Not So Small
Running a small business is anything but small. In each episode our host, Sam Bauman, asks small business owners about their challenges, triumphs, and the passion that keeps them going. Through this, Not So Small seeks to spotlight and strengthen the small businesses that are dedicated to their community and care about more than the bottom line.
Not So Small
Drop Dead Gorgeous: Cody-John Marks
In this episode of Not So Small, we sit down with Cody-John Marks, the owner of Drop Dead Gorgeous in Northeast Minneapolis. As an esthetician, Cody shares how his personal journey with self-confidence and beauty standards inspired him to create a welcoming space for anyone who has felt excluded by traditional beauty norms.
Cody opens up about the challenges of launching a business during the pandemic, the risks he has taken to grow, and the importance of setting boundaries for work-life balance. He also reflects on the power of healing touch, the role of authenticity in building lasting client relationships, and the ways his community has supported him along the way. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone looking to redefine success on their own terms and create a business rooted in passion, inclusivity, and self-care.
Guest Info
Community Shoutout
Other Links:
Gloss Genius
Host & Show Info
- Host Name: Sam Bauman (she/her)
- About the Host: Sam is the President of Mellowlark Labs, a Twin Cities-based small business consulting agency. She has a masters degree in counseling psychology, a field she worked in for several years before applying her skills in business, and is certified in Organization Development.
Podcast Website
Sound Editing By: Adam Rondeau
Podcast Art By: Andy Bauman (website)
Hey, everyone, and welcome to not so Small, the podcast where we sit down with small business owners in the community and talk with them about the big topics. This week, I got to sit down with Cody John Marks, the owner of Drop Dead Gorgeous in Northeast Minneapolis. Cody is an esthetician who offers lash and brow services and custom facials, and he is bringing a really unique perspective and approach to the spa services that he provides. He talked a lot about authenticity and how he brings that to every corner of his business. And he also shared with us his journey to becoming an esthetician and the way that he brings healing touch and body positivity into all of the work that he does. I also really loved hearing Cody talk about the ways that his community has supported him in growing his business. That's really what we're looking to do here on not so Small. And Cody is such a good reflection of the power of community in bolstering small businesses. So I hope you enjoy our conversation. You said that you wanted to help people feel more confident and help them with their skin. Tell me a little bit more about the problem that you set out to solve and maybe how that's evolved over the last four years.
Cody-John Marks:Yeah, so I remember just growing up and feeling like I was struggling with my skin as a boy. I feel like we are not taught how to take care of ourselves the same way. And this doesn't just go for boys, but just people in general sometimes aren't taught how to take care of their skin. And I struggled really badly with feeling confident in my skin. I had a lot of acne growing up, and it really affected my self confidence. And so as I progressed through life, I just worked a lot of jobs, mostly in retail and in healthcare. And finally one day I decided to go back to school and go to the Aveda Institute here in Minneapolis. And I found out that the program was nice and short. I wasn't going to be in debt the rest of my life, and it sounded very appealing to me. So I signed up for esthetician school went and I fell in love with it. And what I learned was it's. I just really love being able to use healing touch to help people and things like that. And so this, the reason why I started my business was actually to create a space that was inclusive for people who I feel have been left out of the conversation when it comes to the beauty standards here in America. And I relate so deeply to that because I've grown up as someone who is a part of the LGBTQ community and someone who is or has been overweight my entire life. And I've had a few experiences in the past before owning my business where I would go into spa salon spaces and feel like I wasn't welcome or feel like I was out of place because of how I looked or how I presented. And I always felt like I was being judged or criticized for it. So the real message behind my brand and what I do is to create a space for larger bodied people, LGBTQ community, and just anyone who has felt disenfranchised by the typical beauty standards that have been pushed upon us from TV and media. And so that was really what inspired me to go forward, create this brand and welcome and make an inclusive space for people.
