04.17.2024
Episode 254: Rachel Liverman, Founder and CEO of Glowbar
Summary
We couldn’t think of a better way to close out our C-Suite Wisdom Quarter than chatting with the Founder and CEO of Glowbar, Rachel Liverman! Rachel has wanted to be a leader since her early days playing “store” with her stuffed animals, so it’s no surprise that Glowbar’s signature 30-minute facials have reached cult status since opening their doors in 2019.
Rachel always knew she wanted to lead, but she surprised herself when she ended up in the family business. That’s right: Rachel is a third generation esthetician. Growing up in a skincare family, she recalls seeing her mother wax people’s legs and being fascinated by the before & after transformations that occurred. Rachel even started a small leg-waxing business in elementary school! Mom was there to supervise, of course.
Fast-forward and Rachel found herself looking for a source for convenient, trustworthy, effective facials and realizing no such place existed. Rachel wrote an email to herself manifesting her business model in 2017 and in 2019 Glowbar opened its doors. Okay, we just gave ourselves chills.
For more of Rachel’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
I just wrote it down, I was like you know what: this is what I want. And I wrote it down in an email to myself.
Rachel Liverman
Transcript
| Announcer | Welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ hosted by Jodi Katz, Founder and Creative Director of Base Beauty Creative Agency. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Good morning, Jodi, how are you? |
| Jodi Katz | Hi, Aleni. I'm so excited to do this because I think that these intros to our episodes have become a little bit of a diary for us. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Yes, I love the little moments, we have to catch up and think about the work and the choice beyond the work and how these conversations kind of play into everything. How was your spring break? |
| Jodi Katz | And well, we were at Disney World, of course. So that's what we do. And I'm very proud of the fact that I was able to pace myself. And I actually didn't need a vacation after my vacation. So this is it was a great trip and a huge one for me. You were just on a trip. You were in the Bahamas, |
| Aleni Mackarey | I was in the Bahamas, we had beautiful weather, I was celebrating a friend who was getting married. And it was a lot of fun. It was my first time there and it was beautiful. I loved it. Well, |
| Jodi Katz | that's a really great segue for us about our next guest who actually had this incredible rate of about her wedding in New York Times. Oh, tell us more. So this was it's really worth the read as a wonderful recap of the wedding itself. But what I love about this for Rachel, is it mentions her birth announcement from the Boston Globe of 1985. And it said the granddaughter of the fame, Katherine Higgins was born without a wrinkle. And this is of course, very appropriate considering that Catherine was one of the first people to start an esthetician school many years ago. And that is Rachel's grandmother. |
| Aleni Mackarey | That is such a cool, fun fact. That's amazing. She's a third generation esthetician in the family business. Wow. |
| Jodi Katz | So she grew up in a skincare family. She remembers, you know, like her mother waxing people. And she's fascinated with it. And obviously, the language of skincare is part of her household growing up in a way that it wouldn't be for most people. That's |
| Aleni Mackarey | amazing. I'm curious to hear how that transitioned into her business role. We love a CEO who started their journey and shares it with us on the show. |
| Jodi Katz | It's a great story. So she actually is our last guest in our C suite wisdom quarter. So if any of our listeners want to go back and hear all the episodes from this quarter, you can let us know who your favorite was. And that would help us pick the winner for this quarters. Listen again Awards, which we'll be announcing in the summer. So study those six episodes, see whose episode you'd want to listen again to and let us know. |
| Aleni Mackarey | So exciting. And to be part of that you can comment on the Instagram posts from your favorite episode of the quarter and we will take a look. Let's get to it. This is episode 254. Rachel Liverman, founder and CEO of globe Ark. |
| Jodi Katz | Welcome to where brains meet beauty. We are a career journey podcast talking about what it's like to define success and reach for it in the beauty and wellness industries. Today we are finishing our C suite wisdom quarter with Rachel Liverman founder and CEO of glow bar. Rachel has taken her decades of experience in the beauty industry previously at Birchbox and beauty blender to develop a leadership style focus on creativity. This insight and a genuine desire to make a positive impact on people's lives, fueled by her own struggle to find an effective, convenient and trustworthy source for consistent facials. Rachel founded glow bar in June 2019. Rachel has propelled the brand's 30 minute results driven facials to cult following status. I'm excited to dive into the conversation about her career journey, helping people feel confident in their skin every day on episode 254 Hi, Rachel, welcome to where brains meet beauty. |
| Rachel Liverman | Hey, thank you for having me. |
