Ep. 112: What I Learned About Beauty Marketing From Dancing At A Gentlemen's Club And Now Working In The Microblading, Lips, And Liner Sales Business
Beauty marketing and Gentlemen's Clubs - what do they have in common?
Um. A lot actually.
Have you ever seen the movie Hustlers? Those girls are WORKING for their money. It's not just about looking pretty. It's about strategy. It's about, you guess it, marketing!
For this episode, I brought on one of my good friends and sales advisors, Victoria Racca, who just so happened to be a dancer at a gentlemen's club for three years before she got into PMU. We talk all about strip clubs, sugar babies, marketing and sales strategies, and all of the advice you need to succeed in the beauty industry.
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [05:15] First of all, my theory is that marketing and sales are just like The Bachelor. Yeah?
‣‣ [07:07] Here, I ask Victoria to take us back a bit and tell us about her life before she got into PMU.
‣‣ [09:59] Victoria never hid the fact that she worked as a dancer but did struggle to find the right way to tell her now-husband about her past. We talk about that struggle a bit here.
‣‣ [14:44] Have you seen Hustlers? If not - go watch it right now. Then come right back. When I watched the movie I felt a strong connection to the girls in the movie. Here Victoria and I talk about how girls in the strip club who make their bank have similar sales and marketing strategies as we do in PMU whereas other girls will just expect to get paid because they're pretty. Who do you think makes it work?
‣‣ [19:06] If you've taken my courses you may have heard my analogy that your Instagram is a lot like a strip club. Let's dive into that.
‣‣ [22:25] Victoria and I talk about her experience in the club helps her in sales now.
‣‣ [23:14] Let's talk about sugar babies and how feelings and connections really sell.
‣‣ [29:56] What advice should those starting out in the beauty industry take and what advice should they leave behind?
‣‣ [32:04] Lastly, Victoria shares the mindset that changed her life, professionally and personally.
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You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
Moms, are your kids in the room? Because if so, now would be the perfect time to tell them to step away, because today's podcast is a little risque. Today's guest is an ex-dancer at a strip club, and is now a successful permanent makeup artist boss babe. And she's here to teach us what she's learned about beauty, business, sales, and marketing from having worked at a gentleman's club for three years. And there are so many similarities, you guys are going to be blown away. This is a must listen.
Welcome to Pretty Rich Podcast, where you're totally the heroine of your own story. I'm your host, Sheila Bella, and I've built a seven figure PMU beauty biz, and a seven figure online biz without a degree, without a fancy website, or a sugar daddy. And 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've no idea who you are, but I do. I really, really do, because I am you, I was you. And I believe we are all on the same journey together. My perfect job didn't exist, so I created it. The job I wanted wouldn't hire me, wanted nothing to do with 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 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.
Happy fall friends. I am so excited for today's episode and today's guest. I hope wherever you are in the world, that you are feeling some end of the year, Q4 goodness. Last three months, Q4, are you crushing your goals? Are you crushing your goals? Remember those goals you had at the beginning of the year? It's Q4, last three months of the year. Where are you at? If you're on track, congratulations. If you're not on track, let's go. Let's get with the program. It's not too late. It's not too late. Think positive. And if you need some help determining exactly what to do, what to even do now that it's Q4, and you still haven't reached all your goals, but you're ready to sprint. You're ready to sprint to the finish line. 2020 can still be your year, but maybe you lack strategy. Maybe you have time, but you don't know what to do.
Maybe you're feeling like a spaghetti CEO. A spaghetti CEO is somebody who just takes bowls of spaghetti, thrown against the wall, see what sticks. Are you guessing? Are you winging it? And you need some serious clarity on your business. My team at Pretty Rich Bosses is offering free 60-minute strategy calls for those of you who are interested in joining our Pretty Rich Bosses program. On this call, the purpose is to obviously talk about coaching and how coaching can help fast track your way to success, because you can not Google your way to a six or seven figure business, okay? Believe me, I've tried. Mentorship is the way to go. And these 60-minute strategy calls are guaranteed to give you clarity on your business. And at least, a starting point so we can pinpoint what it is that you are doing wrong or what it is that you're not doing enough of, and what's keeping you stuck and away from your highest potential.
