Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hello, I'm Jeremy Rivera, your unscripted podcast host. I'm here with Denise Dubois. Why don't you give yourself a quick introduction focusing on your experience and credentials. That should make us trust you as an expert as we delve into your history, experience, and business.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Great. Well, thank you for having me. My name is Denise Dubois. I have been in the SPA industry since 1983.
So many years working with the community, and I'm also a practicing esthetician and product developer.
Founded Complexion Spa for beauty and Wellness in 1987, and then we have two locations.
And then in 2022, we founded Dubois Beauty. It's a clean beauty brand.
And I'm also the author of the book called Living Beautifully, which is, talks about, you know, wellness, longevity, and how really the spa lifestyle and living well is how we can age gracefully.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: Tell me more about that concept of embracing a spa lifestyle. What does that entail and how does that dovetail with the businesses that you've developed?
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Well, I, I'm a big proponent of that. There's no such thing as, you know, a one and done treatment that's going to help you look or feel your best. It's really a commitment to making everyday lifestyle choices that are going to give you the results that, you know, most of us crave, you know, to look and feel our best. And it's. There's no miracle product. There's no miracle treatment. It's a, it's a commitment to every day, you know, choosing to live a healthier lifestyle, from our food choices to the people we surround ourselves with, to, you know, what we do or do not do, to take care of our skin, our eating habits, you know, choosing to get up and make movement a part of your day.
So it's really a lifestyle that we promote in the spa, but it's not a one and done treatment. It's something that is ongoing. And that's why I call it the spa lifestyle.
[00:02:30] Speaker A: I think that makes sense because there's kind of always that, that science fiction concept of, oh, hey, if I could just take this pill, I could just push this button and boom, I'm totally, you know, everything about my body and self is totally transformed.
But that's definitely a sci fi concept.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: So it was that easy. But unfortunately it's not. You know, there's intrinsic aging, which is our genetic aging that was that we inherited from our grandparents and our parents, and then there's extrinsic aging, which is that lifestyle choices and truly the symptoms that we see on our face that we call signs of aging, you know, like pigmentation, you know, the loss of elasticity or the fine lines and wrinkles in our skin, that's a result of external factors. So that's considered extrinsic aging.
So the American Academy of Dermatology, you know, suggests that really about 10% is genetics and about 90% is influenced by our everyday lifestyle choices. So we truly do have control more than we think over how we do age.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: I think that's an important thing to like point out that it really is more in your control because it's easy to, you know, look at these things and say, well, you know, we all live such a stressful life now and everything's moving so fast in this modern world and everything's got additives and derivatives and you know, it's easy to place the blame somewhere else.
[00:04:08] Speaker B: Processed foods and then even personal care items that we use. The average woman uses about 13 personal care products on a daily basis. And you know, if there's harmful chemicals in those products, then that is going to have an impact on your health. Even, you know, because ingredients can be absorbed into the body and have affect your endocrine system, carcinogenics, hormones, skin sensitizing. So we do need to be mindful of not only what we put into our body, but what we put onto our body.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: That makes sense. I'm curious from an entrepreneurial perspective, you know, as a longtime business owner, what was the transition like as you went from like a physical location and business and started to want to establish and create a brand and. And I'm assuming that brand has products that are available through e commerce. What was that like as far as a business challenge?
[00:05:09] Speaker B: Well, it's really interesting because we opened in 1987 and at that time there we weren't even using computers. So we had a paper appointment book and we had a Rolodex with our customers names. So we're going back a very long time ago and you know, the business has evolved over time, you know, as the world has changed and also as I've aged and have a greater and different appreciation for the aging process. So how has the business evolved? I think that, you know, the introduction of the computer. My brother actually helped me set up our very first website and we were able for the business to get complexions.com. so you can imagine that's a very popular website word, you know, to have Complexions.com. we started very early when we developed our first website and it was a natural progression to as things became more readily available to start A shopping cart and you know, for convenience for customers that they could order their products and have it shipped. And interesting enough through our spas, one of our most popular products that people purchase online and is our Tranquility Tea. It's a blend of organic herbal tea that's decaffeinated or caffeine free, I should say. It's an ayurvedic blend and people love to gift it.
