Ep. 87: How to Make Multiple 6 Figures in Your First Year of Business & Still Have a Life with Beauty Biz Mompreneurs The Beauty Mavens
Wait... so you mean I can be a literal BOSS BABE and still have a life??
YES!
I'm so excited to be having this conversation with Kristen de Oliveira and Madison Annis of The Beauty Mavens.
Even though we're in different parts of the country, we're different ethnicities, and we're from different backgrounds, we have different beauty focuses, there's so much we have in common.
What we have in common is the crushing.
The sacrifices that you need to make to be successful are unavoidable, and if you're experiencing a season of crushing right now, know that is not your residence. It's a stage.
A season of crushing isn't permanent ever. It's a necessary stage.
It's like an arrow that pulls you back. The further you pull it back and you put tension on that bow, the further it will fly.
Is there somebody out there who is being pulled back, and you feel like you can't be pulled back anymore? You may be thinking, "Oh, gosh. I didn't sign up for this. Why is this so hard? I didn't realize that this job was going to be so ugly."
I want to remind you that this season is temporary. This season is temporary. You are about to soar through the sky further than you've ever imagined before. But you need to trust the process.
Kristen, Madison, and I unpack ALL OF THAT in this episode.
You don't want to miss it.
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [11:52] Here's where my conversation with The Beauty Mavens, Kristen and Madison, starts!
‣‣ [14:11] Madison speaks to the myth of beauty schools being a "cop out" education option. (It's not!!! I promise. And Madison speaks to that here)
‣‣ [15:27] At this minute mark, I talk about family expectations that lead to not choosing the beauty business route in making career decisions.
‣‣ [17:15] Here's where the rapid-fire questions interview with The Beauty Mavens starts!
‣‣ [18:28] The first question I asked The Beauty Mavens was this: What is the biggest failure you've worked through? Both Kristen and Madison answer the questions in this interview!
‣‣ [24:18] What's your favorite failure? I ask The Beauty Mavens that questions here.
‣‣ [34:03] We get into a discussion about hiring people, and here's where I talk about what business relationship dynamics look like!
‣‣ [35:07] Here's where I ask The Beauty Mavens how they juggle work life and family life when family life is the priority.
‣‣ [35:41] I need TIPS, Sheila, Kristen, and Madison! Don't worry! I ask them for that too! Here's where they answer.
‣‣ [38:59] For new moms that are looking into growing a multiple six figure beauty business but are afraid of losing your family as your priority, we get it! We're mamas too! Here's where Kristen and Madison give advice to new moms that are thinking about going into the beauty business.
‣‣ [40:15] At this minute mark is where I ask The Beauty Mavens what they think they did differently that sets them apart from the rest of the beauty industry?
‣‣ [41:55] The last question I ask Kristen and Madison is, "What is challenging you at this point of your career?"
IT'S DOABLE? I WANNA MAKE BANK AND STILL HAVE A LIFE! (Listen Here)
If you want to keep up with Kristen and Madison and all things The Beauty Mavens, you can follow them on Instagram right here. You can also check out their website here!
You can follow me, Sheila Bella, on Instagram @realsheilabella!
Here are the links that were mentioned in the podcast and more!
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You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
What is the biggest failure that you've worked through?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Okay. So mine, before we opened Beauty Mavens, I joined a partnership of an existing salon, and it went south real quick. We were only in business together for about six months. And I would say that the biggest failure is I didn't read my contract. I didn't have the same goals as her, so once we got into business together, it just was not a good fit.
Sheila Bella:
It's like a relationship.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yeah. Oh my gosh, and it felt like a divorce leaving. Anyway, so if you're going... This is the lesson that I took from it, if you're going to partner with somebody, go on vacation with them, know them inside and out. [inaudible 00:00:39] them, know if you have the same goals. Those are the top two things you need to know about them. And then from there, read your contracts, and then sign it and join.
Sheila Bella:
Before I can accept this job, you need to take me to Bali. We need to get to know each other.
Today on Pretty Rich Podcast, I have the beauty mavens on how to create a life and business that you love. 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've 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 I don't know you, but I do. I really, really do because I am you, and I believe we're all on this 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.
Guys, I have a good one for you today. I have Kristen and Madison. They are sisters and they are the Beauty Mavens. They have their own podcast called The Beauty Mavens Podcast, and they're also beauty business coaches and also beauty entrepreneurs. I'm really excited to be sharing this podcast with you guys because it's not every day that I find a guest and have so much alignment with them. I mean, their lives sound a lot like mine. They're also moms and they're super cool.
Dude, can we just stop and pause though and read the review of the episode because there's two episodes a week sometimes. So the review of the episode…
Guys, you know in business, in any business, I'm in the business of permanent makeup, of inspiration, of helping you guys launch your businesses. I'm in the business of creating more leaders. And even, even in this motivational, inspirational space, the S comes up in my business every single day, just like yours, okay? And sometimes, and sometimes, when things aren't going as smoothly as I want it to, it's easy to get discouraged. And I want you guys to know that I am not immune to that. Yeah, I feel sad sometimes. What keeps me going? Number one is my tribe, the people I can call and just unload on, and they can unload on me, who understand where I'm coming from, who will hear it. Even if they don't have a solution for it, they'll hear it. That keeps me going. And they remind me of why I began.
