One of the things we’re most proud of as a company is building our community of spa partners around the nation (and soon, the world!). Every year, we look forward to gathering with our community at our annual Botnia Esthetician Workshop for continuing education and sharing new skills and information that helps to build up their businesses. 

We want to build an industry that helps foster relationships and helps to support our partners in times of difficulty and growth! This year, the theme for our workshop is Honoring Your Practice of Healing. We’ve designed our classes to support our partners in building esthetics skills and business skills in a holistic way, with lots of mindfulness and heart-centered teachings.

As a consumer, why does it matter that Botnia hosts an esthetician workshop every year? 

As students of healing, there’s no one formal way of the path of holistic estheticians. While it requires going to an esthetics school and obtaining a license, beyond that first point of education, it can be hard to know how to run a business when you’ve never done it before. 

Many estheticians begin their career at a larger spa to gain experience. Many work as solo entrepreneurs healing clients in their communities.

 If you’re in a suburban area or outside of a city, it can be hard to connect with like minded people. Our founder, Justine, saw this trend in the beauty industry and after looking at all the available brands out there, didn’t find one that felt like a community. So she built Botnia, and from day one, began to build a community she wished she had as an up and coming esthetician. 

A community who not only values skin health, but the quality of skincare products that can be customized to each unique person. What was also missing was continuing education after completing esthetics school. At Botnia, we provide workshops and masterclasses throughout the year; we take feedback from our community, listen to their wants, and create classes around topics that will truly help them thrive. We always look to develop classes around all aspects of an esthetics business.

Workshop day one – New skills for the treatment room

When we choose speakers for our workshop, we look for experts in their field who will bring value to everyone in our community. 

The first day of classes is centered around skills all of our estheticians can use in the treatment room. We’ll settle into the day with sound healing, then hop right into spa talk with one of our spa partners, Leia of Flower Power Skin Studio in Ohio, who will teach our community the mindful and meaningful way she uses word choice and sets intention in the treatment room.

We know as estheticians that sometimes we forget to care for ourselves when we get wrapped up in our schedules for the day. That’s where teachings from our hand therapist will help our partners care for their most important asset for esthetics: their hands! Next, we jump into some creative fun where our very own Community Specialist and Master Esthetician, Julianna of Blu Moon Beauty will teach our partners watercolor painting with inspiration from our micro-farm. Just like we use the skin as a canvas, we can use the same skill to bring art into our treatment rooms!

Last up, our Acne Workshop! Our final class of day one is hosted by our founder, Justine, and Master Esthetician, Amanda of Coastal Glow Skincare. We’ll be diving into the different types of acne we see in the treatment room, their triggers, and how we treat them using our back bar apothecary. 

Workshop day two – Essentials for business owners

The second day of our workshop is focused on skills our estheticians need as business owners and solo entrepreneurs. They’ll learn how to set business values with our business coach, and take a hard look at finances and the mindset we have around what it means to have financial wellness with our financial coach.

In between those sessions, we have a few creative micro-sessions to help break up the two deep thinking courses of the workshop. Learning how to design an intentional space with Danica of Plum Organic Beauty and floral arranging, creating a welcoming environment for our clients with (yours truly) Peonie from Botnia Customer Care.

Each class touches on a different part of our businesses and we do our best to bring teachings that’ll help our spa partners grow in different areas. Some of these resources can be out of reach for many folks, as it can cost thousands of dollars to work with a financial advisor or business coach. We’re so happy to be sharing our secret garden of teachers and coaches and connecting them with our community!

Why we offer this annual workshop

We want to be more than just products on a shelf. When we bring a holistic esthetician or spa partner into our community, we look for those who have similar beliefs in caring for others in the world. We believe in a collaborative industry where we help to bring others up, pushing business owners and estheticians outside of their comfort zone to keep learning and flowing with the times, always questioning the world around us and growing. With the knowledge our partners learn from our workshop, we love knowing that they are always looking to improve their services and provide the best holistic techniques to heal skin. 

When you see a Botnia esthetician, you know they’ve been fully trained to use our products for different skin types and the facial you receive will always be uniquely special and customized to treat your skin where it is in the moment. You’ll never see a squeeze tube facial with Botnia. And you’ll be happy to learn that our spa partners are also educated to choose the right skin care regime that’ll work for your unique skin!

Testimonials from our spa partners

Bringing together over 100 spa partners from all over the nation is no easy feat, but the hard work we put into making this a special event is worth it. We love our spa partners so much and do all we can to help them thrive. 

Here are a few love notes from our spa partners about last year’s workshop:

“I loved the variety of offerings and experts with a passion for lifting each other and the inclusivity.”

“The smaller breakout rooms were helpful, to feel more of a sense of community.”

“Never in my dreams did I think connecting to such an amazing product line would also connect me to an amazing community with such love and support. The classes I got the most out of were actually the most uncomfortable ones for me to take… totally out of my comfort zone and addressing areas that were neglected.”

“Loved learning new things and getting different perspectives on ways to improve our businesses!”

“I also LOVED the finance class. I feel like that is a subject that is not talked about enough, especially for women.”

“I felt the love, sweat, and elbow grease you put into this amazing online summit . . . like a warm hug from a best friend. Truly out of this world in love, thoughtfulness, and generosity.”

We’ve packed our two-day workshop with so much continuing education because that’s what our partners deserve. To be seen and to be met. Mostly it’s our way of showing them our gratitude for helping Botnia grow. We’re so excited to get nerdy and chat about all things, health, wellness, skin, and plants! And who knows … hopefully next year, we’ll all get to meet each other IRL!

Xo,
Botnia 

P.S. If you’re interested in learning how to become a Botnia spa partner, you can check out the qualities we look for in our partners and apply here.