Spots for these calls are limited. So, if you're serious about making change before 2021 hits, and want to make a commitment to reach whatever it is you said you were going to reach back in New Year's Eve 2019, well, this is the program for you. One-on-one coaching with either myself or any of the five expert coaches at Pretty Rich Bosses. I know what you're thinking, "How do I apply? How do I apply for a strategy call, Sheila Bella, because this is what I need?" So easy. Just go to sheilabella.com/apply. sheilabella.com/apply. And if you're lucky, you might be talking to Victoria or me.
Guys, I'm so excited for this episode. I have been meaning to bring Victoria on for a long time now, but just never got around to it. And today is the day, Victoria Racca in the house. Here's our interview. Welcome to Pretty Rich Podcast. I have the one and only Victoria Racca, our Pretty Rich Bosses advisor. Say hi, Victoria.
Victoria Racca:
Hey, how's it going?
Sheila Bella:
All right. I'm super excited to have you on today, because we are going to talk all things marketing. And our personal observations and joint observations, how marketing and dating is pretty much the same thing. Sales is like being on The Bachelor, right? People are trying to decide whether or not they're in love with you and whether or not they want to commit. It's pretty much the same thing. And hopefully, especially for you guys out there who are used to the online dating space like I used to be it, maybe this analogy will help it make sense. Right, Victoria?
Victoria Racca:
Listen, I've been thinking about this for a few minutes now. I think that I could see 2010 Sheila on The Bachelor.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. I don't know I [crosstalk 00:06:05]. Oh, gosh. I think, it would have been a disaster. It would have been a disaster. 2010 Sheila was like three circles.
Victoria Racca:
Oh, you should have met 2010 Victoria.
Sheila Bella:
Face, two boobs. That's it. I was three circles.
Victoria Racca:
Like triangle of circle.
Sheila Bella:
Every time I see old videos or pictures of myself, I'm like, "What is going on? This poor girl?" I was so genuine. I felt all the feelings, but I didn't look like it. I was so kind and deeply invested in people's stories. And the guys I was dating and stuff like that. But it looked like I was tough one, but I feel so bad for her every time I see old Sheila. What was old Victoria like 10 years ago? 2010 Victoria.
Victoria Racca:
2010 Victoria was a hot mess. If you want to talk about 2011, that was a really fun year, but 2010 was a mess.
Sheila Bella:
We want to know about both. We want to know about both, before the Victoria Glam that you are now. You, having a permanent makeup studio in Louisiana with four employees and a rocking Instagram. So, we want to know what your life was like back then, 2010 and 2011.
Victoria Racca:
Okay. Well, these were landmark years for me. So 2010... 2009, I started dancing. Meaning, I was a stripper in a strip club, because I was dating this guy, and he had gotten into some trouble and he left the country. But here's the problem with bonding people out when they get arrested, Sheila. If they don't go to their court date, guess who owes the remainder of the bond?
Sheila Bella:
The girlfriend.
Victoria Racca:
That's correct. And so, it was about $18,000. Now, we were still dating.
Sheila Bella:
18,000, not 1800.
Victoria Racca:
Correct, correct. Could buy a car.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. Wow. Okay. And then, so what happened?
Victoria Racca:
His sister was dancing and she said, "Oh, come on. This is what we're going to do. You're going to make this money so fast." So, I started dancing and sure enough, I did make the money really quickly. I'm-
Sheila Bella:
Dang. How long did it take you to make that money?
Victoria Racca:
Honestly, I don't know how long it took me to make 18 specifically, because I would also spend it on things for myself. And send some to him because he went to rehab there, and then he went to school. And I also spent on me, because I was in college and just, you're 21. So, "Oh, you want a Louis Vuitton duffle bag? Let's buy one." I spent on a lot of things, but I did pay it down pretty quickly, because by the end of 2011, I had long since paid it off and I quit dancing. But-
Sheila Bella:
Dang. So, you only danced for a year?
