Skincare maven Sofie Pavitt started her career as a solo esthetician in a rented room in New York City in 2017. Eight years later, she’s the founder and owner of Sofie Pavitt Skincare Studio and Sofie Pavitt Face, the latter of which is a skincare brand now sold in Sephora. Throughout her growth and expansion, Pavitt’s mission has remained the same: create a way for her clients to build on their dermatology appointments with everyday skincare. By bridging the gap between dermatology and skincare, Pavitt has provided a holistic approach for her clients that leads to long-lasting results, creating more value for customers and setting her business apart from competitors.
Her skincare brand, Sofie Pavitt Face, is a direct extension of that. Conceptualized in 2020 during a time of virtual consults, Pavitt noticed that her clients would always ask when they could start using “nice” products again after using skincare products that specifically targeted acne or problem skin. The desire for “nice” products, according to Pavitt, was a desire for products that had unique formulas, relatable brand messaging, and stood out on a shelf — the antithesis of a typical dermatologist offering.
Despite significant success, however, Pavitt is transparent about the challenges that come with starting, growing, and eventually expanding a business. Here’s how she used Square throughout her journey, going from a solo practitioner to running one of New York City’s most popular skincare studios.
The challenge: Managing complexity in a cohesive way
When Pavitt first started out, she noticed that several beauticians were using a different system that was unattractive and hard to navigate. “It’s like, you go through one section, and then you’re taken to another one. It’s hard to find your booking, your reservations — it’s so difficult,” Sofie Pavitt explained of the other system. Not only were the other systems challenging to use, but they “weren’t pretty,” and she desired something that matched the experience she was trying to create.
“I wanted something elegant that could also be the most effective and efficient,” Pavitt said.
Pavitt continued her search for a tool that was aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, cohesive, and allowed her to manage a seamless customer experience.
“I quickly realized that [Square] was actually the most effective and efficient one,” Pavitt said.
The solution: the Square ecosystem
Pavitt first adopted the Square Stand and Square Appointments at the start of her business and finds the latter to be one of the most useful for her business because, as she brought on more aestheticians, she needed the multi-user functionality of it.
It’s color-coded. It’s easy for us to see who’s in which room. We check them out really easily. We have a history of each client, which I think is really important. We can keep notes on people and what treatments they had and what they liked. If they’re allergic to anything, we can have pop-ups [appear on the screen]. So it’s really helpful.”
Sofie Pavitt → owner of Sofie Pavitt Skincare Studio and Sofie Pavitt Face
As the business continued to grow, she tapped Square Messages to help build and ultimately strengthen client relationships. When she wants to revisit past conversations with clients for appointments or start new ones, she can manage it all from the tool itself. “It’s a really helpful [tool] for an esthetician or hairdresser or nail person … it keeps it all in one place, which I think is great,” Pavitt explained. She also notes the organization within Square Messages helps maintain discretion and sets boundaries with clients, helping everyone from a one-person show to a full team of estheticians maintain professionalism.
Today, Pavitt uses over ten Square tools, including Square Marketing and Square Online Checkout, to manage her growing operation. “We really use it as a 360 platform,” Pavitt said.
The impact: Growing at her speed, on her own terms
With tools that offer a 360-degree experience, she has the ability to build a business that extends well beyond the studio or the retail items. As a result, Pavitt is establishing a community. Using customer notes raised in Square Messages, alongside other questions raised in her social media comments, she crafts education-based newsletters every week that she sends out through Square Marketing.
Square is a simple, user-friendly platform that’s highly customizable to match our brand. For example, when we send newsletters, we can easily make them look uniquely ours — even though they’re powered by Square.”
Sofie Pavitt → owner of Sofie Pavitt Skincare Studio and Sofie Pavitt Face
Creating a way for her audience far and wide to get the Sofie Pavitt experience without expanding her studio space allows her to grow on her terms, her way. “If you can’t get to the studio, if you can’t have an appointment with us, how do we help you with your skin at home?” Pavitt raised. “We do a lot of work on our socials, newsletter, and Substack to make sure that we can message what we’re messaging in our professional studio,” Pavitt added.
This is especially important to Pavitt because even though clients are interested in her expansion to other cities, she’s not ready to add another brick-and-mortar location to preserve a personalized experience. “The studio keeps a really high-quality service where people feel taken care of and catered to, so our approach revolves around [leveraging what already exists to grow in different ways].”
