Meet Desarae Marhofer: CEO, Beautiful You Skincare Studio/Academy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Desarae Marhofer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Desarae, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I used to be so afraid to take risks when I was younger. I believe that came from a lack of trust and belief in myself. Sometimes it takes someone else’s belief in you to feel confident pursuing your own dreams. That was the case for me. My hubby John, was the driving force for me starting my own solo esthetics business 12 years ago, and I have never looked back. Being in business for yourself requires courage. I believe that my courage came from seeing actual results with my business overtime. As I built my business and client base, I was able to trust myself and my entrepreneur abilities, and as the years went by I became more and more of a risk taker. Today I can say that I love taking risks, and I love trying new things. Sometimes those risks reap significant rewards and sometimes they are learning lessons, but either way I believe that you must be open to taking risks in life if you want to achieve your goals and dreams. I would not be where I am today or have accomplished as many of my business and personal goals if I did not take that initial risk of just going for it, despite the fear. I now live by this life quote by Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, and live the life you have imagined” 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It all started 15 years ago, I sought out to become as a licensed esthetician. It was a dream of mine. I was so proud when I was finally able to begin school and earn my license. I seemed to always attract really great people and opportunities into my life easily. Once I became licensed I was offered to work at one of the busiest and most reputable salons in town. My career was off to a great start. I worked for that salon for 3 years. I realized around that time that my home town was lacking in the area when it came to professional skincare products and advanced skincare treatments. It was then that I decided to open the first skincare studio in town, Beautiful You Skin Studio. I was a solo esthetician with one goal in mind~ To provide the best and highest level of skincare and beauty services in town and to serve and introduce as many people as I could to the benefits of professional skincare. After 3 short months of being a solo esthetician, I found myself booked solid everyday. It was around the time that I realized running a business was harder than I thought and I was beginning to fall short in areas of my business, like returning phone calls, etc. That was when John suggested that I had to hire a receptionist to help keep up with the demand. I couldn’t even begin to think about hiring an employee, giving up a % of my revenue and allow someone else to run my front desk. That terrified me, but I did it anyway. That is when the whole game changed for my business. It was 2009, and my little skincare business was booming, and the phone would ring non stop. About 9 months into my first year in business I decided to hire another Esthetician to work for me and help me grow the business. That decision came with its ups and downs. Let’s forward to 2021, and we are now the busiest and most successful skincare business in town, We have employed over 50 estheticians since 2009, many who have gone on to open up their own skincare studios. One thing that I am most proud of is that through our growth in our business we have been able to open Pueblo’s very first Skincare Academy and have trained and licensed over 30 students in less than 2 years. This business has been nothing short of amazing, but it’s also come with so many challenges, and growing pains. But what business doesn’t right?  I believe that every business has the potential to be successful with the right mindset and the right tools & business plan. It also takes a passionate owner that has to be willing put in the work. I sacrificed alot of time, energy, and money to get to where I am today. Today I realize that it was these 3 ingredients that were vital in my own personal and professional growth and success: Grit, Courage, and Confidence. If you don’t have these 3 traits you may struggle in life and business.. My goal now is to share what I have learned over my 15 years of entrepreneurship with other aspiring entrepreneurs, estheticians and my esthetic students. I want to help and empower women to chase their goals and give them the tools and guidance needed to get their much faster than I did. I want to be known as a business that truly cared for and empowered other women, that helped them to feel more confident in themselves and to help them see the beautiful & infinite power that they have within. This is what I hope my brand will be remembered for.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I could have a whole weekend with my bestie it was consist of eating, drinking, shopping and tons of self care. We would start the day with brunch at our local Brewery, Brues Alehouse, then we would walk down to our beautiful riverwalk and take in all the beauty and scenery. I would then take her down our Union Ave where we would shop at local boutiques like Seabel’s, and stop at a local bakery like Bite Me Cake Co. Then we would grab a latte at Solar Roast Coffee. I love supporting our local small businesses. We would have dinner at La Forchetta, an amazing locally owned Italian restaurant, we would have an amazing dinner and wine, and even have a lemon cello shot. We would call it a night after dinner. The next day is all about self care. We would drive up to Buena Vista and spend a day at the Mt. Princeton hot springs resort where would be able to just relax and rejuvenate for the rest of the day. This is what an ideal girls weekend would look like for me. 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The success that I have achieved in my business over the last decade was not by accident. I was intentional with who I chose to mentor and support me in my entrepreneurial journey. There are several people that I can say helped me in my personal growth and development, one of those people being my Husband and business partner, John. John was and still is always there to encourage me when I feel like giving up, he is also my sounding board when I need advice on how to handle certain things and situations that come up in my business. I also have a couple people that played a significant role in a short period of time when I was really wanted to take my business to that next level. I have to thank my mentor Cindy Tusa, owner of White Magnolia Skin Institute. She was the one who was there for me every step of the way when I was opening my Esthetics School. I would not be where I am today without her guidance and support. The other person who I want to recognize and thank for being my spiritual and mental support during the most difficult moments in my business is my friend, and spiritual coach Angela Hecker. This woman would help me process and heal from some really hard things I had been through in life and business. I am a better human because of her, and I would not be able to help as many people in my life without her knowledge, guidance and empowerment. These are the 3 people who have had the biggest impact in my life up to this point and I will be forever grateful for the roles that they have played in my life and business!

Website: https://www.beautifulyouskincarestudio.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautifulyouskincarestudio
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beautiful-you-skincare-studio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeautifulYouCO
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeautifulYouSkincareStudio
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/beautiful-you-skincare-studio-pueblo?osq=skincare
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFR8SoKOyv58wlnm-EKs-QA

Image Credits
Zara Ashby Photography