Episode 23: Starting Small, Thinking Big: How Nicole York Built a Thriving Beauty Studio

From One Room to Rural Business Owner of the Year | Nicole York | Small Business Success Stories. 

What does it take to turn a personal struggle into a thriving business? Nicole York did exactly that — and her story will inspire you to bet on yourself. In this episode of Small Business Success Stories, hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Ricken — Certified SCORE Mentor and advocate for entrepreneurs across Houston and beyond — we sit down with Nicole York, founder of Desert Rose Beauty & Wellness in Lake Jackson, Texas.

Nicole's journey began at age 12, battling cystic acne that no makeup could hide. By 16 she was working as a receptionist at a local salon, learning the industry from the ground up. Years later, she launched her own esthetics studio in a single room in 2019 — with no sign, no ad budget, and no outside funding. Then COVID hit.

Rather than giving up, Nicole pivoted — becoming a brows and lashes specialist and building a 2-month waitlist through Instagram, word-of-mouth, and one simple philosophy: make every client feel truly seen. By 2022 she had expanded to a full-service studio with a team of estheticians and was named the Houston District Rural Business Owner of the Year by SBA.

In this episode you'll learn: ✅ How to start a business with no outside funding ✅ How to grow organically through social media & word-of-mouth ✅ How to pivot your business during a crisis ✅ Why authenticity is your biggest competitive advantage ✅ How free SCORE mentorship helped shape Nicole's path

Give your comments at https://scorehoustonpodcast.blogspot.com or write to pv.bala@scorevolunteer.org. Let us know what you like of this episode and suggest subjects on which you wish to know more. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, and welcome to Small Business Success Stories at Score Houston. This is where we bring insights, experiences, and the journey of successful small business entrepreneurs. Score Mentors volunteer their time to guide small businesses. SCORE is America's largest network of volunteer business mentors supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Here in Houston, we provide free confidential mentoring and education to help entrepreneurs start, grow, and succeed. Now let's dive into today's small business success story. Welcome. Today's DS is proof that starting small does not mean thinking small. Nicole York is the founder of Desert Rose Beauty and Wellness in Lake Jackson, Texas, a business she launched in a single room in 2019 and grew into a thriving full-service studio by 2022. A licensed aesthetician with over 15 years in the industry, Nicole has built her business on a deeply personal mission and a holistic approach to beauty and wellness. She's the recipient of the Houston District Rural Business Owner of the Year Award, and her story is one of preparation, perseverance, and purposeful growth. Nicole, welcome to the show. We're going to talk about SCORE. I am Dr. Jeff Ricken, a certified SCORE mentor, and SCORE is available to those of you who are starting or expanding a business. Nicole, tell us a little bit about your Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Well, I'm excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Golly, so my story starts when I was 16, going on 17. Well, actually, I guess I could say it starts even earlier than that because I started dealing with acne when I was 12. And it was that kind of acne that was cystic and it was all over my face. It hurt. It was the kind of acne you just you can't even hide with makeup. In fact, I remember kids would make fun of me for wearing so much makeup, and they were like, I can just touch your face, and I and your makeup just comes off. And I'm like, oh my gosh, this is awful. That was that was high school. Actually, it was awful. But I do remember before high school, my grandmother actually started taking me to see an esthetician. And that's kind of where my skincare journey began. And I want to say I was actually, I think it was right when I started getting acne around 12. I started seeing an esthetician very, very young. And I remember in middle school, I started getting chemical peels of all things, like this young, this young, you know, I don't know, I was like 13 maybe when I started getting chemical peels and I would go to school with my face sloughing off. It was quite interesting. But man, yeah, my journey started when I was that young and I had no idea this was going to be the path that I was gonna take, actually. But you know, they say that you help people with the wounds that you've personally overcome, and you have a voice in that. And because you've overcome something, you're able to help people with that. But it took me a really long time to realize that. However, you know, started seeing an esthetician when I was young and then got to high school and I was looking for my first job. I had my car, but I had to pay for gas. I wasn't gonna be able to get anywhere if I didn't have the money to fuel it up, you know? And so there was actually at the time I worked on the school newspaper, and we had to go around town and find different businesses to, you know, have a have an ad in our paper. And one of the places that I had gone to was Ginger Salon and Spa. And I kind of already knew the ladies a little bit from that, but I remember walking in asking about the ad for the newspaper, and then I was like, Hey, are you guys hiring? And sure enough, sure enough, they they hired me. They were like, Yeah, we could use a receptionist. I'm like, okay, cool.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

So you got your first job?