Victoria Racca:
No, I danced 2009, 10, and 11.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Oh, okay. About two and a half years or three years?
Victoria Racca:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Your dancing podcast, because you were on my husband's podcast. Your dancing podcast fascinates me. All about-
Victoria Racca:
I'm like, you and I had just barely met. And you knew that I had been a stripper and you were like, "You should have a really serious one-on-one conversation with my husband."
Sheila Bella:
I did.
Victoria Racca:
Sheila's like, "You've got to meet this stripper, come here Will."
Sheila Bella:
I know that was the first meeting, right? He passed by and I was like, "Will, come here, come here. This is Victoria. You got talk to her. She's awesome."
Victoria Racca:
And it's so funny, because I don't look like a stereotypical stripper. And when you hear that I have a college degree, and I run a business, and I have employees, you wouldn't ever suspect that, because people have such a poor connotation that comes along with the word stripper or dancer. And it's a big joke that people dance while they're in college, but I really did.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. How does your husband feel about that, by the way?
Victoria Racca:
He doesn't love it. It's not his favorite thing about me.
Sheila Bella:
It's not his favorite, okay.
Victoria Racca:
I didn't really know how to tell him. And we had only been dating for a little while, like weeks maybe. And I didn't know if he knew or not, because it's not something that I ever hid, I told everyone. And honestly, when you're 21 and you're making 150,000 in cash every year, you want to go-
Sheila Bella:
In cash. In cash.
Victoria Racca:
In cash.
Sheila Bella:
I'm sorry. In cash. Okay.
Victoria Racca:
In cash. So, you want to go party and go out to eat nice places and go to New York for the weekend or Miami for the weekend, your girlfriends can't do that. So, you pay for everybody. I'm not going to just stay home and do nothing. Let's go, I got the money, Let's go. So, everybody knew already, but I didn't if he knew. I remember exactly where we were even. We were in my car leaving my townhouse and I put my car in reverse. And I said something very casually about when I worked at the club. And he was quiet for a little while.
And then he said, "When did you work at a club?" Because he managed bars here in town for years. And then I said, "Yeah, you know, when I worked in Baton Rouge at the strip club." "You worked at a strip club?" I said, "You didn't know that? Everybody knows that. Yeah. I was a stripper for three years." And he was quiet for a while. And then, later, came out and he was very upset about it. He was like, "I can't believe you ever did that. Do your parents know that?" I'm like, "They definitely know." But after that, he was just like, "Hey, I mean, what am I going to do about it?" But for me, it was early in our relationship-
Sheila Bella:
And now you're married with two kids.
Victoria Racca:
Right. And for me, I said it so early in the relationship that if you leave now, it's not going to hurt that much, we haven't been dating very long. But also, we're not going to get six months into a relationship and be in love, and someone else comes out of you and ruin things. So, I just ripped the band-aid. I put it in reverse and rip the band-aid.
Sheila Bella:
I like strip bars. I do. I like it.
Victoria Racca:
Me too.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. And you know what, I find myself just like talking to girls.
Victoria Racca:
You're the fun girl. You're the fun girl.
Sheila Bella:
And Will, we talk to girls together. Is that okay? Oh my gosh. I hope his students don't listen too much.
Victoria Racca:
I think it's fine. I had a professor come in. My professor.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, you did like your professor?
Victoria Racca:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Talk about that.
Victoria Racca:
I had finished his class the semester before, which is the only reason I even remembered who he was, but he definitely did not know who I was. And we had a mutual friend, he was there with my friend. And he was like, "You've got to call him by his name. You have to say Dr. Paul Vannelli." And so, they rented a room for the rest of the night or whatever that overlooked the stage. And we're all hanging out in there and drinking whatever. Well, I didn't drink at work, but they were drinking. And so, I was sitting next to him and I was like, "Well, Dr. Paul Vannelli. I'm sorry. I mean, Daniel." And his face turned really red, "You're not my student, are you? You're not my student?" I was like, "No, I'm not."