And you know what else really reminds me of why I began? Is you. Yes, you, listening to this right now. And part of how you guys do this is the feedback I get on DMs, comments, and iTunes reviews, which really, really appreciate. And I want you guys to know how much it means to me. There are days where you forget. You forget why you began. And I began because of you. I have been called to serve you. And I don't know why, but I know there are moms out there that put a smile on their face, and your children think that you're happier than you actually are. I am called to the woman who feels like they need to be consistent, even though they are in pain. Shout out to the boss that everybody looks up to, that everybody thinks is Wonder Woman. But when you're Wonder Woman, nobody knows that deep down inside, you're just an ordinary girl.
But you're consistent. You make it happen. You put a smile on and you show up anyway. I am called to serve you. And when I get feedback, when I ask you guys to please leave a review on iTunes, and you guys take the time out of your super busy day, because Lord knows that you guys are super busy too. I mean, you're ambitious women listening to this podcast, so I'm sure you have a million and one things going on, but you take the time to leave me a review on iTunes because you know it helps this show. It helps this show rank and it helps me. I really appreciate it. And that's also why I take the time out to read these reviews on the air.
So for the review of the week, as I was saying, review of the episode, it is from DBreeze1. She says, "It's a newbie's best friend." Oh, awesome. She says, "I cannot express this enough. Having this podcast is making my transition so much clearer. Coming from corporate America into the beauty business is no easy task. But having this outlet makes me understand that what I'm going through is normal. I don't feel like I need to figure this out by myself. And like Sheila Bella says, knowledge is confidence. Thank you. Thank you. Please don't stop educating us." Thank you, DBreeze. Why am I emotional today? I am. With that said, please don't underestimate what your words, what your kinds words can do for another human being. You never know what people are going through. I was just really blessed by your words, DBreeze. I hope I tell me who you are on Instagram.
And you know what, instead of leaving me a review, because usually at this time I'm like, "Please leave me a review on iTunes." I would really, really love it instead, my ask for this show is you text somebody that you haven't spoken to in a long time and you send them a word of encouragement. Whoever it is, it doesn't matter. Tell them you're thinking about them. Recall a fun time that you may have had with them. Make it meaningful. Make it count. And you just never know. And you don't even have to pause this podcast to do that. You can still keep playing it. If you're driving pull over, and yeah, send out a kind message.
That's why I'm so excited to be having this conversation, to be sharing this conversation with you with Kristen and Madison of The Beauty Mavens, even though we're, again, we're in different parts of the country, different parts of the country, different ethnicities, different backgrounds. And in many ways, they don't do permanent makeup. They do all the other beauty stuff, but I do. But there's so much we have in common. And what we have in common is the crushing. I want you guys to remember that the sacrifices that you need to make to be successful are unavoidable. And if you're experiencing a season of crushing right now, know that is not your residence. It is a stage.
A lot of people are in a season of crushing, a season of low, dark times. And even though things may change, and things may get better, they still live like they're in that dark season. Why? Because it's comfortable for them because it's their normal. But a season of crushing isn't permanent ever. It's a necessary stage, kind of like an arrow, an arrow that you pull back. The further you pull it back and you put tension on that bow, the further it will fly. There is somebody here right now who is being pulled back, and you feel like you can't be pulled back any more. You may be thinking, "Oh, gosh. I didn't sign up for this. Why is this so hard? I didn't realize that this job was going to be so ugly."
You might be blindsided and think, "Why didn't anybody tell me that it was going to be this hard or this difficult? Why didn't anybody warn me that I was going to run into this situation?" You might be thinking, "If I could go back and somebody would've told me that this would happen, I never would have done it." And you feel like quitting. You feel like throwing in the towel. You feel like giving up. I want to remind you that this season is temporary. This season is temporary. You are about to soar through the sky further than you've ever imagined before. But you need to trust the process. You need to know that there has been no one in the existence of mankind that has been successful without a season of crushing, without having been groomed for greatness. It will be your turn. Stay focused. Stay faithful. Remember the woman that you are serving. Remember the one who needs to hear your message. Don't give up.
When people say, "She's so lucky," when people say, "She's so lucky," the translation to that is actually, she's willing to embarrass herself. She's willing to risk. She's willing to fall flat on her face. She's willing to get hurt. She's willing to go beyond what she knows, beyond her traditions because she wants to be effective. And number one, she's willing to be consistent, regardless of how she feels, because she believes in her destiny. She believes that greatness is just around the corner, and she believes that it is hers for the taking. Even when your boyfriend, your husband, your best friend, your parents, people that you trust, your mentors, even when they don't support you, you have to support yourself even when they don't. That's what lucky is. You create it.
Okay, now our guests of today's episode of Pretty Rich Podcast, I have Kristen and Madison of The Beauty Mavens.
Hey, you guys. What's up? Today I have Kristen and Madison from The Beauty Mavens. How are you guys?
Madison Annis:
Hi. We're so good and we're so excited to be here.
Sheila Bella:
This was take 57.
Madison Annis:
How it always goes. It's fine. We're here for it.
Sheila Bella:
So everybody listening is a podcast listener. So I thought it would be a really good opportunity to tell everybody about your podcast because you're already on the platform, so you should probably check them out too. Why don't you guys tell everybody about your podcast and how aligned we are?
