we're beauty people. We are more in the business of creating. We want to sit down and offer a service and see instant gratification, results and we get paid right then. But if you really want to scale a business, there are two separate things. Right, showing up and doing a service is the instant gratification part. Really growing and scaling a business to sustainability is the long game.
Kimber:I have been doing borboleta now for 11 years. I've had so many people over the years that will make comments like don't you just feel like you've made it? I'm like no, nobody would know what making it to me really means. Like I wrote these goals down and I know I do not think I've made it at all. In fact, like I have lofty goals that I'm studying and I'm working towards. But I'm showing up every single day with discipline, and so that's the first thing I would say what's's your why? And then, right underneath that, just what are your goals? And I promise you there's scientific data. When you write it down and you look at it every single day, it actually tells your brain that you're going to do it and you start to actually do the action.
Kimber:And so you can't just do this for five days and be like, well, nothing. Like literally. You guys, this is something like my first year of borboleta. I like literally, I think that I did less than $10,000 in sales. That's nothing. And when you're trying to like buy inventory and you're looking at like can I ever afford an office space and like all these things like. But I didn't give up because I was like I have a little bit of momentum, I have goals and I'm going to figure it out. But you have to really be disciplined. And I think so many people miss that step Because, again, we follow our favorite influencers and we see them and their thrive.
Kimber:They're at this event, they're buying this or oh my gosh, they're here, they're traveling, they're doing it like they're living the life that you want to be living, but you don't know what they had to go through to get that. You're just following them again in their thrive. So just remember, like nobody's posting their failures, it doesn't matter, there's no timestamp on your success. Like we have this sense of FOMO, like, oh my gosh, I'm going to miss out if I'm not, you know, doing all the things that my favorite influencer is doing, like just pave your own trail, put your head down, be disciplined and figure out what it is that you really want and start working towards it and then have truly like non negotiables, like I'm not giving up until I get here. When you put your mind in that type of focus, the world around you changes. I promise you it does.
Kari Jo:Yeah, and that's so funny. You talk about like following your, your influencers because I choose my audience with this on my Instagram account, they told them the story of when we first met Guys. To take you back, like I said, I was following Kimber on everything. Like I was like, what outfits are she wearing today? You know what I mean. Like I wanted to know everything about her brand. Who, like, is her employees?
Kimber:Like I was like following everything then I promise I'm not crazy, no, I'm like. So I love it.
Kari Jo:It's amazing you had that success it factor and I think I really wanted it and I saw it in you and I wanted that too. And so I sent Kimber a message, because I'm crazy like this and I just figure whatever. And I was like, hey, if I fly to Utah, will you meet me for lunch? And she was like sure, and so I flew to Utah. Guys, this is the thing is I was so dumb I didn't realize I probably should have had a reason to meet Kimber. I probably should have.
Kimber:Oh, Kari Jo, you get what you want, you go after it. This is amazing. I love this. I've done this before, where I'm like I don't have a plan, but I just know that I like need to be there and like you have to break down those walls because no one's going to do that for you anyway. Don't embarrassed, no, I love it.
Kari Jo:So I was like, I went to lunch, I met with you and I want to know, because I was like, were you wondering? Like, why does? Like? Because I feel like I didn't have anything good to say to you, that's not true. And celebrity shock because you were like my inspiration, and so my question is when these girls, when we meet someone that we really want to build a relationship with, do you have a suggestion for like, how can we make a good first impression? Because I'm sure I'm not the only one that has been like I need to meet Kimber.
