Abigail Trudden

Have extreme passion about your pursuits and believe in their success because a lot of other people won’t.

 

Abigail Trudden currently lives in Garden City, New York, surrounded by her two siblings and her parents. She attended the University of North Carolina, and with an undecided major Abigail Trudden decided she would follow her father’s footsteps in the financial advisor field but quickly realized that it wasn’t where her interest lied. Deciding to explore her options further Abigail moved to California and lived in West Hollywood where she got a job in a little niche store that sold high end make up and skin care. Abigail Trudden explains that, at that time she thought skin care meant a bar of soap, so for her this was new experience. She quickly fell in love with learning about all the different ingredients in the products and especially enjoyed doing cosmetic makeovers for her customers. Abigail recalls that a woman came in feeling down, Ms. Trudden enhanced her client’s features with a makeover, talked about taking care of her skin and immediately the customer looked beautiful and felt better. This resulted in Abigail’s passion to make people look beautiful and feel positive. While makeup was transformative, and it was her first love she also realized that the foundation to having great makeup was having great skin. Abigail went back to school and recently graduated with a medical aesthetic license. She is the founder and CEO of Redfyned Skincare in Garden City, New York.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

I love being my own boss. I am a self-starter and I can determine my hours and have personal interaction with my own clients. My passion really comes through when I am not representing a brand that is already established and has guidelines in how it should be represented and what it offers. Therefore, the idea of starting my company, came from my passion and love of the industry, that there is a need in the beauty industry for the kind of service and products we will offer.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I am not a morning person; I start my day around 9 am and I typically have around three or more clients per day at the spa plus my other work projects. Looking your best and presenting yourself as a professional is very important. To be able to enjoy what you do helps to make your day productive and successful.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Sometimes I feel like I will have an idea and I will mention it and in the next month I see it in a magazine. My ideas are inspired by what I would want from the beauty industry, what I would like offered to me and how I would like it delivered. I have been very lucky to have the support of friends and family especially my father’s investment in my ideas to help bring them to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Men’s skin care and grooming trends are really exciting to me. I think that men do care about how they look and are very interested in taking care of themselves. The concepts of how to sell to men and this new focus is an interesting market to be involved with.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I think that I am very unique and ostentatious. I don’t follow trends or do what is in style necessarily. Some people may have a hard time with it but I think that being true to who I am and my passion is a habit that helps me be successful.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would definitely tell my younger Abigail Trudden, to follow your dream. Don’t let money influence what you choose to do because even though I am prosperous, I want to enjoy working in my industry every day.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Most people only wash their face once believing that it is sufficient however it should be done twice as part of your routine. For great skin you need to first wash with a lipophilic product and then with a cleanser of your choice.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

As an entrepreneur you have to absolutely believe in yourself and your passion. Have extreme passion about your pursuits and believe in their success because a lot of other people won’t. You will get turned down or fired along the way and the world is not fair but you have to keep believing in yourself and your work and maintain your confidence and in the end you will prevail.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

My social media has been instrumental in terms of growth and awareness of my work. I currently have about thirteen thousand followers and that number is growing. They value my work and my opinion.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

In the past I have undervalued the power of advertising and as a result the return on investment did not happen, it still hasn’t. I didn’t advertise enough to generate the amount of interest that was needed and suffered a financial loss. It was great lesson and to overcome it I have steps in place to ensure that the focus on advertising is a priority for any new projects.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

A spa for men with a sports bar theme is an idea that I think can be very successful. It would be a great experience for the customer.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

The best $100 I recently spent was on Amazon on High Frequency Machine. It’s used after you do extractions on a client during a facial. Its my favorite thing; it closes the pores and is just great for the skin especially for clients who suffer from horrible acne.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Instagram has really helped me to reach so many people and has given me the ability to demonstrate my technique and share my theories with thousands of people. It gives me the ability to shoot a demo and to post fresh and new content frequently and easily.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I would really recommend a book called Make Your Bed by William McRaven. The title is meant figuratively but also literally and it talks about how the simple act of making your bed each morning and putting that structure in place helps you to be productive.

What is your favorite quote?

“Beauty begins when you decide to be yourself” by Coco Chanel. Its one of my favorite quotes and it also comes from a very inspirational person Coco Chanel. Being true to who you are is the ultimate advice.

Key Learnings:

• Love what you do
• Be true to yourself
• The lessons you learn will make you a stronger person
• The support from your family and friends are priceless

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