Sheila Bella:
No. Oh my gosh, that's so-
Victoria Racca:
He was so scared. Anyway, he was on his best behavior. He was doing nothing wrong, like he wasn't grabbing.
Sheila Bella:
Well, you just told us his name and everything.
Victoria Racca:
Well, I mean, it happened, it's true.
Sheila Bella:
He was on his best behavior. Oh my gosh.
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Yeah. When I watched the movie Hustlers, I feel like them. I've never stripped or danced in my life, but I feel like I did in my head. My alter ego tells me that that was also my past, it was not.
Victoria Racca:
Maybe. I do feel like your sales techniques and marketing strategies are very similar to those employed by girls to make money at the strip club. There are girls who do not make any money at the strip club. They sit there and they think they should be paid because they're pretty, or they're there to fund their other activities or whatever. The girls were there to make money, do a lot of-
Sheila Bella:
Wait. Go back to that.
Victoria Racca:
Okay.
Sheila Bella:
Go back to that. When you say there's girls there who feel like they should just get paid to be pretty. That is exactly how it is now, even in real life.
Victoria Racca:
Oh yeah. I saw a girl get fired for that. She was [inaudible 00:15:40]. She straight up said, "I'm too pretty. I don't have to do that." To a bunch of other co-workers, and a client or a customer heard and was like, "Newsflash, sweetie. You're not that pretty." And I never saw her look so depressed. She got fired later, because we were in the same room. Somebody... I don't know, a bachelor party or something had gotten a room and they hired several girls to go in there for an hour or something, and she just sat there.
They paid her specifically for an hour and she just sat there. She wouldn't talk to anybody. She didn't dance. Nothing. She was like, "No, I'm just going to sit here until my time's up." And they complained, and wanted their money back, and she got fired like, "She can't come here anymore. And within a couple of months, you're going to love this part, within a couple of months, not even six months, she called the place up and said, "Hey, I'm about a quarter of a mile away. I'm out of gas. Can somebody come get me? I was on my way to ask for my job back."
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Then, that's how a lot of people feel in the beauty industry. People in the beauty industry feel like if you're super talented, I'm super talented, they're entitled. I'm super talented. I shouldn't have to hunt for clients. I have a great page, the clients will just come to me. I shouldn't have to go get them. But that's the quickest way to the poor house, that kind of mentality.
Victoria Racca:
And for me, I'm seeing that it comes a lot from people who are transitioning into permanent makeup, and before, were already in the beauty industry. Because a cosmetologist, a lash artist, an aesthetician, they don't need that many clients. So, they can hustle up about 10 or 15 when they first start. And then, word-of-mouth fills their books and they don't need more clients.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. No.
Victoria Racca:
And there's you and I, who need a new ass in the chair everyday.
Sheila Bella:
New ass in the chair.
Victoria Racca:
Am I allowed to curse on this podcast?
Sheila Bella:
Sure. Go for it.
Victoria Racca:
Oh, thank God.
Sheila Bella:
I must say-
Victoria Racca:
I don't know if I had already been doing it.
Sheila Bella:
I mean, I know that certain episodes, I curse on certain episodes, not a lot. And I'm sure I have moms who listened to this podcast, whose kids might be around. But those episodes where I remember that I said a bad word, I will Mark explicit. And sometimes, I can't control what the guest says, ladies. I can't control the guest.
Victoria Racca:
I just talked about strip clubs for five minutes. I don't think we need the moms playing this in the minivan.
Sheila Bella:
No, I don't think so either. [crosstalk 00:18:16].
Victoria Racca:
I mean, it's their choice. If you want to play it, play it.
Sheila Bella:
It'll be playing in mine, because you virtually met my kids.
Victoria Racca:
I know, I can't... Yeah. And our kids are birthday brothers.
