Meet Amanda Budd | Licensed Esthetician & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Amanda, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Ever since I was young, I have always loved all things related to beauty, fashion and self-care. Going through middle school and high school, I wasn’t always the greatest student. School was challenging for me because I was never interested in any of the subjects and struggled with test-taking. Once I was a Junior in high school, I was introduced to ROP classes. I signed up for a fashion course and fell in love with it. Throughout my junior and senior year, I also took ROP Advanced Fashion and ROP Entrepreneurship. I was always excited for new projects, research and I actually got A’s and B’s! Because of my experiences in school, I was never really interested in society’s “norm” and going to a 4 year university. Instead, I chose to be a full-time nanny and take some community college classes to figure out what degree I wanted. I was really interested in business, so I took some classes and along the way, I decided I wanted to attended a trade school for dental assisting. Fast forward, I had been assisting for close to 2 years and realized I wanted to be an Esthetician. During my dental career, I had taken a course for eyelash extensions and discovered my love for lashes. I had always dreamt of owning my own business one day, but I never knew what type of business I would start. After taking that lash course, I knew I was meant to be in the beauty industry and it kickstarted my entrepreneurial journey. In 2019, I graduated from Esthetician school, passed my State Board tests and received my Esthetician License. With that, I became a Solo Esthetician, rented out my own space and started offering eyelash extensions. Starting my own business was (and still is) a risk, but I believe the possible positive outcomes outweigh the negative “what-ifs.” I have always been the type to follow my dreams, so if that means owning my own business is what truly makes me happy, then I’m going to run with it! I now own my own beauty business where I provide a variety of services such as eyelash extensions, facial treatments and waxing. Everyday, I have the pleasure of making people feel beautiful and confident by providing professional and ethical services.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I believe my passion and morals set me apart from others. I have been a long-time, active beauty consumer and when I started my business, I wanted to provide my guests with an experience that I would personally want when investing in my beauty services. Beauty services aren’t cheap- I strive to surpass my guest’s expectations and create an enjoyable, comfortable experience for them. I am proud to provide my knowledge and professional services that focus on the guest’s needs; as well as providing ethical and effective products.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced so far was deciding to leave my established clientele in Orange County, California and start all over in Arizona. When Covid hit in 2020, it made my boyfriend of 7 years and I really think about where we wanted to live. We were both still living at home and ready to move out on our own, but didn’t want to stay in California. We had family in California and my business was successful, which made it hard to leave, but we knew in the long run, this was the right decision for us. In October of 2020, we packed up my business and our belongings, and relocated to Arizona. I have some family and friends who live in Arizona, so it’s been comforting seeing familiar faces and a lot of fun meeting new friends. Moving here has opened up so many opportunities for me personally and professionally. I have upgraded to a spacious storefront in Mesa where I have a lobby, 3 treatments rooms and a private restroom. It has been a pleasure getting to know my customers on a personal level and I can’t thank them enough for all of the Arizona recommendations! I still have a lot of exploring to do! Although rebuilding a brand new clientele isn’t easy, it’s taught me how to be more patient and driven. Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of self-responsibility, determination and consistency. It’s definitely a challenging career path in many different aspects, but it’s what truly excites me and brings me happiness. I want the world to know I truly love what I do and hope to inspire others along my journey.

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?
Well, I have only been in Arizona for a little over a year now and still need to explore! This past year, we have been adjusting into our new life and I’ve been focusing mainly on building my business here. Although I’m sad to admit I haven’t explored much, I did visit the Grand Canyon for a weekend and Sedona is next on my list. Every time my girlfriends come out from California to stay with me, we always end up at Downtown Gilbert. Our favorite places are OSHO and Whiskey Row. For brunch, I always crave Hash Kitchen and First Watch. I also love the motocross tracks out here. Riding has been a hobby of mine for a few years now and I love riding on the weekends with my dad, stepmom and brother.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shoutout my boyfriend, best friend and family for continuously supporting me and my small business. Starting your own business is not easy, but having constant love and support definitely helps. Not everyone has a positive support system when starting their own business and I’m very grateful for the people I have in my life. I would also like to shoutout my fellow Estheticians and beauty professionals. I want to thank our community for being so positive and uplifting. It’s been such a wonderful experience entering this industry and there’s so many professionals out there who are so open with their knowledge and experiences.

Website: https://buddsbeauty.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddsbeautysalon/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BUDDSBEAUTY

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/budds-beauty-mesa

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUWUqTYiHAZqs6At8E87Lkg/videos

Other: https://linktr.ee/buddsbeauty