Ep. 71: "What Would You Do Differently If You Could Start Over from Scratch in the Beauty Business?" with Kristina Melnicenco, Five Star Academy International Microblading Instructor
If you could know what to expect in building your beauty business, wouldn't you want to know, like, yesterday?
In today's episode, I talk with the revolutionary Kristina Melnicenco about what it takes to be an entrepreneur (and what we both might've done differently to get to where we are today).
There are so many good things to hear from this episode of the Pretty Rich Podcast. Kristina and I are both immigrant boss babes who had to learn English after coming to the U.S., which definitely didn't make the entrepreneur game easier. It definitely didn't count us out.
We both learned, as we talk about in the podcast, that if you are driven and you work hard, the world can literally be yours. And if that's not the case, you can literally build your own world (a.k.a. your own business)!
Kristina gives amazing advice on asking questions to know where to need to go.
She also talks about being so driven to the point where you don't let anyone else's opinion of you stop you from doing something you love.
We also talk about the threat of burn out, and how to avoid it when building your beauty business.
I'm trying to keep all the savory details for the podcast because I promise you, there is so much gold in what Kristina lays out for you today.
Tips and tricks? Advice? Warnings? All of that IN. THIS. EPISODE.
Don't miss it!!!
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [11:30] Yay! Kristina Melnicenco is on the podcast! Here's where she joins in and we get to catching up a little.
‣‣ [13:01] The quick "get-to-know-you" portion of the episode is right here. Kristina updates us on her life and how entrepreneurship actually started when she was a kid!
‣‣ [24:22] I ask Kristina, "What were the biggest career hurdles you faced?" You'll want to listen here for her answer. There's a chance you can see them coming before you go through them!
‣‣ [26:59] Favorite quote! Go! I ask Kristina what her favorite quote might be, and she goes ahead and gives us gold from her own experiences!
‣‣ [29:36] Here's where we get on topic (I know, I know, I get too excited to have amazing conversations with amazing people). I ask Kristina, "What would you do differently if you had to start over?"
‣‣ [41:47] How do you stay connected with the leaders of the beauty industry? This is such a big question, and Kristina gives all the details and some amazing tips to stay in the know of the beauty industry.
‣‣ [45:18] As always, I ask Kristina, "What is the one piece of advice you would give for someone to have a pretty rich life?" She delivers with her answer! I love it.
I NEED TO KNOW HOW TO BUILD MY BEAUTY BIZ! HELP! (Listen Here)
Wasn't Kristina just amazing?! Every single word she said just hit straight. You can keep up with her by following her on Instagram right here! You can also sign up for Star Permanent Cosmetics Conferences at this link.
You can follow me, Sheila Bella, on Instagram @realsheilabella!
Here are the links that were mentioned in the podcast and more!
FOR MY LISTENER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy this podcast by downloading it on iTunes here.
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FOR MY READER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
Hey, Richies, hold your tits. Mm-hmm (affirmative). My new favorite way to stay in touch with you guys is finally here, texting. Yeah, let's be text buddies. I text my best friends all day long. Lets text each other. Stay in the know. I want to text you inspiration, updates on the Pretty Ambitious Summit, quotes that fill my soul, new podcast, and all of the things I use and believe in to uplevel my own business and life experience. I teach and share nothing that I haven't done or have used myself. So, text Sheila, S-H-E-I-L-A, S-H-E-I-L-A, to 31996 and we'll be connected. And you know the coolest thing?
You can actually text me back. That is so cool, so homey. I don't want you to be left out. Stay in the know. Text Sheila to 31996 right now. And if you already did, high five, sister friend. Hey, what's up? It's Sheila Bella here and today my guest is Kristina Melnicenco. She is the creator and founder of 5 Star Brows, and she is a world-renowned international leader and speaker for permanent makeup. And today, what you're going to be taking from this episode is everything her and I would do differently if we had to start over from scratch. So imagine us, no followers, no clients, no students, nobody knows your name, what would you do?
And we're going to tell you right here right now. So stay tuned. Welcome to the Pretty Rich Podcast where every woman is the heroine of her own story. I'm your host Sheila Bella, and I built a million dollar PD business from nothing. So maybe if you listen enough, you'll start to believe that you can do it too. Because if the perfect job doesn't exist, well, you can create it. If the job you want isn't hiring you, you can unapologetically hire yourself. Each episode will equip you with empowering conversations on how to grow a lifestyle that's pretty rich in love, beauty, wellness, and financial wealth.