Sam Bauman:That is so cool. I think that is a really needed space, a really needed mission. So that's really neat. I also really like that you said that you use healing touch. I think that often when we think about spa services or beauty, we don't really connect it to healing touch. I'd love to hear you talk a little bit more about how you see those two things being related.
Cody-John Marks:Yeah, so. So for me, you know, the main reason I went to school again was like, for the facial aspect. And facials especially taught at Aveda are very ritualistic and ayurvedic. And that's really about, like, connecting with like, mind, body, spirit, that type of stuff. So what I learned was while I was in school, I was doing these facial services on these clients and I had this one woman who kept returning to me or she would come back and she would request me and every time she would leave a comment on the feedback form, it would say, cody, you were meant for this. You have such a great touch. It feels wonderful. I feel like a different person every time I'm here and I get to see you and all this stuff. And I remember saving that and putting it in a shoebox along with the rest of my feedback I'd received. And so right before I started my business, I was going through all of those things and looking at all the feedback I got. And I just remember there being so many times where people were like, it was your touch. It was how you know, your energy, that kind of thing. And so I really believe that, you know, anyone can learn to do anything, really. But when your soul and your passion and your intentions are set in it and you really want to make people feel good, I think that transfers from one person to the other and I think it is very healing.
Sam Bauman:Yeah, that feels like it really is in line with your mission too, that you're not just providing beauty services. You are, you know, helping people heal and helping them feel better about themselves.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely.
Sam Bauman:That's really cool. So you said you've owned your business for about four years and you've been in this space for how long?
Cody-John Marks:I've been in this space since April of 2024, so.
Sam Bauman:So in the time that you've been running your business, how have you motivated yourself during hard times? You said you started in the middle of the pandemic. That's definitely a hard time. So what keeps you going?
Cody-John Marks:Yeah, so that was a very interesting time. I want to talk about that for just a moment because a lot of times when I tell that story, people often are very shocked and surprised by it. But here's. Here's the thing. So I really live by this idea that there is no better time than now. And with the way the world was going, this idea of having a space where it was just one one and masks were encouraged and things like that, it created this call for a safe space to just come and receive a service. And so many people had been isolated in quarantine for a while. So people were just begging to have someone be near them, touch them, and feel some sort of connection, even friendship at that point. So it actually ended up being something that aided me in building my business because I was able to develop those one one safe relationships with people where people didn't have to worry about being in a big, busy salon and possibly getting Covid just for wanting to get their hair done or like something done for themselves. But yeah, as far as challenges go, I would say I feel that I. As I moved my business, I of course was kind of in a slump with my business because the economy was shifting, so many things were shifting and people come and go sometimes, you know, so that's just the nature of business. And then this opportunity came up to move my business here to Northeast. And I just really was super anxious and super scared to do it. Excuse me. Because I again was like a little worried about my clientele. I was worried about what was going to happen next. But I just remembered that the very first time I started this, everyone doubted me or I didn't have a lot of support. And it felt like a very big, scary decision. And I remember, oh yeah, this is what propelled me forward. So I took the leap on that, moved into the space, and I just feel so supported by this community here. Unlike where I was before, it just was a different area and it was surrounded by larger Businesses that you know, and I was hidden away and tucked away, whereas here now I have kind of front and center stage visibility. And I feel like the community here really wants to support small business. So I feel that I have motivated myself by creating this new space, meeting new people, and I just feel re inspired again to like, keep doing what I've been doing and spread my message.
Sam Bauman:Yeah, so it's a couple of things. It sounds like. One is there was a bit of motivation in the doubt that people had about whether you could be successful. And I totally get that. Having people say, oh, I don't know if you can do that makes me want to do it even more most of the time. And then also being supported by the community that you're serving and kind of being reaffirmed in the thing that you're trying to do here. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Would you say that moving to this new space is one of the bigger risks that you've taken with your business? Or what are some of the risks that you've taken in the last four years?
