Ep. 86: Mental Health, Breaking the Stigma through Kittens & Unicorns
Have you ever felt the overwhelming feeling of anxiety or even depression as an entrepreneur with the weight of your world on your shoulders?
On this episode of the Pretty Rich Podcast, I have a pretty cool guest.
Anita Perry, CEO of Sugar & Sloth, joins me on the podcast, and we go in on mental health and using your artistry.
Now, Anita isn’t a permanent makeup artist, but she’s an illustrator (a darn good one if you ask me!).
We get into a discussion on how to use your artistry to help you heal from trauma and to help you cope with mental illness.
Anita’s amazing. She’s from the United Kingdom, and she’s just so lovable. You’ll love her too, especially after listening to this episode.
This episode is like an interview where I ask Anita a whole lot of questions about her and her life and her business, and it gets really honest about mental health. Not just about mental health, but even her experience with mental health.
We get real and raw in this podcast, no holds barred.
We talk about how community is important, and how powerful it can be used for you or against you.
We talk about depression—the reality of it, the weight of it, and the overcoming of it (with kittens and rainbows and unicorns and more).
Anita and I talk about expectations set by ourselves and our loved ones, meeting them and not meeting them, and how at the end of the day, you can use them to better you or to break you.
It’s such an amazing episode.
Listen in!
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [11:42] Here's where the beautiful and amazing CEO of Sugar & Sloth, Anita Perry, enters the podcast! We do some quick introductions here.
‣‣ [14:53] Anita starts the honest episode by telling us more about her past and what led her to creating Sugar & Sloth.
‣‣ [16:14] My first question for Anita was whether or not she has a specific illustration that someone related to that she could describe for us. She did, and she answers that here.
‣‣ [17:58] Here's where I ask Anita, "What is one of your favorite depression images?" and she goes in. She explains everything about one of her favorites and why.
‣‣ [18:52] At this minute mark, I ask Anita what people who relate to the illustrations she creates see. What do you mean, Sheila?! Listen here, I explain it better, and Anita answers beautifully.
‣‣ [23:00] RIGHT HERE! Obviously, Anita is an entrepreneur. She quit her job to do Sugar & Sloth! I wanted to get to know more about Anita the Entrepreneur, and this is where we get into that.
‣‣ [30:58] People. Need. Connection. Here's where I talk about the importance of that and what it has to do with not just your mental well-being, but your well-being as a whole.
‣‣ [34:00] Here's where I ask Anita the beautiful question, "What is your best advice for how to live a pretty rich life?" And you guys, does she deliver! You don't want to miss this.
I NEED OUT OF THIS ANXIETY! (Listen Here)
Wasn't Anita Perry just everything?! You can keep up with her on Instagram here and Twitter here. All things Sugar & Sloth is found on those socials and you can even order some of the amazing and amazingly cute stuff she has on her website here and on her Etsy here!
You can follow me, Sheila Bella, on Instagram @realsheilabella!
Here are the links that were mentioned in the podcast and more!
Get Chic Done
New Clients Consistently
Grow Your Gram
Online Course Workshop
FOR MY LISTENER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy this podcast by downloading it on iTunes here.
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FOR MY READER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
Hey, do you want to make a million dollars doing microblading? Well, I have news for you, PMU is not a get rich quick scheme. And if you think it is, you better turn it off right now. Crazy. So crazy. When you get rich quick, you stay poor forever. Okay? This podcast is a beauty entrepreneurship podcast, but I ain't lying to you. I ain't lying to you. Yes, I've made a seven figure beauty business, and I worked my butt off. My first client took me one month to find her. It took me like a whole month to locate her and to get her interested in me or to get her to even consider to let me tattoo her face.
And it took me two weeks to convince her. She paid me $275 cash, and I was like, "I'm rich. I'm rich." Yeah, right. I mean, I felt rich because she was actually paying me for my art, something that I would enjoy even doing for free, right? My first microblading class, I remember sitting there quietly in my chair, literally terrified of drawing attention to myself because I felt like a fraud. I'm like, what am I doing here? I'd had some celebrity clients by then, but just some and I was still like uh-oh, please, don't recognize me. Please don't pay attention to me. I'm so scared of you.
