Episode Summary

On this episode of A Whole Lotta Shift, we dive into the exciting journey of Anna Hollowell, owner of Glow Gals. Anna shares her journey of starting her own business after watching her mom battle cancer.

We explore how Anna started her own mobile spray tanning business, transitioned into her first salon space and recently added ear and nose piercing to her growing salon business.

We also discussed the importance of mentors in the beauty industry and the power of investing in coaching.

Our guest, Anna, is a licensed esthetician, spray tan artist, and mentor for estheticians, and she shares her passion for empowering women topursue their dreams.

Tune in to this inspiring podcast to learn more about Anna's journey in the beauty industry and her work as a mentor and entrepreneur.

About the Guest:

Anna Hollowell is a multi-passionate wife, business owner, esthetician + spray tan expert, podcast host, business mentor and secretary of a nonprofit. She is a self-proclaimed personal development junkie, mental health advocate, and firm believer that dogs make the world a better place! She helps women start + grow their beauty businesses and is passionate about spreading positivity and love to all of humankind.

Connect with Anna on Instagram and Facebook!

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

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

Website: Glowwithanna.com

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2T5vXxpAvFaxtw4RQh7SQd?si=ff8652b7d5ba4517

About the Host:

Jen is a Confidence Catalyst and Business Mentor saving hustling female solopreneurs from the chains of corporate America. Her passion lies in helping women through their self awakening so they can finally break free, turn their side hustle into the business of their dreams, and live a life full of time, location and financial freedom.

Jen is a California girl at heart, now living out her dream in the Midwest, traveling, coaching female solopreneurs and sharing her own story of triumph and empowerment across speaking platforms. When she's not traveling, she enjoys spending time with her college aged son and her rescued Pit Bull.

After 20 years of various project manager and corporate trainer roles while juggling a wide array of side gigs, she has mastered the ability to help women see what they cannot see, believe they are meant for more and take aligned action to make it happen.

With an MBA in Change Management, and a Health and Life Coach Certification from the Health Coach Institute, Jen is an expert at creating both the business process changes and the personal habit changes needed to finally Break UP with corporate and go all-in on your side hustle or long standing passion project.

Connect with Jen on Facebook or Instagram!

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

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wholelottashift/

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

Free Gift: https://mailchi.mp/4f4ae02ebe45/beat-the-odds

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[00:00:12] Jen Ingram: Welcome to a whole lot of Shift podcast. The podcast for multi-passionate women with an entrepreneurial spirit where we provide inspiration, motivation, and education to help you shift away from all the shoulds and supposed tos to what's truly possible for you in your business and your life, all on your own terms.

[00:00:42] Jen Ingram: Hello and welcome to another episode of a whole lot of shift. I'm super excited to have our guest on the show today, Anna Hollowell. I have been trying to get her on the show for a little while, and our schedules just kept conflicting, but you [00:01:00] guys are absolutely going to love our guests. But before I get in, hi Anna.

[00:01:06] Anna Hollowell: Hey, thanks for having me. Yes. All

[00:01:33] Jen Ingram: All the amazing things that she does and what her journey has been like launching her business and all the amazing lessons she's learned. So, Anna, tell us a little bit

[00:01:56] Anna Hollowell: I have had my own spray painting business here in Wichita, [00:02:00] Kansas for about four and a half years now, called Glow Gals. So I'm a spray tan artist, a licensed esthetician, and I just added ear and nose piercing to my business as well. So kind of mixing it up finally from just doing spray tanning for the last several years.

[00:02:37] Anna Hollowell: So whether that's through sprayed hands, skincare, starting their own business business, um, I'm really passionate about just empowering other women to, you know, do and dream and think bigger for their lives and make it happen with confidence, like I said. So that's a little bit of who I am, but of course, as a multi-passionate woman, I've got my hands dipped in a ton of different.

[00:03:13] Jen Ingram: I love that. So, super fun story. I kind of got connected with Anna during during Covid, I think it was. We got connected online through social media.

[00:03:49] Jen Ingram: Positive outlook on life. And I was like, I don't know who this person is, but like, we need to, we need to get connected. And so we've been connected ever since and I just love following [00:04:00] along in her journey. So you guys are in for a treat today, cuz I know that she has so many insights to share. But first, before we get going, do you wanna play two truths at a

[00:04:12] Anna Hollowell: Let's do it. Let's do it.

