Skylee Edmiston: Skin Games 2nd Place Winner
Skylee Edmiston, Director of Esthetics Education at Empire Beauty Schools, dedicates her spare time to making a difference with her nonprofit organization, Face the Fight. Edmiston provides complimentary wellness services to oncology patients, past and present. When she heard of the Skin Games Competition, she took the opportunity to enter her nonprofit in the Compassion category.
As a finalist, Edmiston was invited along to be interviewed by a panel of judges in Atlanta, GA March 16-19, 2023. There were a total of 9 finalists, Edmiston received 2nd place and a prize of $3,000!
I run a Facebook group for all Arizona Estheticians, we have about 15,000 members mostly company or product representatives. The people in charge of Skin Games shared the event with the group. There were a ton of categories, I saw that they happened to have one for compassion which is for nonprofits.
I emailed them and they said to be eligible you need to have a 501(C)(3) nonprofit, and you have to submit 5-1 minute videos about what you do, why you do it, how it benefits people, how you raise money, and what you would do with the prize money. 32 judges reviewed the applicants and chose the 9 finalists. We were able to go to the show in Atlanta and do in-person interviews with the judges.
Edmiston started her nonprofit in 2014 and has been with Empire Beauty School since 2019, formerly as the Executive Director of the Central Tucson campus. Edmiston discusses how she funds her nonprofit.
Any time I receive money it goes towards product costs, advertising, supplies, brochures, retail products they can take home, and other operating costs. I also have a spa attached to my nonprofit that anyone can visit and 28% of those service profits go toward the nonprofit.
Most of the ways I raise money are through the community. We do fun runs, raffles, workouts, and more to raise money. It’s been challenging but I find so many people want to help but don’t know how. Giving people opportunities to help, all adds up in the end.
This idea of starting this nonprofit began when Edmiston learned that someone close to her was going through cancer treatments and was unsure if it would be safe to visit a salon. She took the time to research how to safely provide spa services in a comfortable environment.
My son’s grandmother was one of my biggest models when I was in school to become an esthetician. She would always visit for services which were great because I was learning. All of a sudden she stopped coming and I reached out to her. She told me she was going through cancer treatment and I didn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to come to visit to relax. She wasn’t sure if it was safe, if it’ll hurt her, or what to do.
I did research and found people who do treatment specifically for cancer patients so that I was able to treat her. Unfortunately over the last few years, I lost my mom and grandmother to cancer which was hard but fueled me. I’m doing this because it is personal and because I see what these people go through. They need that relief, escape, and time to themselves in a safe environment. That’s how it started and now we’re here.
To those that are interested in starting your own business, Edmiston recommends doing your research and lots of it.
I will tell you the biggest thing I can say is to do research. I am so sad because I see so many people start businesses that have no background or no knowledge of business. Everyone wants to work for themselves but it’s also the hardest thing you’ll ever do and it takes the most amount of organization and research to know what’s legal and how to pay taxes. All of this background information that’s not fun and no one thinks about what to research. Take your time and find a mentor. Getting involved with people that are doing the same thing but have been doing it longer is the best thing I’ve ever done. They struggled to figure it out and I was able to learn from them. Mentors are so important.
If you want to do something, just do it. Don’t think about it forever because where is that going to get you? Just jump in; what’s the worst that’ll happen?
For more information about Empire Beauty School, visit https://bit.ly/LearnMoreAtEmpire