Madison Annis:
Yes. Okay. If you like this podcast, you'll love our podcast. We interview mavens. So a maven is an expert or connoisseur. So we interview mavens in the beauty industry just to hear their stories, to have them give us some tips, some expert advice. We started it about a year ago and we really just saw... We all have been through beauty school. We all can do killer lashes. We can do bomb brows. But there was this whole in the industry where we didn't have business trainings, we didn't have information. It just was few and far between. So then we started our podcast, and we wanted to sit down with people who were actually doing it and hear how they're doing it. So that's what we do over there. It's really fun. Lots of biz advice.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. See, so aligned, you guys. I am so glad to have met you guys because there's not a lot of us in this space who are speakers, who are business coaches. And I can't service everybody.
Madison Annis:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
Just like you guys can't, so I'm just so excited because I have you guys to talk to. I have you guys to talk to now because there's not ... Sometimes I feel alone. I am on this mission too, to help beauty entrepreneurs scale their businesses. And for a long time, I felt like beauty entrepreneurs are forgotten. Also, what I don't like is that there's a stigma for beauty entrepreneurs, like oh people who may have degrees, they think that maybe we're less than, or they don't take us too seriously, like you're not a real entrepreneur because you didn't go to a college. I mean, that couldn't be further from the truth. I know people. I know people just like me who employ people with PhDs.
Madison Annis:
Right?
Sheila Bella:
I sign their checks.
Madison Annis:
Yeah. Well, I even, when Kristen, Kristen's my older sister, and I was going to school and getting my Bachelor's Degree, and she was like, "Okay, I want to ... " She had gotten her Associate's, and she was like, "This school thing isn't for me. I'm going to go to ... " She actually wanted to do cosmetology. She didn't even know what at esthetician was. She just ran out with the baby, so it's just me right now.
Sheila Bella:
No problem.
Madison Annis:
Telling the story for her. She found out what an esthetician was. She was like, "Wait. This is awesome. I'm going to do this." And I literally was like, "Wait, no. You can't go to beauty school. That's what people do when they can't go to college. That's like a cop out. That's just an easy way out. Don't do that. At least get your Bachelor's." And I literally said that.
Sheila Bella:
Wow.
Madison Annis:
I graduated with my Bachelor's, and I was looking at her running this business, and I was like, "Okay. Wait. How do I do that now?" I literally did an apprenticeship under her. And I was like, "Wait, I want to do this." And now it's like, "Oh, my gosh." I was so naive. I did not ... Bu that's the stigma.
Sheila Bella:
That's such an important story. That's such an important story. And that was your sister.
Madison Annis:
Yeah. Yes.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. So I mean, there's probably people who can relate to this right now. A lot of times, family members, a lot of parents, don't want you to go into beauty school. My last podcast was with Tammy Lee. And she says that her mom grew up doing cosmetology, and when she decided she was going to do cosmetology, her mom, who's a Vietnamese immigrant and refugee, was disappointed in her, super disappointed because she thought that, "I raised you so you can do better than me, and you're going into cosmetology too." And obviously now with Tammy Lee's success, her mom is eating her words. But yeah, that's a stigma even with other cosmetologists' kids.
Madison Annis:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
That's so interesting.
Madison Annis:
That is crazy. Yeah. And I think that is the huge part of it. I feel like it's a new, it's not newer, but I feel like you said, like it wasn't cool to be a cosmetologist. People didn't understand the business side. But I feel like everyone's pulling the business curtain back now. And it's like, "No, first and foremost, I'm actually a business owner." And we're getting to see that side, and wow, yeah, it's hard work.
Sheila Bella:
It is. And I think Gary V. says this all the time, "Entrepreneurship now is cool." Now it's cool. Everybody wants to be an entrepreneur. And Instagram is hashtag entrepreneur and everything. But people don't really understand what does it really take. What does it really take? It takes really, really showing up. And I think entrepreneurship rewards people who aren't necessarily the smartest, but the ones who are steady and who are the most consistent, like you guys.
Madison Annis:
I love that. Yeah, that's really on point, on point. Kristen's back.
Sheila Bella:
Hello, Kristen. How's your baby?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Good. Clean.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Good. Awesome. So okay, just in time. We're going to do a little bit of rapid fire. Okay. Favorite quote, go.
Madison Annis:
I really like if you feel called to do it, freaking do it, because I really believe if you have an idea and you want to get that out there and you want to share that message, do it. People need to hear your voice. People need your spin on whatever it is you want to do.
Sheila Bella:
I like that a lot. I think people get too wrapped up in being original. They're like, "I don't want to say that because it's been said before." I was like, "Yeah. But it hasn't been said like you. It hasn't been said like you." Yeah, that's a really good one. Okay. Next quote, next sister, do you have one for me?
Kristen de Oliveira:
My quote is launch fast and then adjust, so it kind of goes along the same lines. I feel like a lot of people hold themselves back from, especially perfectionism in the beauty industry. Just get it out there, and then you can make any adjustments and pivot once it's done.
Sheila Bella:
Let's get drunk and tattoo that on our butts at Lash Con when we see each other again.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Nice, first of all.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing. I have the tattoo supplies.
Kristen de Oliveira:
We're coming over.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing. Launch fast and then adjust. Oh my god. Thank you. Woo! Bringing the heat. Okay, I want to know, what's the... For each of you, what is the biggest failure that you've worked through.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Okay, so mine... This is Kristen. Before we opened Beauty Mavens, I joined a partnership of an existing salon, and it went south real quick. We were only in business together for about six months. And I would say that the biggest failure is not that I didn't... I didn't read my contract. I didn't have the same goals as her. So once we got into business together, it just was not a good fit.
