A in the
DayBY KELLY HEITZ
HOLLY WYDRA Account Development Manager
FarnHouse Fresh, McKinney, Texas
Close to celebrating three years with skin-care brand FarmHouse Fresh, Holly Wydra couldn’ t be more in love with her job.“ We are always extremely busy on the farm, and it can be stressful, but when you see the difference you are making by helping to create and sell natural beauty products that people fall in love with, you can’ t forget that feeling. You just feel privileged to be a part of it.”
Wydra began her love of beauty products watching her mom work as a representative for a network marketing skin-care brand. Digging through her mother’ s sales kit inspired her to go to beauty school. While furthering her education, she was offered a teaching position at the beauty school she attended. It was there she discovered her love of training, teaching and helping others in the industry.
“ That experience created opportunities for me to manage some fabulous and high-profile resort spas, including one where I became instant friends with a FarmHouse Fresh trainer who came to train my staff,” she says. It wasn’ t long before this friend offered Wydra a position at the farm.“ I’ ll never forget when she called me on New Year’ s Eve
Life! to offer me the job. My best New Year’ s to date! I started as a part-time trainer and quickly grew into a full-time position, focusing on account support across the country.”
In her role as account development manager, Wydra works with different spas on implementing FarmHouse Fresh products into their menus and retail spaces.“ My favorite part of my day is when I get to talk to a spa manager or therapist who needs help creating a treatment, customized just for their location, or needs help understanding how to use a new product,” says Wydra.
As dynamic as her job can be, Wydra likes to keep a semblance of a routine to make sure everything gets crossed off her list. Here’ s a snapshot into her day:
★ 7 am“ Every day begins with me waking up to a giant paw swatting me, followed by sloppy kisses— this would be my large and obnoxious dog telling me it’ s time for breakfast.”
★ 8 am Checks emails and voicemails to see what needs immediate attention.“ I try to respond to as many emails as possible before the phone begins to ring. I especially love when they call with a theme and need help
The life of a spa professional is a continuous cycle of daily responsibilities that help make the spa world go round. Pulse asks ISPA members to give us a sneak peek into their daily lives to help us understand the roles they play and the difference they make on a daily basis. creating a treatment to match— a fun challenge!”
★ NOON Takes lunch breaks that includes snuggles with the farm’ s
rescue donkeys and horses.
★ 1 pm“ I often spend time meeting with our Training Department to discuss upcoming trainings or video shoots. We’ re always brainstorming!”
★ 2 – 3 pm“ Some days I will have a conference call or meet a local hotel or resort account to provide additional support, discuss seasonal treatments, retail display and ideas to bring in our newest products. Anytime I visit a hotel or resort, I allow myself a few minutes to walk around and explore. Sipping coffee next to a flowing fountain while I check my phone can be a nice break even if only for five minutes.”
★ 4 pm Tests new products.“ In some days, Shannon, our founder, will call me over to smell or feel samples of new products. This is always exciting! We’ re always in product development mode, and we work as a team to do tests, and provide feedback and ideas,” Wydra says.“ Some products will require me to go into our treatment room and perform a service on one of the team members so we can see if the product is treatment-room friendly. Fortunately, it’ s not hard to persuade someone to get a mini treatment during the work day!” n
WYDRA LOVES to get her creative juices flowing. Click here to check out some unique ways she has helped spa managers create custom treatment options for their spa.
58 PULSE ■ May 2017