Sheila Bella:
I know. That's so crazy.
Victoria Racca:
That is wild to me. What are the odds? Me, you and Emily. And all three boys too.
Sheila Bella:
All three boys. For those of who are like, "What are you guys talking about?" Our sons, my son, Beau. Victoria's son, Waylon. And Emily Joy of Dollistic, her son, Felipe, were all born on October 3rd. Crazy.
Victoria Racca:
Yeah. On Mean Girls Day.
Sheila Bella:
It is Mean Girls Day.
Victoria Racca:
On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was. It's October 3rd.
Sheila Bella:
It's October 3rd. I love that you know that. See, see, soulmates.
Victoria Racca:
Soulmates.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Let's talk about... I want to just jump back into sales, and how it's like a gentleman's club. I think it's really funny because one of the videos in the Pretty Rich Bosses vault, talks about my analogy. I don't know how I came up with this. I've never heard it anywhere else. It talks about my analogy of how your Instagram is like a strip club. I maybe had just recently visited one. Yeah. Maybe that was it. I don't know. It came to me in a dream or something like that. And-
Victoria Racca:
I think it must have been God was calling out to mine.
Sheila Bella:
I suppose.
Victoria Racca:
You were summoning me into universe.
Sheila Bella:
I suppose. I'll explain to them what the concept is. I thought it was really funny how you came after that. And you're like, "That's me right there." She happen to know [crosstalk 00:19:58]. Okay. So, your feed and your timeline, that's like the stage of a strip club. That's a stage of a strip club, but no transactions are happening on the stage or not really. You get like dollar bills and things like that, not really. No credit card numbers are being exchanged on the stage. So, it's the same thing. Your feed is basically to just attract people. Just attract people to engage with you in the back.
In the back is where credit card numbers are actually exchanged, transactions actually happen. And then, I thought about this and I was like, "Yes, yes. This is the perfect analogy for Instagram sales." Because the DM is basically when you rent a room at a gentleman's club. And that you have to pay for us. So ladies, if you're listening and you're like, "What the heck? Work harder or... Yeah, I would say work harder. If not, just as hard in selling to people through the DM than just on your timeline. We work overtime in the DM at Pretty Rich Bosses. That's where the cash flows. [crosstalk 00:21:20] Yeah, It is. And so, when you heard that, Victoria, what did you think?
Victoria Racca:
I thought, spot on. Absolutely. And then, recently, you said something that I also equated to this exact analogy. You were like, "Oh, if they didn't laugh, you didn't close the sale. Super true." Guys would actually say, and this was all the time, this was my classic corny dad joke line. I would repeat this all night long, over and over again, every single day for three years. Guys would say, "Oh yeah, let's do it. Let's go to the private room or wherever. Let's go." Or they could also buy like half an hour three dances or whatever, "Oh yeah. Let's do that." "Do you guys take cards?" And every single time without exception, as far as I can remember, I would say, "Oh yeah, we take cards, come to the back. I'll show you where to swipe it." If they laugh, I knew they were buying. If they did not laugh, I knew they were going to say some bullshit like, "I got to get on my truck. Let me go to the restroom." And I'd never see them again. Every single time.
Sheila Bella:
Interesting. But that was your dad joke line.
Victoria Racca:
That was it.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. How has your experience doing this, help you now in sales? Because you're one of our advisors, you're on the sales team.
Victoria Racca:
I am. I think a lot of it is just being open to the fact... First of all, I was very sheltered when I was younger. So in the strip club, I met people from all walks of life. I listened to all types of music. I met people at all stages and ages of life. And so, that has really opened me up in any business that I'm in, to be receptive to other people's journeys, and being more understanding, trying to find out where other people are coming from, which always helps in a sale.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. It's about people, right? More than anything.
Victoria Racca:
Yeah. People buy from people.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. And they're not buying the features, they're buying the feelings.
Victoria Racca:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
Isn't that the same with dating? Isn't that the same with convincing someone going to back with you. It's like, they're not buying the features, they're not buying the fact that you have big boobs and a nice ass or anything like that. They're buying the feelings.