Kimber:Kari Jo, I would always say, like if there is something in you that's like I have to meet this or I have to be at this thing, like you're going to find a way to do it if your will is strong. And so no, first of all, I loved our conversation. I value these relationships so much. Like I look at myself as I have been a service provider, I have built my own clienteles, I have been in debt, like I'm such a normal girly and so when you say things like I can't believe you met with me. We share the same interests, we share the same industry. I have a lot of discipline and I sat down and I figured out a way to make a dream come true and that was to get a brand off the ground and to get into international doors and all these things. But I am just a normal girl that went to hair school, that has done all the weird things that you do to try to figure out, like, who you are, and you know all the fails and all the ups and downs, and so I think that's one thing that I would say is like, remember that, like these people that you might look up to or think that, like I don't know most of the time up to, or think that, like I don't know most of the time, they think very similar to like no, I've been where you are. Like I have the formula and I want to share it. Or like I love and care so much about my industry and like what an amazing blessing it is that you know somebody wants to fly in and talk to me. Like having that drive in you and making a connection, like I DM people that I really look up to and sometimes I hear back from them. A lot of times I don't, but it doesn't stop me from sending a message and saying, like hey, I heard you on that podcast and I just want to tell you, like thank you for what you said, and that's the first thing I would say is like sometimes and I've done this too, so I'm sharing this as, like my own advice and Kari Jo, you are amazing. Like every approach, like you're driving you, your will, like that's why you are successful is because you're like hey, I am going to reach out to this person because I do want to make a connection and I feel like there's something here that like is going to help me get to my next level. There's nothing weird about that. And again, remember, like these people that we look up to, they've done the same thing. So I feel like you know, do your research.
Kimber:I think a lot of times and again, this is where I say I've done this too but a lot of times we think, oh, I follow them on Instagram every day, like, but really like, understand again, like your intention, why do you want to meet this person? And I remember us meeting and everything like as much as, like you might think, Kari Jo, like you were sitting there like fangirling, I did not feel that way at all. Like I remember, like thinking, like you had so much drive in you and I was like she's gonna do a lot. People that mentor other people have that same drive within themselves, like they want to see other people in their industry succeed. We don't view it as this competitive nature. We view it as like, if I'm thriving, other people should be thriving too. It's kind of like this magnetic approach and so I think, if you go in with a strong intention of like hey, I really admire what you've done, thank you so much for meeting with me and I'm so excited to make this connection. But again, even if you are meeting with this, you know who you deem to be a celebrity like.
Kimber:Still, looking at them like we're just people. I don't need celebrity praise and I think that that's where, especially like I'm talking in our our little lash segment, I think it's gotten away from us over the last few years like you'll go to a conference, conference and there's literally like lines to meet somebody. I think that that's cool. But I also think like we're not acknowledging just like they are us you know we are them and like there's a little bit of this celebrity haze. And so my best advice is just to realize like we all have been in the same places and we all have somewhat of the same drive and that is to just be acknowledged and to create something that other people want to be a part of.
Kimber:And so I think, when you're meeting these people, that you really look up to just go in with like what do you want to learn from them? And just that's okay. Like I'm excited to share my knowledge you can tell I'm a yapper like I'll talk for days because I love to share kind of what sits in my brain, and it's such an honor when someone does reach out to you and they do want to spend that time with you and so, as much as you think, like you know, somebody in your industry is no more of a celebrity than you can be, and Instagram followers or TikTok views or all these things become a little bit polarizing. But, essentially, like they just got up and they did the work that you can do too, and if you're there with them, ask them questions, thank them for their time, make meaningful connections and continue to carry on and meet other people that you deem to have, something that you also want. But everything that you did carry, like I don't know, I found it to be, more than anything, a great connection.
Kimber:And now you have a book that is so inspiring and so amazing, and I love to see that like your trajectory has been so incredible. And so, again, like these mentors, these people, like we want to share our knowledge, and I think you have to. And so, again, like these mentors, these people like we want to share our knowledge, and I think you have to remember that, like it kind of brings us back to a nostalgic place to have, like, oh my gosh, yeah, I remember what that was like, and like that is a hard time to be in, but also like that's the time that you lay down your roots and you figure yourself out the most and you make the most most mistakes and you also have the most growth, and it's exciting and so understanding that your mentors are so much. They're just as much like you are like more than we realize, and we're here to learn from each other. And so we say this thing like fangirling. There is a thing right and like.
