ERICA ROYBAL
Mother. Founder. Esthetics Educator. Mentor.
Building businesses. Raising a son. Helping the next generation of estheticians build careers of their own.
I’m Erica Roybal—an entrepreneur, esthetics educator, permanent makeup artist, author, and founder of Denver Dream Medspa and Elite Aesthetics Academy.
But the titles are only part of the story.
I built my career while building a life. I learned esthetics from the treatment room, entrepreneurship by actually running businesses, leadership by making mistakes, and resilience while navigating it all as a mother.
Today, I use those experiences to mentor estheticians, educate future beauty professionals, support other entrepreneurs, and share what I've learned about creating a career and business that can change your life.
I Didn't Start With a Roadmap.
I didn't grow up knowing I would own a med spa, build an esthetics school, write books, teach students, or mentor other women in business.
My path wasn't linear.
My background in biomedical sciences taught me to think analytically and gave me an appreciation for anatomy, skin, safety, and the science behind aesthetics.
But I was also creative.
And entrepreneurial.
Esthetics eventually became the place where science, artistry, business, and my desire to build something of my own came together.
Then I had to figure out how to turn that skill into a career.
And eventually, how to turn that career into businesses.
I learned how to find clients.
How to perform treatments.
How to become a permanent makeup artist.
How to market.
How to hire.
How to train.
How to manage people.
How to purchase equipment.
How to survive expensive mistakes.
How to build systems.
How to make decisions when nobody else could make them for me.
And I learned much of it while raising my son.
That experience changed what success means to me.
Today, I don't want to simply build successful businesses.
I want to use what I've learned to make the road a little clearer for the women coming behind me.
The Businesses I Built
My experience doesn't come from watching the aesthetics industry from the outside.
I work in it every day.
Denver Dream Medspa
Denver Dream Medspa is the aesthetic practice I founded in Denver, Colorado, where my team and I provide advanced aesthetic and skin treatments with an emphasis on education, technology, individualized treatment planning, and natural-looking results.
Operating a med spa has given me an entirely different perspective on the industry—from treating clients and selecting technology to hiring providers, building treatment protocols, marketing services, and creating a business clients trust.
Elite Aesthetics Academy
As I grew in the industry, I began recognizing a gap between learning how to perform a service and learning how to actually build a career.
That became one of the driving forces behind Colorado Aesthetics Academy.
Today, I have the privilege of helping future estheticians and beauty professionals develop technical skills, confidence, professionalism, and a better understanding of the industry they're entering.
My goal isn't simply to graduate students.
It's to help create capable professionals who know what to do with their education once they leave the classroom.
More Than Esthetics
This Website Is About What Happens Behind the Success.
Business websites tend to show you the polished version.
The beautiful treatment room.
The graduation photo.
The successful launch.
The revenue milestone.
They don't always show you the decisions, uncertainty, failures, sacrifices, fear, persistence, motherhood, difficult conversations, expensive lessons, or years of work behind them.
That's what I want to talk about here.
I created EricaRoybal.com to share the lessons I've learned through esthetics, entrepreneurship, education, leadership, and motherhood—the ones that don't fit neatly onto the websites of the businesses I've built.
Some are about esthetics.
Some are about business.
Some are about being a mom.
And some are simply about figuring life out while you're building something bigger than yourself.
For the Esthetician Who Wants More
You Can Build an Incredible Career in This Industry.
But talent alone isn't enough.
I've watched students enter this industry excited about their futures and quickly discover that esthetics school is only the beginning.
You also need to learn how to:
Build relationships.
Retain clients.
Communicate value.
Market yourself.
Understand numbers.
Develop a specialty.
Continue your education.
Recognize good opportunities.
Walk away from bad ones.
And eventually decide what your version of success looks like.
Through my esthetician career guides, I share what I've learned as someone who has been an artist, provider, employer, educator, and business owner.
Start Here
How to Become a 6-Figure Esthetician
The skills, positioning, business knowledge, and career decisions that can dramatically increase your earning potential.
How to Build a Clientele as a New Esthetician
What I would focus on if I were starting from zero today.