| Jodi Katz | I'm so I'm so excited I am before the show. Natasha forwarded me the vows section right up about your wedding. And it's such a beautiful I mean, it was really nice about like you meeting your husband but such a great write up about you and your story and your passion for skincare and how it's a generational one for you and your family. So the first question I asked all my guests because this is a career journey show is what do you want to be when you grow up? You know, if you go back to your 11 year old self, I imagine I already know the answer but I'd love for you to say it. |
| Rachel Liverman | Yeah, so what I wanted to be when I was a kid which is always what I think everyone's really passion like is really begins but when I grew up I always had wanted to be a leader and an Inspire of others. When I was a kid I used to do pretend school all the time in my bedroom so I would set up like a classroom with like other people but really stuffed animals and just imaginary friends and students. And so now here running a company that now has like over 225 employees. I like to think that I'm you know teaching as well as like guiding and leading. So I would say I'm I'm doing doing what I always dreamed of. |
| Jodi Katz | When I was little I would play like store, I take everything out of my closets and rearrange them in my room and my mom bought me those cute little like actual, like tickets, pads, you know where it had like a carbon copy. That was my thing. I don't know what that means about my career choice, but I like playing store. |
| Rachel Liverman | I trust me, I love playing store too. And that's why we have 11 of them today. So I do not blame you. |
| Jodi Katz | So, you know, this is so cool that you have multi generations of skincare leaders, right? Your grandmother, Katherine Higgins, who passed recently, I'm sorry to say, started one of the first esthetician schools in the country. So take us way, way back to like little kid you and like, what kind of language of skincare were you learning really early on? |
| Rachel Liverman | It's such a great question. And I've never been asked that. But so awesome. I mean, I was growing up in salon environment at all times, whether it was at my family salons or at our school. And so it's funny that you asked like the vernacular and vocabulary that I grew up with, because the first word that comes to mind is debilitation which is waxing, like, take removing hair. And I just remember like my mom would like always say the word like depilatory or some, you know, like, I don't know. So that pimples pustules. Like that was common conversation even like, are you getting waxed? Are you getting your brows, tinted your eyelashes, tinted facials, moisturizer, you know, exfoliate? Or like, those are all words that like I grew up with, like, they were certainly not my first words. But like, you know, they were something I heard, since I was a very little girl from my grandmother, but also my mom who runs the company today and grew it into what it is. So yeah, I always feel very lucky that I was like, into this industry and into this stuff, because it was very much a part of my childhood. |
| Jodi Katz | So were you like going to the office to like, take like office supplies. I remember being like little being really excited about stationery supplies and an office like, is that something that you did? And like, what were you finding in the closets? |
| Rachel Liverman | Yes, I used to. So Saturdays, my mom worked at our salon. So my mom owns a salon that she was she was an esthetician and did treatments. And I would sit even in my like carrier, like when I was a really really young infant behind the desk on Saturdays while she was in her treatments with the receptionist, and then slowly I grew up and would start they would, you know, I would help with inventory maybe or probably just make a bigger mess. But, you know, the things I would find, of course, like at the front desk, you know, I found like post its and at the time, I mean, they did all the booking in a big you know, if you guys remember if anyone listening is like over 30 like they had a big, you know, book and they would flip the page to get to the next month or the week. And so I have my own little version of that, or I would have a notebook that would be like my little appointment keeper and things like that. And then treatment cards. So now like, we keep track of you know, if you come to glow bar more than or on your first time, and then your 100th time we know exactly what we did in your treatment. We take notes, all of that. They had treatment cards, like actual cards that were filed in this big clunky system. And so I had all my own versions of that, but the office really was skincare products. So I always had like four by fours cotton. You know, I would always help cut cotton and all of those things. And so it was I had some of the traditional office supplies but really I had creams and ointments and waxing and all that fun stuff. |
| Jodi Katz | So the article I read The New York Times article talked about you having a small waxing business as an elementary school aged person in your home, were your friends actually letting you wax their legs. |