I'm Sheila Bella, beauty business coach, celebrity brow artist, global success speaker, author, serial entrepreneur, wife, mother, friend, daughter, and your forever positive beauty biz sales guru. Let's go.
Hey, you guys. Happy holidays. We are officially in the Christmas season, my favorite. No matter what you celebrate, I mean, can we just have Christmas lights up all year long? It's literally my favorite thing. I exaggerate 500% of the time. Okay. So today's guest, Kristina Melnicenco, is just a motivational doer. Yeah. She's out there. She's killing it, and she motivates you because you see her killing it. So it reminds you that it's also possible for you. She is the creator of a gazillion awesome things in the industry. She's super well-respected. I've seen her train in person, and I have to say that her training style is really, really up there.
I would say like top five for sure of all of the permanent makeup trainers I've ever witnessed. And yeah, definitely top five, and I've seen thousands. Before we get to today's podcast and what her and I would do differently if we had to start over from scratch, I wanted to take a quick moment to invite you guys to the ultimate girl power live event for PMU Boss Babes called the Pretty Ambitious Summit. And the focus of this conference is to gain confidence, learn beauty business marketing, PMU marketing, lash artistry marketing, create connections, break through your fears, think much bigger, and be a master of sales for selling your services.
It will be held in Santa Monica, California March 2020. And I have a big announcement for you, guys. That Saturday night for bold, elite, and VIP ticket holders, we're going to be hosting a silent disco party. Have you ever been to a silent disco party? It is so cool. Now, before you get skeptical, don't knock it until you try it. I have had the most fun I've ever had honestly at silent disco parties this year. What I don't like sometimes about going to like a club or a party is that the music is so freaking loud. It's so loud you can't really hear anyone. You're like yelling at them almost just to create a connection.
And what I love this is if you want to talk somebody, you can take off your headphones and actually make that connection. And that is the whole theme for this summit is community over competition. It's creating connections so that you guys can grow together. In this podcast, you're going to hear Kristina and I talk about how important having a community is and how meeting people in person is just so much better than online. You cannot replicate the connection that you feel with somebody in person as you can try online.
I mean, you can try as hard as you want, but nothing beats in person live events where you can meet other people in your industry who, hey, may not be influential now, but because you see them hustling and grinding, one day will be. And also to get in front of the people in your industry who are influential. I know for a fact that I will absolutely remember somebody's face more than I would their username. And as active even as I am on the DM, on Instagram and on Facebook, it's so different. It's so different once I hear your story and see you in person.
I mean, I love, love, love meeting people in person and that's why I'm so excited to create this experience for you guys because I know that it will absolutely 1,000% help you level up your business for 2020. So just a couple of the things that we're going to be covering at the summit. We are going to be covering how to develop a profitable product, how to create passive income as a PMU artist, the ultimate guide to booking out your permanent makeup training tour, how to take your physical class and turn it into an online business, how to hire and build a thriving team, how to edit your Instagram photos, and the formula to being booked out.
That's just some of the things we're going to covering at the summit. And if those are any of your issues, even just solving one of those issues, it would be totally worth the trip. So if you want to find out more, go to prettyambitioussummit.com, or just message on Instagram @RealSheilaBella. Okay. One more thing before we get to today's guest. Somebody out there needs to hear this right now, because you might be listening to this and the reason why you're listening to this is because you saw the headline. You might be wondering how to rev up your business, and you want to know the answer to what you would do if you had to start over from scratch, right?
And I know how really frustrating it can be to be working so hard and not seeing results fast enough. Trust me, I've been there before. It's frustrating to see somebody else who might be less qualified, right, killing it and then you're wondering like, where are my clients? Where are my students? Where's my notoriety? Notice me. But this person who is not really not great of an artist, right? I know you guys think these things. Why did they have all the clients? And I'm here to tell you, you might not like me for dropping this truth bomb right now, but I got to be your friend, I got to tell you the truth, you got to watch what you say to yourself.
When you say things like, "I shouldn't have to work this many hours. I should be further along my now. My husband should be taking care of me. I should be more booked. I should have more followers. I should have more reviews. I should be getting to asked to speak at that event," if this sounds familiar to you and you feel like this is you sometimes, stop and reflect. Because in the same conversation or maybe in the same day but a different time of day, you might say things like, "Well, I don't want to take that business course. I don't want to attend that conference. I really don't want to skip out on my daily Starbucks.