I'm scared of attention. Who can relate? And my first employee was a... It wasn't good. It was a disaster. Okay? She brought all her personal problems to work. How many of you have hired somebody like that? And she had a terrible work ethic. She would shop online on the clock in front of me. The saddest thing though is the girl that I hired after her was actually a family member, and she ended up stealing up from the register regularly. It's a long story, but yeah, betrayal is a part of it, if you didn't already know. I didn't just have this big beautiful team that all gets along, that are all best friends just at the first try.
No. I had to go through that. My first podcast had 26 downloads. 26. That's it. And obviously most of them were my friends and my mom. And now I can't believe it. I am on the iTunes Top 100 in the area of business, this podcast. My first speaking engagement, by the way, actually this is pretty cool, was my preschool graduation. The gave me, this little five year old, the whole show. I was four or five years old. And now I'm getting ready to do my first event, do my first event, the Pretty Ambitious Summit. And I can't believe it, but it is sold out, you guys. It's sold out. I did not expect this.
I really didn't, and I don't know why. If you look back, I've done the work, and you're the same. You should expect greatness and success. If you've suffered, if you've done the work, you should expect it to. So don't give up. Don't give up. It's coming. It's coming. I've been in this industry now for almost 10 years, and that's 10 years of consistently showing up, consistently showing up. So if you don't feel like you're good enough today, guess what? You're not. But you know what you are? You're consistent.
The only thing that beats talent is relentlessly asking the universe for what you want by showing your face, getting up, showing your face every single day taking it on. Never quitting. Never quitting despite the pain of betrayal, of criticism, of people judging you, and losing money. It's a part of it. And you listening to this, you get that. I get that. That's why we're friends. Okay? So if you feel like there's no point, if you feel like you're making mistakes left and right, if you feel like people aren't supportive of you, who said they were going to be, these are all signs.
Look at those as like signs on the road that you need to keep going, because this took an F ton of work. And it's going to happen for you. It's going to happen for you. I promise. I promise.
You're listening to the Pretty Rich Podcast, where you are totally the heroine of your own story. I'm your host, Sheila Bella, and I built a seven figure PMU biz without a degree, without a fancy website, or a sugar daddy. And if you and I hang out here long enough, you're going to start to believe that you can do it too, because you really can. I know you think that I don't know you, but I do. I really, really do because I am you. And I believe we're all in the same journey together. My perfect job didn't exist, so I created it. The job I wanted wasn't hiring me, so I skipped the line and hired myself as CEO.
Just like you can. So consider me your secret beauty biz BFF. In case you need to be reminded that power is never given to you. You just have to take it. Are you ready, beauty boss? Let's jump in.
What's up, you guys? So excited to be connecting with you once again, connecting with you once again. Guys, I have a pretty cool guest today, Anita Perry, CEO of Sugar & Sloth. And today, we're going to be chatting about mental health and how to use your artistry, right? She's not a permanent makeup artist, but she is an illustrator, and a darn good one. How to use your artistry to help you heal from trauma and to help you cope with mental illness. I just love her. She is from the UK, and gosh, she is just so lovely, And I know you guys are going to love her too.
But before we go to Sugar & Sloth and Anita and today's episode, I wanted to remind you to please sign up for the wait list, sign up for the wait list for the Pretty Ambitious Summit. We are sold out, but you never know. Tickets could free up. So you got to go to prettyambitioussummit.com. Oh my gosh, it's like a month-ish away. Is this real life? Is this real life? I'm so excited, you guys. I know for those of you who already have a ticket, get ready. You're going to have an amazing breakthrough. I can't wait. I wanted to create a space in the beauty industry that had zero jealousy. Or if you do, everybody's committing to leave it at home.
Zero drama. And even if you do, everybody's commitment is to leave it at home. Don't bring it here. We're just going to be gracious with one another, and we are going to revolutionize the relationships in our amazing permanent makeup and lash community. This is more than just an event. This is a movement, a positive moment, in the right direction where the focus is on collaboration. Because as I've said before, as I've said before, you just get further where everybody understands that there is room for all of us. I am living proof of that, from somebody who used to have a scarcity mentality to now an abundant one.
