Ep. 117: SIX FIGURE MICROBLADING ARTIST AMANDA BREUER: HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BROW BUSINESS
This episode is going to make you EXCUSE-LESS.
We all love our excuses, okay! We can't help it. They're just so easy...and so reliable...so comfortable...cozy...
BUT they're not helping us get anywhere! They're not helping us achieve the success we're dreaming of. Can you imagine asking an entrepreneur how they became so rich and successful and their answer being "oh I just made excuses all the time."
NO.
It doesn't work that way. Your excuses are only getting in your way. And I can guarantee that our guest for this episode is going to make you look at your excuses and say "um...what the hell am I letting THAT stop me for?" So if you're ready to shove those silly excuses aside and actually get to work building the life and business of your dreams, check out this episode with the incredible inspirational six-figure microblading artist Amanda Breuer.
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [15:00] For those of you who are unfortunately unfamiliar with Amanda, start here for our get-to-know-you questions.
‣‣ [25:04] Here Amanda starts to share her story of how she got to be the positive person she is now despite all of the trials she's faced.
‣‣ [33:07] What makes an entreprenuer truly successful?
‣‣ [36:29] Amanda shares her advice for people who aren't confident in themselves and feel like they don't look "attractive" enough to be taken seriously.
‣‣ [39:50] I'm always curious about what gets people into the PMU biz. Like, what made you want to tattoo faces for a living?
‣‣ [41:10] I want to know what habits, beliefs, or behaviors Amanda has implemented in her life that have improved her business?
‣‣ [42:39] What's the best advice for those who are just getting started in the PMU industry and what advice can they leave behind.
‣‣ [47:56] If you're starting new in PMU do NOT do these things.
‣‣ [47:56] Finally, I ask Amanda for her best advice on how to live a pretty rich life.
I'M READY! NO MORE EXCUSES! (Listen Here)
You can follow me, Sheila Bella, on Instagram @realsheilabella!
Here are the links that were mentioned in the podcast!
Pretty Rich Bosses
Microblading Sales Script
HYVE Beauty *Code SHEILA15
Text me! (310) 388-4588
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You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
Today's guest had a crazy surgery that required her to have her jaw wired shut for eight months, only allowed to eat or drink through a straw. So, she was on all liquid diet. During this time, she built her microblading empire doing consultations and procedures, that's right, with her jaw wired shut. And now she makes multiple six figures. She's the amazing Amanda Breuer.
Welcome to Pretty Rich Podcast, where you're totally the heroine of your own story. I'm your host, Sheila Bella, and I built a seven-figure PMU beauty biz, and a seven figure online biz without a degree, without a fancy website or a sugar daddy. If you and I hang out on here long enough, you're going to start to believe that you can do it too. How about that for a side effect of listening to this podcast? Because you really can. I know you think, I don't know you, I have no idea who you are, but I do. I really, really do, because I am you. I was you. And I believe we're all on the same journey together.
My perfect job didn't exist so I created it. The job I wanted wasn't hiring me, wanted nothing to do with me. So, I skipped the line and hired myself as CEO, just like you can. Consider me your secret beauty biz BFF. In case you need to be reminded on a weekly basis, that power is never just handed to you. You have to take it. Are you ready beauty boss? Let's jump in. How is that for an introduction? I just really wanted to hook you, guys. I didn't want you guys to have to discover those things like in the middle of the podcast. I wanted to tell you guys the meat of this podcast, right at the very beginning. I'm so excited to have Amanda Breuer on today's episode of Pretty Rich Podcasts, and she is the epitome of confidence, in my opinion, and confidence doesn't mean absence of fear or anxiety.
It means just feeling the fear and doing it anyway. That's what I love about her. Before I get to the podcast, you guys, I just wanted to remind you that I need reviews. You know what? It's been a while since I've asked for reviews, and you know what? You don't get what you don't ask for in life. Can I tell you? Can I tell you? If you're an avid listener of this podcast, but you've never left a review, I would like to kindly request that you please leave me one. Why? Because I read them all, and it really makes my day, and it also helps this podcast rank, and it helps it get more discovered on iTunes and the iTunes algorithm by more cool people like you. So, if you've been blessed by this podcast and by my stories and me just like bantering on and on and on, being myself, if that's blessed you at all or have inspired you at all to do something super cool, I would love to hear about it.
Yeah, share the wealth. It only takes just 30 seconds. Who knows? I might read your review out loud on the next episode. Yeah, just wanted to get that reminder out of the way. But guys, I'm so excited to be chatting it up with you guys today. I've had quite the busy day. Woke up, went to our long run, then I did some strength training, then I had a team meeting, then I just had a ton of calls with a ton of amazing people. Guys, I cannot wait to roll out this next set of podcasts to you in the next couple of weeks, because I've had some pretty incredible guests that I'm going to keep under wraps, for now that is, until I roll them out.
Lately, as I have meetings with my team every morning, we have been tackling the difference between confidence versus ego, because a couple of my team members, I'm not going to say who, okay, fine, one team member in particular is struggling with being more upfront with the people that she's leading. I had to break down the difference between confidence and ego. Because if you're going to be a leader, you need to lead with content and not ego. Let's break it down. Which one is more magnetic? The popular, the cool kids are usually just sure. That's it. They're just sure. They're just sure of themselves. The most popular, cool, or successful person in the room isn't necessarily the most attractive. They aren't necessarily the smartest or the best dressed.
I don't know, but something about people who are sure, it's magnetic. They're just the most confident. I think that at the end of the day, we're all just animals. There is an unspoken hierarchy, and that hierarchy has a lot to do with who is the surest. The one who stands up straight with their shoulders back, the one who looks you in the eye, the one who's not afraid to be themselves, the one who takes up space, takes up space with their body. We see that somebody who is certain, certain, and we are drawn to them. The more certain a person is, the more magnetic they become, more certain than us. Anybody who's more certain than us, and we think, wow, I will follow that person, that's the difference. All right, let's talk about ego.