Cody-John Marks:I would say this one was one of the, probably the biggest one because I had at one point, probably in 2022, had my busiest year I'd ever had, and I was working to the point of almost burning out, which is again, great financially, not great spiritually or physically, truly. But I would say this move was definitely probably the scariest thing or the biggest leap I've taken since starting the business. Everything else was like, you know, adding new services, doing things like that, social media work. It's just kind of what comes with the job. But this was like relocating everything, changing everything up. It was both exciting, but just nerve wracking at the same time.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. What are some of the lessons that you feel like you learned from making the decision to take that risk?
Cody-John Marks:I really feel like the thing that I've learned is kind of what I spoke to already was that, you know, when I feel the most scared to make a move or the most anxious or the most concerned about taking a chance off myself, I have to remind myself that is how I got here, was by doing that. And so, you know, I feel like when I feel the most resistance or the. The most anxious about something, that is the sign to go for it. And if I've always listened to that, even, you know, after doubting myself a few times at which is human, I feel like I have always ended up ahead and where I really wanted to be, but I had to push through. And I feel that a lot of times, especially in business or doing what I do as. I'm just one person. My company is me. There is no one else here. I handle everything. I do social media, I do the email marketing, I do client communication. Like this brand is me. And I think like, if you truly are putting all your eggs in that basket, you have to be able to push through and push past the risk. They say higher the risk, the higher reward. And it's just, it's true. Speaking from my own experience.
Sam Bauman:Yeah, yeah. When you are a one person show, you're being asked to grow in a lot of different directions simultaneously. Right. I mean, were talking when we arrived about how, you know, you start the business for the thing that, you know, gets you excited, helping people feel more confident in themselves. And to sustain the business, you also have to do social media, do accounting, client communications, all of those things. And maybe those aren't all things that come naturally to you, Right? Absolutely. Yeah. I really like what you've said about pushing yourself to grow and actually using that as that fear, that anxiety as a signal that you are headed in the right direction. One of my favorite phrases is courage over comfort. It's something I've been channeling over the last few years and I think it really is that sentiment that sometimes it's better to be a little scared and do it anyways than to sit in a space that feels comfortable and familiar.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely. I feel like there's a lot of quotes about something similar where it's like, you know, staying where you are, you're not going to grow. But if you push yourself outside your comfort zone or go through those difficult times. So, you know, when I think about the times where I'm stressed out or say business is a little slow or things of that nature, I always lean into what is this propelling me forward to like what is next? There's something, there is always going to be something beyond this. And we really manifest, I feel, our own destiny in that way. Obviously that might not be the truth 100% of the time, but going into it with that mindset, I think really does make a difference.
Sam Bauman:Yeah, absolutely. The, the way that we approach a situation definitely impacts the outcome. Yeah. And, and when you're a small business, you know, you have to keep your foot on the gas more, I think, because there's just not as much space between a place of success, a place of struggling and a place of so much success you're burning out. You know, it's a fine line to find.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely. Yeah. I struggled with that a lot, because it was a lot of building, building, and your foot's on the gas constantly. And then next thing you know, you're. You know, you're zooming, zoom and zoom in. And then you look back and you're like, oh, wow, I've buried myself in my work. I don't no longer have an identity. I have no time for anything outside of this. I'm just getting home and throwing something in the microwave and being like, okay, go to sleep, wake up, do it again tomorrow. And it's like, yeah, you can afford more things or have whatever. But as I settle into my fourth to fifth year of business, I'm really in this place of work life balance. That is a huge thing for me. And so I have cut back my hours a little bit, and I'm really enjoying this part of life where I feel like I have a healthy amount of work and a healthy balance of my home life, which I really enjoy.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. What are the things that you've done that have helped you maintain that balance other than cutting back your hours?