| Rachel Liverman | So my growing up my best friend lived next door and yeah, she would like I would literally pretend to wax her legs and we would pretend to have a business but it was really just family members like family and friends that came over that I would be like jumping back soon. And my mom would obviously like you know, supervise the situation but yeah, I like always wanted to have my own little like waxing company. And then I had a friend who my friend Jeanine growing up also we had a we had our own beauty brand and we made like business cards. And yeah, I've always been very entrepreneurial. And I like to hustle. I always was like one business card. So I could like when I meet people give them my business card. I'm like, oh my god, things do not change. |
| Jodi Katz | What do you think was so appealing about the waxing process to a young kid? |
| Rachel Liverman | I think it's creative. Also, like when you put wax on like a body part like you have to like make it into this beautiful pattern. And I would watch my mom doing that. Like I would go into the treatment room with her with her friends or clients that were like yeah, she can come in it's just my legs or something and I would watch and it was my mom doing it right and so you you want to be like your some people want to be like their mom, their dad, their aunt, their uncle, their cousin A friend like my mom was my like, like idolized. Right. And so I think I want to do what she's doing. And also like, It's really fulfilling to like put wax on someone's arm or leg or somewhere and pull it off and like have that like, end result |
| Jodi Katz | there before and after is huge in waxing. And also the, there's an added benefit, I guess, like we'll call it the ick factor, or like the pimple popping kind of effects where like, it's fascinating to look at what is stuck to that wax. |
| Rachel Liverman | Yes, I love it. I used to like play with it. So I don't know. It's weird to some but very normal to me, because I grew up in that world. |
| Jodi Katz | So before we dig into what you're doing today, what is your mom doing now with the Institute? Give us a little bit of an update on what's happening there. |
| Rachel Liverman | Yeah, she owns it. It's still growing. It's amazing. It's so much fun. And yeah, it's like, still going strong in front of the best aesthetic schools in the country. And we have hundreds of graduates every single year. And hopefully a lot of them will work for us when we go to Boston. |
| Jodi Katz | I love that. So as the intro mentioned, you didn't just start as an entrepreneur, you did work at other companies. But let's talk about like the first job you had that paid you money that was not in the family business. |
| Rachel Liverman | So first job I had was that balloon, which is a flower shop, I don't know if they're still around, maybe they are in Newton, Newton Ville, Massachusetts. I wanted to work immediately, like when I was when I could get I think it's maybe 14 You can get to like a workers permit. I went to city hall that day. I was like, I want to work. I was like, so excited to say I had a job. So that was my first job ever. But my first paying job after college was a TJ Maxx or the parent company, TJ Maxx, I was in there buying program. And so I was so proud to work there too, because I had just graduated from college, it was 2007. And I really, really, really like wanted to have a career in in fashion retail. And I loved it. I was there for like two and a half year. |
| Jodi Katz | Okay, we're gonna fast forward, when did you get like this idea in your head that you're absolutely definitely going to open your own business, and it's going to be focused on fast facials and that you are going to bring this dream to life. |
| Rachel Liverman | So I always wanted my own business. But I never knew what it was was gonna be necessarily I always like knew that was my future. And I knew I wanted to learn from others first. So I worked at Birchbox and other companies and really wanted to learn how those organizations operated. But it wasn't until I was having dinner with my mom, it was a constant conversation of if I was taking care of my skin. And the answer was, like resounding no. And I was a cobblers son with no shoes. I was like, you know, not getting facials and my family pioneered facials and estheticians. And so my mom and I were at dinner, and I'm like, Mom, I don't go sorry. But I'm not spending an hour and a half on my weekend or $200 at the salon. You know, I'm just not doing it. And frankly, I don't know where to go. Because everyone does facials the nail salon. They're like you want a facial after this. And I'm like, no, just please do my Polish change. And let me get the heck out of here. And then you know, there's the boss and the celebrity esthetician and they're, you know, hard to get an appointment. So I just would opt out. And I just was sitting down with my mom one night at dinner, I couldn't even tell you what restaurant I wish we could remember. And I just wrote down I was like, You know what, this is what I want. I wrote it down in an email to myself, I still have the email, I posted it on my social many times. And it just said $65.30 minute facial, easy to book easy to get to very approachable, highly effective. So like nothing is fluffy. We don't massage like I want just to glow. I want my skin to look good. And that happened. And then I guess that's what manifestation is. Because, you know, that was in late 2017. We opened our first studio in 2019. And today we have 11 stores open. So like that was the first, you know, nugget of like, oh, this is what I actually want to do. |