SPEAKER_00 4:11

I did. I got my first job. I went there after school, I think from like four to six every day after school. And I was what 16 going on 17 at the time. I think it was, I was going on 17 that month, I believe. But yeah, I started there and I stayed there through high school and then, you know, graduated high school. And I was like, I want to go off and you know, do all the things, you know. And so I decided to move. I actually moved up to a college station area. And, you know, I thought that's kind of the direction I wanted to go. But none of my friends moved. All of my friends stayed down here. And of course, my family was was down here where I'm at, which is, you know, south of Houston. And I found myself driving back every single weekend. And finally I was like, you know what? I was like, this is not for me. I'm I'm gonna come back home and I'll I'll you know, do community college there and then I'll go to the University of Houston. You know, that was my that was my plan. And came back down here and I went back to my same position as a receptionist at Ginger's. And I I truly I loved it so much. We had aestheticians, we had massage therapists, we had hairstylists, and I just learned all the ins and outs of all the things. And then I eventually became a manager there while I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. And let me tell you, I changed my major maybe like five times, possibly. I think I changed it so much they told me I couldn't change it anymore.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Yeah, I think there's a limit, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 5:39

There is, yeah, yeah. I think I wanted to be a teacher, then I wanted to be a nurse, and then I wanted to be a vet tech. And then my last degree that I was actually working on was public relations and marketing. That's what I was working on. I was going to U of H. And funny enough, I was actually, I was still working at Gingers and I was introduced to score in the SBA down here through them. And I actually got to work with somebody to help build the SPAS website and help with marketing. And I got to go to, you know, some of the free courses that they offered. And it was really cool because I got to be immersed in all of this information, all this business information, and it was totally free of charge for us. And it was just an incredible resource.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

That's how I got it.org, and you found a proper specialist who could help you for free of charge. So that was a good idea, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

Yes. And now I tell everybody about it because I mean, it's just an incredible resource. There's so much, I mean, they help with like legal things and all the things from starting from the ground up, they help with. But at the time, I think we were we were getting help for like our website and things like that, and maybe like our client journey. And I think that's what we were getting help with at the time. And so that's kind of how I was introduced to it. And, you know, years kept kind of going by. And I don't think it was till maybe I was like 25, maybe, that I had my boyfriend at the time, who's now my husband, he was like, You should become an esthetician, you know, because you you, you know, have been through all of this with your skin and you're already in the industry. And what's funny is that my whole family told me I should be an esthetician my whole life, of course. But I don't listen to them. I listen to the phone. No, who listens to the parents? I mean, come on. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

So how did you handle funding? Was score people help helpful for getting you funding? Because you must have had school dads.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

So so I I'm trying to think back. I think at that time, I think I got some loans for school. I also won a scholarship for my esthetician funding, funny enough. I think I had to write a I had to write some sort of paper, I believe, for this scholarship through my aesthetic school. And I and I won a scholarship through them. And I believe my story was, you know, just about what I'm telling you now about my acne and how it started and where I was. And so I was very grateful for that. I actually hadn't gotten back with score quite yet. And, you know, I went through school, and whenever I graduated is whenever I met with them again, because I already had the connections. And actually, Jennifer Finney is my main connection. She's the one that actually helped with marketing. And now I believe she's the one of the directors down here at the Brazos Sport College. And I reached out to her and I was like, you know, I really I have been with this company for so long and it helped me so much along the way. And I have so much appreciation for them. But I've also been here for so long. And I kind of want to go out on my own and kind of make my own mark in the world. And that truly is how it feels as an entrepreneur. You're like, I want to make my my mark in the world, in the community. You know, it feels like this just all-encompassing thing. So I had reached out to her and she kind of helped me get my business plan going, helped, she helped point me in the right direction for who to reach out to when it came to if I needed, you know, funding for my business. However, at that time, it was just me by myself. I went and rented a room down here in my area. So I was self-funded at first because I just had my small little room. And that was in what September of 2019 is whenever I opened up my own space. And then, of course, COVID hit in 2020. It was it was interesting because I work on the face, you know? And so it was like, what how do I pivot from here? Because I was doing facials. I can't give up a facial while they have a mask on. And so, funny enough, after we came back from the shutdown, people wanted their eyebrows and their eyelashes done. And I was like, okay, we can work with this.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

We can work with this in your specials, Matt. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

So we we pivoted, we pivoted. We pivoted that. I became, yeah, I became a brow specialist and I didn't do lash extensions, but I did like the lash lifting. It's like that little perm for lashes. So I did that, and that is how I built up my clientele. I had a wait list of over two months, and it was just incredible how that. I mean, when things happen, when challenges happen, it's so important to find it as a new opportunity to pivot and figure something out because there are ways around challenges. It's just trying to figure out, you know, what is that? And lo and behold, it was it was brows and lashes.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

So we got what what do you think separated you from competition? I mean, a lot of aestheticians are out there. And why in your area did you set yourself apart in a one room?

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

How did you know?

