For Sharon Butto, every time people told her that something was impossible or couldn’t be done, it was a call to action.
A proud life-long entrepreneur, she has succeeded in everything she set her mind to, whether it was operating a custom framing business in the 1980s, to running a lunch café for 10 years in the 1990s, to returning to school at age 50 to become a licensed aesthetician and opening The Spa Studio in Glens Falls with her daughter, Erica.
In each business she embarked upon, the biggest challenge was convincing others that her idea and her vision would work.
“It’s the hardest thing, to get people to believe in you,” she said. “So, you just have to believe in yourself. You never say ‘I can’t.’ You just say to yourself, ‘I will.’ And, you just do what you’ve got to do to reach your goals.”
While each business venture Butto has been involved in is different, the same business rules and skills apply. She has used her business expertise to turn The Spa Studio from a tiny 400-square-foot business 11 years ago, to the 3,000-square-foot studio that exists today at 217 Dix Avenue in Glens Falls. Butto and her eight employees offer a wide range of spa and beauty services to women in a welcoming environment.
“My café business was doing very well, but I was always running in a lot of directions, between the business and my family,” she said. “Nobody else in my family was interested in taking the café over. So, when my daughter, Erica, decided to go to school for massage, I decided to return to school myself. I had always wanted to be an aesthetician, and this was my opportunity.”
Butto returned to school and obtained her aesthetician license, all the while hearing from people telling her it couldn’t be done.
“I heard this from literally everyone,” she said. “I was the oldest person in my class. But, that didn’t matter. Now, I have eight wonderful women who work with me, not for me. And, I am their biggest fan.”
Butto attributes her success to her commitment to providing each customer with the best possible experience from the moment they book their appointment to the moment they leave the spa.
“Our success is built on the fact that we care about our customers,” she said. “I’m a big believer in the universe. You put something out there and it does come back to you.” That’s why, she said, it is so important to put out positive energy to get success in return.
“I’ve always had a vision and I’ve always known that you have to believe in yourself. As a business person, I’m also always looking for better, more innovative ways to offer our customers the best services and experience.”
“And, for all those people who didn’t take me seriously–well, they do now,” she said.
In addition to running her busy spa and providing services such as massage therapy, anti-aging treatments, facials, body scrubs, and energy work, she also teaches young aestheticians how to be in business for themselves.
“It’s really more of a mentorship,” she said. “The schools don’t teach people anything about actually being in business and making money.”