I think that, you know, just evolving with the changing times and adding the shopping cart, first the website and then the shopping cart. And now we even have an app where our customers can schedule their appointments right from the convenience of their phones.
So it's definitely evolved as the world has.
[00:07:00] Speaker A: That's good. Yeah, it's. There's a huge shift, you know, since the late 80s and it's really an evolution.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: To the point where, you know, businesses nowadays, they have such a huge, you know, smorgasbord of different platforms, websites, social media, different channels that vying for your attention as a business owner saying, ooh, ooh, pick me. Spend your money here. I promise. The moon and the world beyond.
What are some of those, you know, moonshot moments where you were promised the moon by marketing or by a company looking to deliver X, Y or Z just didn't really work out the way that they said that it might. Or something that you tried to do that was over the top or maybe out of reach at the time. When it comes to technology or marketing.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: I think that it's very overwhelming because there are so. To your point, there are so many different platforms and I think Beauty and wellness is a very crowded space and there is a lot of people out there, choices that people can go to. So I think it does come down to getting yourself out there and having a personal connection with people that can relate to you and your brand and your philosophy on different things. I think, you know, because there's so many platforms, you know, there's email, there's meta advertising, there's Google advertising, and actually I read today that now there's even AI you can purchase on using AI platforms now. So there's just so many to choose from. I think you've got to stay consistent and, you know, you have to stay current with all of the different, very fast changing, you know, technology that I think you have to have a team of people to help you sort through all the clutter and just stay consistent and up to date. And. And then for me, I think it was hard to get myself out there in front of the camera because I'M not, you know, a person who's always out there on social media. And so I think that's been hard to kind of push myself out of my comfort zone. To put yourself in front of the camera and jump in to that world because you have to so they people can make that personal connection with you and under have a better understanding of your brand.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: I think that's true. Like, even if you're making agricultural machines, it seems like there is a requirement for the marketing to have a human face, human face on it. I think perhaps that's kind of the side effect of and growing side effects of so many aspects of our lives being pushed towards having this AI tool. In my conversations with other SEOers, with other digital marketers and other small business owners, there's always kind of a twofold, like, here's how we're using AI internally, but I really don't trust how much it hallucinates. And there's literally a, a scientific paper that came out just last week that posits that fundamentally the way that current AI models work, which is language learning models, that you literally cannot trust LLMs, to be honest, because mathematically all they're doing is guessing and they will bias towards giving an answer, even if that's made up from whole cloth, what we call hallucinations and in marketing. So I definitely agree that there's a trend towards that humanization.
Aside from putting yourself in video, is that something that you've found in how you write the content of your website, how you describe your products and go about getting feedback? Is that a feedback loop that you have to loop in people and their experiences with your products or with your spas to.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: We do ask our clients to do some video testimonials.
You know, our clients can have the opportunity to share their experience in a video. So we will ask them to for those testimonials, video and also reviews on Google or, you know, the social platforms. Because then people can hear from other guests of the spa, you know, what their experience has been. And we also like to share, you know, before and after results so clients can see results. So I do think that word of mouth remains the number one, you know, lead generator.
So we try to encourage more of that by asking, you know, our guests if they had a wonderful experience, would they please share it. And there's very quite a few willing people to do so. So we take, we try to, you know, really nurture that stream of referrals.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: I think that makes sense because often, you know, individual digital marketing experts tend to Ignore that feedback loop of the. It's really as much about the experience that people have within the business itself that drives a reflection of that credibility online. And you can create 17 fantastic blog posts about beauty and health and wellness. But if they come to your store and they aren't greeted properly and they don't get the right service at the right time and they walk away unhappy, then they're not going to spread the word. They may even say negative things about it. So I think remembering that there's a business behind the marketing that drives that value is important.
[00:12:50] Speaker B: Right. And we, you know, we try to constantly train and retrain the team to fit the video presentation. You need to have that consistency.
So we actually do have videos of both of our locations that shows what the guest experience looks like so that people can start to visualize what their visit would look like by coming in. And then when we work with our content creators here in the spa, we do a lot of video content. We did today, we had a video content day. So we like to get a lot of educational video, experiential video showing services, showing the spa, showing the space.
So I do think that's really important to help make that connection.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: When you think about the next couple quarters for your business, what's coming up in 2026, what are you excited about? What are you looking forward to launching or diving into for your business this year?