Sheila Bella:
It's like a relationship.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yeah. Oh my gosh, and it felt like a divorce leaving. It was terrible. Anyway, so if you're going... This is the lesson that I took from it. If you're going to partner with somebody, go on vacation with them, know them inside and out, [inaudible 00:19:12] them, know if you have the same goals. Those are the top two things you need to know about them. And then from there, read your contracts, and then sign it in join.
Sheila Bella:
Before I can accept this job, you need to take me to Bali. We need to get to know each other.
Kristen de Oliveira:
I had known her for years, so I thought I knew her really well. But then once we started working together, it was just... We did not mesh. Very different people.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, and maybe not necessarily vacation, but do a challenge together. Because it's kind of like... I'm watching The Bachelor right now, and I'm like, "Man, they put them-"
Madison Annis:
Oh my gosh, the best.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh! This season is crazy. They say it ends up normally.
Madison Annis:
Yeah, I've been trying to figure it out. I try to find all the spoilers, and I can't.
Sheila Bella:
Me too!
Kristen de Oliveira:
I can't break it! I don't know what it is.
Sheila Bella:
Oh no! I think he got her pregnant, somebody pregnant.
Kristen de Oliveira:
That's what we said!
Madison Annis:
That's what we were thinking.
Sheila Bella:
Ugh. Okay, so for any of you Bachelor fans out there, direct message us your theories. What are your Bachelor theories for Peter's season? Oh my gosh.
Madison Annis:
I think it's the most dramatic season.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Absolutely.
Sheila Bella:
Dude, yeah, the previews are killing me. Like, he delivers him news right before he's about to propose. And he's like, "Before you do this, we have something else we need to tell you."
Madison Annis:
And it's funny, because I feel like the season's actually pretty boring. But I'm just holding on until the end. These trailers are what's keeping me watching, because I have to know.
Sheila Bella:
Right! I know. Do you know what? Watching the Bachelor... Now we're just going on a tangent. Watching the Bachelor is like a part-time job.
Madison Annis:
It is. Especially when they do a five-hour episode or whatever. They did like the Monday and the other day.
Sheila Bella:
This is insane! No, I'm behind because I can't. I can't!
Madison Annis:
Yeah, it's a lot.
Sheila Bella:
So the only reason... Oh my gosh. I can't believe we're talking about The Bachelor. The only reason why I'm watching it right now is because the kids are finally out of our bed, right? And so Will and I have like 30, 45 minutes or so right before bed where we can watch TV. So yeah, I'm like, "Man, this is a part-time job."
Okay. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, hiring is like dating. Hiring is like The Bachelor.
Kristen de Oliveira:
But one more thing I wanted to say about my failure was... I forgot to mention this. It was good because the day after I left was the day we started Beauty Mavens. So that's why it's my favorite failure, because it led me to where we are now.
Sheila Bella:
Oh wow. That's amazing. And you must have been devastated too when that happened.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Oh yeah. It was very abrupt. It was two days before my birthday. It was actually on her birthday. It was bad. But the next day, things started looking up. We found our space.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. So you leave good to make room for great, and sometimes good is the biggest enemy of great.
Kristen de Oliveira:
That's good.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, there's things about my life that's been that way too, where I've been super devastated by something, but yeah, God had better plans. Or it pushed me to create something because I had to. So let's say I had married wealthy... And I didn't. Sorry, Will. So I married a schoolteacher, but the thing is, I would not have created what I've created, because who knows? Maybe I would have just sat on my butt my whole life.
Madison Annis:
Right? Yeah, I feel that too. I feel like sometimes, it's like our... I don't really know how to put this into words. I've been thinking about it the last little while though. But I almost feel like it's like your ego gets in the way of things. Because for that, I feel like it was really hard because from the outside looking in, it's, "Oh, you went on to this successful spot and became a partner, and then six months later you..." And so I feel like almost for the ego of it, you want to stay and make it work, because it's like, "Oh, I part own this salon, and this and that and that." But at the end of the day, it wasn't-
Sheila Bella:
What you really wanted.
Madison Annis:
[crosstalk 00:23:12]. Yeah, so it was like, no, we needed to end it. So I don't know how to really articulate what I'm trying to say, but I feel like a lot of it is just our ego getting in the way of what we actually want, because we want to have that reputation or that look.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, or maybe you're just married to the idea or the memory. Joe Dispenza says things like, "A memory or something in your mind or like a fantasy, it elicits the same chemicals in your brain as if it actually happened already." I believe that. So if you are so married to this fantasy or this idea that you guys are going to be business owners together and stuff like that, and then when a relationship doesn't work out, it's like letting go of that... To you, it's a reality. But honestly, it's just an idea. It could be really difficult.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yeah. Do you want to say your failure? Your favorite failure?
Sheila Bella:
Favorite failure. Oh yeah, next one. What's your favorite failure?