Cody-John Marks:I would say just truly like, better boundaries within my business too. You know, less squeezing in people, more just adhering to my policies and my procedures of things. And it's something that, you know, we kind of touched on earlier was like, the growth of when you start out to, like, where you get to. And I would say in year one, I was, like, never said no to anything, and I was always wanting to please everyone. And that's a really hard tendency to break wanting to please everyone. But the thing that I have learned is by having healthy boundaries, by having healthy standards and kind of like letting people know that gently, people really respect that. And I think, you know, it's. It's. You kind of have to tell people how you want to be treated in a way.
Sam Bauman:Yeah.
Cody-John Marks:And you get a lot of that life balance back when you just advocate for it. And, you know, it's like you're the reason this business exists. So you also have to, like, be in a good place mentally and physically and feel good to be able to also pour back into others. So especially in what I'm doing, I have to have my time for decompression and my mental health and all of those things to be able to provide the best service I can provide.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. I feel like a lot of business owners struggle with saying no and setting boundaries. And I think that it probably partially comes from that fear of, you knowing how close you are to a struggling spot. Do you think that there's any benefit to the business directly for setting those kinds of boundaries. I mean, obviously you're in a better place because you're able to do that. But what about, you know, your business or your business identity?
Cody-John Marks:So I would say that as far as like business identity goes and things like that over the years and over like all of the time and building this clientele up, I would say the people who are, you know, keeping me afloat the most are the people who know me the best. And they're the people who are like cheering me on. When I tell them I'm taking a vacation or some time off. They genuinely are like, Cody, are you like, you're not doing a work thing right? They're like, you're actually relaxing, right? And I go, yeah. And they're like, oh good. I'm so glad because they know how hard I've worked and how much having your own business and doing everything, how hard that is to sustain long term and the toll it takes on somebody. And so a lot of my good regulars I've had for years, they all are very like happy for me for taking time for myself and they understand and they don't want to like, you know, there's some people who, they could text me in the middle of the night and I would totally like respond to them, but they're like, I didn't want to text you too early. So they wait until 9 or 10am, you know, and it's like, even after I tell them, I'm like, my phone's been on silent since 2008. You can text me anytime. I'm not going to answer it anyway. But you know, they, people are just so respectful and so, yeah, you know, I just think like, as far as like business owners go and business ethics goes, you know, I think it's great to work super hard, but I am just not a firm believer in the grind life. I, I am like, I'm so anti grind life at this point. Obviously I want to sustain a my living and be able to provide my services and make people feel good, but I also need to be able to take that time away and do those things that I need to do. So for example, my schedule right now, I start at noon. I'm a morning person. Like if I could work at 6am, I probably would actually because I love that. However, the mornings are now. The time I take to work out, time I take to make sure I'm properly fed, make sure that I'm taking all my medications, like I'm Taking care of me.
Sam Bauman:Yeah.
Cody-John Marks:And then when I get to work, it's like now I get to be a fully realized person for these people and show up in a way that I feel good about showing up. But in the past I would just work, you know, sometimes 12 hours in a day, and now I work like seven max. And that's a good number for me. So it's just, it's all about finding where you're. It feels good for you.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. And having I. I really like hearing you say that you have found success outside of the grind culture. Right. Like, I think it's so important that we have models for running a business that don't require you to self sacrifice or to burn yourself out by working 12 hour days. Because, you know, that is, I think the risk of grind culture, of sort of adhering to that is you sort of start to think that's the only way to get the things that I want. And you're sort of a great example of how that's not the only way.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely. And I'm speaking from my experience of being someone who has worked 45 hours a week doing this and then has dropped down to say now, on average I work about 28 to 30 hours a week, which I'm very fortunate for that first and foremost. But I have done that and that's what caused me to feel like I was losing my love for the craft. Like all of the services I offer are very. It's an art. There's a, there's an art form to it. And when you do it too much and you feel like you're just turning and burning, you just like, you stop loving it so much. You're just kind of like, you know. And so after that, after 2022, I was like, okay, like I am, I'm just exhausted and I'm tired and I don't, I'm not enjoying this anymore. And I don't want to be in a place where I'm not enjoying it because I too feel that transfers to the client. They can feel that. They can tell you're just going through the motions or you're just, you know.