Kimber:I have been in situations where and you are not like this at all, Kari Jo but the one thing I would say, like people do need to be careful of, is when you are meeting someone that you love and admire so much, it's great to acknowledge that and be like thank you so much, this is really cool. Like you are someone that I really look up to. You don't have to give them more clout. I guess, like because, again, like, we're all humans, we're all the same, and I do I see this a lot.
Kimber:Or like even at times maybe this has happened on a small scale with me where I'm like wow, this person really thinks that I do no wrong, but I'm actually just a regular girly, I'm just a human and I do so many things wrong and so it's okay to have people on a pedestal right, like those who work really hard, like we recognize them, but also acknowledging like this person's not perfect, they make mistakes too and it kind of like humanizes us and just allows us to have like a real conversation and bring down the walls, like I don't think I'm better than anybody.
Kimber:I think that everybody's out there working really hard to try to make it for themselves. But I think the moments where we do connect are the moments that we actually get to have the real human conversations. But if you're so busy, like oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm meeting them, or like this is so crazy, or you're like overly love bombing, it's like comes to the point where you're like let's just connect like we're two human beings instead of like you know, does that make sense?
Kari Jo:It really does. I agree with that. One thing I will say is I think you're the most down to earth person, so it's really easy to connect with you on just like a professional level, which is really great. And I do think, like what you were saying about mistakes, I always say, like success, like the people that are successful, they're just standing on a big hill of all their mistakes. They have made way more mistakes than anyone else. That's it. That's all they're doing.
Kimber:I mean, I'm just carrying the wisest words. You're absolutely correct. Not everybody wants to share those mistakes and I understand, you know, like it's embarrassing and all. But you're totally right, nobody, nobody, got anywhere by being perfect. Part of learning is making the mistakes. And like it's the input, output, getting the data, and like, oh, this is what works, this is what doesn't you know.
Kimber:I see this so much with my five year old. It's actually fascinating how similar I'm like her development is like my adult development in ways, because I'm like, no, don't touch that. And then she does and she gets hurt. And then she's like, oh, I won't do that again. But I'm like how many times have I had somebody that's like, no, kim, don't do that. But I'm like I'm gonna do it anyway. And then I'm like, oh, my gosh, I got burned. And so, yeah, just realizing like you're totally right, the person who you admire, who you think has it all, who's doing all of these cool and fun things yes, they have made mistakes and they're making mistakes every single day, but they are also getting through them really fast. I think that's.
Kimber:Another thing is like we don't get stuck on our mistakes. You learn to just kind of giggle about the embarrassing, like truly, there are some things that I've done that are so cringy and so humiliating that I honestly wish that I could go back in a race, but I can't. And so I giggle about them now and I even bring them up to people that I love. And, like my husband, I'll be like remember when I said this or I did this, like it's very therapeutic and I would not do this like with the most cringy things. I therapeutic and I would not do this like with the most cringy things. I, you know, keep those pretty close to the best, but with my husband, we just sit there and he's like oh my gosh, kim, like, but it is. It's like freeing to acknowledge, like, yes, I've done these cringy things. I laugh about them and I move on, but like I don't sit there and train my brain to like go back, cause I can't do anything about it. What's done is done, and I'm like well, what did I learn from that? Don't act that way again, you know. So I think like, take these moments instead. Like I think people look back at their cringy selves and they're so cringe by it that they're like delete, start over. I'm not that person. Reinvent that, like whatever that is, and I'm like no, the people that make it acknowledge and they're like, what are we never doing again? But what are we going to at least like laugh about, Because humor is the great equalizer.
Kimber:I always say that and like, if you can't get over something, find a way to laugh about it, no matter how dark or whatever it is in your life.
Kimber:Like we've been through some really hard things in our family and like we have found like being able to giggle about them is the most therapeutic way to get through them, and so I encourage you like you've had a huge outburst, you know, like I'm trying to think of the most humiliating thing that can happen as a service provider like, whatever it is, look at it and find the humor in it and then just like find a way to not fixate on it anymore and move on, even if that was like you getting fired yes, I have been fired before from like. Like I got fired as a waitress. How humiliating is that. But I look back now and I giggle about it because I'm like well, I was on my phone texting instead of like getting people their food and that's funny to me and like anybody that knows me knows that like the biggest distraction in my life is my phone, and so I always look back at that and I'm like Kim, you've already been fired once for this, like focus, you know.