Victoria Racca:
You know who really, in the strip club, capitalized off that the most? Much more than the back room or girls on stage or lap dances, sugar babies. Sugar babies. You didn't have to be that pretty to be a sugar baby by the way. I knew girls who were very plain who did this, and they had what they would call their best customer. Well, really, you could call him anytime of day. You don't have to be at the club. He comes to the club, because that's where you are. You don't come to the club, because that's where he is. But this was, the daughter who doesn't talk to them anymore. This was not having dinner alone because his wife... He's a widow, his wife passed years ago. And that's all they really wanted was that companionship or to fill that missing role in their life. And so, it wasn't even always like an attraction-based thing. Sometimes it was literally just paying for the feelings.
Sheila Bella:
So, is it just companionship?
Victoria Racca:
A lot of the time, yes. Of course, there were real sugar babies that you hear about. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. So, there was intercourse is what I'm asking.
Victoria Racca:
It was more like dating, honestly. It was like an older man dating a younger girl. She usually didn't have another boyfriend. She just might stop coming to work for a while, because someone's taking care of her.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. So do you know anything about that world? About the sugar baby, sugar daddy world? How do you [crosstalk 00:24:53]-
Victoria Racca:
Not a ton, but I-
Sheila Bella:
Okay, what do you know?
Victoria Racca:
I knew a couple of girls who did it professionally, two girls specifically. And that's... It wasn't head hunting like, "Wow, he's so rich. I'm going to get him." Maybe they thought that in their mind, but I never heard it said. And genuinely, there was a little bit of caring that went into it. Maybe she wasn't fully in love with him, but he cared for her. And that endeared her to him. And they would be in a relationship until they weren't. And while they were in that relationship, he would pay for dinners. For trips, he would treat her really nicely, because he knew that would keep her around. And in the meantime, she would go on dates with him or let him post pictures of them as a couple and represent that they were a couple and stroke his ego in that way.
But it probably costs a lot of money, because the things that these girls had, Prada bags, Gucci bags, red bottom heels, always go on different trips, going to Thailand, going to Costa Rica, wherever they were going. Very expensive lifestyle. But they were getting it.
Sheila Bella:
We're going to talk a little bit here. I see a lot of Instagram models who I know don't really do a whole lot, honestly. Go on private jets and stuff like that to Dubai and stuff like that. And I'm like, "Do they-"
Victoria Racca:
There are programs for this.
Sheila Bella:
There's a program?
Victoria Racca:
Uh-huh (affirmative).
Sheila Bella:
Do tell.
Victoria Racca:
You heard it here first, Sheila Bella is opening a new sector of her brand of business.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my goodness. What is the program?
Victoria Racca:
I know in Costa Rica specifically, and I heard this from the guy who had purchased the package. In Costa Rica, there was something called the girlfriend experience. And so, you would go down there after your divorce, let's say, with a group of your, maybe, former groomsmen. And they provide these girls to you who are probably prostitutes, which I don't know if that's legal or not in Costa Rica, but that was the purpose of the trip. I believe that went on in Thailand as well. But Thailand also become very popular just for tourism in general. People go there on their honeymoons. So, I don't know. But there are also apps that are to find a sugar baby or find a sugar daddy.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. There's websites. Well, now it's an app. There's websites and stuff. I have seen that before, and it's just fascinating to me. I don't know.
Victoria Racca:
It's just a business deal.
Sheila Bella:
Definitely. Okay. What do you think is different about you? I mean, on paper, you would never know on paper, whatever that means. On paper, you would never know that you had this "dark" past. So, what do you think is different about you? [crosstalk 00:27:46].
Victoria Racca:
In what way? That I worked as a stripper or that I went and did something else?