I need it, or I don't really have time to read that book, or I don't want to examine my spending. I don't want to take that risk." Um, hello? Hello? Wake up, honey child, sister friend. What you have then is a classic case of entitlement. That's entitlement. PMU artists who claim that they want to maximize their fullest potential say this kind of stuff all the time, and you might not even realize it. But if you're frustrated and you're annoyed that you're not further along, but you're not willing to take that risk, you're not willing to invest, it's scary, I know it's scary, but it's necessary. It's necessary. You have to jump and then figure it out later. You got to get real with yourself.
Don't be like the rest, okay? You're trying to be in the 1%. You got to do 1% habits. You got to grind. You see all these memes on Instagram, grind, hustle. What does that mean? It's so vague. No, no, no. Grind/hustle means take a risk. Hire a business coach. Get up and talk to 10 different people about your business today, 10 strangers. Read a freaking book about marketing or business. Send that email to 30 influencers today who you think will help you promote your product or service. Yes, it's scary, but success requires for you to risk these things, and it requires for you to coach yourself, to reparent yourself, to self-encourage, to self-discipline, and it requires you to act.
It requires you to be scared. Feel the fear, but do it anyway. That's the big secret. Feel the fear, do it anyway. Be imperfect, do it anyway. You feel me? I hope so. If that little rant of mine helped you, text it to a friend. Text this podcast to a friend. Okay. Now, without further ado, the incomparable Kristina Melnicenco.
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Pretty Rich Podcast. Right now I'm sitting down with Kristina Melnicenco.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yes, you said it right.
Sheila Bella:
Oh wow.
Kristina Melnicenco:
That's the first time. Usually people don't do that. Melnicenco or something else.
Sheila Bella:
I feel so accomplished right now. If you have been living under a rock in the permanent makeup world, you need to get out of that rock because this girl is incredible. She is the founder of 5 Star Academy. She is a renowned instructor. She's the creator of Foxy Brows, Foxy Eyeliner. She is an international leader and speaker in the PMU industry. She is also the creator of Ohana Apparel, which is coming up in February.
She's going to launch that, and it's an apparel for us for when we're working, stylish apparel, and launching in a couple of weeks her StarLine Collection Pigment by Perma Blend is coming out that's specifically for eyeliner. So yeah, this girl does it all. Her life should be your dream.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Oh, thank you so much.
Sheila Bella:
So excited to have you here, Kristina. How are you doing?
Kristina Melnicenco:
I'm just great, guys. Thank you. Thank you for having me here.
Sheila Bella:
So for our listeners who want to get to know you, perhaps this might their first time hearing about who you are, let's just do a quick get to know. Where are you from?
Kristina Melnicenco:
So I originally came from Eastern Europe. My dad is Russian, my mom is Moldavian, and I moved to US about eight years ago. I remember that was June 1st, so that was just like, wow, a dream come true.
Sheila Bella:
Really?
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know English, which is just amazing. Now I'm Dallas. I have my academy here and that's where I'm based in Dallas, Texas.
Sheila Bella:
Amazing. Yeah, I relate to that so much because I'm an immigrant too. So assimilating to the United States can be kind of challenging, right?
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yes.
Sheila Bella:
Tell me, how did you start in this industry?
Kristina Melnicenco:
So I started back home in about 2009. That's when I took my first class. Well, before that, I got my permanent makeup done, and I always wanted to be in beauty industry. I started with makeup. I have actually an economic degree, so I went to school for four years. I went to university. I have an economic degree and that was my mom's dream for me to be educated. Have a really real degree because beauty was kind of not taken seriously back then, so beauty for me was kind of like a hobby that I love and still make money with. So during my university years, I went to literally, name it all, to all the classes I could ever take.
I went to learn how to do makeup. I went to learn how to do nails, waxing, lashes. Everything in beauty industry I tried. And I was making money working like on Saturdays/Sundays on weddings and I did it truly for fun. And that was bringing me money too, like pocket money, and I loved it. But actually the love for beauty and for cosmetic and for all that stuff came to me when I was in school. So when I was eighth grader, my grandma, she saw I think... I don't know. She saw I think that I love makeup and stuff and actually everything started with her.