Kari Jo:So anyway, fun humor and things, yeah well speaking of phones and I don't know, even like being someone you know that influences people, when I was following you, you were, I don't know, at the forefront, like I saw you. Every day you were posting, it was just like you were there all the time and then all of a sudden, I feel like you went MIA, you like disappeared. You kind of are more randomly posting, and so I guess my question is is like what happened? And or is it like you've reached the level of success that you want and now you're like I'm going to sit back and chill? I don't know.
Kimber:I wish, oh, no, I don't wish. Yes, you're absolutely right Like a full Rolodex of stories on my feet every single day. You could expect, you know, a post from me every day with something monumental that was happening in my life or my business, and there's so many things that happened that led me to my more cocoon phase. For those of you who don't know, the name of my brand is Borboleta. Borboleta means butterfly in Portuguese and it has so much symbolic meaning to me because I have had times in my career of owning borboleta that I've been a butterfly and I've been present and fluttering around and you know, doing all like the dainty things and it just looks like you're like living your best life. And you know, right now, the past couple of years, I've been back in my cocoon and what happens in the cocoon is actually what makes the flutter happen. You know, for lack of a better term, a little cheesy, but I love this. And so, yeah, I've just been in my cocoon and what have I been doing in there? I've been growing. I reached this point in borboleta that I could have kept going as a lash influencer. I could have kept posting. I love showing up for the community and that's honestly what I've missed the most.
Kimber:But I had a couple of personal things happen that really put me into a crossroads and those personal things were a culmination it was, you know, not being present was one. I just wasn't healthy, you know, like I had reached a point where it felt like my life was just constantly I had to be on a flight, I had to be speaking on stage, like all of these things that just felt like they weren't sustainable to me. And I had become a mom. You know, my husband and I had our beautiful little Scotty K, and three weeks after we had her she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which, for those of you who are not familiar with it, it's a very rare genetic lung disease. So her lungs, you know, they build up like a big sticky mucus on them and it required two therapies a day and put me into a world that a medical world. I just, emotionally, was not there.
Kimber:And then, on top of it, I was putting myself in social situations where I was just my go to, was becoming like, oh my gosh, I got to get to a social situation so I can have a drink. That just became my vice and being a party girl and kind of being everywhere and having that sense of like you're busy and people want to be around you and you look a certain way all the time your hair and your makeup and this, having that sense of like you're busy and people want to be around you and you look a certain way all the time your hair and your makeup and this and that. But, like, when I like, really like, looked and checked in, I just felt like I was so off balance and I felt like my brand was getting away from me and I was bringing people into the brand that maybe weren't fully aligned with me and my vision and I wasn't making really good choices and the people that had stood by me for years and had really helped me build borboleta. I wasn't being grateful and appreciative and I was kind of growing this inflated ego of like I did this, and so I needed a really good wake up call. There were so many things going on in my life that were just off balance and really it happened at the end of 2022, where I officially was like I don't need to be posting on Instagram every day if I don't have something that I want to share, and it's okay, and I really had to kind of evaluate what our community was like at borboleta. I needed to go through and evaluate who was at the company, who was running it with me, and really have kind of this cleansing.
Kimber:And it was hard. It's never easy and I don't want to tell anybody like how to perfectly like rewire or do a reset in their life, but the way I chose to do it was just it was pretty like on and off. Like one day I had, you know, a full company, a full marketing team, a full executive team. The next day it was like, okay, I'm starting over here and I'm going to go back into I really want to see what I can make this brand with people that align with me. And it's going to take a lot of work and I need to get myself healthy. And it was a huge decision to make because, basically, I could see the writing on the wall. It's like I can keep doing this, I can keep showing up on social, being a song, being a dance, but like that's not why I started a business. I didn't start a business to be an influencer or to like monetize on the clothes that I'm wearing or anything like that. I truly started a business without a social media.