| Jodi Katz | So you open your first location in 2019. And then 2020 You have to close that location. Did you think that the business is through? Were you able to, like have enough money in the bank to keep operating tell me what was going on in the business at that time? |
| Rachel Liverman | I mean, it was really scary. And as everyone also went through, we weren't getting a ton of direction right? Like member Cuomo or you know, I live I know you're in New Jersey, but here in New York, you know, Governor Cuomo was like two more weeks, you know, we're gonna be closed for two weeks, it was two weeks in a period of time was like all have the oriented our life and the business around. And that two weeks quickly turned into six months being closed. And so the fear of the unknown was just perpetual, in a sense, and we were in a very fortunate position. We had done really well, the nine months we were open, we had raised a small amount of money that we still had. And I have really supportive people around me. I mean, we, we had a GoFundMe where we raised a lot of money for our team that we had to furlough, we, like, had supportive people that bought memberships for a year in advance, knowing that we would reopen. And so things like that really kept us going. But it was really scary. And there were definitely times when the business could have not worked out. |
| Jodi Katz | In my business at base beauty, we had a really, really strong 2019. And that's also how we were able to I mean, we're not a spa or salon, we just kept operating because we're creative services, but was still really hard. And we definitely like don't had to double the amount of work to get the same amount of work done kind of situation during that crazy time. But it was that the 2019 the power of that year really helped me fuel through 2020. So you know, like, it's so exciting that I was able to do that, and, you know, keep our staff but that's because the year before was so strong. So I'm always so grateful for all the all the ups and downs, because they're all there for a reason in the business. But I was very grateful that it was able to have money, you know, significant money in the bank to be able to fuel and fuel growth during that time. Okay, so let's talk about the growth that you're having now. So it seems like every weekend, you're in another location, opening a store. And I know I'm exaggerating, maybe that's how it feels. Because it seems like there's a lot of momentum, I worked a long time ago at a retailer called Lexington and Provence. And we were, you know, opening literally stores probably once a month at that time is a high growth phase for it. The amount of work that goes into opening a store in a new market is like next level. So tell me about like the team you have and like the process you have for opening new doors. |
| Rachel Liverman | It is a lot of work. Each store we call them Studios is a labor of love, I have the best team in in the business that you could find anywhere. They're so bright, they're so driven, they love glow bar, they're the best ambassadors of this brand. And they have a really, really tight process that allows us to open studios efficiently and effectively. But what goes into it, it starts the year out, right. So there's a huge process that starts with real estate selection. And that's actually like a highly strategic process that we go through, which is taking data taking intuition. So site visits really like sitting in the neighborhoods that we're going into counting how many people walk by us, pulling that data, talking to local business owners talking to team members of local businesses. So there's a lot of pre work that goes into it. But we can fast forward through that process, once we get a location and we're a couple of months out to three months out is when really the work starts with hiring a team finding the best of the best in that community. And then getting that community amped, like glow bars coming and we're a 30 minute facial and we are the best facial that you can find with the best team who's going to educate you on your skincare journey and getting that buzz and starting it. And that's a really fine balance of doing it too soon, where you lose people and doing it too late, where you didn't create enough momentum. So that's like a science in and of itself. And then opening is truly a labor of love. Every store you open is just as complex, right? Not just hiring and training, but then supplies setting up the studio construction is a whole nother thing. And don't get me started if like the city, you know, doesn't approve your health inspection or, you know, some sort of inspection, there's varying inspections by city and then, you know, it's it's opening those doors and almost ripping that band aid off and saying, Okay, we're here, we're open, come in, join us for that 30 minute facial and keeping that steady drumbeat of buzz and excitement about the brand in that community to keep the business growing. But after it opens, but I have a team of 14 amazing people that support the new studios and this headquarters team and they're incredible, and they're the best at what they do. |