Sam Bauman:Yeah.
Cody-John Marks:So like last year, another really big important thing for me was to focus on my mental health. And that's something I also like to talk a lot about on social media to my clients. I love to talk about going to therapy. I love to talk about finding the right medications if that's a route you want to take for yourself. And last year I started Therapy and started medication. And that totally helped me so much in my journey as both a business owner and as a person here on earth. Just with handling everything that I go through on a day to day basis. But I talk a lot about that because I think that's another important aspect of when you're one person and you are your business, you have to again, be taking care of yourself. And that was a big thing that I learned about, like taking care of myself and again, being able to share that with other people, normalize therapy, normalize mental health issues and conversations and showing up authentically. It's so important. And I know for a fact that I've had conversations with people about these things and it's inspired them to like also seek out therapy and things like that. And so knowing I'm making those small impacts, even if it's just one person, it's great. Like, that's what I feel like I was meant to do. It's like, yes, I'm providing services, but also I just want to be a real person with you. I want to connect with you and I want to make you feel comfortable enough to be able to, for both of us to share these things with each other.
Sam Bauman:I'm realizing that there are sort of these parallel processes happening. You're talking about really like a holistic look at your own life. And you know, we used to talk about work life balance, and I think the conversation has changed to work life integration. We don't need work and life to be separate. Work can be part of life if we do it well. And so you're talking about how you've kind of brought all of those things together and found balance and that's actually what's allowed you to help your clients do a version of that too. They're not just thinking about the way that they look or, you know, the way that their skin looks. They're also, you know, reconnecting with themselves and their identity through the services that you're providing.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely, yes. And I love that you touched on that whole integration thing because like, again, when you are this person who's doing these things, there's almost this gray zone of like, where does it separate, you know, but so much of it is influenced by the other. So it's a very yin yang kind of situation. Yeah, that's, it's just so fascinating.
Sam Bauman:That's really cool. So being a one person business, are there tools or processes that you have developed to help you manage at all things that have been particularly helpful for you.
Cody-John Marks:So I'm really thankful for my booking website that I use. I would say that is probably the most versatile and useful tool that helps me be able to run my business. It's called Gloss Genius. So if there's any beauty professionals who are listening to this or that will listen to this, I really love it because it's a website for me that also has my portfolio on it, has reviews, all my information, a lot about just like learning about me. So you get to kind of see who I am before you even book an appointment. And then it has all of my services obviously listed and descriptions of everything. And that has been the feedback I've received the most, was, I love how easy to use your website is. I love how aesthetically pleasing it looks, all those things. And that's just all integrated into every part of my business. So that's kind of like my selling point, my way. I collect money and payment from people. That's how I show people everything. It's very helpful. So I really am thankful for tools like that.
Sam Bauman:Yeah.
Cody-John Marks:And I would say that is like the most useful tool when it comes to operating and running the business.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. I mean that all of the things that you just talked about, payment, scheduling, a portfolio, those are all things that can take a lot of time to maintain if you don't have a good tool for that. So that definitely. And I think Glass Genius is fairly well liked. I've seen a lot of. A lot of people using that.