If you're going to be a leader, either if you're leading a team or if you want to be a leader in your industry or in your space, you can't lead with your ego. Ego is not certain. Ego is defensive. It's fragile, actually. It's funny because people can tell the difference between the two. You can feel it. You can tell the difference between your own confidence and your egotism as you act upon them. One feels a lot better than the other. One is more effective than the other. Leading with confidence means you put your heart first. When you lead with your ego, the motive is self preservation. Am I right? You're just trying to protect, you're putting up your walls. You're like, "No, no, no. I'm going to keep myself intact. I'm going to keep this intact. No, I'm not going to be vulnerable right now."
You lead with your head and no heart actually. Ego is not vulnerable. Ego is closed minded. Ego isn't open to learning. Ego listens to respond, as opposed to listening to understand. Can I get an amen? Can I get an amen? You can't let your ego win, you can't lead with your ego. It's deceptive, because when you're passionately insulted about criticism or about any sort of feedback, that's you leading with your ego. Ego is actually super self-serving. I haven't seen a whole lot of happy homes built on self-service, or a lot of happy companies built on self-service. So, promoting yourself emptily isn't meaningful, but showing up as a leader, ready to serve others is, and if you're going to be an effective leader, you need to be sure, and you need to lead with service, a heart of service.
I think about my coaches at Pretty Rich Bosses, because I'm one of the coaches. I'm not the only coach. We actually have five bosses, bosses, coaches at Pretty Rich Bosses, and I think about just how giving and generous they are. I feel like I've done a really good job if I do say so myself of choosing the coaches, because the coaches are confident, they are vulnerable, they are open to feedback, and they're not afraid to shoot you straight. My coaches are also really invested in the transformations of their clients. When you become a client at Pretty Rich Bosses, you're more than just a client. This is a relationship. I believe in this model so much. Because I believe in the coaches so much, my coaches are so deeply invested in the transformations that they facilitate with all of our clients using the Pretty Rich Bosses' formula and marketing model.
Basically, this is how I came up with this. I would not be where I am today if it weren't for another woman helping me. I had a teacher, I had a mentor when I was first introduced to the permanent makeup industry, and she helped me. Okay? She helped me as much as she could. Then a few years later, I had another mentor who helped me as much as she could. I didn't have a lot of mentors unless I paid for it. Then, so Pretty Rich Bosses allows you to have access to, not just one, but five coaches all at once who have their own area of expertise, and it allows you to link arms with all of the coaches to accelerate your growth for the next three to six months. So, it's women helping women, just the way that women helped me throughout my journey.
It's women helping women, but like on steroids. Because you have five women linking arms with you, helping make it happen one-on-one for the next three to six months. I mean, the type of growth and changes that we facilitate inside Pretty Rich Bosses is nothing short of amazing, amazing you guys. I am so proud of the relationships that we've fostered in this community and the lifelong friendships and connections that we've built. If you know you were meant for more, if you know that you're sitting on a business that's really good, it's pretty good, but you need help with scaling, but you don't know where to start, or maybe you're just starting out in the industry and you realize that this business is actually a lot harder than your trainer made it seem, and getting clients is actually a much bigger challenge than you anticipated.
Or maybe you're established. You're an established brick and mortar, you have tons of information, but now you want to become a trainer. You want to be seen as an authority in the industry, you want to come up with an online course and make passive income. You're ready. This is also for you. Our coaches have experience with all of that themselves and more. I made sure that I recruited coaches who have experienced their own success. So, if this program is calling to you, if you're like 75% sure that this is for you, go ahead and apply for a complimentary strategy call with either myself or anyone of my advisors. All you need to do is fill out a quick form and we will get back to you to see if you're a good fit, and we will schedule you with a strategy call. All you need to do is go to sheilabella.com/apply. sheilabella.com/apply. So simple.
I will make sure to put the link in the show notes, but guys, this is your opportunity to get some real answers in your business. Why not take advantage of every opportunity? All right, you guys, without further ado, here she is, Amanda Breuer.
Welcome, Amanda Breuer, to Pretty Rich Podcast, everyone. Hey Amanda.
Amanda Breuer:
Hey, everyone. Great to be here.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh. I love your hair. Guys, I wish you could see her hair right now. I was keeping it to myself while we were chatting it up, but I love your hair.
Amanda Breuer:
Thank you.
Sheila Bella:
I have a couple of units that look like that. Now I feel like I need to buy ...
Amanda Breuer:
You need to share your unit's secrets.
Sheila Bella:
I know. I should buy your head. What's up you guys? Okay, so I have Amanda Breuer here, and I'm so excited to have her. She is the CEO of Eastside Microblading. She is in the Seattle Area and she has an accounting background. She has an accounting background, and can I say network marketing background? Because it's pretty awesome. I think network marketing has a bad reputation, but it's actually great training ground for entrepreneurs. Also, she is a Beauty Angels trainer with over 300 students. Oh my goodness. She joined the 6 Digit Club, 6 Digit PMU club a few years ago because she has a six-figure microblading and training studio. You guys, this chick is booked out until March of 2021, and it is October of 2020. Girl, welcome to Pretty Rich Podcasts, Amanda. I'm so excited to have you here and to share your story.
Amanda Breuer:
I'm so excited. We're going to have a blast.
Sheila Bella:
You know what I love about you? I was just immediately drawn to you because you're so positive and I just felt like similar vibes.
Amanda Breuer:
Totally. I remember the first time I met you, I was like, oh my gosh, we could be best friends right here just like instant.
