Lynelle Lynch of Bellus Academy on partnering with ISPA to promote careers in the spa industry, and why this matters

Lynelle Lynch is the owner of Bellus Academy, a San Diego-based beauty and wellness academy with17 programs spanning the entire beauty and wellness industry.

She also the President of the Beauty Changes Lives Foundation, which is committed to uniting the beauty industry to support the next generation of beauty and wellness professionals, and since its inception has awarded over $2 million and over 300 scholarships to cosmetology, nail, massage and aesthetic students.

Lynch is working with ISPA to help solve the staffing issue plaguing the spa industry with the launch of Get Your Dream Job, a campaign to spread the word to those whose dream job is in the spa and wellness world.

We asked Lynch about this campaign and how spas can benefit from it.

How did you come into what you are currently doing?

I actually inherited the schools about 12 years ago. My husband has owned them for many years and the lady running them passed away of a heart attack, so I came into this beauty school environment, and realized quickly that the spa and salon industry demanded some advanced skills that were not being offered.

So, we put these programs together, and just two years later we were named the number one school in the nation and up to last year we were named Intercoiffure’s number one academy. I believe this is because we teach the skills that the professionals want — marketing skills, business skills, and technical skills.

Can you speak about the staffing issues affecting the spa and salon industry?

The real tragedy of the industry is one of perception. I see so many people coming to our school who have been pressured to go to either a university, or try other careers, because beauty and wellness isn’t perceived as the path to a successful career. But it can be a wonderful path.

So, what did you do with that knowledge?

That was the catalyst for the launch of Beauty Changes Lives, which started out as an event showcasing icons within the industry to parents, to illustrate that there are people with a beauty school license that either have gone on to own top spas or top salons, or have otherwise successful careers.

This problem also affects the spa industry. I believe that we need to work to change perception and get the word out that these are exciting and viable career options. So, we’ve launched the partnership with ISPA to communicate that careers in spa and wellness have a lot to offer, including world travel, excitement, and the opportunity to impact the lives of others.

A few years ago Reuters did a survey on how many people actually have their dream job and found that only 14% of people in America have their “dream job.” The rest just work for a paycheque. Well, this could be that dream job.

How can people use this campaign to spread the message?

The Get Your Dream Job website features all of the assets for both salons, and spas to print and share, which we hope will inspire them to talk to their guests about the tremendous value of employment in the spa and the salon industries.

We’ve also partnered with school organizations to offer a scholarship grant to individuals coming through this campaign valued at $500.00.

At Beauty Changes Lives we continue to offer cash scholarships valued from $2,000 all the way up to $25,000.

The idea is to unite the professional industry in talking to their guests about the value of these careers, and be the catalyst for someone to say, “I’ve always wanted to do it, but I didn’t realize it could be a credible career.” People in the industry can help others take that leap and go enroll in beauty school, and this benefits everyone.

Almost all the schools across the country offer day and night programs, so we’re very excited as we enter into 2018 to have this campaign truly impact the perception of the industry with more people talking about why they love their job, why it’s a dream job, and how that can help us fill this job gap.

For more information and to print the assets, visit http://www.getyourdreamjob.com/

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