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Yeah. I what's funny too is I was inside of a building, so I didn't have like a uh, you know, a sign outside of my door. I didn't have any exposure whatsoever. So I utilized social media. I at the time I just took a lot of before and afters of all of my work. And that's kind of that's that's how I built my business at the time.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

How did you post your work?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Was it on the web or in front of your so it was on Instagram and Facebook, I think was my main avenue of posting at the time. And those before and afters at the time really, really worked for me. And plus everybody at that point was stir crazy. They wanted to get out of the house, they wanted to feel beautiful again, you know, they wanted to feel like themselves again. And not only is it about, you know, the services, but I think it's about the feeling that you give people. Uh, people want to come back to somebody that makes them feel seen and makes them feel like they matter. And, you know, I also don't do rushed services. I like to spend time with my clients, and I think that also helps being able to have you know more premium prices as well, because it's truly more of an experience and undercutting your competition by fee.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

You were giving them better value for a better service of a higher quality, and it wasn't the you know, mass marketing, you weren't putting up billboards, you were just making one-on-one connection with friends and influencing people by being a person. Yeah. And then you're not gonna be able to do a lot of people think you gotta put ads up all over the place. No, bottle them to you. No, no, apparently it's the personality.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

I hear yeah, right. I mean, it's about how you make people feel because then whenever they feel that connection with you, they're gonna go tell their friends and family. So, I mean, social media definitely helped at that time, but a lot of it was a word of mouth. I mean, anytime that somebody posted, where can I get my eyebrows done? It was Desert Rose, Desert Rose, Nicole at Desert Rose. And I was so thankful, just so thankful at that time. Even my husband was like, babe, every time that I see somebody looking for eyebrows, I see your name pop up. And I'm like, I know, isn't it so cool?

SPEAKER_01 12:46

How excited. So word of mouth really did it. You didn't have to pay for it either. No, it was all organess to others.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

All organic growth. Yeah, I did not pay for a single thing whenever I was growing my business.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Yeah, I have so many people I talk to at school, you know, and you know, clients who will say, you know, I gotta pay for this, and I gotta PR this. No, it's free if you just it's credible if you just exactly people.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Exactly. Listen, just be nice. Show up and listen. Yeah, absolutely. And just be there for them. Because even at that time, people just wanted somebody to talk to, too.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

It was like how is your life change as a result of going from receptionist to where you are now? Do you feel owning a business is better than being an employee on a paycheck?

SPEAKER_00 13:35

I mean, I would say that being a business owner comes so much responsibility. It also helps you learn who you are as a person so much quicker than I think working for somebody else does because it puts you almost in like a it's like you're you're under steam and pressure, and you sometimes you have to figure things out on the fly. And sometimes unfortunately, you have to have really crappy situations with your employees. And in September of what was it, 2022 is when I decided to open up my team location. And now I have a team of girls that are also aestheticians, and I have learned a lot about myself as a human being, being, you know, a manager of other of other people. I, you know, I think too using score as an asset and helping you set up your company correctly from the very beginning and not trying to do it on your own, not trying to chat GPT it, not trying to Google, but actually working with somebody who knows what they're doing really helps you set it up, set your foundation up correctly so you can actually make good money as a business owner because there are so many people that your entire income that you're bringing in ends up going out. And a lot of business owners can't even pay themselves for a very long time. So having a mentor really helps you set that foundation up so that you can pay yourself from the beginning. You can be profitable from the beginning if you set things up properly, if you reach out to the right people and the right resources, which are readily available to us. I mean, they're right there.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Just borrow too much money. I think they get so deep in debt because I think they need hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can do you can do a lot of bootstrapping. We just kind of set up and you know, do it on the cheap and exactly or we teach you to do that so your profits show up earlier. You can stay in business. Yes, yes. Business plans are on our website, you just fill in the blanks. We have templates on track.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Webinars on how to get loans, how to get SBA funding. Yeah, so you can save you a lot of headaches and you're absolutely and you're not alone. Yeah, we can do that.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yeah, and you're not alone in the process because being an entrepreneur can on it can truly feel so lonely sometimes because you're the only person that has that true passion and vision for your company, but not necessarily when you have score because they're there for you and believe in you and are there with you throughout the whole process. So having that to kind of fall back on doesn't make it seem as scary, you know?

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Most of the people who are starting business in America now are women.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Women really women. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

I think out of you know, many, many dozens of people I work with, I think there's one guy. I'm dealing with women. They may be married, they may have dozens of you know, children and other obligations, but I'm dealing with women 20s, 30s, 40s, and they're ready to start a business. Not the men so much, they go for the job.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

But it's women interesting minorities, women, yeah, I love capitalism.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Yeah, it's America.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

But the women have come into their own. They need the money, they need the dream, and sometimes the men just want the paycheck. So I'm still trying to very few men. Yeah.

unknown 16:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Interesting. That's so interesting. Yeah, that is very interesting. And uh, you know, something uh that through working with score, you know, I I had the opportunity to get nominated for the rural business owner of the year by Jennifer. And I won. And I was just absolutely floored whenever I got the call that I won. Cause I was like, me?

