Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1208034
find your dream career! ascpskincare.com/career-toolkits 59 FINDING ESTHETICS Jessica often worked two jobs while going to school full time to support her newborn. Her first real job was marketing. "You know, hardcore sales and going door to door. All the 'no, no, nos' can break someone's spirit, but the job is what taught me how to generate revenue, build a business, and be OK with the nos." Next, Jessica moved on to an accounting and bookkeeping position for a large advertising and marketing firm. There, she learned what it takes to run a business, such as reading balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements. "But that life wasn't for me," Jessica says. "I am too much of a people person to be locked up in a room crunching numbers." Upon discovering an interest in medicine, Jessica went back to school to become a certified nursing assistant, which turned into medical assistant, as well as licensed phlebotomist, emergency medical technician, and certified thermologist. Though she loved the field, "It kind of runs you down," Jessica says. "You see patients dying, you see patients in pain, and there's not very much left to do but to make them comfortable. You can't help but feel like you are dying alongside them." Finally, Jessica found esthetics. "I started working with a woman who believed in me more than I ever believed in myself —Dr. Emilia Ripoll," Jessica says. "She had a holistic medicine clinic and urological oncology practice that lit a fire within me." Ripoll sent Jessica to become certified in injectables and then to esthetician school, and together they opened a medical spa within the clinic. "This was it for me," Jessica "I was thriving off this new energy. It made me feel resilient. Working in a med spa, you have a different environment, a different experience with people. I loved that I was making people feel beautiful and confident." —Jessica Marie says. "This is what I wanted. I was thriving off this new energy. It made me feel resilient." "Working in a med spa, you have a different environment, a different experience with people. I loved that I was making people feel beautiful and confident." A FUTURE COMES TO FRUITION Jessica's list of advanced education and certifications is impressive. Beyond her certification in injectables, she is a licensed permanent makeup artist, and certified in microneedling, lash lifting and tinting, and henna eyebrows. Today, Jessica specializes in 3D areola pigmentation, Botox, fillers, and platelet-rich plasma injections, and last year she launched her own medical-grade skin care line. In 2016, armed with years of business experience and skin care knowledge, Jessica opened the first of two Longmont-based day spas, JMarie Skin Studio. Her carefully vetted and close-knit team includes five estheticians, two emergency medical technicians, and one massage therapist. "Our business is exceptional because of the incredibly talented, kind, and charitable team that comes in each day and helps me make my dream a reality," Jessica says. "We have over 63 years of combined experience in the medical and esthetic fields, and we are passionate about continuing education."