There really is. And the more abundant you think, the more abundant the universe will be. I believe we are called by our creator to lead. We are all leaders, at the very least, to self-lead. Leadership is basically the ability to take action. And I want this conference to not just be a ra-ra, yeah, you feel good, you can do it conference. No. You're going to go away with action steps, so you can implement it. And it's going to change the game for everybody involved. And I'm just so, so excited. Before we get to our guest, here is the Beauty Boss Spotlight of the week.
Mayra Benitez:
Hi, Sheila. I'm so excited about this. So I am choosing number two. I'm answering one of the questions. I'm going to tell you a little story about my first client. My first client after my training with PhiBrows was my mother. I came to visit her, and I needed someone to practice with. She volunteered. And when we were done, she just said, "Oh, thank you. They're good." I noticed that she wasn't excited about them, but also, I mean, I was pretty nervous. And later I realized the year after that, I got trained in permanent powder brows, and I told her I was going to redo them.
And she was really happy about that because she said that she really didn't like them and her friends often asked where did she get them done because they were so badly done, and she said that she didn't tell them the truth, that she told them some lie that she went to Mexico and she got them there done for really cheap. She never had the heart to tell them that it was actually me. But like I said, the next year I redid them in powder brows and they looked phenomenal. At this time, I had already practiced a lot, and I knew that my work was really good compared to my first time, right?
So after that, I can tell in her voice that she was so excited after that. She's told me that a lot of her friends loved them. Yeah, this is the story of my first client, which was my mother. She's such a brave soul. Yeah, thank you.
Sheila Bella:
Hello, friend. Guess what? I want you on this show. I bet you weren't expecting that. Yes, I want you on this show. Introducing Beauty Boss Spotlight, because you are the hero of the Pretty Rich Podcast. You are the hero of the Pretty Ambitious Summit. And I want to know where are you from? What's the most challenging thing you're overcome? What's your advice for how to live a pretty rich life? If you're up for the challenge, and you really should be, go to sheilabella.com/beautybossspotlight. Just follow the instructions. It's very simple. Don't overthink it. And remember, you can't beat fear, so do it scared.
I want to feature you. I want to shout out your Instagram handle and get you some social media props. But more importantly, I want to get to know you for real. What are you all about? Again, that's sheilabella.com/beautybossspotlight. Okay, okay, back to the show.
What's up, you guys? I have such a treat for you today. I have a guest, a wonderful guest, unlike any other we've had before. Her name is Anita Perry. Say hi, Anita.
Anita Perry:
Hi. Hello. It's so lovely to be here.
Sheila Bella:
I'm so excited to have you here. Now, Anita, she is an artist, and she is the creator of Sugar & Sloth. How would you describe your business?
Anita Perry:
I really struggle to describe it.
Sheila Bella:
How do you do this? How do you describe yourself to taxi cab drivers and people you know?
Anita Perry:
I just say I work in admin. No. I create cartoons. I create happy illustrations. They're about mental health, and I try and make mental health and my personal journey relatable with a bit of added humor as well.
Sheila Bella:
A ton of humor. Well, the way I tried to describe you to my husband and I said, "There's this girl. She creates such cute stuff, and it's so funny and it's so relatable. I just need to pick her brain about this." And he was like, "What do you mean?" Yeah, she has stickers and cards and pins and stuff like that. And I was like, I wish she had phone cases. I wish she had pop sockets. Truth be told, I found you on Etsy because I was looking for cards for my speakers, for the Pretty Ambitious Summit. And your stuff just really, really spoke to me. Your art just really spoke to me.
So for those of you who have never Sugar & Sloth stuff before, it's a bunch of swearing animals, right? It's a bunch of cute swearing animals. She has like unicorns with their middle fingers up and cute giraffes and squirrels and rainbows. My favorite sticker is the one of the giraffe and I don't know what animal this is, but I think it's a... Is this a cat? And it says, "Hair up, bra off." And she has her boobs out. She's like topless.
Anita Perry:
See, that one is actually my self-portrait. Whenever I do videos, I'll wear my cat ears. So I thought, I always draw animals. I was like, well, I finally got to draw myself. Not always topless, but topless.