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Well, we're actually evolving over the course of 38 years. You know, we have always evolved with the way the industry is revolving and the demands of our clients.
And we're actually updating our name. It's Complexions for Beauty, Wellness and Longevity. So we're adding the longevity piece and really focusing on our membership platform as a way for even socializing. You know, we have an amenities membership where clients can come in and use our steam room, our sauna, enjoy the hydrotherapy tubs. Those amenities in a social setting. We have a relaxation lounge, we have, you know, healthy beverages and snacks and you know, they're, you're around like minded individuals. So we're really hoping to grow our membership base. Not only amenities memberships, but also people who come in for services on a regular basis. Our memberships offer different levels of rewards for being a member and we, so we're really hoping to grow that aspect of the business and then the whole mindset, we mentioned it earlier that consistency is key. There's no such thing as a one and done treatment to achieve a person's beauty and wellness goals. It's a lifestyle and memberships allow people to come regularly, save some money while doing so, and it encourages them to come in and use the spa so they can take away all the health benefits of de stressing and lowering cortisol and health, heart, cardiovascular health, skin conditioning, healthy aging. I mean, there's so much that you can gain by coming in regularly, consistently so educating the client over time about the importance of staying consistent trust reach your health and wellness goals. So that's why promoting these that lifestyle through memberships to help people stay committed so that they truly can, you know, achieve their goals.
[00:15:57] Speaker A: And where are those spas located and what's it been like working in those particular communities?
[00:16:05] Speaker B: We have our first location, our mother shift is in Albany, New York, right on Wolf Road, which is very convenient for our clients to get to off of the north way and the throughway. And then our second location, which we opened in 2014, is located in Saratoga Springs where the Saratoga racetrack is horse racing 150 years of history. It's also known as the Queen of Spas Saratoga because of the mineral water and the springs there. There's a lot of health benefits to taking the waters.
So we do have our hydrotherapy tubs in that location. So it's also the spring water was used in our skincare line, Dubois Beauty, that we formulated to be a clean beauty brand to take that health and wellness another step further by having a clean beauty brand.
So Albany, New York is our first location and then Saratoga Springs is the second location.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Is there any plans for a third or reaching out to a further location beyond, or is it more of a focus on that online brand and beauty product?
[00:17:14] Speaker B: I think, honestly, I don't see us this year expanding the spa with another location. I think, you know, we don't want to do more. We want to do, you know, try to stretch ourselves too thin by doing another location. At this time, I'd rather focus on, you know, know, constantly improving the experience for our guests that we have and focus on growing and expanding our skincare company. Because I do think, you know, we have about 15 SKUs right now products that I think we have some plans to add a few more products to that to personalize facials and skin care even further. So I think focusing our growth there and perfecting the wellness experience in house.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: At this vaz as to kind of round out the interview from your experience as a business owner, what advice would you have to potential entrepreneurs who are looking either at the beauty space or looking at the spa and health and wellness space? Something that's been true throughout your journey that you, you think they should know.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: Well, consistency is key, right? Clients want consistency. If they come to your spa and they experience a particular service and they really enjoyed it, they want to be able to come back and it again in the same way. So I think, you know, training your staff for consistency of quality is very important, but you also have to have systems in place so that as soon as the guest chooses to call our business, that we have systems in place every step of the way of the client journey so that their experience is consistent and consistently good. And if you do make mistakes and you get complaints, you know, we have a choice when we get a complaint, what is the lesson to learn? Is what I always tell our staff when we have an opportunity.
It's not, nobody likes to get a complaint. But when you do get a complaint, what is the takeaway? What is the lesson? We could choose to make excuses, or we could choose to come up with a solution to prevent it from happening again.
So constructive feedback can be what makes the difference between you growing and being the best you can be, or choosing to just make excuses about why something happened. So I think to answer your question, you have to have systems that are going to equal consistency of quality, right from the phone call to the guest arrival to the departure. So consistency of quality and systems that everyone can follow, you have to have the entire team consistent with those systems, constant training and training, training, training, training, and then asking for constructive feedback and learning from it and coming up with solutions. That's how you continue to grow and do better, is listening to the people.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: Fantastic. Thank you so much for your time, Ms. Dubois.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: My pleasure. Enjoyed our conversation.