Should You Open Your Own Esthetics Business?
The questions I'd want you to answer before signing a lease.
How to Market Yourself as an Esthetician
How to become the provider clients ask for by name.
For the Woman Building Something
Entrepreneurship Changed Me.
Owning a business has been one of the greatest opportunities of my life.
It has also humbled me more times than I can count.
I've made good decisions.
I've made expensive ones.
I've hired the right people and the wrong people.
I've taken risks that worked and others that didn't.
I've learned that revenue isn't the same thing as profit, growth isn't always healthy, and being busy doesn't necessarily mean you're moving forward.
Most importantly, I've learned that there is no point at which someone hands you a certificate saying:
Now you know how to be an entrepreneur.
You learn by doing it.
I share those lessons here because sometimes the most useful business advice isn't another perfect success story.
It's hearing someone say:
I tried this. Here's what happened. Here's what I'd do differently.
From My Business Journal
What I Wish I Knew Before Opening a Med Spa
The Most Expensive Business Mistakes I've Made
How I Decide Whether New Aesthetic Equipment Is Worth Buying
Motherhood + Entrepreneurship
My Most Important Title Isn't Founder.
It's Mom.
Motherhood and entrepreneurship have grown alongside each other in my life, and separating the two has never felt particularly realistic.
There have been seasons when the business needed more from me than I thought I had to give.
And there have been moments when being a mother made every business accomplishment feel secondary.
I'm not interested in pretending I've discovered a perfect formula for "balance."
I haven't.
What I have learned is how to prioritize, how to make difficult decisions, how to keep moving when things don't go according to plan, and how to redefine success as my life changes.
My son has been part of the reason I've worked so hard to build something meaningful.
But he's also one of the reasons I've learned that building a meaningful life matters more than building an impressive résumé.
Here I share the real side of being a mother and entrepreneur—the ambition, the guilt, the joy, the pressure, the funny moments, the sacrifices, and the perspective motherhood gives you when business starts feeling like everything.
From Motherhood + Life
Building a Business as a Single Mom: What Nobody Tells You
Why I Stopped Trying to Perfectly Balance Motherhood and Business
What Motherhood Changed About the Way I Lead
The Mom Guilt Nobody Talks About When You're Building a Company
Mentorship
I Want More Estheticians to Understand What's Possible.
One of the most meaningful parts of my career has been watching someone go from:
"I don't know if I can do this."
to:
"Look what I built."
Mentorship doesn't mean telling someone to copy my career.
It means helping them build theirs.
I want estheticians to understand their value, recognize opportunities, develop real expertise, avoid unnecessary mistakes, and make decisions from knowledge rather than fear.
Whether your goal is to become an incredible employee, build a six-figure book of business, specialize in advanced treatments, become an educator, open a studio, or eventually own a larger company, there is no single definition of success in this industry.
The goal is to create a career that works for your life.
From the Treatment Room
I Still Believe Expertise Starts With Doing the Work.
Before I could teach esthetics, I had to practice it.
Before I could employ providers, I had to understand what it was like to be one.
Before I could teach permanent makeup, I had to develop my own work.
That hands-on experience continues to shape how I think about aesthetics today.
Explore My Esthetics Expertise
NanoBrows
My approach to NanoBrows focuses on natural hair-stroke patterns, facial balance, appropriate pigment selection, skin integrity, and results designed to complement—not overwhelm—the face.
[NANOBROWS IN DENVER + MY WORK →]
Permanent Eyeliner
Permanent eyeliner is one of the most precision-dependent services in cosmetic tattooing. My work focuses on designing eyeliner around the individual eye rather than forcing every client into the same shape or style.
[PERMANENT EYELINER IN DENVER + PORTFOLIO →]
Lip Blush
My lip blush work centers on enhancing the client's existing lip shape and natural coloring with customized pigment selection and a soft, wearable result.
Advanced Aesthetic Technology
Years of working with lasers, radiofrequency devices, skin treatments, and aesthetic technology have also shaped the way I evaluate treatments—not from what's trending on social media, but from what the technology actually does and where it belongs in a thoughtful treatment plan.