Sheila Bella:
You went and did something else. You didn't stay in the club. You have a successful business and-
Victoria Racca:
I didn't stay in the club, and I made something else out of my life because I was already one foot out the door the first day that I signed my independent contractors contract. I never needed to be in the club. I did when I needed the money for my boyfriend's bail or whatever. I could've gone to my dad and asked for that check. My dad had it. My dad was making 40 and 50 a month back then. But I didn't, because my dad already hated my boyfriend, and I wanted to continue dating him. And you know what, I was a little rebellious.
Sheila Bella:
You think?
Victoria Racca:
But when it was time to grow up, I finished college. My senior year, I had an internship, so I couldn't work anywhere. And then, I had a serious boyfriend who I knew I was going to marry. And that was it, it was turn the page, new chapter.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. What is something about strip clubs that was a common misconception. What's the common misconception about strippers [crosstalk 00:00:28:57]-
Victoria Racca:
Everyone thinks that stripper are prostitutes, and that's not true. Prostitutes don't come to work and abide by a bunch of rules every single night. That's not true. First of all, I never even drank at the club. And secondly, I would have what they call... My name at the club was Syria, like the country. It's where my family is from. My roommate, danced under Persia. We were Persia and Syria. I had the Syria, that was the name of my drink. It was red bull with a splash of grenadine. Looks like a mixed drink, keeps me up all night, because I had an hour's drive home. And then, class in the morning.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I love that.
Victoria Racca:
But you can't purchase me. I was not available for dating. As a matter of fact, I had a boyfriend the whole time, and a lot of the girls did. So, I was not even going to accept the date. If you met me in the club, there's no way that I would go.
Sheila Bella:
What advice would you give to somebody who's just starting out in the industry, in the permanent makeup industry or the beauty industry and is about to enter the real world? What advice would you give to them about sales? And what advice should they ignore? Two-part question.
Victoria Racca:
Oh my god. I have a lot, I was going to boil it down to sales specifically. I would say, get a business coach, that's what I would say. If you don't know what you're doing, you're not going to figure it out. You cannot Google your way to a seven figure business. I would say, get a mentor in your niche, which is not a plug for Sheila Bella, it's just the truth.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. If it's not us, it doesn't even... And get somebody, please.
Victoria Racca:
Right. Sometimes, we refer out anyway. But what advice would I tell them to ignore? I would say stop letting people who swear up and down that they specialize in PMU marketing, who have never touched a microblade in their life, tell you that you need to boost your post. Stop letting people tell you that. Boosting your posts is a waste of your money.
Sheila Bella:
It is, it's a waste, but then people are like, "But it gets me so many more likes." But they don't know.
Victoria Racca:
Are you paying your random likes this month?
Sheila Bella:
Well, it's just not the best use of your advertising dollars. The proper way to do it is to go through the Facebook Ads Manager and do it right, because it gives you more bang for your buck, more reach for your dollar, basically.
Victoria Racca:
And also, you're targeting your ideal client, which I'm sure if you haven't had any coaching and you're brand new in the business, you don't know who your ideal client is. If you're marketing to everyone, you're marketing to no one.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, absolutely.
Victoria Racca:
And you're going to start getting the people through the door who only come in when you have a sale, and they think they can haggle the price. And those are the ones who are going to keep you up all night, texting you or bothering you all day, so that you don't sleep at night saying, "They look terrible. I'm not waiting for my touch up. I'm not coming in for my touch up." Driving you crazy.
Sheila Bella:
Absolutely.
Victoria Racca:
I mean, I did it. I did it for two years. I did it.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Okay. Next question. In the last five years, what new belief about sales or behavior in your business or habit has most improved your life? I think you talked about this before we started recording, but what is it?
Victoria Racca:
Probably the you can sit with me mindset, I would say. I started this business out with a different mentorship, if you will. I'm using that word very loosely. That was a very scarcity mindset. And so, when I was on my own, outside of that mentorship type deal, some of that resonated with me. Oh my god, if I couldn't make it before, how am I going to make it now? And there's only so many people, and there's only so much in this town. And what happens when this trend is over? That's not the case at all. Actually, if you start investing in yourself and your business, and networking with other professionals in your area, then the possibilities are limitless.