So one day she approached me and she's like, "Hey, there is like an Avon company and somebody was talking about it. Do you want to try it?"
Sheila Bella:
Wow.
Kristina Melnicenco:
And I'm like in school. I'm in school. I am a baby that is like, I don't know, 15 years old, 16 years old. [crosstalk 00:15:45] And I couldn't sleep the whole night thinking about how I can do this. First of all, back home you cannot have an idea until you're 18 years old. So I was not able to open a company on my name. So I talked to my mom and she is the biggest supporter ever. My dad is more like a pessimist side. My mom is super optimist. She's like, "Yeah, you can do it. Just try." So in eighth grade, ninth grade, 10, 11, until the 12, right? I was selling cosmetics, Avon.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing.
Kristina Melnicenco:
I was making money from four people. Four people. I was making so much money. It was just insane. So after school, I would have these...
Sheila Bella:
Hold up. I'm floored by this story. Keep going. Keep going. This is amazing.
Kristina Melnicenco:
It's crazy. Maybe it's a little bit away from our topic, but here it goes. This is how...
Sheila Bella:
It's so in line with our topic.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Where beauty started for me, right? After the school, I had this tripping my head. I grew up in a small town where you can, well, kind of walk everywhere. I would walk everywhere. After class, I would go to like banks and I would go to like institutions like that where I knew that obviously there's ladies there that have a job and have money so they can buy my products, right? So I would go and just talk about it. And I'll be honest, my thing was always instead of pushing something that I don't believe in and I know that probably I won't be able to even talk about them properly because I don't believe in them, I always was offering or saying, "Hey, buy this product because I tried it.
I really love it. This mascara is great. This is not so good," even though it was more expensive and I could make more money potentially. But I was just like, "Buy this. This is good." So I gained all these lady's-
Sheila Bella:
Their trust.
Kristina Melnicenco:
...a trust. Yes. I was making so great. All those money went into my bank account for all those years.
Sheila Bella:
Wait. How old were you? Like 14? 14, right?
Kristina Melnicenco:
I was about 14-15, yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Keep going. Sorry.
Kristina Melnicenco:
I don't even know. Right now thinking about it, all these ladies having this child walking into the bank with an Avon book and be like, "Hey, that's what I have on special."
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that's amazing. Do you know what 14 year olds look like now? 14 year olds... I'm 37, so I look at a 14 year old and they look like they're eight years old. They're so small, so I can't imagine...
Kristina Melnicenco:
I was a little baby literally.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. This is amazing. You're totally Gary V-ing me right now, which is a...
Kristina Melnicenco:
So you know what? Actually at that age I realized, hey, after school, if I make the trip even though I'm maybe tired after lessons and stuff, if I make the trip and I go and I convince those ladies, I make that income, right? I understand at that young age that the effort you put into whatever you do, you're going to see a certain result, right? I walk more, I go to more places, I'm going to make more sales obviously. I don't go, I'm not going to make any sales because nobody's going to really come to me. I don't have a store, like whatever.
Sheila Bella:
Wow.
Kristina Melnicenco:
It was pretty cool.
Sheila Bella:
That's how you fell in love with beauty entrepreneurship because the more effort you put out, the more result you get. It's that simple. More effort, more result.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yup. And then the love for the beauty came after that. At the end of the 12th grade, obviously I had so much money in my bank account, I went to the best and most expensive hairstylist in the country and makeup artist. She was booking like insanely. She was just doing celebrities and politicals and all of that stuff. She was super, super known and super, super hard to get into. I had to kind of contact somebody because, again, I'm a little girl, right? So after I got that done, after I got the makeup done and I looked in the mirror and I said, "Wow."
I mean, I consider myself pretty face features, but makeup changed my face so much that I was like, is that even me? Is this me? Wait. The concept is that that makeup... In general, I rented... Yeah, I rented a dress that it was just like corset, and I was just like a little princess literally. And the best part of it was that I did it myself. I bought everything myself. I put everything myself. I had a bank card. It was insane, right? For a girl actually back home to afford that, it's either a girl has good parents, I mean, wealthy parents, or like sugar daddies or whatever.