Sheila Bella:
So easy. Yeah, I felt that from you too. I want the audience, our listeners to know a little bit more about your story, but before we get into that, I always like to warm up the guests with some rapid fire questions. Okay? We'll keep it easy. We'll start off easy, and if something interests us, we'll go ahead and circle back. Okay? Where are you from and where'd you grow up?
Amanda Breuer:
I grew up just outside of Seattle, in like a cow town, Monroe, Washington, so small town girl. That's probably why I married a Montana guy. We're small town folks.
Sheila Bella:
I haven't been to Montana, but I really want to visit.
Amanda Breuer:
You got to come.
Sheila Bella:
I feel like I would love it. The older I get, the less attractive city life is to me.
Amanda Breuer:
Totally.
Sheila Bella:
Where somebody like me with Louboutins and stuff like that. Yeah, it's getting less and less attractive. I don't know.
Amanda Breuer:
Hey, Louboutin makes boots, so it's okay.
Sheila Bella:
So uncomfortable actually. I only have one pair and it's like the lowest, most comfortable pair, and I will not invest in basically like a prison for your feet. I can't do it. I don't know. I can't do it. Valentinos are more comfortable actually.
Amanda Breuer:
Totally.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. A book that's changed your life.
Amanda Breuer:
Ooh, so many, the Bible. There's a lot of leadership books. I love reading John Maxwell. I think the number one or two of them, I read a lot. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I think [crosstalk 00:16:32].
Sheila Bella:
Oh yeah, I just finished that one.
Amanda Breuer:
It's like the Bible of people skills. If you take clients, you want to be good at conversation. It's a great one. The other one was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Great book. I could list off a million, but I think those are two good ones, especially if you're listening to this, good things to start with when it comes to mindset and people's skills.
Sheila Bella:
You're a leader, I can tell. Yeah, you're a leader who reads.
Amanda Breuer:
Lots of reading.
Sheila Bella:
I don't understand how people can be in a position to lead who don't read.
Amanda Breuer:
And it rhymes.
Sheila Bella:
I'm a rapper today. Who are you inspired by? Because I know a lot of people are inspired by you and your story, your students are. But what about you? Who is Amanda Breuer inspired by?
Amanda Breuer:
My dad was always the biggest inspiration for me because he was like vice-president for a big manufacturing company in the construction industry, and he left that to start his own manufacturing company, and he was in his forties, so he risked everything. I was like six years old, and I would follow him around his manufacturing plant asking him questions. All we did is I would ask him questions on business and he would literally teach me systems and how to treat employees and all of that. I aspired to be an entrepreneur so bad because, even though I saw how stressed out he was, whatever, I was like, it's so cool that you can go and create something, and you can provide those jobs and you can create success and have more control over your …
I just thought it was so cool. I had that example in my life, and not everybody has that example, but I was like, you know what? Still to this day, I call him and I ask him questions all the time, or I'll be like, what are you doing now with the company? It's so special.
Sheila Bella:
Ooh, that's awesome. That explains a lot about you. Where you got the courage to leap yourself, to take a big leap.
Amanda Breuer:
Totally. Never thought about it that way,
Sheila Bella:
Well, yeah, because here's the thing. My parents always told me I should go to college and become a nurse or do something that's "stable." I'm Filipino, so obviously they're like, "Nursing is really stable. You should check it out." Your parents' actions actually speak louder than their words. I couldn't verbalize this or describe this at the time when they were telling me that. I was like, "Why do I need to go to college?" Your success isn't because you have a degree, right?
Amanda Breuer:
It's weird that you say that. I was accepted to Stanford, and I didn't go because they weren't going to front the bill. They were so upset. I didn't talk to my dad for like two years over this, because he was so mad I didn't go to Stanford because that was my dream. But I was like, it was 63,000 a year in tuition, not including cost of living, everything. I was like, for accounting and business, all the things I wanted to learn about, I'm like, do I really need to go spend that much? So, I went to UDaB, and even went to the little campus and lived at home so I could save money, but looking back, I'm like, I'm so glad I didn't, because ... I don't know. I think there's a reason that fork in the road, those decisions, and that was one of them.
Where, even though my dream was to get into Stanford and go ... I mean, I got in, so I achieved my dream, but I just didn't go.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. I didn't know that.
Amanda Breuer:
Crazy.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. You've been wise with your money.
Amanda Breuer:
[crosstalk 00:19:53].
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Even at an early age. Wow, I was not that smart. Amazing. What's challenging you right now?
Amanda Breuer:
I think scaling. I know we've been talking about that a little bit. I've growing pains, you want to do more and more, and I think just maybe manage ... I can fit so much in my schedule. I'm on 10 minute increments. You know how the reminders pop up and you get all of it done? It's like a well-oiled machine, but now I need to scale more. I think just delegating more responsibility to others and trusting that it'll be done right and having someone help with marketing or other things, and I've gone through a few people. I'm still trying to figure that out.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. This is all relatable stuff probably to our listeners. Because you are where a lot of beginners want to be. You're booked out, you're a trainer. Everybody wants to be a kick-ass trainer. Right? But then, now, the next challenge, I guess, the next adventure is scaling that. There's a new devil at every level. Whether you're a beginner or you're a seasoned pro, there are challenges, and these are the challenges that somebody who's already seasoned has, which is failing and people and trusting and marketing still. Marketing is always a problem.
Amanda Breuer:
Always.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing. I'm excited to chat with you about that later. Okay, so that's challenging you, but what are you grateful for right now?