Kimber:I started because I care so deeply about the beauty industry. I care so much about connecting with clients. I learned so much from my clients and it got away from me the why, the purpose. It became like all of these people coming in who are super talented, but just people that I didn't align with. I didn't know how to work with them. They didn't know how to work with me and just put me in this situation of I wasn't emotionally mature and I needed to learn a lot, and so I went into my cocoon At the end of 2022, I said goodbye to a lot of people that I loved and had really helped build a lot at borboleta and they moved on too and I went back to the drawing board and, luckily, was able to bring back in some amazing partners and people that had kind of gone and they were sitting on the board of borboleta. I was like, please, let's like come back and let's really do the day to day and we set some really focused goals. I set some focused goals In full transparency.
Kimber:I went to rehab, which was incredible, not afraid to share that, but how I share that and when I share that on social, it's not a flippant thing. It's like that was a really serious decision. No one forced me to go there. No one even told me to go there. I went to my husband on my own and I just said, look like I want to do this, but I want to do it the right way. I want to get sober and I want to find out what my triggers are and go through therapy and understand, like, why I had these emotional outbursts or all these things that I did. And it was so healing. My husband and I, we moved to Puerto Rico for six months and I got to do a lot of deep healing there. We have family that lives over there, so I just went on a journey.
Kimber:I went on a healing journey, but while in tandem, still being in the day-to-day of the business, maybe not looking like I was in the business, but I was still actively looking at everything. I knew everything that was going on and I was back to building from the ground up, essentially right, like we were building not necessarily the ground up, but kind of like after everything had changed and shifted at the end of 2022,. It was really like looking at and extracting, like, okay, this is what got away from us and this is how we get back on track. So imagine, like a train wreck, you know of all these things that I had done, or things that I had neglected, or you know things that get away from you in a business, and then deciding like, do we salvage this and do we just like, go on to something new?
Kimber:And for me, I was so deeply invested I love Borboleta a lot, I love the industry so much that I was like, no, it's going to take some time, but I'm going to go into my cocoon, I'm going to figure this out and I'm going to do the real work. And first things first, I have to get myself healthy. You cannot operate and grow if you are not healthy. People do, but it shows up somewhere and I think when I started borboleta, if I would have had this mindset back then. If shows up somewhere, and I think when I started borboleta, if I would have had this mindset back then, if I would have been like, okay, yes, you're going to start a business, but you're going to be in therapy and you're going to take all these business courses and you're going to have all these mentors, like all the things that I'm doing now. I wish that I had the ability to do it in the beginning and part of it was just you're running so fast you feel like a chicken with your head put off. You're like I don't even know what fire to put out first, and that's what happens when you want a business.
Kimber:But it doesn't feel a lot different today. I'm juggling more today than I ever was in the beginning, but I'm actually taking time and prioritizing myself, and not just my mental health. We throw around mental health. Everyone's like take care of your mental health. It's so much more than that. It's like being disciplined and doing what you say you're going to do.
Kimber:It's you know, after going through something where a lot of people look at me and they're like Kim's so emotional, or she's a disaster, or she's this and she's that, and saying like that's okay. These people might think that of me forever because they worked next to me, they work so closely, like they know so much more than the Instagram, kim, that's okay. I also know the version of myself that I'm building right now that they will never know, and I think that we get so paralyzed of like this person doesn't like me or this person seen me at my worst and they've weaponized it. And now that I'm on trying to get back on track, like they're just going to talk whatever about me, like that's okay, that's gonna happen, it's gonna happen whether you show up or you don't. So I tell people this all the time. It's easier said than done, like, pick yourself up, find out what you need to make yourself healthy and have the discipline to do it and have enough humility to share with people that you're not perfect. And that's been kind of the journey and so, yeah, now we're coming into 2025. And I'm ready.
Kimber:I've been working towards coming back and being present, but I want to be a different type of presence and that's been part of the work that I've done. It's like that was a fun phase. It was so fun to be an Instagram influencer until it wasn't. I realize now, like what I liked about it was the sense of community and these relationships, like meeting you, Kari Jo. I never would have met you had I not like put myself out there and, you know, been this figure for borboleta.