A girl back home to achieve that it's pretty like not common I would say that one. Not common. When I had that makeup and I was so confident during, how do you call it, the prom, I was just like, wow, I want to learn makeup because I understood that very moment-
Sheila Bella:
That power.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yes, exactly. How you feel. It's not really, I mean, the blush and whatever you put on your face. It's what it makes to you, like how it makes you feel. I was running literally to the mirror to look at myself. I was like, is this really me? Is my face looking like... It's insane. So everybody wanted to take pictures with me. I was just the star of the night. Pretty cool. So after that, I was like, okay, I'm going to go to university because my mom wants that, but I'm going to go and learn how to do makeup. That's where it started. That's how it started.
Sheila Bella:
Thank you for, number one, your vulnerability and for reminding us because we, as beauticians, we do this every single day and sometimes we forget. We forget the power in our hands. It's just so crazy. The power to make somebody feel that good. I forget how good that feels, and thank you for taking us back to the first time you discovered it, which...
Kristina Melnicenco:
It definitely feels good.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, and we can do that for people. For those of you listening right now, think about the first time you played with makeup, you looked in the mirror, and you were like, wow. I love that you told that story because you gave us a really clear picture of the first time. It was like love at first sight. And I love that you were unapologetic about it and said like, "I felt like a star." I mean, wouldn't the world be a more peaceful happy place if everybody felt great?
Kristina Melnicenco:
Definitely. We give ladies that level of confidence and they just go on and just like... I don't know. They just go and they rule the world. You know? They feel good and their life changed. I have ladies tell me that their life completely changed after that, how they feel and how they look and stuff like that. So we girls or we beauty industry professionals, we do have that power, and we don't have to ever forget about it. I'm just so thankful for what we do for other people.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Thank you for sharing and for reminding us that. So now all of those things that I named with your pigment line coming up, your event coming up, which I'm so excited to speak at, which is 5 Star Conference in Cancun. That and then you being such a leader, a prominent leader, in this industry. I'm sure that didn't happen overnight obviously. For some people who might log onto your social media or Instagram, they might think like, oh my gosh, this girl has it all together. How can I be her? But obviously, like I said, you didn't just jump from mountain top to mountain top.
I want you to tell us if you can recall what were the biggest career hurdles you had to jump to get here/ Were there people that didn't believe in you? Did you ever struggle to make ends meet or pay for things? What were the lowest points in your career? For those who are business building right now and they're afraid, tell them what can they expect from becoming you.
Kristina Melnicenco:
My first ever when I moved to United States was I so confident in myself that I know English. And when I came here, apparently I knew how to read and translate, but I didn't really was good about talking. So people are like, "What did you say?" I was like, oh my god, I don't know English. How am I going to do here? People don't understand what I say, so that was the hardest part to learn it. That was a struggle really. I was not confident in myself because my English wasn't good. But then I decided, you know what? I will just ask every single person how to spell things and what does that mean. So that's how I overcome that one.
Sheila Bella:
Nice. So you stopped caring and you just asked questions.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Some people would reach out to me. Some people would not respond. Some people would be really nice. I had all the range of people. Some would be really helping. Somebody would be like, "Oh, whatever. Why you don't know English," and stuff like that. But right now I'm pretty proud of myself. I believe that my English is on pretty good level, but I still mistakes and I believe that's okay. I'm a human too. After that, I mean, to start with like... I just remember how me and husband, we walked to the grocery store literally. We didn't have a car for about three months after we moved, and we walked.
And I was in such a good shape. I mean, everything has a benefit. So just think about it. When you're going through some struggles, just try to kind of like lift any benefit that that can give you. You know how to talk is just like, I don't know, you're going to meet more people if you approach them or stuff like that. So any struggles that you have actually will give you a benefit and you're going to understand about it later on.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, definitely.
Kristina Melnicenco:
That's what I believe.
Sheila Bella:
Do you have a favorite quote?
Kristina Melnicenco:
I think that success is directly related on the effort that you put in, so that's kind of like... I don't believe that anything in life is easy. If you didn't achieve something, it's just directly related to you. Maybe you didn't do something. Deep in our mind, deep in our soul, we know.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Kristina Melnicenco:
We know and we work over it. You know? My mom always told me that society makes us and our surroundings affect us too, but the most powerful person to affect you is you. And I actually heard this quote somewhere. Imagine how hard is to change yourself and you're going to understand how hard it's going to be to change somebody else. So change yourself first. Don't say, "Oh, that person didn't give me the opportunity or that was not a good situation." It's just change yourself first and that's going to start from there.