Amanda Breuer:
Everything. Literally, I wake up and I am just ... it makes me emotional sometimes because like, I know we're going to get into some of the speed bumps along the way, but looking back, you're always so grateful for them, always. Because you don't realize, when you're going through those challenges, that through there for a reason, but I'm grateful for my life. I have the most amazing husband. I've been married eight and a half years. I got married at 19 to my dream man. We don't have kids yet, but I'm grateful that, and I don't think I was such a smart person that I chose that perfect person because you change over the years. It's not us, but we worked hard at it, and having an amazing marriage or family relationships, it's so special. That's my number one priority is always like, I want to make sure my marriage is amazing, even though I'm busy and we work a lot. I think that's the thing I'm super grateful for and proud of.
Sheila Bella:
How amazing and inspiring of an answer that was. Wow. It's crazy because when you ... I don't know if you've ever done that exercise, where you rate different areas of your life on a scale of one to 10. Like, how are you feeling about your business? How are you feeling about your relationships? How are you feeling about your fitness? I went to a mastermind one time and they had us do this exercise, and then it's funny that all of the things that you, and you rate low, are the things that you don't try in.
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
This was a huge wake up call to me because the thing that I rated low was my relationship. This is when I first got into permanent makeup and microblading, and my business was booming and so I was rating my business at a 10. Then it went to relationship and then I was like seven, seven. It was the realization, I was like, oh, I'm not trying as much because I take that for granted, because just constant. But yeah, that's a really good reminder for us because you're like, you want it to be good, so it's going to be good.
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah. [crosstalk 00:23:56].
Sheila Bella:
You put in effort. Yeah, you put the investment into it. Yeah, and it's paying you back. If that's really important to you and you're grateful for it and you enjoy it, it's probably because you put a ton of effort into it.
Amanda Breuer:
A ton.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that's amazing. Okay, maybe I should have you and your husband on the show.
Amanda Breuer:
No, people would barf.
Sheila Bella:
That's awesome.
Amanda Breuer:
[crosstalk 00:24:21].
Sheila Bella:
Okay. If you have a billboard in Times Square for one day, what would it say? Aside from, so get microblading from Amanda Breuer. Something inspiring.
Amanda Breuer:
I think it all comes down to just like, our thoughts are so powerful, and I think we let it get out of control. When we talk about gratefulness, when we talk about relation, all of that, it's all in our control up here. I don't know. I think just being grateful, number one, and two, don't give up. Be strong, keep going. [crosstalk 00:25:02].
Sheila Bella:
Okay. I love how positive you are. Okay? And you have it all together, including your hairstyle. But it wasn't always that way. This is the Amanda Breuer now of 2020. Tell us about Amanda Brewer before, because I know a little bit about your story, and I'm inspired by it, but for anybody who isn't familiar yet with you and your life and your platform, tell us about the lows.
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah. Well, there were a ton of them. Starting out, before PMU, I had an accounting background and I worked a lot, like a lot. I'm one of those personalities that thrives off of that stress in the productivity and achievement. So, of course you fill your plate overly full your whole entire life. That's just how we are. That was that situation. I was in a couple of really bad car wrecks when I was like 19, 20. When I say really bad, it was really bad. The first car accident, I was spun out and I smashed into a wall on the freeway, six times, crumbled my car. Yeah, really bad. Then within three weeks, I was in another car wreck, car accident with a neck brace on in the car. My body, I developed CRPS, which is like the highest ... it's one of the highest pain index conditions.
It doesn't go away. It only gets worse and spreads. Unfortunately, it spread to all my upper extremities. I always have hope that it can improve, but I think honestly, the only thing helps is up here and keeping strong with food and exercise and keeping mentally strong. But that threw me through a loop, because if anybody has chronic pain, even if it's only like a broken finger, if it's any kind of pain, it's very difficult. It affects and impacts your quality of life, your relationships, those around you. It's a lot.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. Okay. I know a little bit about this condition that you had. Now, you had a jaw surgery to help with it, correct? That shut your mouth for eight months.
Amanda Breuer:
It was bad. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I saw pictures. From what I understand, you continued to build your business and do consultations and procedures through this time.
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah. What's crazy about it is I was just starting to ramp up because I was ... I worked 60 hours a week, Monday through Friday, or more. I worked a lot, and then I had my brows done. One day my boss made a comment to me, and it was kind of derogatory like, "Aren't I paying you for this or something?" And that was kind of my snapping point, where I was like, "Dude, I could just go make money doing eyebrows. Why do I have to do this for you," kind of thing. I was like, uh-huh, no. As I started ramping up with microblading, and I was excited, because I was booking out on Saturdays and Sundays working seven days a week for four months, like crazy, crazy amounts a week, like insane. I realized I had to have an urgent jaw surgery, and they told me that I would be out of commission for six months.
I was like, there's no way I can do that because I'm ramping up my new company, I'm still working my job during the week. So, I had to go. They took fat from my stomach and made a new jaw joint in my jaw, and I had to be wired shut. Literally, there was bands, and it looked like I had like a ugly lemon in my mouth, and my mouth was open, and then rubber banded shut. It was the ugliest, and kids would cry if they saw me at the grocery store. They would scream and cry if they were like under three years old. It was just so [inaudible 00:29:00].
Sheila Bella:
Hey, PMU friends, listen, I don't talk about or promote anything on here that I don't believe in or use myself. Right now, I got to say my favorite place to shop for quality PMU and beauty supplies is HYVE Beauty. They have the best selection, and my favorite part about shopping at hyvebeauty.com is getting the package. It feels so personal. It always makes me so happy opening up a HYVE package from the mail because it feels like I'm getting a package from a friend. I don't know how they do it or make people feel this way, but they manage to do it with thousands of happy customers all over the US and Canada, and I'm definitely one of them. You should really go check it out so you know what I'm talking about. If you want to save 15% off storewide, guess what? Today's your lucky day. Just type in the code at Sheila, S-H-E-I 15 and get 15% off storewide. Check out hyvebeauty.com. Link is in the show notes.