Madison Annis:
I think it would probably be when we... Like Kristen said, they ended the partnership and we started Beauty Mavens, and this was kind of like one of those launch fast and adjust, and I feel like we learned a lot from it. So we opened this space... Well, so we opened a small little room. It was like 160 square feet, and there was just us two. And then we had someone that booth rented from us. And we were like, "Oh, this is sweet. She's paying more than half our rent. Blah blah blah." And then we kind of outgrew the space. It was obviously teeny. Then the opportunity came to open a storefront, and we were like, "Yeah, let's do it." So we got all these beds, and we were like, "Well, what's next? We have to fill the beds." So we put on a post, and literally anyone who was like, "I want to come. I want to come." We were like, "Come, come, come. You're cute. Yeah. You got it. You do good nails. You do good lashes." Just anyone, we let them come. And it was not really great.
Sheila Bella:
Really?
Madison Annis:
It was just like literally to the point where a girl was-
Kristen de Oliveira:
The things that we valued were not valued by them.
Madison Annis:
And it was our fault, because we never defined what our... So now we have a big branding workshop where we dive deep into what your core values are, because we didn't know what our core values were. So for me, for us, it was like being reliable is a huge part of owning a business and having a job, and that was one of our top core values. But we would literally have girls who were booth renting who would not show up for clients. Clients would come to the door, and we were like, "Um, okay, wait, she lives like 45 minutes away, so let me... She should be here." And we'd call, and she'd be like, "Oh, I didn't have her on my books." It happened multiple times where we were like, "Okay, this is-"
Kristen de Oliveira:
This is not a scheduling conflict. This is a reliability...
Madison Annis:
To us, it was like... Since that was something we valued, we figured everyone valued it. But you have to define what your core values are, and then share those with your girls or whoever you're trying to bring on. And then have to be able to have those same values. And it might not be they're top one, but while they're working for you, they need to have that value. So we've learned that lesson, and-
Sheila Bella:
So you prescreen and ask them what their values are beforehand?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yeah. So once we realized that these girls were not valuing the things that we did, we established what our core values were, and they all weeded themselves out very quickly.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, how did you do that? You had a meeting?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yeah. So we would do monthly meetings, but we were like, "Okay, this is what we expect of you. You guys have to be here for your clients. You have to do all these things." And then they ended up... It wasn't a good fit for them, so they ended up moving on their own. It was actually really nice. We almost had to fire one, and then she moved on the next day. It was like, "Well, that worked out."
Madison Annis:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Wow.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Oh, so then we were left with no one for like a month or two. But then once we started really... Once we really knew what our core values were, we started looking for those qualities in people, and our team got so much better from there.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing.
Julie:
Hey, Richies! This is Julie, better known as Sheila's long-time best friend. And I'm sure if you follow Sheila on Instagram, you've seen our Showtune Shenanigans on her Insta stories. But seriously. I'm also one of the master trainers and the lead artist at Sheila Bella PMU. But this segment is not about me. It's about you, the listener. It's my honor to introduce today's Beauty Boss Spotlight. And who knows? Next time, it could be you. Let's hear what today's Beauty Boss has to say. Take it away.
Steven Nyugen:
What is up my pretty, rich squad? I hope you all are having a fantastic start to 2020. I'm so excited to be part of this podcast, but I'm even more excited to be part of an amazing community. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Steven Nguyen. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And my Instagram handle is Brow_Beast.
One of the questions that I would like to answer is how did I feel the first time I completed my first brows on a real client. It was honestly so surreal. I could not believe I was able to get paid for something that I'd been working on and practicing on months and months before I even decided to take my first client. I actually framed the hundred dollar that I was paid, and I hang it on the wall where I usually sit in a room and I practice working on the brows. One of the most rewarding feelings is just seeing how happy that I made her. It's one of the coolest things to be able to put art on something that people will walk around and advertise for you and just express the joy.
And I'm just so happy to do it. It's honestly one of the coolest feelings. Especially, you know, there was so many long nights where I doubted myself in the beginning, really just asking myself if I could even do this. So being able to finish my first client and seeing how happy she was, I'm just so much more motivated, and it gave me so much drive to keep practicing and be better at what I do and really chase after what I really want out of this industry.
One of my best advice that I can give anybody that's even curious or even thought about wanting to do printer makeup is just take a dive into it. There's going to be a lot of long days where you don't want to practice, you don't want to try to find leads, you don't know how to close sales. And you're going to get a lot of no's before you get a lot of yes. Your first couple clients, it's not going to be you're ideal clients. You're not going to be as good as you want to be in the beginning. But if you keep working at this craft and really perfecting your skills and really just trying to chase mastery of all angles, it's so, so worth it. Ten years from now, you'll look back and you'll be so happy you started.
Thank you so much, Sheila, for giving me the opportunity to be able to be on this podcast. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep motivating us. I swear, I cannot wait to one day meet 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've 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.
Gosh, hiring and building a team is so difficult sometimes. And the thing is, I think what people just need to accept is you just won't get it right the first time. It's just like dating.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Maybe not the tenth time too.
Sheila Bella:
So honest.
Madison Annis:
Our dad has a business, and he's had it for over...
Kristen de Oliveira:
25 years.
Madison Annis:
25 years.
Sheila Bella:
Oh cool, what does your dad do?
Madison Annis:
He has a-
Kristen de Oliveira:
He's a franchise owner of Papa Murphy's Pizza.
Sheila Bella:
Cool.
Kristen de Oliveira:
He has three different shops.
Madison Annis:
But even still, yesterday we were talking about his employee problems. I feel like especially right now, it's just hard to get good employees that are as passionate about the brand you're building as you are. And then I feel like...
Sheila Bella:
They will never be.
Madison Annis:
It's a massive challenge in this industry.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, yeah.