Sheila Bella:
Oh god. It's so funny. It's so cute. Okay. So I just knew from looking at your art, number one, I was really drawn to it. I just knew that there must be a deeper level, an explanation to all of this. Because sure it's humorous, right? It's humorous. You have a lot of illustrations that kind of brush on the feelings of what it's like to be depressed and what it's like to have anxiety. But you do so in a way that's funny and cute and relatable. And the impression that I get when I interact with your Instagram page or when I'm showing your Etsy store is that it's okay. I'm okay. And you know what? The negative thought army might be marching into my heart and all over my mind, but it's kind of endearing, and I'm not alone.
Anita Perry:
Yeah, definitely.
Sheila Bella:
Was that your goal?
Anita Perry:
Yeah, is to make it relatable. So just to tell you a little bit about my past, so I studied a long ago now, I studied art at university. And then I had a series of some graphic design jobs, some waitressing, sales jobs, all these different things. I was bouncing around because I was struggling with my mental health. I got pretty low with depression and anxiety and all this kind of thing. And I had quite a lot of corporate roles where I was doing graphic design, which was my passion, but it was designing a spreadsheet. And there was no room for any unicorns or any cats. That was frustrating to me.
So I come home in the evening and I draw all these cartoons. I would just need to get out now. I need to draw pandas and kittens and things and make them all rainbow colored. And because of kind of where I was with my mental health, it really helped me to make them swear and kind of express myself in that way. And it was finally when I started to put them on Instagram, other social media platforms that I started getting all of these people saying, "Oh yeah, I really relate to that," which at first really freaked me out because I was like, really? This is from a dark part of my brain.
Sheila Bella:
Do you have a specific image or illustration that you can describe to us, where, you know, you posted it and somebody said, "Oh, I relate to this."
Anita Perry:
Yeah. Sometimes I'll create like a product and I want it to be something that's quite widely relatable, but sometimes I'll create things that are just for me. And I won't really expect anyone else to relate to them and that one's surprised me. Recently I've got I think it's a sticker. It's kind of a human cat sort of character fanning in front of a rainbow. And it just says "I'm a quitter" over the top of it, and that was kind of just for me. But yeah, a lot of people have really liked that one. So sometimes it is those ones where I don't try and create something to sell. It's just trying to reach inside myself.
I think those are the ones that people can really relate to because it's not the kind of thing we really want to discuss on Instagram sometimes.
Sheila Bella:
So it's just a cat that says "I'm a quitter" with a rainbow?
Anita Perry:
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. I think it's just celebrating the fact that it's okay to give up on things. And I definitely [inaudible 00:17:24] but that's okay. Do you know what? It is what it is. So let's not hold it and be ashamed of it.
Sheila Bella:
Giving grace to yourself. You're giving us permission to have grace. You know what I mean?
Anita Perry:
I do a lot of work with the word depression and playing around with that with rainbows and things. And that's a bit more controversial. Because I think anxiety we can kind of laugh at because everyone has a certain level of anxiety. But obviously depression, it's a little bit darker. It's a little bit more controversial.
Sheila Bella:
What is one of your favorite depression images?
Anita Perry:
The main depression image I have is the rainbow. It's quite recent for me. I didn't really open up a lot about my mental health at first. I was quite worried about sharing it, to be honest with you. More recently I started to do depression. One of the images is a rainbow. It says depression. It's got like little characters around it like pugs and flying gnaws and things. And that's the one where it has been controversial and I completely understand that. It's not for everyone. But also, it's so relatable to people. I have people messaging me telling me that it's kind of made it more accessible for them to talk about because it's not a scary thing. It is covered in flying pugs, so it's a little bit less intimidating.
Sheila Bella:
So it's a bunch of cute animals and a rainbow and all it says is depression.
Anita Perry:
Yeah. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I think I have seen that image. So tell me what do people who relate to it, what do they see?
Anita Perry:
I think that we don't normally see mental health in that kind of context because I've been there. I have been low. And maybe because I'm British and we like to self-appreciate and love ourselves, I don't know, but I feel like perhaps I have given myself permission to create that. Whereas maybe someone who hasn't been through that would stay away from that subject or not be as expressive with it. But because I've been there, no one can really sort of tell me that's not the kind of thing I can create and put out there.