Sheila Bella:
I love it. You just gave us so many good nuggets right now. I love that you talked about how it was a struggle for you to learn English, and it all changed when you just stopped caring and you just asked questions unapologetically. How do you spell that? What does that mean? How do you expect to get better if you don't ask questions? And right now you're putting on this massive event. You have massive influence, and it's because you just stopped caring. You're just asking the questions when somebody who was born here, English is their first language, probably speaks better English than you or I and knows more words isn't as successful.
I'll just say it. Isn't as successful because maybe you're still stuck in your head about trying to be perfect. I love that you're on this show right now because you and I are just the example that you don't have to be perfect to succeed. You just need to be scared and do it anyway, and mess up and do it anyway. Use the wrong words and do it anyway. I love that you're on this show. Okay. So our topic today, I'll try to stick on the topic, is what would you do if you had to start over? That's the topic that Kristina and I are going to try and focus on. So we're both going to pretend that we have no followers. Nobody knows we are.
We have no business. We're back with no car walking to the grocery store, right?
Kristina Melnicenco:
That was my case. When I came to US, nobody knew who I was. I mean, I didn't even know English.
Sheila Bella:
That too.
Kristina Melnicenco:
I thought I knew, but I didn't. First of all, what I would say to the new beauty professionals that are getting into this industry, right? I would say this, I would say that they're fortunate to be in the beauty industry at this time because it's much easier. It may feel like it's harder, but I would say it's much easier with all the information, with all the culture, with all the classes and the options that they have to succeed. First of all, they have social media. It's a powerful platform that may get you out there in the matter of a year. You know what?
You could go to university and go there for like, I did, for four years and have just a, I don't know, just a typical job that is not going to get you anywhere in a year. Let's put it that way, unless you're maybe a genius. But in beauty industry, you can achieve so much. First of all, you do what you love and it's just amazing. So my advice would be to get yourself out there. First of all, I think you have to... My first class wasn't good. Things got ahead like makeup experience years ago before I learned permanent makeup, so that helped me. But start with a definitely good class.
Learn from somebody that is going to give you a lot of information and that is what going to put you on the first step towards the succeed. It's a good class, good skills. After that, what I would suggest the next step is definitely getting yourself into a community. A community of Beauty Boss Babe.
Sheila Bella:
Agree.
Kristina Melnicenco:
[inaudible 00:32:03] give you multiple advices and you're not going to make the mistakes it by doing it by yourself. So surround yourself with a powerful community and that you can meet a lot of people. I remember my first conference that I attended in the US. I didn't think that so many people knew about me. So many people approached me at that conference. They were like, "Oh my god, I love your work," and I was like, "What?" That's very important to attend conferences where you meet a lot of artists, where you can share a lot of information, where other people meet you and stuff like that. So you introduce yourself, so that is super important.
Sheila Bella:
Agree.
Kristina Melnicenco:
My career just started building after I actually attended that first one.
Sheila Bella:
Me too. Go ahead.
Kristina Melnicenco:
It was so amazing. Literally all the connections that I made there, they were so... It was great. It was a good start for me to be more known and kind of like out there. Because at the conference, you have people coming from actually right now all over the world. We have artists coming from Australia. We have artists coming from Guam, from Mexico, Brazil. We have artists coming from all over the world, and you're going to meet them at the conference, right?
Sheila Bella:
At 5 Star PMU Conference in Cancun, which I'll be speaking at, happening what is the date again?
Kristina Melnicenco:
So January 30-February 2nd, guys. Yeah. Four days of all-inclusive amazing experience. I can just guarantee you that.
Sheila Bella:
Dude, you guys, I'm so excited to be a part of this because the package sounds amazing. It is all-inclusive. Have you been to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico? It's all-inclusive drinks, right? And unlimited room service. And it's three days of education of permanent makeup up education, and we were just talking about how important networking and connections are. You're going to get two parties, a cocktail party and a gala party. Four nights are included in this package. You get a swag bag. You get a permanent makeup machine. You get a free online brow mapping class if you book in the month December.