Madison Annis:
Especially when we're empowering people to have their businesses, it's a challenge to have an employee, and then they want to grow too. So they want to go off and booth rent. So it's just... It's tricky.
Sheila Bella:
I hear you on that. And there are some people... I have 20-ish employees right now, so there are some people who... They're thoroughbreds. You know what I mean? And those people I'm super invested in by now. I've been doing this for 10 years. And it's so funny, because my parents are entrepreneurs too, so I expected this. But people come and go, but there are some people, if you open up your heart, if you open up your business and you are open to risk, yeah, you'll find them. Like for example, my nanny while I was little is still working for my parents in their business. And I'm going to be 38 in a week or so, or two weeks or so. But it didn't mean that they didn't have employee issues. My parents are entrepreneurs. They've had different businesses in their lives. But yeah, [Altalertist 00:33:58], who was my nanny, she's still with us.
And I see that now with my own business. People come and go, that's true. And then there's this handful of girls that are still here, still happy, still growing, they have new challenges new, and it's really cool to see that I'm able to give them those opportunities and those new challenges so they're jobs aren't boring. They're little entrepreneurs too. And it's still within the Sheila Bella family. So I guess what I'm saying is yeah sure, it's a big risk, and it's scary, and you will get it wrong most of the time, but those times that you do get it right, for those few people that you get it right, I mean, the bond is more than friends. It's truly family. I feel like I'm closer to my "employees" sometimes than I am to my actual family for sure.
Madison Annis:
Yeah, well that's amazing. I want you to come on our podcast so I can see how you did that.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, I would love too. I have so much to say.
Madison Annis:
I want to know!
Sheila Bella:
Awe. Okay, well, you guys are going to have to hop onto theirs when it releases, and I'll let you guys know. Okay, so a couple other things. I love the fact that you guys created a life and a business that is kind of custom, right? It works for you. You didn't choose a job and then have your life work around that. No. Both of you, who are new moms, put your lives and your families first, and then you built the business around it. Wouldn't you say that that's accurate?
Madison Annis:
Yes. And I feel like by doing so, we're always pivoting too, so it's always fitting our new stage of life.
Sheila Bella:
Wow, that's so true. Always pivoting. So explain to us how you advise your students in your university and in your workshops to do the same thing. What tips do you have?
Kristen de Oliveira:
First and foremost, you have to know what you want. Why are you in business? Do you want to spend time with your family? What it is that you want, and then just prioritize the things and find a way that works for you in your different season on life. We're all going to go through different seasons. Before we had babies, we wanted this big business. We were in the salon a lot. But we never have worked a Saturday. It's always been a priority for us to be with our family and friends on the weekends.
And then when we had babies, our priority is now more our family. We still want our business to continue growing, so we've figured out a way to do that more from home, which is how we're doing the podcast and coaching and things like that. We can work a lot more from home. And then we both only take clients two half days, and then we help babysit each other's baby while the one of us is with clients. We just figure out a way that in whatever season we're in, we're both usually on the same page, which makes it nice. But by knowing what we want, then we can prioritize and schedule around it.
Sheila Bella:
Wow.
Kristen de Oliveira:
But usually family and babies are first.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, that's incredible. Don't you think though that you have those options because you did put in the hard work in the beginning, and your marketing is on point, and you have all your ducks in a row?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yes.
Madison Annis:
Yeah, definitely.
Kristen de Oliveira:
We had our business for two years before we had our babies, so we had time to get everything situated, all our ducks in a row. Our books were full, so it gave us a lot more leeway. We were making the income that we needed to supplement while we're out.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. I love that you guys watch each other's kids while the other one is working.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yeah, it's really nice.
Sheila Bella:
What! I wish I had a sister.
Kristen de Oliveira:
It's definitely fun.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that's amazing.
Sheila Bella:
Are you a permanent makeup artist who's struggling to get the heeled results that you crave and you desire? When a client walks out of your salon, you're like, "Oh my goodness, I did so amazing. She's going to love them. They're going to look so good." But when she comes back after a few weeks, you're like, "Womp womp." Where did the product go? Where did my work go? Most of it is gone, or half of it is gone. Let me tell you that ever since switching to Tina Davies' products, my retention is like 90% for micro blading, which is super high for micro blading. Hello? And my heeled work, you guys? It comes back brown. Not blue, not green, not purple, not red-yellow-orange. Brown. My customers are happy. I'm happy. All my artists are happy. It's such a win-win. And I can't thank Tina Davies enough for inventing such easy to use products that are simple and quite frankly made for the artist by an amazing artist. So Pretty Rich listeners, get 15% off if you just type in the code sheilabella. Just go to tinadavies.com, type in sheilabella, and receive 15% off your order.
Okay, what would your advice be for a new mom who doesn't have a Kristen or a Madison, but now is finding it challenging to run their own business and be there for their family all at the same time. What would your advice for that type of beauty maven be?
Kristen de Oliveira:
I would say hire someone that's going to help you, whether that be a babysitter, an assistant, another employee that can take on some of your clients so you're still profiting. But ask for help.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, yeah.
Kristen de Oliveira:
I mean, I'm lucky that mine was built in. I have Maddy, that's my sister and lives right by me. But if I didn't have her, I would definitely try and hire someone.
Sheila Bella:
Have you guys had to hire a babysitter at some point?