Sheila Bella:
So what is it? If you could describe it to us who are looking from the outside or some people who are looking from the outside, how is that how depression feels?
Anita Perry:
Obviously it can be super, super, super dark and I supposed inverting that and using the rainbow and things as kind of trying to add humor. In no way to say that depression is humorous. But one of the ways that it's got me through is kind of trying to see the lighter side of it. And the fact that it's something that happens, so just to have it there and post it as an Instagram post, it means it's there and it means it's something that perhaps we can begin to talk about more as a society and on social media and things. There's been so much growth in that in the past couple of years. Amazing.
And I've had got a lot of DMs, which I love and always try to reply to them. Just because of this whole movement, it's been a lot easier for people to talk about [inaudible 00:20:31]
Sheila Bella:
Well, perhaps when I look at that, I think the times that I've been depressed, nobody would even know. No one even know. I'm wearing colorful clothes. All right? I'm smiling. For anybody who's looking at me from the outside would see, yeah, all the pugs and all the squirrels and all the colors and everything and no one would know. And then having an image like that, looking at an image like that and it says depression, kind of makes me realize that, hey, check on your happy friends. I mean, we've had a lot of unfortunate people take their own lives last year I think like at Kate Spade. You just never know and Robin Williams too.
It's really powerful. It's a sticker, right? As cute as this is, it just caused me to take pause and to stare at that image just a little bit longer. What does this really say?
Anita Perry:
Yeah, no, I love that you've said that because I can relate to that so well. I'm the kind of person who will always put on a happy face, a smile. I think perhaps you're the same. Yeah, of course, we never know what's going on with people on the inside.
Sheila Bella:
No. No, we don't. I just love your stuff.
Sheila Bella:
Welcome to 2020. It is a new year. It is the new decade, and you have goals, visions that you want to manifest for real this year. But if you've ever failed at a resolution, it's time to interrupt that pattern. That pattern of self-sabotage. So my gift to you is my 100% free guide called Get Chic Done. This free guide is just for you because if you don't interrupt your tendency to self-sabotage a goal, you will inevitably repeat last year's cycle. Evolve or repeat. Those are basically you're only two options, and I want to evolve with you.
I want to hold your hand through your goals this new year and help you actually follow through and get chic done. In this free guide, we will go through strategic goal setting together. Grab it now at sheilabella.com/getchicdone. And BT dubs, chic is spelled C-H-I-C.
I want to talk about the entrepreneurial Anita. The entrepreneurial Anita that was able to quit her job two years ago and become a full-time illustrator and creator and how scary that was. That's a huge accomplishment. So many people, even permanent makeup artists that may listen to this show or a lot of them that listen to this show, it's artistry, right? If you don't take action, what you have might just be a glorified hobby. But you've made it your full-time gig where you're no longer working in a cubicle. So tell us about that side of you and that whole journey.
Anita Perry:
Yeah, for sure. That was probably the scariest thing I've done. I started the business three years before when I was working a full-time job, and I would just take every minute to try and build Sugar & Sloth. I used to have this long commute in the mornings and coming home, and the whole time I'd be on my phone on Instagram and that's kind of where I try and get my name out there.
Sheila Bella:
You're not driving while you're doing that, right? Is it on the train?
Anita Perry:
On the train. On the train.
Sheila Bella:
On the train. Okay. We don't have trains here in LA.
Anita Perry:
Okay.
Sheila Bella:
We have one. We have the Metro, but hardly anyone takes it. I had to ask.
Anita Perry:
I'm fine with cars. You're very lucky. Yeah, definitely on the train. But yeah, and on my lunch break as well. I would take the orders that I'd sold. I would take them in a bin bag on the train in the morning and then I would have to go at lunchtime really quickly to the post office to post them. And there's always a queue and I'd have to rush back. So yeah, just basically taking every minute outside of my work to build that foundation.
That's kind of when I realized that I had to do it full-time because if it's something that you want to spend so much time on outside of your work, then it's got to be a full-time gig, right, because imagine if you could put all of your energy into it. I think the sensible thing to say would be that I saved up X months amount of living cost and I planned everything out, but I didn't at all, which probably isn't the best advice or plan. And when I turned 30, I had my 30th birthday, and I actually went on holiday. I was coming back on the plane, and I sat next to this lady.