[00:04:20] Anna Hollowell: Okay. I've been on a reality TV show. My biggest fear is heights, and I've broken both of my arms.

[00:04:42] Jen Ingram: I feel like all three of these could be the same. Like you were on a reality show and you were afraid of heights and they made you do something really high up and then no. There goes my

[00:04:55] Jen Ingram: I, tell me a little bit. I love I, I don't wanna [00:05:00] give it all away for the audience, but I, it just occurred to me one of the ways that we connected during covid, and it was when you had a mobile, your business was mobile.

[00:05:21] Anna Hollowell: Yeah, well it's definitely been a long journey to get me here. So I will try to make it as concise as possible. But really when I was 21, I dropped outta college and moved away from Kansas for the first time in my life and really went out on a mission to find myself and my passions and, you know, have fun and just really was kind of, Searching for something I didn't even know existed.

[00:06:06] Anna Hollowell: Like I gotta figure something out. And somehow it was, you know, placed in my heart to go to aesthetic school. So, I had never really been. You know, too much of a girly girl, like per se. So I never really cared too much about makeup or skincare or anything like that. But after watching my mom's battle with skin cancer and breast cancer as well, and how she, you know, even just the chemo and radiation really.

[00:06:54] Anna Hollowell: I was bartending several jobs, trying to pay the bills. I just found myself getting really [00:07:00] tired. Really wanted to step into the beauty industry more. And just I knew at the time that like what I was doing and what I wanted weren't the same thing, right? Like something was missing. So I kind of threw many years in many different jobs and many different bosses and.

[00:07:40] Anna Hollowell: So, in LA I started my own, my first business, which was a mobile private event bartending service. And really that was only because I needed money and I needed it quick and the jobs I had weren't doing it for me. And meanwhile, all this time I had. Started working in tanning [00:08:00] salons and kind of dabbled in spray tanning a little bit at the time, as well as the aesthetic side of things.

[00:08:33] Anna Hollowell: Like it just Right. Wasn't waking me up. And I had done it for so long, and even though I could bartend anywhere, you know, no matter where I moved, bartending and serving was always that thing. Things just still weren't feeling quite right. And then but I luckily was working at an amazing spray tan boutique at the same time in Manhattan Beach and I learned a ton there cuz my first spray tan job, I pretty much got [00:09:00] thrown to the wolves, watched the YouTube video.

[00:09:25] Anna Hollowell: Was going through a breakup, had just lost my last living grandparent. I was totally, totally broke. I had no one in LA to support me and I. It just was time to come home. And I knew at that time I had a choice to make. And my choice was what am I gonna do when I get home? And I knew, I just knew in my heart that I had all the tools and resources to start my own spray retaining business.

[00:10:14] Anna Hollowell: And then it definitely evolved from there, especially when covid hit, parties weren't happening. Mm-hmm. You know, pop-up shops weren't happening cuz businesses weren't open. So it definitely evolved. From there. But really the core of it was just knowing that, like, you know, when I had that taste of making my own money and working for myself, I have never wanted anything else since.

[00:10:40] Jen Ingram: Oh my gosh, I love that. I think I r the part I really love about the whole story is how each time you kind of took pause and said, okay. Like, yeah, this feels okay, but this isn't quite it, you know? And, and you kind of just kept going through the [00:11:00] journey, wherever that led being open to it. I think that's, that's so amazing.

[00:11:28] Anna Hollowell: So yes, if you've never got one for me, instant, yes,

[00:11:35] Jen Ingram: Like you just feel, I don't know. It's, it's interesting. So to hear your story of how you all used the same solution on, like, everybody that came in, I thought, oh my gosh. So basically probably half the people walked out orange.

[00:11:54] Anna Hollowell: And no one you didn't know at the time. Plus spray tan solutions have evolved so [00:12:00] much in those, you know, eight-ish years since, since that happened. So thank goodness for that. It's way different.