Guys, I don't know. I guess maybe they can look this up on YouTube. Just look up Amanda Breuer story so that you guys can get a visual, but it's so freaking inspiring. But you were like, no, I'm not going to be out of commission for six months. I'm going to keep building my business. So, you still grew your business throughout that time with your jaw wired shut, just eating liquids [crosstalk 00:30:37].
Amanda Breuer:
I was malnourished, and then working all those seven days a week, and I was losing so much weight. I lost all the fat under my eyes, and I sounded like the Swedish chef from The Muppets, like [inaudible 00:30:49] talk like this, and people could not ... I would have people come in for consults before their appointment, and they could not understand a word I said. I tried so hard, Sheila.
Sheila Bella:
But you still pushed through. Typically, I think for somebody who maybe needed to have that surgery, that's your out.
Amanda Breuer:
That's your out.
Sheila Bella:
That's your out with the world, right? Nobody would question you not working right now. No one. No one would question you just sitting on the couch, drinking protein shakes and like soup through a straw. But yet, nobody would blame you for it, but you continued to build your business.
Amanda Breuer:
But the thing is, it was never 100% like, oh, I'm so tough. I'm going to make it through this. I'm going to bake it and succeed. No, every night I would go home and bawl my eyes out. I'd be in so much pain. I wanted to give up so many times, so many times. All the same things, like all the resistance that everybody experiences creating a new business, those doubts and those fears. That doubt in me with being wired shut, it was there. It's not that I was toughing through it. It was real and it was valid. I didn't want to quit because I saw the opportunity and I was like, this is my chance. I could set my own schedule. I could create success on my own. That, to me, outweighed those doubts and those fears. I just started to not …
I feel like everyone should be wired shut a little while, so they just don't care what people think about them. Because I think that really implanted a foundation in me, in the industry, in myself, where I'm like, I know what I'm capable of and I don't need people to think I'm beautiful to succeed. I can do it on my own. I'm so grateful for that experience.
Sheila Bella:
Oh gosh, I love you so much. You just made all of us excuseless.
Amanda Breuer:
But it's valid to feel that way. We all have those thoughts, but it's what you do with those thoughts that really determine where you are at in a year or two years.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Wow. That's grit. Entrepreneurship, I think people think is a destination, because you quit your job, you're like, boss, you suck, so peace out. I'm going to be an entrepreneur. But yeah, it's not just a destination. Here I am. I'm an entrepreneur. It's a journey. On this journey, I think successful entrepreneurs don't have the expectation of like arriving. I've arrived to some finish line. I think if you do have that expectation, you're not going to continue to push yourself or step outside your comfort and grow. You're not going to seek out the things that truly help your business experience explosive results because all of those things require you to stretch yourself. So, becoming a successful entrepreneur means understanding that there are going to be hard times when you need to push just like what you did. When there's obstacles, here's what you need to do. You need to be an innate problem solver, and it never stops.
Amanda Breuer:
No.
Sheila Bella:
It never stops.
Amanda Breuer:
You've got to get excited about it. You have to be so excited to be out of your comfort zone all the time, because [crosstalk 00:34:19] it's really uncomfortable. I've just trained my brain to go, okay, I'm going to learn and grow in this area now and it's going to be uncomfortable, but I'm excited to grow in this area because it's going to help.
Sheila Bella:
What do you think it was that made you that way? Was it an experience? Is it a book you read? Is it just kind of how you are? Is it an accumulation of several different things? What separates you? What made you this way? You're okay with, not okay with, but you understand that hardship is a part of it, right?
Amanda Breuer:
I think, in addition to a ton of reading and personal growth, I think surrounding myself with people in my life. I'm very careful about my friends. My friends that I am very vulnerable with, and that ... you know like your five friends circle. I always made sure that, within that friend group, I was never the most ambitious, or I was never learning the most. I wanted to make sure I was in such a growth environment with my friendships, where if I was having a little pity party, or if I was getting off track, that they helped keep me accountable and supported me through that and encouraged me like, no, this is part of the game. Keep going.
I think it's really good to be strategic about those relationships because I feel that you are who you surround yourself with, and I think that's been a big blessing in my life is having those friendships that have always encouraged me to grow and keep on track and stay in line. It's been a healthy thing.
Sheila Bella:
That's great. That's awesome that you're picky about that.
Amanda Breuer:
It's not that I judge other friends. I'm just careful who I spend the most time with. You know what I mean?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. I don't want to be the smartest person in the room.
Amanda Breuer:
No, because then [crosstalk 00:36:09].
Sheila Bella:
You're in the wrong room.
Amanda Breuer:
You're in the wrong room.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, absolutely. That's why I seek out like masterminds and business coaches on a regular basis because I want to be having different conversations with high watt brains and different topics that challenge me. Okay, so what advice would you give to somebody who is self-conscious about how they look okay? You pretty much wore like a Halloween mask for eight months and still built your business.
Amanda Breuer:
It was a movie character. It was so bad. Oh my goodness. But you know, I did carry myself professionally. Even if I was not attractive at the time, I still had great body language and posture. I was enthusiastic and confident in the way that I talked. Even if I didn't look my best, they sure trusted me, and they sure bought into whatever I was doing. Even though it was permanent cosmetics, but I did make sure my brows looked good. That's different because I did brows, so the brows had to look good all the time. Never skimped on that one. But yeah, I think that part of the attractiveness is not necessarily the looks, even though it's great to look your best, I think it comes down to how you talk and how you carry yourself and your enthusiasm, that confidence.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. You use what you got.
Amanda Breuer:
You use what you got.