Cody-John Marks:Yeah, it's. It's very. It's beautiful. Like the way that the. The way it gives you options to customize things and do things, it's really wonderful. And their support has been great. I've been using them ever since I started my business. And anytime we've had an issue or anytime I've needed anything, it's only gone, like, down for repairs, like maybe twice. Yeah. In the five years I've been using it. And it's usually resolved within 20 to 30 minutes. So, again, very happy with the service I get from them.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. And it's nice not to have to redirect clients to, like, a separate website for scheduling or payment. Having it all in one place is just better for customer experience too.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely. Yes. And then it also sends them reminder emails. It also sends them confirmation emails. It's. And it's also how I do a lot of my communication within my business as well. Because, again, social media is great and wonderful tool. However, a lot of the times with my following on Instagram, you know, maybe only, you know, A hundred of those people are my clients, and a lot of them are spectators from other states or, you know, just people who see my stuff and they're like, oh, I like this. So this is my way to directly speak to my clientele is by sending them email blasts. So I usually do that about four times a month just to keep them updated on what's new, what's happening, any changes or updates. I always just try to do that or I try to put some knowledge in there, something interesting so they can learn something. But I really like it because that's kind of my way of directly communicating with people who already know me.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. We've talked about it a lot. This is so great. I. I'd really love to hear you share any advice that you have for somebody who is starting a business or who's running a business and struggling with things or.
Cody-John Marks:You know, I want to start this question, and I. I'm so excited to talk about this, but I just want to start this question by saying that this is very particular and specific to people like me who are maybe running their own business. What I've always leaned into and what I've always prided myself upon in starting my business and being my business was showing up authentically as myself. I believe that showing up authentically as yourself allows other people to see your vulnerabilities, allows people to enjoy who you are and appreciate who you are and not building up some glamorized idea of yourself on the Internet. So that way, when people meet you, they're not like, who is this person? But showing up authentic and just being yourself. So, for example, my business dropped out. Gorgeous is very much inspired by the 90s cult classic movie filmed here in Minnesota. And it's just quintessentially very me. It's very dark humor, very tongue in cheek funny, just all of those things. And so that inspired me to build this. And then also just every time I would meet people, there's nothing I would shy away from. I always want to meet people where they are. But if someone starts talking about something very seriously, I always want to listen to them and try to relate and try to empathize with them and, you know, be silly and funny and just like, show my personality. So I've always told people, if you lean into who you are in your authentic self, you will attract the type of clientele in the business that you want. You want people who want to be in your presence. You don't want people who don't get it, you know what I mean? And not to say that every single person who comes in here totally is going to understand me. However, I think setting that principle and setting that boundary of this is who I am as a person, you start to attract like minded people and you attract the type of business of people who appreciate that. Because when I started my business, I have to say, you know, being a year out of beauty school, I was not great at my job. I'm being completely real with you all. I was not great. I was still very much learning a lot of things, being out on my own. Let's just say some brows got very dark tints back in the day. Some people's lashes did not look the best. There was a lot of learning curves. But I had people who kept coming back to me. And I can think of a few people off the top of my head who would still come and see me even after I know for a fact I messed up their brows or messed up their lashes. And I really believe it was because I got to be myself and they liked me for who I was. And so my advice really like means, you know, no matter how much talent you have, no matter how good you are at what you're doing, people are always going to come back if they like who you are and the experience that you gave them. So even if you're not the best artist or the best cook or the best whatever it is that you're doing, if you create a fun experience, you create a great experience with someone, or they really just love your mission and what you stand for, they're more than likely going to come back and frequent your business. So just show up as yourself, be yourself, let people love you for who you are and fall in love with what you've created. And you can just keep building on top of that.
Sam Bauman:What do you think stops people from doing that?