Kristen de Oliveira:
We haven't hired a babysitter yet, because we're both close to our family, and we're both nursing, so we're with our babies a lot. But we did just hire a brand new studio assistant that's helping with a lot of the back-end things.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, the stuff you don't want to do.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yes. So she's more at the salon than we are. She's taking care of business there. We're able to just pop in and do our clients and check in on things. We just hired her to help us with that.
Sheila Bella:
So I want to dive a little bit more into marketing. What do you think you guys did differently than other beauty salons in your area that gave you the option for this type of life? What do you think you guys did differently?
Kristen de Oliveira:
I think when we started Beauty Mavens, one of the first things we did was a full branding process. It was definitely an investment.
Sheila Bella:
Was that taught to you? Did somebody pitch you a branding process or a package? How did you know to even do that?
Kristen de Oliveira:
We hired a business coach, first and foremost.
Sheila Bella:
Cool.
Kristen de Oliveira:
She told us that we should think about doing that, so we invested in it. And I think nowadays, there's a lot more resources that... I mean, we teach a branding bootcamp that's very affordable that you could do it on your own. But we did pay someone to help us go through this whole branding process. And that I think set us up to then be able to market ourselves. We've had the same branding since we started, and I still love it.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that's awesome.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Year after year.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, I have branding ADD. Pink is always involved. Pink is always involved. That's all I care about.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Before we started Beauty Mavens... I've done a lot of different things, so I've probably had like seven different very bad brands. I was able to go through a full process and really get clear on what we want, what we're doing, what our mission is. It's been able to stick for the past couple years, and we still love it.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that's awesome. What is challenging you guys at this stage of the game in your business? Because you've both had a lot of success. You know, you have your summit, you have your podcast, you have your online community, you have your salon. I mean, things are going really well. But what's challenging you at this stage of the game?
Kristen de Oliveira:
It's like, pretty fresh. The day I came back from maternity leave... It was right before Christmas, like two weeks before. Two of our employees quit to go open a salon together. And that was really hard. And I feel like we're very... We've managed. We've gotten through. But now it's like, how are we going to do the... Our salon's pretty small. There's only five of us, so almost half of us left. And so now, we're having to start our team over, which is a huge challenge to find people that fit our values and do good work. So that's our current challenge.
Sheila Bella:
How long ago was that?
Kristen de Oliveira:
So that was December, so two months ago.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that is still pretty fresh. And was it a clean break-up, or was there some hard feelings there? I'm sure there were hard feelings obviously.
Kristen de Oliveira:
It was hard for us, because we felt like we were really good friends with them. I mean, we were good friends with them, so it was really for them. Like when they came to us, they had already signed a lease and had a plan, so that really was hard to know that we didn't really have any options to help keep them on. You know what I mean? They presented us this plan and they were gone.
Sheila Bella:
That's hard, yeah.
Madison Annis:
Plus, we had just had babies, and we're breastfeeding.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh.
Madison Annis:
So when they came, it was very emotional. And we're hormonal. So at first, it was like, "What the heck? I feel like we've invested so much in you." You know, like it almost... But then, it was like, we had to take a day, take our emotions out of it. Business is business. And so it ended up good. But at first, it really... It was like a gut sucker punch.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, yeah. I've lived through those too. And you know what? You're going to be okay.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Looking back, everything happens for a reason, and we're happy for them. We're doing good now, but now we just have to start finding new people. We kind of took a lunch break. We were like, okay. We were going to Hawaii in January, so we were like, "Okay, after Hawaii, then we'll start to think about what we're going to do." And so we're going to just do booth renters now. So that's our current challenge, finding good booth renters.
Sheila Bella:
Awe.
Madison Annis:
I would say another challenge is being a creative and having so many ideas running through your head all day. It's hard, I feel like, just... And I mean, it will always change. But just in the last month or two, we've kind of narrowed down what do we actually want to be doing. And I feel like it's hard, because you see people launching a lash extension line, or you see people doing conferences, or you see people doing clothing, and you're like, "I could do that. That would make me good money. Oh, I could do that." Or, "They're killing it. I could do it." I feel like it's hard to know what you should do and where you should put your time. Then I guess that ultimately comes back down to, well, what do you want to do? Do you want to be with clients all day? Because some people do. Some people thrive off that.
Sheila Bella:
Some people do. Some people do, yeah.
Madison Annis:
But then some people-
Sheila Bella:
Don't.
Madison Annis:
Don't want that. They want to be more in the back end or have... I don't know. I think that's a hard thing, is it's like, you don't want to do something just because someone else is doing it, but also you don't want to not do something because someone else is doing it.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that is challenging. I go through the same thing. Yeah, I can relate with that too. You know what though? Doing that has caused me to waste my time on things, because I was looking around at what other people are doing, and I'm like, "I'm going to do that. I'm going to do that." And then I didn't really want to do that.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yes, we've done that too.
Sheila Bella:
And then I'm like halfway in, and I'm like, "Wait a second. I don't really want to promote this."
Kristen de Oliveira:
Right?
Sheila Bella:
But I've already put the money down. I've already bought the stuff. And I'm like, dang it. Ugh. I didn't have the passion for promoting it. But yeah, I think if you decide to do something, it needs to be something that you can see yourself being passionate about, and something that you think you'll passionately speak about every single day, even for years and years to come. Like I am so passionate about the Pretty Ambitious Summit. I'm so passionate about my online university. That I can talk about. I don't know if I can talk about product that passionately. Like, "This product is great. It'll get rid of stains," or whatever. You know what I mean? Or, "This adhesive is good." Or, "This pigment is good." Yeah, I can talk about, but I don't think I can talk about it every single day. And I think that will show. That will really show in the way I show up in my business.