Kimber:But now I want to actually build something that's sustainable, that isn't just about me and where I'm traveling, what I'm doing, but so much more than that. It's like what are we doing as a collective beauty industry, as beauty pros, to help each other. Not through bragging, not through like, oh my gosh, I got so successful that I could buy x, y and z. Like that stuff is so great, right, and it's motivating, but it's not sustainable. It's not what actually makes you and I know we hear this, but truly having lived that like what makes me the most happy and what always has made me the most happy is being disciplined and doing what I say I'm going to do. And when I look at my goals every single day, saying like these are the three most important things and this is what I'm working towards and staying on track.
Kimber:It's not always glamorous and I'm excited to share that because I think that's what people are starved for. Like we see enough of the glitz and the glam and the parties and this and that, and then when you actually go to it, you're like this is what it is like it's great. It's just like it's not like the ticket to happiness. The ticket to happiness truly is like kind of in the grunt work, you know. It's like what I'm doing right now. It's like I wake up at the same time every day. I have my whole morning routine. That is so sacred to me, and then I actually sit down and I work, and what we're doing at Borboleta Letta right now is so exciting and it's finally starting to show from, you know, like 2023 and 2024 being extremely quiet.
Kimber:That's where the work has actually been put in. Now, coming in 2025, I get to share that story and it's going to look really different on social than what it's looked like before. But that's what I'm most excited about is getting to show people like you can be in phases right. It can ebb and flow. You don't have to be on social every single day to be loved and accepted, but you do have to figure out what you really want as a person and acknowledge like you can lose yourself in this journey, lose yourself really quick, and the way that you won't is by knowing yourself. And to know yourself, you have to be very disciplined and very self aware, and that takes a lot of work, and I'm still doing the work and I will do it forever.
Kari Jo:Yeah, no, I love that. Thank you so much. Well, one that is so personal and so real. I like, honestly, when you're talking like part of it gave me chills, to be honest, and I'm so grateful that you were willing to share that story with me, because I, too, went through something very similar and I always say, I think success like there's like this photo and I see it and it's like monopoly and it's like you know, there's a price for success and I think there is a price for success and what are you going to give up and who are you going to become in that? And I think it is so important to.
Kari Jo:I love that like you were able to redirect your own life For me, like I had to have my business fall flat on its face, to be like who am I Like? And really see who stuck with me when I was at my lowest, and I think you are so humble and I think you've become like this amazing person. So what I want to know is going into 2025. What is the goal for Kimber Jaynes? Like? Who is she going to be in this 2025? What is your vision for yourself?
Kimber:Oh my gosh, so excited for this because it really goes in tandem with what we're building at borboleta. One of the goals that I have written down for this year is to build a sustainable community. We built communities at borboleta.
Kari Jo:So, that is why you guys are so good at, because I am learning culture not only for me, but I learned culture from your company as well, so I love this.
Kimber:Kari Jo, and I love that you learn culture from us, because we learn culture, too from us. I'm like we actually that. Now we feel like we understand it. But for a long time I was the culture problem at borboleta and now I'm like have done a lot of work and have enough self-awareness to realize, like, don't do that, that is toxic. So, yes, we are building a sustainable community. That is what I am in charge of at the brand. That's what I'm super passionate about. We have some amazing.