She just asked me about myself and I kind of said about my day job. I think I told her about Sugar & Sloth first, and then I kind of said about my day job. I feel like an imposter. If I just told people about Sugar & Sloth, I have to be like, "Oh, I have this other job as well. It's like a normal job." And then she was just love, "Well, why are you doing your day job?" And I was like, oh yeah. Basically it was that little interaction. And then a month later, I just quit my job because I was like I've got to give this a go.
Sheila Bella:
Oh wow. What a great story. I think a lot of people, maybe people listening to this podcast who are artists like you, except they're tattooing faces or doing lashes, a common question I get asked is when do I know it's time to leave my full-time job, my day job, and go full-time on artistry. And based on your story, I feel like my answer... What my I answer typically goes along with what you're saying, which is number one, you have to have passion for it. If it feels like something that time just melts and you don't want to stop doing it, and you're not looking at your clock.
Plus, I think you need to have proof of concept, meaning you put something out there and people are buying. When you have proof of concept, then it's probably a good time to look into starting to lessen your hours perhaps. Now, did you do it gradually, lessening your hours on your day job, or did you just kind of do cold turkey like, "Okay, here's my two weeks. I'm out. I'm Sugar & Sloth CEO now?"
Anita Perry:
Yeah, I did actually. When I was a graphic designer in the company and then a place came up for an admin role, which is three days a week. So I did that for a little while, which was actually really helpful because admin is something I'm terrible at. So it kind of taught me how to create financial reports. So I was a little bit lucky. But I just did that for a couple of months and then I thought I've got to do it. Yeah, that makes so much sense what you said. So yeah, having proof of concept. But I think almost there's never going to be a right time.
It is always going to be a gamble, but it's just I supposed when that gamble is worth to you than kind of just sticking it out in your day, it's going to be a risk, isn't it? But if you talk about passion, hopefully it'll be all right.
Sheila Bella:
I mean, it's both painful, right? Sticking with a job that you have that doesn't fulfill you, or there's the pain of risk, right, and instability. Yeah, just recognizing that there is a pain on both sides and which pain would you rather live with. There is no zero pain answer.
Anita Perry:
No. There's never a perfect time.
Sheila Bella:
Oh wow. That's awesome. What do you hope your art can do to the person who's buying it?
Anita Perry:
So I have a community. It's something like a Facebook group and it's just anyone who interacts with the brand really.
Sheila Bella:
Cool. I want to be on there.
Anita Perry:
Yeah. I don't really use the word [inaudible 00:28:23] now. I use the word bestie, but it's not just...
Sheila Bella:
Oh, I love that.
Anita Perry:
It's anyone who kind of interacts with Sugar & Sloth and likes a bit of artwork. So we have the Sugar & Sloth Besties, which is the Facebook group. Basically when I go to that sort of community and really I did the [inaudible 00:28:35] Facebook group, but the community is this wonderful place and these wonderful people. I don't know. I can't take credit for that all.
Sheila Bella:
Is it a Facebook group or is it a Facebook like page?
Anita Perry:
No. It's a private Facebook group.
Sheila Bella:
How do you get invited to the group? You had to had like make a purchase?
Anita Perry:
No, not at all. No. You just have to search for Facebook for Sugar & Sloth Besties, and you have to answer a few questions because I am quite guarded with the group. I just want lovely people. You get a lot of spams and bots and things on Facebook. We don't have any of that. It's just a nice safe place because the internet, it can be a little bit nasty sometimes. I'm sure you had experiences on Twitter, things like that. This is like a [inaudible 00:29:35] A lot animal memes and videos and things. But also the reason that I sort of look after it and I take it private is because people do share about their mental health and their journey.
We can get quite deep in that. So creating that community is kind of more than I could have hoped for with the art because it has brought these people together.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing. When did you create that community, or when did you find a need for this? You know that people were relating to your art. Yeah, I think that's such a great idea. I feel like everybody with a personal brand should provide a touchpoint for all of their besties, their customers and their besties.