[00:12:23] Jen Ingram: Tell me a little bit, you mentioned earlier on that you got now, and actually I happen to know because you shared it on social media, that you just added a service for piercings. Tell me a little bit, like kind of what was, was this just something you were interested

[00:12:48] Anna Hollowell: So when I was a kid, I had a pretty traumatic ear piercing, not experience. Oh no. But like the experience was okay, I got 'em done at Claire's, but I like begged my mom for it. So I was like, [00:13:00] probably at least 12 before she let me do it. And I got my years Pierce and then I. Did not take care of them. I let them get infected.

[00:13:36] Anna Hollowell: So I'm going to do it now that I've, now that I'm offering this service, I feel like I have to finally face my beers and get my ears rep pierced. But oh my gosh. Yes, too. I know. So I always wear my hair down so that no one knows when I'm piercing, that I'm on my own ears pierce. But really the last couple years, [00:14:00] so I, I love spray tanning and I love, you know, the career and what.

[00:14:29] Anna Hollowell: I think we all deserve our own success, but I've known for quite a while now that I have to. Do something else, right? Like I have to change it up a little bit cuz I was getting a little burnt out of just doing spray tanning and you know what? You have this other license, right? Like there's a whole world of services I could do, but I wanted, I wanted it to feel good to me.

[00:15:16] Anna Hollowell: And so for the last, you know, two-ish years, I've really kept an eye and an ear out and just an open heart for what I was going to add. And I didn't rush into anything. And I've had a couple ideas here and there. And then this opportunity came up to, you know, add ear and nose piercings and I'm really loving it So far.

[00:15:57] Anna Hollowell: Medical grade device. So to make it safe, [00:16:00] its inventory. Mm-hmm. And really for me, what interests me in doing this was from a business standpoint, the profit margins and the time it takes is comparable to a spray tan, about 20 minutes per client. My cost isn't very much. I can price it at a pretty good.

[00:16:46] Anna Hollowell: And you know, moms bring their kids in to get their ears pierced and then they find out I do spray tanning and then that helps my spray tanning business too. So it all really comes together and has been a lot of fun so far. [00:17:00] That is

[00:17:21] Jen Ingram: You know, you, you don't want that. But I also think it's really amazing that

[00:17:27] Jen Ingram: know, we do have to recognize even though we may be going along in our business and things are going okay, we're gonna continue to grow as a person and, and we need to recognize the times when it is time to maybe add something new to our offerings or change up our business model a little bit, maybe even challenge ourselves.

[00:18:01] Anna Hollowell: And I think, you know, like when it's the right thing at the right time, you just know, so I had this opportunity and two days later I jumped in, you know, and mm-hmm.

[00:18:34] Jen Ingram: Oh my gosh, that's so amazing.

[00:18:59] Jen Ingram: Do you [00:19:00] wanna tell us a little bit about that? I think that's so

[00:19:18] Anna Hollowell: So it's a fun, like time. I always love seeing those memories. But as far as stepping into mentorship goes yeah, I've really, you know, over the years, just between traveling and living in different cities and states, having friends and family from all over the country at this point as well as.

[00:20:11] Anna Hollowell: I loved doing trainings. I loved Giving Anne receiving like information. I love to learn. I love to give, educate help and again, I'm just really passionate about any women who is any woman who is like brave enough to go out and start her own business. I think that's fucking awesome. So I am going to be there to support you, like I said, even if it's just as a cheerleader to you, but.

[00:21:01] Anna Hollowell: So, I'm blessed enough to be able to work side by side with, you know, the, the queen of the spray tanning industry, Kellyann Callahan, and I absolutely love being part of the spray team, class team, and it's really given me a platform to really help support other sunless artists. Mentor them in one-on-one sessions, get them enrolled into a training program.

[00:21:57] Jen Ingram: That's incredible. [00:22:00] Yeah. It's like, you know, and I'm always saying, just being able to work with some type of mentor or coach or whatever in the industry really helps kind of shrink that timeline of kind of being on the struggle bus, if you will, as you're, as you're really just kind of entering the industry.

[00:22:39] Jen Ingram: And I actually think the time is more the issue than the work. But that's just, that's just me. I think that's because our mindset in today's society is so used to things like Amazon Prime, where we get everything like instant gratification, right? So then when they experience that, well, this is gonna take time to really build up enough clientele to really have the business that I [00:23:00] want.

[00:23:27] Jen Ingram: What would you say if you had to, if you had to go back in time and you had to start it all over, what do you think you'd do different?