Kimber:So over the last couple of years, not only have I been able to do a lot of rewiring my brain and getting healthy and figuring out who I am as a person, I've also been able to do the same thing with borboleta. So I feel like at the time that, like borboleta, everybody was looking at it and they're like, oh my gosh, this company, it's so cool, it's so fun, it's so this, so that, right. And like the founders everywhere, like that's fun, that was high school, like that was the era the borboleta was in high school, right, and like I was just loving my prom queen life and doing all those things. But as I've been in my cocoon, I realized like this is Borboleta time, like she's going to college, she is getting her MBA and she's figuring out her life. And what does a girly do when she goes to college? She kind of disappears a little bit and she becomes a new version of herself and she makes mistakes and she has fun and she's like kind of left high school and she takes some of those toxic things in with her and she has to learn for herself like how to fit in. And so over the last few years Borboleta and Kim Jaynes have been going to school and we have been learning. But you know it sounds really not cool, not sexy, but my gosh hasn't been like the sexiest side of my life, like it has been actually so fun and I'm a little bit sad to be kind of now leading this phase and going into the next one. But that's what you can expect from Borboleta Everything that we've learned over the last two years, all of the business acumen, all of the things that we have studied and researched and really tried to understand about our industry and the lash artist.
Kimber:We are excited to come out and really start to share so that the next generation of lash artists and pros can have real sustainability. So a couple of things with that. Like I mentioned, the community. We have built communities and I love oh my gosh, I love a community Like do I go as far as saying like, sometimes communities can be a little culty, like I can get into it for sure. So I feel like that's kind of this next phase.
Kimber:But we're not just building a community of lash artists, and I think this is where it gets really interesting. We have spent a lot of time studying the lash artists. That's like what we show up for I my gosh, I am a lash artist. That's like what we show up for I my gosh, I am a lash artist. That's how I started. But we also are building a community that brings the lash artist and brings the consumer, their potential client, into the same community with each other. And it's actually fascinating because if I look over all of the beauty communities that exist whether it's a summer Fridays community or it's another lash brand community or it's, you know, olaplex or whatever, it is right it's pros or it's consumers there's not necessarily a community where the two coexist.
Kimber:And I think this has been really interesting because for Valetta, we brought in, you know, we started a consumer side of the brand. You know, over the pandemic in 2020,. We launched a lash serum. We launched a full lash care line to the consumers, because we realized that we have all these lash artists and all these consumers, that this is a new service. And all of a sudden they were like, well, how do I care for my lashes? And that became a big gap in the industry and Borboleta filled it.
Kimber:We were the first brand to really come out with a signature lash bath. You know we've trademarked the name lash bath. We are literally the lash obsessed. We know everything about your lashes and we want to bring the two communities together. Instead of like no, you're a consumer, Like we're not gatekeeping anything, we want them to coexist with each other because we want them to learn from each other. So I have last year, I started kind of like slowly building up this community, kind of putting it together, and we have about 1600 members right now as part of our community and I am building that actively every single day, and I am doing it by really getting in and talking to the lash artist and talking to the consumer and understanding what is important to both of them and then bringing them into a place where they can talk to each other, where a consumer can come in and say, oh my gosh, there's a lash artist. Part of the Borboleta community, obviously right.
Kimber:Like can you tell me? Like this about me and it's so fun to see the conversations happening on our Facebook page of like someone's like oh my gosh, you're a lash artist and you're in Oregon and I live in, you know, all the way on the East Coast Can I pick your brain? Can you tell me about this? And like watching our community come together, instead of just like being on a forum just for lash artists where all you hear is like what adhesive are you using? Or my retention is bad, or like what lash girls it? It's like this is actually a community where people come in and we have real conversations and a client you know a consumer part will come in and they'll say, hey guys, I just thought my lash is done. Did these look correct? And then you have all of our lash artists that are like oh my gosh, yes, they look awesome. Did she give you lash care? Did you? Like the stories carry are so awesome and that's what I'm really excited about. So you that. And then also you're the first person I'm telling this.
Kari Jo:Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
Kimber:We are launching in Cosmoprof. I know, oh my gosh, that is so huge.
Kari Jo:Oh my gosh, I'm so impressed. Congratulations. This is great. That'll be so great. There were times that I really needed to like you're like reminiscing on the times you're're like that time that I dropped my tweezer.