| Jodi Katz | So a big challenge in any industry right now is staffing with qualified people and people who already have some knowledge and are willing to learn more. How challenging has it been to find the right SDS to service your clients? |
| Rachel Liverman | Yeah, glow bar wins on culture. We are a people first business and the way that we operate is our first client is our team. And if we can take care of our team, the team will take care of our clients and that's how we operate and so with that philosophy and with our mission to help people feel confident in their skin. We have a really great experience attracting top talent in all positions. We also come from a long line of esthetician I'm a third generation esthetician. My family still owns an aesthetic school, education is in our blood. And so that's that makes it really easy to attract talent and have them say like, I want to work here. That's due to a lot of work over many generations, my grandmother started the company in the 70s. So it's over 50 years of hard work from strong women, that has gotten me to be able to sit on this podcast and talk to you, Jodi and say, We attract the best talent there is out there. So I don't take any of that for granted. |
| Jodi Katz | And in the process of opening stores, because the stores are like your best advertising in a sense, right? It's the biggest billboard and people walk past it every day. Tell a friend now that you've opened a lovin doors, How involved are you with like every decision? I mean, I'm sure number one, number two, number three, everything you were involved in everything Are you like on the lead of like picking locations? Are you in the lead of researching locations, or is has the business grown in such a way now where you can pass off those decisions to other people. |
| Rachel Liverman | I am very hands on I am and for better or for worse, if my team was being interviewed, I wish that I wasn't I'm really hands on. That's just my nature. I also love this business. Like I love everything we do. But I will say that I will never not be a part of the real estate decisions, I think it's the most important piece to setting low bar up for success. Obviously, there's a lot that goes into it. That doesn't include me, that makes it highly successful in each studio work really well. But the first thing you can do, right or you can do wrong is pick your real estate. And it's a strategic, it's really where the strategy starts, right. And so I'll always be involved in that. But there are other things where I have a team that I trust, you know, once we pick this site, it's wild, I now show up once or twice before the studio opens, and then I show up on opening day. And that that also I don't take for granted because this team works really hard the weeks up to an opening date to open and have the studio be ready. |
| Jodi Katz | So some of my favorite moments of being an entrepreneur is when I can have those pinch me moments like wait, like two years ago, I would have been doing all of this and 20 through all of it. And now I just get to show up and see the success or I get to like weigh in once and then everyone else just like you know, has better ideas than me. I call it watching like my progress. It's so meaningful to me. And like if I'm having kind of it could day, yucky day, I will turn in my head be like Where was i three months ago? Or was it six months ago? Or was a year ago? And the answer is always in a very different place. |
| Rachel Liverman | Yeah, yeah, totally excited to look back and you should look back and pat yourself on the shoulder. And then you know, you you get back to work, |
| Jodi Katz | I think of the entrepreneurial journey is for me is like a Jules Verne book, you know, sort of like this big adventure, weirdness and wackiness and light lightness and relationships, you know, how do you think about the journey if you had to, like sort of draw a picture of it? |
| Rachel Liverman | The journey is, I'm sure you've seen the meme, right of like, what people think entrepreneurship looks like. And it's like this straight line of like, on an upward trajectory. And then it's like, the next slide is like, what entrepreneurship really does look like. And it's this, like, you know, kind of like heart rate monitor almost. And that's what it is for me. But that's part of it. And knowing that it's supposed to be that way, it gives me a lot of comfort and calm because if I didn't know the depth, it was like that for many, many others and most businesses, all businesses that it's it's cyclical, some weeks you're up and some months are up and some months are down. And that's very common. It makes me feel better. Because I don't feel like I'm it's a Rachel challenge or a problem. It's like just what entrepreneurship is so, but I love the journey and sometimes like the downs are actually the most comforting to me, because I know that the only places up like when things are going to wrap. Sometimes I'm like, Oh God, when are they actually going to click? When's it going to hit like, is it next week? Is it in three weeks? But now you just you learn to kind of ride the waves a little bit smoother as the years go on? I'm doing it. |
| Jodi Katz | Do you have a like a visceral reaction to like walking in that new store? Like, you know, maybe a day or week before it opens or signing that new lease? Like do you get like, you know, kind of like a tingle in your brain or sensation in your heart or like, you know, some sort of physical reaction? Yeah. |