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Didn't hurt at all, did it? Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

It was just so just so much gratitude. And because being an entrepreneur is hard. It truly is hard. And like I said, it's like a pressure cooker when you have a team, especially because you're put in some some situations where you're like, I don't know where to go from here. Sometimes you just kind of have to listen to your gut feeling. And I've unfortunately, you know, as any business owner has to let people go that, you know, maybe are not on the same wavelength as you know, what your vision is. And I do hold my my team to very high standards because it truly is an experience that we're giving. And being a nice person goes such a long way. And there's just certain qualities that, you know, I look for in somebody. And whenever I hire people at this point, I'm like, okay, can we hold a conversation? Because if we can't hold a conversation, then we're just not meant for each other. And that's fine. That's totally fine. We're we just don't vibe and that's okay. But now that's part of, I don't just hire off of, you know, what can you do, but who are you?

SPEAKER_01 18:22

And that's your secret source.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah. Connection and not emotional connection. Absolutely. Absolutely. And our yep, and our clients feel it. We just received this beautiful testimony the other day from a client that said that we offer so much more than just a service. It truly is a place where you feel seen right when you walk in. And that just, oh, it just hit my heart because that's what I've built my entire company off of is just making people feel worthy and seen and like they matter. And when they walk in, we're not going to ignore them. You know, we we say hi immediately, and you know, we just start, you just pay attention to people, you know, that's all they want.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Most people just want to do that. Yeah. But you got the uh talent for it. Tell me about your life today. You're I understand you're involved in charity and community service. And you, you know, you basically write your own paychecks. So you've kind of found your dream, and you can you only have one person to blame for any slump in the business. Can't blame it on anybody else. It's not the boss's fault.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

But but it is, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Yeah. I I truly do believe that everything starts with me, you know, and it does take a lot of self-reflection to kind of come back to yourself and say, you know, what could I have done differently here? But, you know, I really love where we're at today. And I know that it truly is about, you know, human connection. And that really, really goes a long way in just, I think in any industry. Because if you're if you feel like you've been seen, then that just it resonates with the heart, you know? So it just it goes such a long way. And I'm really excited to continue seeing, you know, where we're going. I mean, what we're in 2026, we've been open technically since 2019, is whenever I, you know, created Desert Rose. And I'm just excited to continue seeing where it goes. I will say, of course, there's always times that you're gonna have to pivot, but that's with any business.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Adapt to the next minefield as it comes along. Yes, your advice to uh young men and women who are thinking about, you know, saying goodbye to this job and starting their own dream and rather than building somebody else's dream. What would be a single advice to them?

SPEAKER_00 20:43

I think staying authentic to yourself matters a lot. Because if you're going off of somebody else's vision, people are gonna feel that. If you're going off of some something else that someone's telling you, but it doesn't feel right with you, people are gonna feel that that inauthenticity. Like people, especially nowadays, want an authentic human connection. And if your business is not built off of what you truly are visioning and what's authentic to you, it's not gonna get very far. You're gonna see a lot more hardship because you're working against what you naturally want to do. So not being scared to actually pursue your vision and you know, take mentorships are wonderful because they help you in so many ways and you're not alone, but also remembering that your vision matters and your authenticity is what really brings that business to life. And people see it like they want an authenticity person.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

You could have been in many different fields as you majored in many different half a dozen things. But you found your path, your passion kept drawing you back. It wasn't just vision, it was a passion. Yeah, that was what you really felt comfortable with. So hopefully, you won't just find another J O B, a job for somebody else. You'll just find your own business that actually is kind. Of your side gig, it's what you really enjoy. Nicole, Nicole, so much for having the time spent with us. We've really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. This was fun.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

All right. So this is Nicole York with the Desert Rose. Go ahead. You wanted to say something.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Oh, I was just gonna say, you know, I hope that you know this resonates with somebody, and I hope that it allows somebody to pursue their dreams and know that it's possible. So I just thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

There's hundreds of people looking for something, and hopefully you found the cigarette sauce to find your own. It's only one ride on the mirror when it comes to rides. And hopefully, you know, we all find you know that brass ring that brings us happiness. So thank you again for your time. So thank you. On behalf of Score, Nicole, thank you, and good luck with Desert Star.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Thank you for listening to Small Business Success Stories at Score Houston. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, we'd love to support your journey. You can reach us at 713-487-6565 or visit us at 8701-South Gessner, Suite 1200 Houston, Texas, 77074. Our office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., except for federal holidays, and walk-ins are always welcome. To learn more, request free mentoring, or register for our workshops, visit us online at www.score.orgslash Houston. Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and remember, at Score, we're here to help you thrive.