Sheila Bella:
Absolutely. Was there a specific turning point to you changing that mindset or is it just something you marinated on, you're like, "Wait a second, this doesn't make any sense."
Victoria Racca:
I think, feeling a little more secure in my business allowed me to open up to the proposals of a lot of partnerships. And once that happened, the proof was in the pudding. I saw my business start expanding with the reach of sharing audiences and doing joint promotions or whatever, or even just referrals.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh. That was flying. Last question or second to last question. When you feel overwhelmed or you're having a bad day or you're unfocused, what do you do? And if this is helpful, what questions do you ask yourself to help you out of your funk? Or do you have a specific routine or something that snaps you back out? Because sales is up and down. It's up and down.
Victoria Racca:
It is. For me, it's like, if I've had a bad day, usually I'm like, "All right." If I've had a series of bad days or like a dry spell in the sales game, I am usually pretty down. And so, I'll try a couple of different things. Number one, I like to talk to you specifically, because you're an energy giver. Number two, I like to take a really long bath and do something unrelated on my phone. So, not working.I get into a scroll hole or I go and read TMZ or whatever the case may be. And I will watch trash TV in the background and just tune out.
Sheila Bella:
It's like meditation.
Victoria Racca:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I agree with you.
Victoria Racca:
It's actually meditation.
Sheila Bella:
Because the point of meditation is to tune it out. I mean, I cope the same way, Victoria.
Victoria Racca:
Do you?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, I think so. Whenever I watch at night, my husband and I usually watch the opposite night. And it's like a glass of wine. It's something completely unrelated to your life. Like you get a mercy to somebody else's world and isn't that what meditation is?
Victoria Racca:
Yep. The Office is my favorite show of all time. And it was sad that it's leaving Netflix, but I don't know if I want to get Peacock, I guess I'll have to.
Sheila Bella:
Is it leaving Netflix?
Victoria Racca:
Yeah. This year. We have a couple months left. So, you have to subscribe to Peacock, the NBC app.
Sheila Bella:
What?
Victoria Racca:
They didn't renew their license with Netflix, because they knew it was their heavy hitter. So, they wanted to open an app. They had to steal the show back.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Well, I might pay for it. Okay.
Victoria Racca:
I'm telling you.
Sheila Bella:
It was-
Victoria Racca:
At my bridal shower, my sister-in-law wore a white dress and stood next to me quietly. And I said, "Did you wear white to my bridal shower?" And she said, "I know, but it was an emergency."
Sheila Bella:
Wait, say that again.
Victoria Racca:
She said, "I know, but it was an emergency." And then she whispered, "I look really good in white." Which is a Kelly Kapoor quote. She wore a wedding dress to someone's wedding.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my gosh. That's so funny. I don't remember that episode.
Victoria Racca:
It was Phyllis' Wedding.
Sheila Bella:
We're just watching it last night. We're in the episodes now where Michael Scott isn't there anymore.
Victoria Racca:
It's the worst.
Sheila Bella:
They're really funny.
Victoria Racca:
It's a different show.
Sheila Bella:
It is a different show. Andy is funny as a boss and it makes sense that he's the boss, because he's such a conscientious guy. I was like, "This makes perfect sense. I'd hire him too. Okay. For anybody who wants to ask you more questions about sales or about any of your programs, where can they find you and how can they work with you?
Victoria Racca:
Definitely, you can find me on Instagram @victoria.glam, G-L-A-M. And you can always email me at [email protected].
Sheila Bella:
Awesome. Awesome. Well, it was awesome talking to you finally. I feel like we just had one of our... It's like our phone conversations.
Victoria Racca:
It is.
Sheila Bella:
But this time we press record. Okay. You guys have a great day.
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. And 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. And 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. And of course, I got to include my kids. So, here to send us off are Beau and Grey. Grey, say, share with your friends.
Grey:
Share with your friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Grey:
Review mama iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Grey:
Thanks 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.