| Rachel Liverman | It's very interesting. And I wonder if you can emphasize like with milestones that you reach. Some of those milestones that we I work so hard for tech sometimes end up being the hardest days for me, and I don't know why but sometimes I think it's up pressure that builds And then you're there and you walk into the new studio and you're like, almost so tense that you can't like, I can't even enjoy it sometimes because I'm like, Oh, God, I hope this goes really well. And so there's a little bit of like that visceral reaction of like, Oh, I really like this needs to go well, and I hope it does. And I'm like, nervous. And then usually a week later, it usually hits me where I'm like, on a walk in the morning, and I think back and I'm like, we just opened our 11 store, like, I never dreamed, like, I dreamed that this would happen. Like, I never really knew that it was going to happen for me. And I'll be on a walk, and I'll like, start tearing up our being like, holy crap, Rachel, like you didn't have this, like, emotional, visceral moment with myself, but it's a little bit delayed. |
| Jodi Katz | Usually, I have similar experiences, when I'm like, very, very close to reaching a goal. Like, you know, this is where I am, this is the goal. And the only thing separating me is this very skinny line. Again, very overcome with, like, feeling vulnerable. Like, this is my dream, my vision. And if I'm getting closer to it, seeing the light of day, that means like, I'm kind of naked in the world. Right? I'm putting it all out there. And that's really scary for me. I mean, just talking about it, like my heart's racing, as if you know, it's happening right now. Because I think earlier in my career, I was told, like, don't be yourself, you know, don't be you and weird and have these ideas, or we don't appreciate them. So I was taught to suppress that. But now I live a life where I honor it. But I still hear the noise in my head. So who knows really standing there very naked in the world and saying, Well, this is my weirdness coming out in the way that I want it to. And this is my dream that I'm walking into, I get very, almost like frozen, like, I have, like, my heart races, my my hands like tingle. And then I feel like a little bit of a frozen moment. But what I'm trying to do each time is like, not freeze. Like actually, in that moment, when my feet are, you know, where my head is, like, try to find feelings beyond frozen, like move through it a little bit, so that I can enjoy it in the moment, and not wait late for later. So it's scary, though. It's really scary. And I have to do, I guess it's to remind myself to breathe. And I have to remind myself that like, this is me, and I like me, and it's okay, if not everybody likes my ideas. But it's a reminder to me that I'm doing something very, very big and meaningful. When I get this why I'm like even getting like a little lightheaded thinking about it. Now like going back into that headspace, |
| Rachel Liverman | I get that I really do. |
| Jodi Katz | So you opened recently in Hoboken, which is super exciting, because I want to tell you that my friend owns the hive, which is like the hottest coffee shop in Hoboken. So you need I need him to connect you together, okay, online over email. them and I people are obsessed, yes, they're very famous and Hoboken, and they're opening in another location in Jersey City very soon. |
| Rachel Liverman | So we definitely got to meet them. |
| Jodi Katz | So um, let's talk about that the building relationships and community building in real life that happens when you open stores, that's probably an incredibly fun for you, I would imagine. |
| Rachel Liverman | It's so fun. It's so fun for my team. It's a lot of work every community because there's a lot going on in the places that we open. But it's so fun. It's so fun to think about the partnerships you can do and collaborations and also supporting one another. So as big as Hoboken seems, for example, because we're talking about that, like, you know, there's that one like one street that's like predominantly we're all the retailers are in the in the restaurants, etc. And it's so cool to be able to just like meet 10 of them and be like, Okay, we're all doing the same thing. We have similar clients, how can we really make this community even stronger together. So it's like little alliances in every community. And that's really, really fun. And I love talking to our potential clients and our clients once we're there. So I actually send an email out before we open any new community to anyone that's joined our waitlist and ask them for like their favorite local businesses, like so that we can make sure that we are talking to them and being like, we want to have your manager or your team in for a treatment. We want you to know what the low bar is like, let's all do this together and be successful together. And so it is very fun for me. |
| Jodi Katz | I think that's where some expanding in real life brick and mortar businesses don't take the opportunity to build like he said alliances. I think it's why there's you know, in the franchise model, there's some people who are great at it running their businesses and some who really struggle because they just don't understand the amount of work the legwork and the actual like time required to nurture those relationships. But that's all you have is you're literally the people who live around this facility and you have to make it work you have to Build it up into something really big. |