Cody-John Marks:Fear, obviously. Just I think we do live in a society where I believe that we are scared to be ourselves or show ourselves to people because we've been hurt, we've been disappointed, we've been let down. And I think a lot of us are afraid of failure too. Like, we're afraid that I'm gonna do this thing and no one's going to resonate with it. But like people will resonate with you when you are, you know, on your vibrational frequency of, you know, spreading that good energy, being yourself, showing up. And I think, you know, you have to have a passion for what you're doing. I wouldn't be here doing this if I didn't absolutely love it, and people didn't feel that, too. And I think that's also why people gave me another chance to do things, is because they saw how excited I was to do it and to, like, get it right and nail it every time, even when I didn't nail it every time. And there's still times these days when, with all my experience and certifications and everything, I still don't always nail it. But people will come back because they loved spending time with me, they loved our conversation, they loved the experience of being here, and they just loved what I was about. And so, you know, even in my slow times when I was, like, you know, struggling a little bit, I sent out an email once and was like, hey, everyone, thank you so much for all of your support over these years. I just want to say that if you really love what I do and what I stand for and the amount of impact I create on the community, like, I really could use your support right now. And after sending out that email, I think I got, like, 12 appointments. Like, it just was, like, this outpour of support, and people wanted to come in and make sure that, you know, places like mine still exist. And I think that's why it's so important to support our small businesses and spend your money where you feel, you know, it matters. Like, what matters to you. If you care about having a place that's safe for people from all different backgrounds and a place to feel like where you can be yourself and show up however you want, then this is where you should be spending your money kind of thing. So that way I can continue to keep this place going and continue to provide these services for everyone. So that all ties back into just being authentic and really just showing everyone who you are, what you're about, and let people feel that, too.
Sam Bauman:Yeah, you gave me a really perfect segue into my last question. You're talking about community and supporting the businesses that we want to perpetuate, the spaces that we want to keep seeing in our community. So, you know, we've spent today talking about you and your business, and now I'd love for you to tell me about another business in the community that you love, that you think is doing good things.
Cody-John Marks:Yeah. So in our community right here. I really love Nail Ninja right across the street from here. I have to say that the owner, Andrea, is one of the loveliest people I have met, and she's actually part of the reason why I'm here today. So just a quick backstory. I met Andrea about Six years ago, right, like, right when I had graduated from school, I saw her on Instagram. I messaged her and said, wow, I really love your artistic abilities. And she was like, thank you so much. If you ever want to come in sometime, I would love to do your nails. So that was really awesome. And someone who has built a business and been in business for themselves for quite some time and has a ton of experience, I was very shocked at how kind and, like, sweet she was. And I. I thought, wow, like, she was going to. She just will add me to her books. She's had, like, her books closed for, like, a couple years now, so I thought that was really special. So then I got to meet her and get to know her. And when I was in the process of deciding to start my own business, I. I had no one to turn to. Like I said, my dad, he, like, didn't believe in me. My friends didn't believe in me. Nobody believed in me. But Andrea, she was like, cody, if this is your dream, you need to go for it. So she was the one, I would say one of the only people who really was in my corner. And I felt really honored by that. And to see what she has built and the type of business she has built, it's just amazing and so inspiring to me. But she does so much good, and she is just a really lovely person. And I know she's created a lot of opportunity for a lot of other people. And having here across the street from me is just this really comforting thing to know that she's there. A lot of her clientele really like what I do. I send a lot of my clients to her. It's just this really great ebb and flow of, like, sending people back and forth and, like, building this little beauty community here on Johnson Street. It's just really wonderful. But, yeah, shout out to my friend Andrea at Neil Ninja.
Sam Bauman:I do love Neil Ninja. I've been there a few times. Yeah, it's very great.
Cody-John Marks:Yeah.
Sam Bauman:Is there anything that we didn't talk about today that you wanted to. To share with us?
