How Sugar Saved My Life…Again.

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Welcome back to the sugar show. You know, it's been a while since my last recording, we cleaned up the library and made sure that the last 43 episodes were as up-to-date as possible. Because you know, with all those lock downs, specific episodes, companies changing, and things that made things a bit cluttered, so this is officially number 44. Now, this episode is going to be a little more raw than I've recorded in a long time. I hope by the end of this you'll be inspired to know that no matter what curveball life throws you, there is a tribe of humans who are here for you. I hope you gain the wisdom to understand that trauma happens when you least expect it. And with strong business skills and preparation your business can survive anything, and most importantly, how to move on and use the hard times to create the life of your dreams.


INTRO: Welcome to this sugar show. I'm Shannon O'Brien, body sugaring expert and licensed esthetician who has taken my own skincare business from zero to multiple six figures and has helped over 3000 students learn how to do the same. Now let me tell you it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the time budget and knowledge needed to grow my small business as a body sugaring Pro. If we were to press rewind, you'd see the many failed attempts and lessons learned that have helped me build the profitable business that I have today. One that runs on its own and gives me the lifestyle and freedom that I only used to dream of. I created the sugar show to hand you my secrets and give you the simple step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. So if you're a cosmetologist or esthetician or wax professional, who's looking to fill your books, make more money in your business and enjoy greater balance between your work and homelife. You are in the right place. Let's dive in.

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So each week, we are now going to start with some inspiration from our students and our seasoned pros in the sugar drive. And this week, I want to recognize Amber Lynn. Amber is a sassy esthetician here in California. She is known for her meticulous work with brows. I met Amber, gosh, probably 15 years ago, as a young esthetician and her smile her Sass her professionalism has always been something that I've admired. And so I want just wanted to recognize her because she built her clientele with wax and lashes. But in the pandemic, she came to us and got certified in body sugaring. And very quickly made the switch to the sweet stuff. And she has been educating on brow shaping and proper brow hair removal and she quickly switched to sugar. And now she's educating with sugar and she has even added other body parts to her treatment menu. Because she feels so confident in her technique from being in the sugar tribe. So cheers to you, Mama. It is a blessing to have you in our tribe. And I hope that all of you have a chance to meet Amberlynn inside of our community, say hey and raise a glass to her as well.

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This episode officially marks the relaunch of the sugar Show podcast. It's been a bit off the radar lately as life threw me a curveball. Well, I am proud to say that I'm healing up and stronger than ever. So my team and I decided to come back onto the podcast scene big with weekly episodes. amazing guests. I mean, the guests that I've had on in the past are awesome. And we're gonna bring you a few more of those guests we've had on before and then new people that you might not have ever heard of. Because I really think it's important to learn from all kinds of masters not only in the beauty industry, but with business and marketing, and personal development as well. So we are going to bring some seriously sweet wisdom for you. And in order to share this sweet show to the rest of the beauty industry. It would be amazing if you could help us spread the word, whether you are a new listener, or a longtime fan and haven't left a review yet, my team and I would really appreciate it if you did, all you have to do is tap the five stars and write a little sentence or two telling us now how the show has made a big difference in your sugar journey. It would really help and with the algorithms and all the ways that this new technology is changing. It would really really help the show and help keep us keeping it going. If you could leave those five stars and leave a review, we really really appreciate it. So where are the

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heck as the sugar mama Ben? Well, as most of you know, I've spent the last nine years passionately sharing our love for body sugaring with anyone who would listen. From the treatment table to this podcast microphone. I have felt moved to inspire and share all the sugary sweet wisdom with our audience. Some of you who have followed me regularly might have noticed that you haven't seen so much of me lately. After our team worked their tails off during the COVID lockdown, actually locked downs because we had a few of them in California open and closed. I had become bicoastal between Florida and California. My life took a turn, I never saw coming. And because of my mission to educate my students through the good and the bad, I've decided to take a moment to get personal and be real with our listeners so you can learn from what happened for me. To hear the first part of my story way back in 2009, I suggest listening to the episode how sugar saved my life. It was my phoenix rising, if you will, from the ashes story that I was able to pull through tough economic times because I learned to sugar. Since then, I've worked diligently to not only grow my technique and business skills, but my network of amazing colleagues, to guide us all through the ever changing landscape of the skincare industry. Now I've survived crisis and grief before and I've shared my experience with you over the years but never did. I think that sugar would save my life. Again.

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As I said, most of you saw me through social media fly back and forth to Florida planning my next chapter to move to the east coast as soon as my son graduated high school to join my husband in our beachfront home in Fort Lauderdale. I did lives from the beach, coach from my new office with the ocean view and happily crafted the next year of teaching sugar so I could be available to all of you.

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And then life threw me that curveball.

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So I'm a I'd like to think that I am a classy and conservative woman. So this story will not go through all the personal details of our lives. I have five beautiful children, two beautiful biological sons. Okay, maybe I should say studly or super cool. I don't know if beautiful is how they see themselves as macho, but I have two beautiful biological sons. I have an adopted son who inspires me every day, and two beautiful bonus daughters. So in honor of them, I will not go through my story in a public way as to embarrass them. But what I will share is that while I was back in California, finishing up high school with my son and working on my brick-and-mortar store,

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my husband secretly chose a different path than we had planned on until I caught on to it.

