Esthetician Education + Mentorship in St. Petersburg, Florida
So you got your esthetics license. Now what?
Esthetics school teaches you how to get your license. It does not teach you how to actually build a career.
How do you get your first clients? What should you buy? Do you really need that machine everyone is using on Instagram? How do you choose a skincare line? Should you work for someone or go solo? And how do you get experience when everyone wants someone with experience?
I’ve been there. After years of building my own clientele, working with other estheticians and now owning The Grove, there are so many things I wish new estheticians were told before spending a ton of money or getting discouraged.
So I wrote them down.
The New Esthetician Starter Guide
You got your license. Here's what comes next.
No gatekeeping. No pretending this career is all cute treatment rooms and skincare hauls.
Just practical advice about getting your foot in the door, building a clientele, choosing products, continuing your education and becoming the kind of esthetician people actually want to come back to.
Inside the guide, we'll talk about:
What building a career in esthetics actually looks like
How to start building a clientele before you have a full book
What to spend your money on — and what you probably don't need yet
Why learning skin, ingredients and using your hands comes before chasing advanced treatments
What spa owners actually notice when they're hiring
How client connection, consultations and follow-up affect whether people come back
Questions to ask before accepting your first esthetics job
Real lessons from estheticians I've watched succeed, struggle and come and go
A 30 day checklist to help you figure out what to actually do next
This Guide Is for You If...
You just graduated from esthetics school and aren't quite sure what to do next.
You're trying to get your foot in the door but keep running into the whole “you need experience to get experience” problem.
You're waiting for someone to hand you clients and starting to realize you might need to build them yourself.
You're overwhelmed by all the products, machines, certifications and advice being thrown at new estheticians.
You love esthetics but aren't sure what actually matters when you're first starting out.
You want an honest look at what it takes to turn your license into an actual career. You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to know what to work on next.
You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to know what to work on next.
Meet Your Mentor
Brenda Carmignani
FOUNDER, ESTHETICIAN
Hi, I'm Brenda.
I became an esthetician later in life, and what started with me in a treatment room eventually grew into The Grove, a beauty + wellness space in St. Petersburg, Florida.
I've worked solo, rented space, built a clientele from scratch and eventually became a spa owner. Today I still work behind the chair while running The Grove, employing other service providers and mentoring newer estheticians along the way.
I've also watched a lot of estheticians come and go.
I've seen incredibly talented estheticians struggle to build a book. I've seen newer estheticians thrive because they were curious, coachable and great with people. I've hired, trained, made mistakes, bought things I didn't need, changed my mind as I've learned more and gotten a very real education in what it takes to make this career actually work.
And that's the perspective this guide comes from.
My world is spa esthetics. From working solo and renting space to employment based esthetics and eventually spa ownership. I'm not a med spa owner and I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in that side of the industry. It's a different business model with different services, compensation and opportunities.
What I can tell you about is building a clientele, retaining clients, working for someone else, working for yourself, choosing products, continuing your education, learning how to market yourself and becoming the kind of esthetician people actually want to come back to.
I don't believe there's one perfect path into this industry, and I'm definitely not here to promise you an overnight six figure career.
I'm here to tell you the things I wish more new estheticians were told from the beginning.
No gatekeeping. No bullshit. Just what I've learned from actually doing this.
— Brenda
Want to Keep Learning?
The guide is just the beginning.
I'm working on practical, in person education at The Grove for estheticians who want to keep learning beyond school. The kind of education I wish I'd had when I was newer: hands on, useful and based on what actually happens in the treatment room and in business.
Some classes will be about skin and services. Others will be about the things nobody really teaches you, like building a clientele, getting clients to come back, choosing a backbar, pricing your services and figuring out how to actually make money doing this.
Coming to The Grove
I'm building education around two things every esthetician needs: getting better at your craft and learning how to build a career around it.
HANDS ON EDUCATION
Dermaplaning 101
Technique, safety, client selection and hands on practice.
Brow Artistry
Mapping, shaping, tinting and lamination with hands on training.
BUILDING YOUR CAREER
Pricing for Long Term Growth
Understanding your numbers and pricing your services so your career can actually support you.
Finding Your People + Keeping Them
How to attract the right clients, create an experience they remember and give them a reason to come back.
More classes are coming as we grow.
You Earned your License. Now Let’s Build your Career.
You don't need to know everything yet. You don't need a full book, a fancy treatment room or every certification you see online.
You need experience, good education, people who are willing to share what they've learned and the willingness to keep showing up and getting better.
Start with the free New Esthetician Starter Guide, and if you're local to Tampa Bay, stick around. There's a lot more coming to The Grove.