Cody-John Marks:I guess I originally was going to talk about what I do when it's kind of slow or like, another piece of advice for what I do or one of my practices for when I'm going through a rough time. So maybe I can edit this into the other part of the segment. But so again, something that I've learned in business and something that is really important to me, and I think something a lot of other small people who are in a similar Position to me need to hear is that when times are slow and you're starting to worry about financial issues or you're starting to feel like things are out of control, I have to say I'm kind of a control freak, to be honest. And, and I years before would tend to get very in my head and kind of depressed and I would spiral a little bit. But thankfully due to therapy, thank you therapist. I have learned some coping mechanisms. And so one of the things I always like to give advice about is like when you're feeling a slow time in your business or you're feeling a little bit like, oh my gosh, people aren't booking, people aren't coming in, my business is slowing down a lot. What can I do? I always try to focus on what I can control. And what I can control is taking care of myself, stretching, working out, doing those types of things. But also like, what can I do in this downtime that I couldn't do if I was super busy? What can I do to propel my business forward or my life forward when I don't have clients or my business isn't bringing in direct money? So what I've been doing, because January is right now where we're talking about, this is a slow month for a lot of service providers. It's just kind of a well known fact. So in January, what I've decided to do was dive into further education with my skincare brand. They have a whole entire university online with all these free classes that you can take and learn all about all the products, all of the protocols, all these really wonderful things. And so what I've done is in all my spare time, I've taken courses and I'm learning and I'm teaching myself things. So that way when my clients do come back and my clients do come in, I now know more about everything I'm doing and now I can educate them more. And it actually has resulted in me selling more product, selling more of my services because now what I've done is I've educated myself, educated them, and it's actually just helped my business propel even in those slow times. So my thing is like instead of focusing on the stress of not making the money, not doing this, like what can you do to hone your craft, make yourself better. Just working on that self improvement for your business has really helped me.
Sam Bauman:Okay. I think I have to take that advice into a lot of the same things. You know, consulting is very up and down. A project ends and you're sort of like, where's the next one going to come from? So I love that. I think when the time. When times are slow, there's a tendency to. It's like, for me, if I'm not busy, I don't want to do anything. So trying to, you know, not feel like you have to be super busy to. To do things, but keeping yourself motivated enough to. To keep making progress and, you know, maybe some of the things that feel a little bit more boring or. Or aren't directly, you know, the thing that you feel passionate about.
Cody-John Marks:Absolutely. And I also think that we have been conditioned as a culture to feel like we constantly need to be productive all the time. So even on my days off, I'm like, oh, what reel am I gonna post? What content am I gonna post? And like, there's this other part of me that's like, cody, stop. Like, just. You don't. You don't need to do that. Like, it's okay. But like, we have just again, speaking back to that grind culture, we have been conditioned by media and our friends and our peers and our society to constantly be producing and constantly be pushing and pushing until we have nothing left. And it's a travesty that we. We do this, but we get so caught up in it. And so kind of another thing I'm working on is like, unpacking that and kind of stripping away those layers of like, I don't need to be productive all the time. It's okay to rest. Yeah, it's okay to not be posting or to be working or to be thinking about the next project, but I find actually the researching and educating the, like, myself on the skincare stuff to actually be really soothing and kind of just like, really fun for myself. It's very enriching. But then to be able to pass on that education when my clients do come in also has been very fun. And again, I've taken what was kind of like a lemon and turn it into lemonade by being like, oh, hey, I just. I learned recently that this new product is actually really going to help you with this thing that you've been struggling with. They're like, okay, sign me up. They're like, okay, well, I just went from slow to a bigger, you know, sale.
Sam Bauman:Yeah.
Cody-John Marks:You know what I mean? So it's really just trying to focus on the positive. And again, like I say, this is my mantra. Focus on what I can control. That's what I live by. And I really try to focus on. On that.
Sam Bauman:That's awesome.
Cody-John Marks:Yeah.
Sam Bauman:Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today. It's been a pleasure and I have not had the opportunity to come here, but I definitely want to. I, I really do resonate with what you said. Like I, I would just come here just to spend time with you. You know, maybe a facial is not at the top of my list of things to do, but you're, you really are providing, you know, an experience here and I think it's really cool.
Cody-John Marks:Thank you so much. It's been really fun talking to you too.
Sam Bauman:Yeah. Well, there you have it, folks. Cody John Marks, owner of Drop Dead Gorgeous. You can find Cody on Instagram Drop Dead gorgeousmn or on his website. I'm Glossgenius, of course, Drop Dead glassgenius. Com. And you can also find that information. In the episode notes. Make sure you tune in next time for our next conversation with a local small business owner.