[00:23:55] Anna Hollowell: But now I do, you know, see the value of making, you know, [00:24:00] scary investments from the start if they're gonna help your business run more efficiently and make you, you know, I could have just, you know, collapsed that timeline a little bit better. I do believe. And then also just, you know, being a little bit more willing to meet people and get out of my introvert shell.

[00:24:40] Anna Hollowell: So just having a plan to move quicker, make better decisions from the get go. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's, that's for sure.

[00:25:09] Jen Ingram: So what would you say if. If you had to give our audience members who were maybe just entering the Sunless tan industry or any bus, any service-based business, honestly, what would be kind of the biggest take away that you would wanna be able to provide

[00:25:38] Anna Hollowell: Number one thing is just don't give up. Like you're going to have to pivot and be willing to pivot. Change things that aren't working. You know, never let your ego get the best of you. And, you know, re always stay humble in your business and know that like things can change. You're not gonna make every customer happy.

[00:26:19] Anna Hollowell: You're always going to face challenges and battles, but as long as you keep going, then you're doing better than a lot of other people. Right.

[00:26:43] Jen Ingram: Like, it's okay. You're going to fail, so as long as you're still moving forward, that's, that's the key. Absolutely. Oh, I love that. Agree. That's a great takeaway. Okay, so I'm super curious, now that I've heard a bit of [00:27:00] background, I wanna try and guess the two truths and a lie. Okay. Because you shared with us that you did spend some time in Los Angeles.

[00:27:31] Jen Ingram: And broken both your arms sounds a little wild, but You know, when we're kids, we, we do just really smart things. Okay, so I'm gonna guess that your two truths are, you've been on a reality show and you have broken both your arms.

[00:27:56] Anna Hollowell: So, I've never broken a bone, but I [00:28:00] really, really scared of heights. You will not catch me on a Ferris wheel ever. And. I think it's what it's called, right? The big, yeah. Yeah. Affairs world. No. And then I have been on an episode of Bar Rescue. Actually, when I lived in San Diego, we got bar rescued at the bar that I worked at.

[00:28:23] Jen Ingram: fun. Oh my gosh. Okay, so are you like afraid of heights to the point where you struggle? Like if you go driving like on mountains and you know how you go around those sharp turns where you can only see like, Down the mountain and another car is coming towards you. Like, do you struggle with those scenarios or are you good?

[00:29:08] Anna Hollowell: Mm-hmm. They don't have anything like on the back. I don't like those, like Right. I just don't want whatever's underneath my feet to be wobbly at all, if that makes any sense at all. It makes so

[00:29:40] Jen Ingram: And so one of the things about that, while I'm not really scared of heights, you're never on solid footing like the entire hike. You're just in a constant state of. Like getting your balance and, and being hyper aware of your surroundings and, [00:30:00] yeah. Right.

[00:30:05] Anna Hollowell: I'll watch the sunset, sunrise, sit on the lake, but yes.

[00:30:25] Anna Hollowell: spray tan. Oh, yes, thank you. So I'm on Instagram at. Excuse me, at Glow with Anna on Instagram is my personal page and where I talk a lot about business and the spray tanning business and, you know, mentorship and all that good stuff.

[00:31:09] Jen Ingram: guys, you should definitely go check out her podcast.

[00:31:33] Jen Ingram: It's definitely, definitely worth it. So, oh my gosh, Anna, this has been so great. I am so glad that we got to have you on the show today. So thank you for coming back. Thank you. I know we tried to record this once before. It was really funny and both of our audios that day just was not having it. And it was really funny.

[00:32:06] Anna Hollowell: talk about. Yes. Thank you. Yeah,

[00:32:20] Jen Ingram: So, I don't know, I think you guys should

[00:32:25] Jen Ingram: along. Really exciting stuff going on.

[00:32:31] Jen Ingram: Will all of Anna's contact information is gonna be in the show notes. So please be sure to check there and get connected with her. And until then, keep making shift happen.

[00:32:42] Jen Ingram: Hey shifters. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of a whole lot of shift. If you heard something today that inspired you or resonated with you, please head over to iTunes and leave us a review to help others as well. Your review [00:33:00] helps me give as much motivation and inspiration as I possibly can.