Sheila Bella:
If you don't have your mouth right now, you use everything else.
Amanda Breuer:
That's right.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, wow. That's amazing. Yeah, so no excuses you guys, no excuses. Okay, so I think also part of it is people are afraid of failure, but to be honest, that is the way to succeed. If you want to succeed, you should double your failure rate, right?
Amanda Breuer:
That's true,
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Because you have to understand how your failure rate can lead to success because everybody wants to live a successful life, right? Nobody wants to live life as a failure, but failure is actually an important part of the equation. Without failure, you can never truly achieve real success. People keep avoiding the discomfort. Also, people don't want to show their failures either, but that's what makes people invest in you. I used to have this super unhealthy relationship with failure or imperfection, like it's a bad thing, because our culture in our society has programmed us to believe that failure is bad. When you make mistakes in school, when you get scolded, when you get punished, when you get an answer wrong, when you screw up at work, your boss is going to reprimand you or worse, maybe even like fire you.
But we have to change our beliefs around failure and look at it as something good, because it is the way. What is it? The road to yes is paved with nos.
Amanda Breuer:
That's right.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. It's something essential, actually, failure that will ensure your success in both your professional and your personal lives. You have to keep trying, and look, if you're not failing, you're not trying because everybody who has ever succeeded has failed multiple times. That's why I love sharing people's stories because I think it sets people up for the proper expectation.
Amanda Breuer:
The reality,
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. The proper expectation. What is it about permanent makeup, in general, as a, let's talk about the industry, that attracted you to it? Yeah, like brows, did you ever think that, when you were a little girl, that like you are going to be a brow artist? Most people-
Amanda Breuer:
No, I was going to be a neurosurgeon or a news reporter.
Sheila Bella:
I can totally see you being a news reporter.
Amanda Breuer:
No. Honestly, I had my brows done back when microblading was brand new, and I paid almost yeah, $800 for them. I was like, it took her two hours and I did the math. I was like, that's a great financial opportunity. Even if I only saw X amount of clients, whatever, I'm like, that would be great. I was thinking ahead, I was like, well, if we have kids and I want to only work a day or two a week, who knows? Maybe that would, and not a lot of people were doing it at the time, I'm like, that might be a good opportunity.
For me, number one, honestly, it was all financial. I didn't think about the beauty part, the impacting lives part. None of that. It didn't occur to me till later that all of that came into play too. But yeah, that's why I did it. I was like, what a great financial opportunity [crosstalk 00:40:59].
Sheila Bella:
It was the money, you guys. It was the money. She is not being shy about that.
Amanda Breuer:
No.
Sheila Bella:
That's awesome. So, do you have like, is there something that you have implemented in your life, like a new habit, a belief or behavior that has improved your life in business in the last five years?
Amanda Breuer:
In last five years. Reading a lot is big, exercise, I think is huge. Oh my goodness, and I have to hire a personal trainer because, even though it's an investment, I just know it'll hold me accountable because it'll hurt. I'm very frugal, and if I have to pay and I cancel, you know that kind of thing? Also, I stay accountable to those two training sessions a week, and it keeps me on point. It keeps my brain good. Then I'm eating a little better, all the things that we always talk about. It's funny because success really isn't this crazy complicated thing. It's a bunch of really simple things that we all know, but we need to implement daily. On top of those daily habits is when it compounds into those big results long-term and then you're so surprised.
But the difference in that little angle, over time, that compounding is insane. If you've ever read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, it's a good one, and talks about the compounding effect of any habit in your life over time. I think just being very intentional about any good habit in your life, or improving even just 1% a day over time, it's going to change your life. It's going to change your life. It doesn't have to be dramatic.
Sheila Bella:
I love it. What advice would you give to somebody just starting out in the beauty industry who's smart, who's driven, maybe just got their certification from you, but they're about to enter the real world and they want to be the next Eastside Microblading? What advice would you give them? Two-part question, and what advice should they ignore?
Amanda Breuer:
Well, I think the first one is, starting out, it's going to be tough. It's not going to be easy. You're going to have days where you cry and you feel like giving up and you feel maybe a little alone because it is ... I feel that this industry does attract people with a backbone. It takes a backbone to build a successful beauty industry, and I've noticed a pattern, those that come in the industry and they thrive. They're strong where they develop that strength or they had other experiences in their life that really toughened them up. Just give yourself a lot of patience and grace, but work really hard. I think the thing that separates those that do well, and that don't is time and effort.
If you are not putting the time and effort into practice to build strategic relationships in the industry, to obtain better and better training and support, then it's going to be more difficult. Just getting on that path, if it's the right training, if it's your marketing, and putting in that time and effort, it will separate you. People fall into this trap of the hope syndrome, where they sit and they hope that people will book with them. They're like, oh, I put up a cute post, so now I should [inaudible 00:44:08] but no, it's daily-
Sheila Bella:
I call that hope marketing. That's so funny.
Amanda Breuer:
Seriously?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Amanda Breuer:
I read it in a book one time, and I was like, oh, that's so interesting. They just think it's going to come to them. I'm like, no, it's ... I probably spent three hours a day on my marketing and building Yelp and my Google. I literally Googled like free Google SEO tips, and I would do all of the tips one night, and then I would do Yelp the next night, and Facebook the next. I was like, anything I can do today that will help me build that foundation for my company, because I knew, I knew that it was not going to happen instantly. I knew it was going to take time. I think that's a mindset you have to do. So many people are like, "Oh, I did my training and I'm not getting clients." I'm like, "Well, you're going to have to work a little longer and a little harder to develop that same booked-out mentality.
Sheila Bella:
Booked-out mentality, that sounds like a course.
Amanda Breuer:
That does sound pretty good. It's got a ring to it.