Anita Perry:
Well, I started out on Instagram, and it was when I sort of noticed that people in the comments were sharing and things. And I was getting a lot of DMs. Because I do touch on these quite deep issues and I was getting a lot of DMs, and I was kind of thinking like these people could be helping each other because all I've got is my own experience. I'm in no means an expert. Sometimes just to talk to someone who's been through the same thing as you is so powerful. So I was like, what can I do? I can create this group maybe and maybe they can kind of talk to themselves and talk to each other. And I was so scared that no one would join it or just no one would post and it's taken off. I'm a tiny part of it now.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. It has a life of its own.
Anita Perry:
Yeah, sure. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
People are so hungry for connection. And if you can be a facilitator for people sharing their personal stories, I mean, what more can you do as far as impact in the world, a positive impact in the world? Because realistically, we can't solve everybody's problems, but I think a realistic goal is we can help heal each other by being open and vulnerable about our process.
Anita Perry:
Definitely. That must be quite a big thing with makeup, right, because that makes people feel good.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, that's true. Yeah. You said something to me before we hit record. Because when I asked you to be on this podcast, you were like, "Okay. I don't know what permanent makeup is. I'm not in the beauty industry." And I knew because I asked you to be on here, I was like, no, you'll fit. You'll fit right in. Trust me. You said something to me how business building is the same, right?
Anita Perry:
Yeah, definitely. To my shame, and I talk to the horror of your listeners, I didn't know what permanent makeup is. I barely knew what makeup is honestly. I could learn so much. But yeah, I started listening to the podcast and I thought it wouldn't be super relevant to me. But oh my goodness, the kind of things that you're talking about, they apply to any small business, anyone, like growing an audience, like making sales, that kind of thing. Yeah, I think it can be useful to such a wide audience.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, I definitely agree. Art is art. You know? People are people no matter what industry I think we belong to. We forget I think that we're all the same.
What's up, PMU sister friend? No, seriously, do you want new clients all the time? Do you want to end the worry and anxiety over where your next client is going to come from? How awesome would it be to have a steady, I'm talking steady, flow of leads and calls to your business inquiring about your services? I'm inviting you to stop stressing and start living with my new online course, NCC, which stands for New Clients Consistently. Here you will learn how to guarantee have that one client that loved you so much is going to turn into 10 more. There's a formula to this and it works. It works so well.
This course is going to teach you how to create new clients and the current ones that you do have. So if you have a PUM, lash, or any beauty business that's struggling, you've got to check this out. This is everything. This is the secret right here. It's a new era. You got to shake things up. Because if what you're doing isn't working, stop doing it. Your pattern isn't working, so you need to get a new one.
And this is the ultimate pattern interrupt. So stop what you're doing. You got to go to sheilabella.com/ncc. Let's get you those new clients consistently. And I'll see you inside.
So my second to the last question for you is, what is your best advice for how to live a pretty rich life?
Anita Perry:
Okay. So I think when I started out, I really thought, oh, I want to grow the brand. I want to get seen. And I was trying all these different things. I was too scared to do Facebook Lives, Instagram Lives, things that I'll do a lot of now.
Sheila Bella:
You go live a lot, huh? You do, right?
Anita Perry:
I love it. Do you know what? Because I'm dyslexic, so I really struggle to write. So when I can just turn on a camera and talk, it's easy to me. That's why.
Sheila Bella:
Amazing.
Anita Perry:
That's why. But yeah, when I was starting out, I was trying to use different approaches, and I didn't really know how to position myself or whatever. And I think all we can do really is be yourself. And some people will hate you and that's okay because some people will love you for being you. Even now I forget and I have to remind myself just to be me and find those people who would love you for being you.
Sheila Bella:
I love that. We spend so much time worrying about the people that are not our people. And especially as women, I felt this way before whenever I've gone to a live event or a conference or whenever I'm immersed in a new group. And I look at the women that I want to be friends so badly. I want them to see I'm awesome. Please. Please see that I'm awesome and I'll fit right in, but they're not paying any attention to me. Then I miss out. I miss out on the people that are paying attention to me, that do get me, that are showing interest, that do want to collaborate with me.