My Permanent Makeup Portfolio
Real Clients. Real Work. My Artistic Philosophy.
Permanent makeup was an important chapter in the development of my career and continues to influence the way I teach artistry, precision, and restraint.
My portfolio includes work in:
NanoBrows • Powder Brows • Lip Blush • Lip Neutralization • Lash Enhancement • Classic Eyeliner • Shaded Eyeliner • Designer Eyeliner
I believe great permanent makeup shouldn't make someone look like a different person.
It should make their own features feel more complete.
Author + Educator
Turning Experience Into Education
Teaching forced me to do something incredibly valuable:
Explain why.
Why does this technique work?
Why is this unsafe?
Why did this result heal differently?
Why does one business strategy work while another fails?
Why does one provider build a loyal clientele while another struggles?
That curiosity eventually extended beyond the classroom and into my writing.
I am the author of professional educational resources including The Modern Permanent Makeup Bible and The Cosmetic Laser Training Bible, created to make complex subjects more approachable for professionals entering or advancing within the aesthetics industry.
[EXPLORE MY BOOKS + RESOURCES →]
Ask Erica
Questions I Hear From Estheticians All the Time.
Can estheticians really make six figures?
Yes, but simply obtaining an esthetics license doesn't guarantee a six-figure income. Higher earners tend to combine technical skill with specialization, client retention, business awareness, personal branding, and strategic career decisions.
[READ MY 6-FIGURE ESTHETICIAN GUIDE →]
Is esthetics a good career?
It can be an incredible career for the right person, but prospective students should understand both the opportunities and realities of the industry before enrolling.
[READ MY ESTHETICS CAREER GUIDE →]
Should I open my own esthetics business?
Not necessarily. Ownership can create opportunity, but it also introduces financial risk, marketing responsibility, payroll, taxes, operations, compliance, and leadership responsibilities that don't exist when you're simply providing services.
[READ MY BUSINESS OWNERSHIP GUIDE →]
What advanced training should an esthetician take?
That depends on where you live, your scope of practice, the clients you want to serve, and the career path you're building. Training should be chosen strategically—not because a treatment happens to be trending.
What I'm Learning Right Now
No Guru. No Perfect Formula. Just Real Experience.
One thing entrepreneurship has taught me is that the moment you believe you've figured everything out is usually the moment the market gives you another lesson.
I'm still building.
Still learning.
Still making mistakes.
Still changing my mind when better information becomes available.
Still trying to become a better leader.
Still trying to become a better mother.
And still incredibly excited about what's next.
This website isn't intended to present a perfectly polished version of entrepreneurship.
It's a record of what I'm learning while I'm living it.
If You're Just Getting Started...
Choose Where You Are.
I Want to Become an Esthetician
Learn about education, careers, income, specialization, interviews, portfolios, and what actually happens after esthetics school.
[START YOUR ESTHETICS CAREER →]
I'm Already an Esthetician
Learn how to grow your clientele, increase your earning potential, specialize, market yourself, and make smarter career decisions.
I'm Building a Business
Read real-world lessons from building and operating businesses in the aesthetics industry—from marketing and hiring to equipment, leadership, mistakes, and growth.
[BUSINESS + ENTREPRENEURSHIP →]
I'm Researching Aesthetic Treatments
Explore my professional perspective on cosmetic technology, permanent makeup, laser treatments, skin rejuvenation, and choosing qualified providers.
For treatment availability and appointments in Denver, visit Denver Dream Medspa.
I'm Here for the Real-Life Stuff
Motherhood, ambition, failure, resilience, identity, and what it actually feels like to build a life and businesses at the same time.
Hi, I'm Erica.
I'm a mother, entrepreneur, esthetics educator, permanent makeup artist, author, mentor, and founder.
I've spent years building businesses in an industry I love.
But the longer I do this, the more I realize that the most valuable thing I can build isn't another company.
It's something that helps another person believe she can build one too.
Welcome to my corner of the internet.
I'm glad you're here.
— Erica Roybal