Sheila Bella:
Let's do it. Let's do it. Sheila Bella-Amanda Breuer, so the booked-out mentality.
Amanda Breuer:
Not to listen to is, I've noticed in the industry, there's a lot of, and I share this when I do trainings too, because I'm not loyal to one product or one brand, or this or not. I always want to be honest with everybody. The thing that I've experienced, where students get confused is, within permanent cosmetics, there's black and white. Definitely do this, definitely do not do this when it comes to permanent cosmetics. But what we don't realize is there are a ton of areas that are a gray area. How you use anesthetic, this or that, and there's things that people do it differently, and if you're new, you can get so confused and overwhelmed. Like, well, this person said this, that person said that.
It can be a little much because you get stuck in frozen. I think it's just really important to make sure that you understand the black and whites and the grays, and understanding that yeah, there may be different methods, and sure, maybe one isn't quite as good, but it's not wrong. I see a lot of people get hung up in that stuff or waste a lot of money on different products and everything. I certainly did that same thing starting out. It was very confusing.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, absolutely. That reminds me, it's so funny. Here's a segue. That reminds me of when I first had a baby and I was a first time mom. If you're a first time mom or first time microblading artist, do not, under any circumstances, post a question on your Facebook about ... If you're a first time mom about breastfeeding, about sleep training or when you're a microblading artist yeah, I mean, about pigment or about technique. Well, if you do that, you need to be prepared for conflicting answers, and it's going to confuse you even more.
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah, 100%. Isn't it true?
Sheila Bella:
You just got to trust your gut and like, what is your own truth about this? What makes sense to you as a mom, as an artist? I'm not saying don't educate yourself, but yeah, sometimes you just need to be aware that people will have several different opinions and you can't let it drive you crazy. You can't let it mean more than it means. Understand that everybody has their own unique situation and their perspective, but yet, you can't be carried away with that. Well, this person says I can't sleep train because that's cruel, or this person says I'm ruining my client because I'm microblading and I'm not using a machine. I mean, yeah, you can't listen to everyone. Right?
Amanda Breuer:
No, and just doing your own due diligence is always the best because then you're more confident, whichever way you choose.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. What are some myths or some bad recommendations that you hear about how to build a permanent makeup business? What are some bad recommendations that you hear about?
Amanda Breuer:
Ooh, bad recommendations.
Sheila Bella:
It's like widely accepted and you're like what?
Amanda Breuer:
I think when you're brand new, investing a tremendous amount of money into huge paid campaigns. Sometimes that's effective, but for me, I try to utilize. I was very frugal, and I wanted to make sure that I could break a profit quickly and then I could reinvest that profit as I grew, instead of like, a lot of people will treat their their PMU business as their wedding, for example, and they will ... that's my analogy for it, and they'll get started in PMU and they remodel and spend $30,000, $40,000 on a salon when they haven't even done five clients yet. I think the biggest thing is don't invest too much money into it. To put it into perspective, when I started, I subleased from a lash extension artists two days a week in a good area for 400 a month, which is so cost-effective, it was already decorated and cute.
The bed was already there. All I needed was my tools, and it was so simple, and I miss those days, honestly, because it was such low overhead. Oh, it was wonderful. I love low overhead, but I was able to take that profit and reinvest it into areas that I got a return on investment, because I knew I wasn't going to get a big return on investment if I remodeled a huge space at the time. I was like, I'd rather invest that money into resources if it was a website, if it was strategic paid ad campaigns, if it was my branding, that made more sense to me.
Sheila Bella:
Thank you so much for saying that. Yes, permanent makeup artists treat their first business like their wedding.
Amanda Breuer:
Like their wedding.
Sheila Bella:
They go all out. Oh my gosh, you do have an accounting background.
Amanda Breuer:
It may be tax deductible, but it's not going to resolve ... Never spend money to save money.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Yeah. I like that a lot. I have a theory that people can do three things with their money. They can either hoard it, they can waste it or they can invest it.
Amanda Breuer:
I love the investing one. Oh man. I wanted, and to be really transparent, I wanted to be able to create a business where I was able to live below my means and invest into my future. I think that's something that needs to be talked about more in our industry, because there's so many people that maybe come from a job background or they start out in business and they don't understand what a 401k or IRA or any of that is. And you don't realize that tiny little thing. You can retire if you put money into retirement. That's how it works, but don't let it overwhelm you like watch YouTube videos on it and you'll get ... Every night, watch one YouTube video on it and get educated. I love that. I love talking about that stuff.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh. You know what? at 11:30, I actually have, that's about 30 minutes from now, we actually have a training inside Pretty Rich Bosses all about basic financial literacy and planning for the future ...
Amanda Breuer:
That's my favorite subject in the world.
Sheila Bella:
... for beauty entrepreneurs. Oh my gosh. That's happening at 11:30. I'm so excited.
Amanda Breuer:
You know how necessary it is for people to learn that in our industry, and it makes me so sad because it's such a small difference in your financial habits that really bless people's lives later on and your kids.
Sheila Bella:
Yes. I know. It's just a little, it's just a little bit of knowledge, goes a long way. Long way. I find a lot of people mismanaged their money in the beauty industry because they're working for themselves, and so when they're making money, especially if they're new, you're like, "This is all mine." I'm like, "That's not all yours." You did not make $500 today. Put that down. Do not spend it. That's not ...
Amanda Breuer:
Don't touch it.
Sheila Bella:
Don't touch it. It's not all yours.
Amanda Breuer:
It's true.
Sheila Bella:
Oh gosh. Yeah. Sorry guys. But knowing these things, I think a lot of people avoid the financial literacy, the financial education, because it's not as fun. As an artist-
Amanda Breuer:
No, it might be scary or overwhelming too.