And a lot of times the miracle that we need is right under our noses. And yeah, I used to be this way too even with friends and family. Because to me, it was a given that, okay, well, if you are from the same bloodline, then you must get along, right? And there have been times in my life unfortunately where people who had the same DNA as me or happen to have the same DNA as me were not very nice. This was really depressing because I had such a high expectation of what family was supposed to be. When I let that go, it made room for my friends that are my chosen family.
I was like, why am I paying attention or trying to make this happen when I should just invest my time to the people who really get me, who get me, who support me, who I don't need to explain myself to?
Anita Perry:
I love that. Yeah, that's amazing.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much, Anita, for spending time with us. And where we can find you? How can we work with you? How can we shop your stuff? Tell us all the things.
Anita Perry:
Well, thank you so much for having me on. It's amazing. I was going to say recently actually, but it's been about a couple of years now. I've actually turned a lot of my products into a subscription box.
Sheila Bella:
Cool.
Anita Perry:
Yeah. So it's a total surprise what you'll get each month until it lands on your doorstep. But basically it's for people who sort of pick me up and a lot of people are subscribing who normally don't treat themselves so much in everyday life. So it's kind of a good excuse for yourself and treat yourself. Each month has a different theme. [inaudible 00:37:22] I've got these subscription box and I've got the Unknown Shop. But you can find me everywhere as Sugar & Sloth, even TikTok because I'm branching out and trying to do some TikToks as well.
Sheila Bella:
Yay! I know I need to get on that too. Awesome. Awesome. Okay, so we can find you at sugarandsloth.com?
Anita Perry:
Yes. Yes.
Sheila Bella:
Okay.
Anita Perry:
Can I ask you a question? Is that allowed?
Sheila Bella:
Oh sure. Yeah.
Anita Perry:
Sorry to put you on the spot. I just had this burning question.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. What is it?
Anita Perry:
Obviously I don't know much about permanent makeup or makeup at all. It's kind of a whole new world to me, but I've become so curious in listening to your podcast. For people who don't know really anything about makeup, or I'll be honest, I'm pretty lazy as well, do you have like one kind of quick tip, like something that you would recommend for a total beginner?
Sheila Bella:
For a total beginner with makeup?
Anita Perry:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Brows are everything. Brows are everything.
Anita Perry:
Okay.
Sheila Bella:
If you just forget everything else, just focus on your brows and then I guess the next thing might be lashes, and just a lip gloss, you really don't need anything... Anything else above that I feel like is sugar on top.
Anita Perry:
Brows are everything. I love that.
Sheila Bella:
Brows are everything. It makes a huge difference. If you peruse the internet at all these microblading or permanent makeup pages, I'm telling you, brows are the face. They are the face. They're the whole face. So for anybody who doesn't really wear a whole lot of makeup, I would find a good permanent makeup brow artist in your area to give you a nice frame. And I'm telling you, it's like 95% of the battle.
Anita Perry:
Okay. Okay. That sounds good. Thank you.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Wake up and go. I don't think anyone's ever asked me a question before. That's so funny. Oh, well, thank you so much, Anita. I really, really appreciate you. And for our listeners, thanks for listening and we'll see you guys next time.
That's it for today's episode of Pretty Rich Podcast. If there was anything in this episode that has impacted you in any small or big way, I want to know. You can reach me @realsheilabella on Instagram. And by the way, if we are not text buddies yet, that needs to change. You can text my name Sheila, S-H-E-I-L-A, to 31996 and we'll be connected. I really love hanging with you guys on here. And one last thing before we wrap it up, I got to include my kids, right? #MomFirst. So here are Beau and Gray to close things out.
Beau:
Hi, my name is Beau and I'm five years old.
Sheila Bella:
Can you tell everybody what our family motto is?
Beau:
I can do hard things.
Sheila Bella:
I can do hard things. Now, fill in the blanks. Hard is?
Beau:
Fun.
Sheila Bella:
Easy is?
Beau:
Boring.
Sheila Bella:
Good job, buddy. I love you so much.
Beau:
I love you the best to infinity.
Sheila Bella:
Gray, say share with your friends.
Gray:
Share with friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Gray:
Review mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Gray:
Thanks for listening.