| Rachel Liverman | It takes a ton of. It's like grassroots marketing. And usually it's pretty clear if it's not happening because traffic will flow or slow Excuse me. But yeah, I'm thrilled to hear that you understand the importance of it. Because my team is amazing, like our managers are out in the neighborhood every single week, like going to like the local Pilates place, like being like, you have our cards, you guys have come in, like, just want to make sure and like, we prioritize that. For them. It's really important. |
| Jodi Katz | Let's end our conversation with the topic of success and joy, which are two of my favorite topics, you know, when you started the business, I'm curious if your definition of success is the same as it is right now. |
| Rachel Liverman | It is in like, in a macro way, right? I want global to be hundreds of locations. And so sure, with that goal, I haven't succeeded yet. Fine. And I kind of agree with that. Like, I love new studio openings. I'm like, How many can we open? Let's go I'm so excited. So new, having hundreds of studios in the United States is going to be where I get to sit back and say like, we really have succeeded. On a day to day basis, though we have 100% succeeded. And we did the second we had, you know, try back open, which was our first studio and why we succeeded when in another that is I had an idea. And I brought it and I like brought it to the world and introduced it and was vulnerable in that way fearless, and had to do a lot of work to get there. And then we had clients come in that get treated fins. And our mission is to help them feel confident in their skin. And we've done that. And so every client we see means success. For me. It's like 100% Every day, I feel like I've succeeded. And my teams hopefully do as well, because we're helping people feel better in their skin. And I don't think there's a greater gift you can give anyone out |
| Jodi Katz | and let's talk about joy. So Joy, I can find it a lot of different ways. And sometimes that's looking hard for it on those harder days. But where do you find the joy in your work, you know, now that the business has grown, versus day one. |
| Rachel Liverman | I'm like, I'm still working on like, this whole joy thing I would tell you. So I appreciate you saying sometimes it's hard to find. I think that like I know where I'm happy where I feel fulfilled, I'm really clear on those things. Joy, I get a lot of joy from my team doing feeling like feeling really confident about their work and succeeding. Like that gives me a lot of joy, where I get like, excited. And I'm like, Oh my God, look how awesome all their hard work is paying off. I think me finding like joy in myself and like, at work is still something I'm like trying to uncover or maybe get like comfortable with that word a bit. |
| Jodi Katz | Well, the joy that I have to find in the hard situations, it's like digging or excavating for like, you know, relics, sometimes that's really hard. So I'll work with my coach, let's, let's say let's go back in time, maybe many years ago, I had some more difficult clients than we do. Now. We have lovely clients now. And my coach would be like, Okay, you have to find one thing to love about this client, right? And sometimes the answer was they pay their bills on time. And that's like, that's actually a really good deal, right. So sometimes I have to dig and excavate for it. But most of the time, I can find it in the really small stuff, you know, like watching a team member, you know, do something that they haven't done before, or you know, seeing a piece of work, you know, exceed a benchmark or whatever it is. And I can like get giddy off of that stuff pretty easy. Because it all those cumulative little joys make my day better. |
| Rachel Liverman | Absolutely. Yeah, I love that. |
| Jodi Katz | So I'm gonna ask you one last question because this is I think a time in your business where this really applies. Are you making time for yourself like beyond work? And if you are, what are you doing with that time, |
| Rachel Liverman | so I have very good balance in the morning. So I start my mornings off with just me and I make time for myself to exercise to go for a walk get my coffee like have my morning routine. And I block off my calendar until 930 10 Every single day without any questions like very open about that. After 10 o'clock Am I would say I'm not great at prioritizing time for myself and having like moments of like like restoring this the maybe energy that I have utilized throughout the day. So at nighttime, I could have better boundaries I usually get back on my computer. If you asked my husband if I could be better I would say but I'm working on it and the weekends I really do, like rejuvenate and really get that rest or exercise or time with friends. Like other things that fill up my cup? |
| Jodi Katz | Well, I mean, it's not easy. And also, when you love your job, it's not. It's not a job, right? It's a passion. |