Sheila Bella:
So I think that's why the theme for this year's summit is decision. Have you really decided that you are going to be successful at this? If you've decided, it means you've acted, because decision looks like action, and you have to decide every single day that, yes, I'm going to be successful at this. There's certain things that I've done in my past that I realize, oh, I didn't really decide. I thought I did. I thought I was going to be a lash designer and start a lash extension company. But you know, I bought the product, but I wasn't really that passionate about it. I didn't really decide. I couldn't talk about it every single day passionately. I couldn't. So therefore, I was indecisive, and it cost me a lot of money.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yes, we've been there.
Sheila Bella:
Hey! Want to learn how to be booked out with Facebook Ads? Are you paying an expert to run your Facebook advertising campaign for you? But is it something that you know deep down inside if you would just sit down and take a couple of hours to learn it, you would just know it and not have to pay anybody? Well, I want to save you money and make you money with my online course, Facebook Advertising for Beauty Pros.
This course is designed to walk you through everything you need to know in order to set up your first Facebook Ad campaign. You'll find answers to many questions like how to get started with Facebook Ads, how to use the Facebook Ads Manager, how to set up a Facebook Ad campaign, how to craft great ad copy, and what to look for in photos and videos to maximize your ad and get clients in the door. Get the phone to ring! So if your goal is to grow from a Facebook advertising beginner to an experienced ads manager, this course is for you. Just go to sheilabella.com/learnfacebookads. That's sheilabella.com/learnfacebookads. And let's make some money, honey! Oh my god, I'm so lame.
Yeah, thanks for sharing you guys. Before we close, I want to know, where can we find you and how can we work with you?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Okay, everything is on... Well, our Instagram is where we hang out the most, @BeautyMavensCollective. And then, obviously in our bio, we've got links to everything.
Sheila Bella:
That's right.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Our website is beautymavenscollective.com, and that has the one-on-one coaching info. It has info on how to join our Master Maven Membership program. And our podcast. Everything's on there.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, and I'm going to put links to all of that stuff in the show notes, so just send it to me and I'll pop it on there.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Perfect.
Sheila Bella:
And then last question before we close is for each of you. What is your best advice for how to live a pretty rich life?
Kristen de Oliveira:
Ooh.
Sheila Bella:
And rich, the word rich is all-encompassing. Rich relationships, wealth financially, and there's also treasures in health, right? In health and wellness and spirituality. So that's what that means.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Okay, my best advice for how to live a pretty rich life is to figure out whatever it is that you want and just go for it. Failure might happen. It probably will. But like I said, you can just adjust and pivot, so just go for it.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, I love that. And another to add to that and is in alignment with that is action breeds clarity. Because people think like, "I have to know everything before I act." But actually, as you're acting, you can pivot. And I think that's what stops people from acting, is thinking they need to have everything planned out and together before they do.
Kristen de Oliveira:
Yes, because I would say... Like I acted on a lash training, and that has... I've done a lot of things in between to now where I'm at, doing what I really love, is coaching beauty-preneurs.
Sheila Bella:
Ah, that's amazing. Yeah, same here. Okay, next one. What's your-
Madison Annis:
I would say... You kind of mentioned it, but I would say don't be afraid to pivot. If you're not loving whatever it is in your life, if you're not loving where you're at, you're not stuck. I feel like as humans, we're the only species that really we can be whatever we want. We can change. If we want to learn a different language, we can learn a different language. If we want to... Like we have endless opportunities, but I think sometimes it's hard to feel like, "This is what my life is. Maybe I don't love it, but it is what it is." But it isn't. You have the ability to change, and I think that's just my advice. But I feel like that's that... Like you're not stuck.
Sheila Bella:
That's really good. That's really good. I think people think that once they commit to something, they can't break up with it.
Madison Annis:
Yeah, and I think let's just dump the crappy boyfriend. Do whatever you want.
Sheila Bella:
You can divorce the business. You can divorce the business.
Madison Annis:
I don't know, yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, well what a privilege we have. We can really freaking chose every single day. You could throw it all away tomorrow if you wanted to.
Madison Annis:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, awe.
Madison Annis:
You can do better tomorrow. You can start adding better... It's like if I don't feel happy or healthy, or something in my body isn't feeling good, you can change that however... If it's like drinking more water, or going on a walk, or-
Sheila Bella:
Or hiring a coach or a mentor, right?
Madison Annis:
A coach or a mentor, or taking a nap.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, take a nap. Or all of it, yeah. That's awesome. Thank you so much you guys for being a guest on Pretty Rich Podcast. I can't wait to release this. This is going to be so awesome.
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 at @realsheilabella on Instagram. And by the way, if we are not text buddies yet, that needs to change. You can text my name, Sheila, 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've got to include my kids, right? #momfirst. So here are Beau and Grey 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 the best more infinity.
Sheila Bella:
Grey, say, "Share with your friends."
Grey:
Share with friends.
Sheila Bella:
"Please review my mommy on iTunes."
Grey:
Do do mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
"Thanks for listening!"
Grey:
Thanks for listening!