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And the heartbreak to follow was indescribable, and brought me to my knees in prayer on more than one occasion.

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I can honestly say that no matter how strong a person you think you are, life happens. And when those times hit, the strongest thing to do is honor how big it sucks and allow yourself time to heal.

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Now, how did sugar save me through all this darkness? You might be thinking while you listen? Well, here's what I know. First off, because I've perfected my sugaring skills and had grown my business to run well, I was prepared when life threw that curveball as it relates to my business. If my business was built on a shaky half assed foundation, it would have crumbled without me personally inside of it every day. It is because of sugar that I have a business that is needed, and a necessity for clients that will take us through many hard times.

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It made it through 10 months of COVID, lock downs and personal tragedies.

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And if it can do that, it can make it through anything. And conversely, it helps to thrive when times are good.

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Secondly, I had an emergency plan. I had grown my business to a place where it was organized and well thought out. So when tragedy struck, the foundation was strong. I was conservative with my spending and still am and I have a budget and savings. So I was not in fear of losing my business if I needed a timeout you know I never dreamed this would happen. So I promise you please have a plan because you never know what might be around the corner just take the pandemic for a tiny example. The third part of my emergency plan was to have backups for everything in particular to have someone you know and trust close by the configure your clients in case you can't be there in a sudden way. I also knew how to communicate with my clients quickly and made sure that there was

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At least one person who could execute and reschedule people, for me, make sure you are that person for someone else as well. Number four, I am an amazing sugar Pro. I know how to sugar well, I know that no matter where this life takes me, I can always sugar in any town, in any spa, on any client, I could quickly rebuild if I needed to, wherever and whenever. And having that in my back pocket assures me that I will be fine no matter where life takes me.

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Number five, if I was in the shop, or engaging with clients, I put on the happy Shannon, the sugar mama sugar pro face, because my clients need to research and receive good service from me, and yours need to receive good service from you. And if you just can't, then you aren't ready, and you need to reschedule them. And I really tried to honor that so that I didn't bring my sadness to their half an hour, I wanted them to have a beautiful experience, I might let them in that I'm having a tough time. But remember, the time in the treatment room is to focus on that sugar bowl, and to focus on your client. And if you aren't ready to do that, that is okay. You just need to reschedule your clients. The biggest thing that saved me was allowing myself time to grieve, to grieve the loss of my husband, my family as I knew it, my dreams that we shared, losing all of that was so traumatic. I didn't mask it. I sat through it, wave after wave. Until the wave stopped crashing. I honored the grief and the feelings, navigating them with tenderness and listening to my friends and family who know me best.

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I cried a lot. I got counseling, and I acted with as much grace in class as my little heart could give. And I was honest with myself and my kids, I gave us all the gift of time and understanding so that we could become strong again.

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I could have handled this whole differently and filled by sad parts with bad behaviors. But instead, I'm using what I've learned to take my chapter to new heights. I have learned so much in the last eight months, because I gave myself Grace and I truly healed. And I am ready to be an even more robust leader than ever before. If you're gonna imagine that not only do my kids and myself deserve a happy truly happy Shannon, you the audience, my students, employees and colleagues deserve a happy healthy sugar mama to be quite honest. So I made sure I was ready. And my team gave me the okay. And we rolled up our sleeves and went to work. And here's what to expect. A Bigger Bolder knowledge and action packed sugar show a bigger, more focused sugar drive movement to gather together no matter what sugar pro company you use, and spread our passion for sugaring. A larger reach with hands-on classes and hands on educators to take your techniques to the next level, and so much more that you'll be hearing about in the coming weeks and months.

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Because this life is short, so perfect your craft. Learn to sugar with both hands, expand your retail and service offerings to provide multiple streams of income. Prepare your business and be ready for when life throws you a curveball and smile knowing you have a whole sugar tribe of estheticians that have your back here.

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I thought I'd lost everything. But now I clearly see I gained so much and I'm ready to lead this movement in a bigger sweeter way. Now, if you are interested in how to use sugaring to build that strong business foundation like I have mine our team has created so many resources for you. You can follow us now on Tik Tok or Instagram at love the number two and sugar at love to sugar. Check the links in the show notes for more direction to resources we have for you. And we highly recommend that you check out the sugar network to find a sugar pro in your area to connect with and try getting triggered yourself if you haven't already. And if you've been triggered and it's been a while I highly recommend you jump back in and try sugaring again because it really truly is that thing that saved my life. Next week tune in to learn about the women and hopefully men who make up the sugar tribe and our manifesto to grow the movement to get estheticians to put down that wax stick and learn to sugar instead. We are passionate about the

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sweet stuff and if we work together as a community of badass Boss Babes, no matter which professional line we choose, we can help the public understand that sugar is the preferred method of hair removal. I look forward to sharing with you next week and until then, stay sweet