| Rachel Liverman | It's exactly how I feel. I mean, my team is who I would want to spend, like all week with, like, an all weekend. I'm like, on Fridays, and like, so whatever I'm doing this week, like, Okay, I see you on Monday. And I like missed that. And so yes, I appreciate that. You, you acknowledge that. |
| Jodi Katz | I, you know, my, the ideas are running in my head all the time. But I try to be very careful to like schedule, send ideas. So like the, the even if I'm up at two o'clock in the morning, because I couldn't sleep and you know, the ideas were flowing, the messages do not get sent into two o'clock in the morning, everything is scheduled sent for work hours, so that my team is not impacted by my flow in a way that I wouldn't want them to be. So thankfully, Slack has scheduled send, email has scheduled send. And every once in a while, like when will sneak through and like oh, like I wish that message didn't go like hopefully, notifications are off. But there's like definitely once a month where I wake up like two o'clock in the morning counts, even like, I guess we'll just get to work. But I try to be very, very mindful of that schedule sentence so that I'm not interrupting someone else's quiet time. Yeah, that's really nice to do. Okay, we're gonna wrap up our interview segment. Rachel, I'm so thankful for you and your vulnerability and sharing with us today. Okay, we have a couple minutes left for fan questions. Oh, this is such a good question. And Javon? Yeah, is asking, how do you curate a 30 minute facial? Is it a routine on a bit of everything? Or is it tailored per person? |
| Rachel Liverman | Great question. So at low bar, we customize every single treatment. So we would not get the same treatment because we have different skincare goals, skincare types, skincare routines at home. And so we have a bunch of different protocols that we can pick from, and we have technology in the treatment group that decides based on our inputs, what you should get on that day. So it's all customized, and it's all fluff free. So we don't massage we don't wash your face for you, you do that for us before. We also don't steam so we're able to fit in a lot of really effective treatments in that 30 minutes. |
| Jodi Katz | Okay, next question is from a hidden goat? How did you build brand awareness nationwide, |
| Rachel Liverman | social media, you can reach anyone on social. So that's really helped. That's been like probably the number one way we have, you know, because you specified nationwide, if you're trying to reach like a small community, of course, you know, social is also going to support that. But like we were talking about at length, like getting on the ground, is really what's gonna get back local community aware of you. |
| Jodi Katz | And we didn't talk about this. I'm glad someone asked, How do you handle your own time management? Right? I imagine. So starting at 10am, like, what's that day look like? |
| Rachel Liverman | I use my calendar. It's like my Bible, I just I like have meetings back to back all day, usually. And when I don't have meetings, I always have things I need to get to emails, like projects I need to work on. But at our size, like, I'm really more of a coach than an executor at this point. And so I meet with everyone and I clear roadblocks for them. And I give them guidance on you know how I want to see things. But I'm not doing a ton of that project work. And so that allows me to, you know, be pretty busy with meetings. And then at night, like I mentioned, once we're done with dinner at home, I usually hop back on and that's when I get some work done. So I would say that I'm pretty efficient with my time also. And I'm not about like adding meetings all the time, if unnecessary, so I tend to get to things and then I have the weekends where things roll into me. |
| Jodi Katz | So I'm going to ask this last question, which is rolled in, which is an important one. Explain how your membership model works |
| Rachel Liverman | Yes. So glowbar, our membership is if you join our membership at $60. And you get one treatment a month 15% off retail product, a guest pass to bring someone that you care about every year for free, and other member perks. So actually this month, we are partnering with power 28 One of my favorite makeup brands and female founded brand. Amy, she's the founder she started it and is incredible. And every single member is getting a make waves mascara at the end of their appointment, which is like insane. It's my favorite mascara. It's awesome. And so we do those little perks here and there as like a surprise and delight. |
| Jodi Katz | Oh, that's awesome. Wow, this is amazing. Thank you to Rachel for joining us for our 254th episode. Wow. And thank you all for listening. If you'd like this episode, please rate and review and as always, make sure you're following us on your favorite podcast platform and Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming episodes and all the fun we have along the way. Rachel, this has been super fun. I hope to meet you in real life soon. |
| Rachel Liverman | Need to come in for a treatment as my guest please. |
| Jodi Katz | I would love that and I will connect you with my friend at the hive. Thank you for listening. |
| Announcer | Thanks for listening to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ with Jodi Katz. Tune in again for more authentic conversations with beauty leaders. |
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