Kimber:I really could have used this. Yeah, when I ran out of my adhesive, yes, wow, that is. That's a game changer. So if I look back over our you know university years as we are know, stepping in to a real Borboleta business, if you will we learned and I learned, you know, we brought in amazing experts to the brand that have really been able to drive these types of conversations and to close these types of deals. So I by no means I'm the person that's like getting the deal done, but I am fortunate enough to be sitting at those tables and learning from the experts, and that's what I mean by like I've been in college. It's almost been like a project where, like you're sitting there with your professor I didn't go to college, but I'm assuming you know like I'm sitting there with my professor and I'm part of the group and like we've had this task to go in and, you know, get this deal done. And I just watched my team around me and I felt so fortunate as I listened to the conversations and as I watched how fascinating and intricate it is to get a deal done like that. We're opening in 1500 stores across the US.
Kimber:I have never done anything like this before and it was so cool to just be like, oh my gosh, I went to beauty school and I get to be part of game changing beauty industry, changing conversations. It's just like amazing. But I really I put my head down for two years I was really quiet and I had to close a chapter. That was really fun. But also look at it and say like, is that really who you want to be forever? Are these the patterns you want to continue? On the outside it looks like why would you ever close that chapter?
Kimber:But when you really look at what you're doing and the work that you're putting in and the people that you're surrounded with. You have to be accountable for how that feels. Social media is polarizing and as you become recognized or known, in whatever capacity that is, sometimes you choose that. You choose that dopamine hit, that instant gratification of like well, I'd rather put all my time into posting and getting my community to love me and adore me and then really on the inside, a lot of times, these public figures or these influencers or whatever they are that we admire are not really doing the work. They're just, you know, a facade showing up sometimes just to get the recognition.
Kimber:And I want to change the way that the world views professional lashes. I want to change the way the service provider in beauty interacts with their guests. I truly want to see lash extensions become a red carpet phenomenon and I want to see brands like Sephora and all of these you know amazing beauty companies that we love and admire start to recognize lash extensions. And the only way that that is going to happen is by putting our head down and really figuring out what connects these worlds, and nobody's been able to do that yet. I've been caught up in my own distractions, but I'm really happy to be so focused on solving this problem. That's why Borboleta exists today is to really help the consumers and the lash artists understand each other and to make lashes, lash extensions, obtainable, sustainable and Borboleta household name, oh my gosh.
Kari Jo:Well, I love it. You are definitely a trailblazer in this industry and I can't wait to see this unfold. And I'm so excited All my listeners are going to watch this unfold too, because I know it's going to be really big just because everything that you guys do is just on point and you guys have really nailed down so much and evolved and that's what business is, and so I just want to say thank you so much for coming on and I appreciate you sharing the story, sharing the big news on my podcast. Like I can't feel any more special.
Kimber:I just look back at the trajectory of our relationship. How many years ago, what year did we meet?
Kari Jo:What was it? Was it 2000? You know, I actually actually have. I snapped it because I'm making a reel today. I think that was 2018.
Kimber:Was it or 2017. Oh, it's 2017. I love the beauty industry because of these connections. We met seven, eight years ago. You've written a book. You have a podcast. I am so fortunate to get to have this conversation with you and I'm excited. I'm just happy that we have people like you in the beauty industry. I say that with so much admiration, because there's not a lot of people that want to be vulnerable or want to share the failures or even say things like how do you reach out to a mentor, right? But here you are, blazing this amazing trail and I feel so fortunate to just know you and adore you and have your book on my shelf. Like it's so cool. So congratulations, Kari Jo. Like doing what you're doing, I think the community and audience that you built is phenomenal and, honestly, the way you show up for them is that's your character and that's really what community is like. If you lead a community, it's how you show up and you do a phenomenal job at that. So thank you for having me part of this, thanks.
Kari Jo:Kimber, and you guys need to follow her.
Kimber:And you can expect a lot more posting from me this year. I'm excited for that. Bye, guys.
Announcer:Bye. Thank you for listening to the esthetician podcast with Kari Jo Jo Patterson. Each week, Kari Jo brings you real world lessons on how to grow your empire. To learn more about Kari Jo fearless prosperity mastermind group, one-on-one VIP coaching opportunities and more Visit Kari Jo. That's wwwcarrijopattersoncom. See you next week for more insights and strategies on the Esthetician Podcast.