Sheila Bella:
That's intimidating. I can definitely understand that, but learning is super essential if you're going to scale, if you're ever going to go from, just having a "one-story house of a business," and if you want to build a skyscraper, knowing your numbers and being financially literate is of utmost importance if you want to grow your business. Okay. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocus or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what are some ways that you bring yourself back?
Amanda Breuer:
This is so weird. I don't know if I've ever shared this with anyone. I have this playlist on my phone, and I'll go for a jog, and it's like my pump-up play. I've got the Rocky song on there, and I've got all those songs that just get you in the zone. You're like, I'm a champion kind of stuff. A lot of times too, though, when I'm in that state, it's because I'm lagging in one area of my life, or I'm struggling in a certain area, and so I strategically attack it. I'll read books, I'll listen to a podcast on that certain topic so I can like get back on track, because when you're an entrepreneur and you're trying to grow, you don't have time to be in that whoa, that lull for too long.
Sheila Bella:
No, you don't. You're coming rate needs to be quicker.
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah. Maybe I'll take a day to deal with it, whenever it, but then I'm like, okay, it's my responsibility to get myself out of it. So, I try and control my thoughts and my actions in a way where I know I'm headed back on track. It sounds easier than it is, but you got to try ... I strategize for sure.
Sheila Bella:
You know what it is too? You accept responsibility. That's what I like about you. You accept responsibility for encouraging yourself. You're not depending on your husband to do it. You're not depending on like Claire to do it or anybody. Right? You accept responsibility for encouraging yourself back up. If you have to do it through a playlist or a podcast yeah, I think that's what I feel very aligned with you on, and I can tell you're that kind of person, because that's exactly what I do.
Amanda Breuer:
What I do too, is I never try and solve problems late at night because that's when I'm tired and emotional, and if I try and fix problems when I'm super tired, it's never as good. I try not to go down those rabbit holes of trying to fix things, and I try and do that in the morning. That way, my mind is always the best in the morning. I feel less like emotional or tired. You know at the end of that, you've done clients all day, you get home, you're hungry. It's not the time to do it. For me, timing is a really important thing, and I try and be very conscious about that.
Sheila Bella:
That's a good one. Yeah, I don't do that.
Amanda Breuer:
Well, it's hard when you're go, go, go. Sometimes nighttime's the only time to address those things.
Sheila Bella:
I dress everything all the time at all times, every time. I need you in my life. Last question. What is your best advice for how to live a pretty rich life?
Amanda Breuer:
Just keep learning and growing. Have a growth mindset and be excited about it. That's it. When you're excited and growing, you're improving, you're working on things, you're growing different muscles. If it's relationships, if it's your business, if it's your people skills, if it's your relationship with your family, if it's like ... whatever it is, your marketing, just keep growing and have a grow excitement around that growth mindset. Then it's never boring and it's always exciting.
Sheila Bella:
Love it. I love you so much, Amanda, even more so after this podcast interview. How can we find you and how can we work with you? Where can we find you?
Amanda Breuer:
Yeah. Eastside microblading on Instagram, so @eastsidemicroblading. And then, I'm also eastsidemicroblading.com is my website, so that's where I book clients, I've got my gallery, I talk about a lot of business, accounting topics. If you guys ever have questions about business and accounting stuff, you can always message me. I help everybody that messages me. Then I do live and online courses for microblading. I do basic and advanced microblading courses through Beauty Angels. It's like a whole six month ... like a lot of support. Same with the Powder Ombre course. We've got it live online, and then the PMU removal, of course.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. You guys, hookup with Amanda. She will set you up, accounting questions, permanent makeup technique questions, online, in-person, all of it. And if you're in the Seattle Area, go get your brows done by her.
Amanda Breuer:
Hey, hey.
Sheila Bella:
Go do it. But you got to wait til March. You got to wait so March. Thank you so much, Amanda. This was so awesome.
Amanda Breuer:
Thanks for having me. What a blast? This is such an incredible podcast, and a lot of the stories that are shared on here are ... I mean, this is part of that growth mindset, is having this podcast to listen to every day. If you're not hearing this kind of stuff and hearing other people's journeys and maybe their adversities and how they overcame, like we need that inspiration on a daily basis, and and maybe you find just one gold nugget out of every episode, but that's what makes that difference over time, right?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. The compound.
Amanda Breuer:
Compound baby.
Sheila Bella:
Compound positivity.
Amanda Breuer:
Yup.
Sheila Bella:
Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's episode of Pretty Rich Podcast. If you want to continue the conversation longer, check me out on Instagram. It's my favorite place to connect with you guys @realsheilabella. I'm happy to answer any of your questions or simply to chat and get to know you better. If you end up doing something super awesome, like screenshotting this episode and reposting it on your stories, that would put the biggest smile on my face. Don't forget to tag me. I appreciate every share and love feedback from my listeners. Also, do you have my number? Do you have my number? Because if we're going to keep hanging out, you should probably have my number.
So, you can actually text me. That's right. You can text me at (310) 388-4588. If you're sick and tired of doing business alone, and you're interested in accelerating your success by hiring a business coach or joining our mentorship program called Pretty Rich Bosses, go ahead and just apply. Why not? Check it out. Go to sheilabella.com/apply, and we'll schedule a free strategy session with either myself or one of my advisors. Of course, I got to include my kids, so here to send us off are Beau and Grey.
Grey:
Hello.
Sheila Bella:
Gray, say, share with your friends.
Grey:
Share with friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Grey:
[inaudible 00:59:22] mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Grey:
You for listening.
Sheila Bella:
Hey, Beau, can you tell everybody what our family motto is?
Beau:
Yeah, I can do hard things.
Sheila Bella:
I can do hard things. Good job, buddy.