And the price tag for all of that is $3,497 and the early bird price right now is $500 off. But if you use the code BELLA, B-E-L-L-A, all caps, you'll receive $200 off of that. So it's a total of $700 off of that price. And it would be a great way to start your year to ensure that you have success in 2020. This is a conference unlike anything I've ever heard of before. What a great concept, Kristina and Eugene, because I know you guys are a team.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yes. Our focus was to definitely give. So this conference unlike, like you said, other conferences are not sponsored by like big companies and the focus is to sell products. The focus is to give people, to give beauty professionals really a lot of content, a lot of quality content for them to learn techniques. Not only techniques, beauty business tips. So it's all combined. They're going to learn different techniques. They're going to learn business. They're going to learn social media strategies like Sheila Bella. So they're going to learn a lot. They're going to leave this conference really with a lot of information. That's the goal.
Sheila Bella:
And probably feeling really relaxed after all that sun, beach, massages, room service.
Kristina Melnicenco:
That's another goal. Fun combined with a lot of learning.
Sheila Bella:
Oh man. I'm really excited. I'm really, really excited. And it is an honor for you to share your audience with me. You're somebody that I met at a conference.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yes.
Sheila Bella:
Isn't that crazy, right?
Kristina Melnicenco:
That's how we met, yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Meeting people online is one thing, but when you meet people in person, that's totally different connection I believe. You know?
Sheila Bella:
Absolutely. There's something about touching somebody's hand, giving them a hug, I don't know, this is creepy, like smelling their hair. I don't know. Oh, she smells good. Like, oh, this is like a real human being. This is a real person. There's a bond that forms there, because I've hugged you before. That forms that person that you just not replicate online.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Also, at the conference what I wanted to mention too is besides learning a lot, guys, you have the opportunity to compete and to receive... Yeah, to compete. So we decided because I've been to many conferences where they have championships, and the thing is that you cannot compete with a person that has 10 years experience, right? Somebody that is just a newbie. So we have two levels. It's going to be junior level, so artists that have up to two or three years experience, and then three years and up.
It's going to be two levels, junior and senior, and you get the chance to win a Biotek machine, a Maestro Biotek machine, that is valued at $4,200. Yeah, so it's amazing.
Sheila Bella:
What? Competition makes us better.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Exactly. Yup. It does.
Sheila Bella:
Have you ever entered a PMU competition?
Kristina Melnicenco:
Actually for me it happened that I was like a judge first, so I kind of skipped... I kind of skipped the...
Sheila Bella:
She skipped the line.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yeah, yeah, kind of. So now for me to go and to compete with artists that are like couple years is kind of would be like not very fair.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. That's so funny. So I want to go back to...
Kristina Melnicenco:
Maybe we should do a competition in between trainers.
Sheila Bella:
Oh wow.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Nobody did that before.
Sheila Bella:
That'd be so intimating for me. That'd be so intimating. I want to go back to our topic, which is three things that you would have to do today if you needed to start over. And let me know if you agree with this, for me, I would have invested in not only my business sooner, but I wish I would have invested in myself sooner.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Like physically, emotionally, psychologically, reading books, just personal. Not even like permanent makeup training. Just me as a human.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Well, the thing is that when you start, I think you're so focused on your expenses more than your growth. You think about, oh, I have to rent this room. I have to pay for this. I have to pay for that. You're focused more on that when you start. The thing is that what I would suggest now, the mindset I have now absolutely is different than the one that I had when I started is that when you start, obviously we need to make an income in order to cover all those expenses, but don't focus only on today's income or tomorrow income. The advice that I will give right now is that don't wait for the client to come, the paying client.
Take models and post your work out there. Invest in your future. That's the thing. So that's the thing that I didn't understand when I started because I wanted to make money now. I didn't think about what is going to happen tomorrow or a month later, a year later. I was thinking only about today, so that's the thing. And I remember myself in about 2010 when somebody told me, "Hey, Kristina, you produce such beautiful work. You have to have a social media." I'm like, you know what? I don't have time for this. I need to make money. I don't have time. For you in the beginning is very important is to invest in what is going to happen tomorrow.
Don't think only about today. Invest about what is going to happen in about a year. Invest in yourself and invest the time into growing yourself later on. And you have to understand that. Because even my students, like I tell them, "Look, don't wait for the client that is going to becoming paying client. Practice on somebody that you know." If you don't practice, you lose your skill especially in the beginning. You don't even have a skill in the beginning. You have some knowledge. You have knowledge on how to do it. You have knowledge of the angles, pigments and stuff, but that's not the skill yet.
In order to transform it into a skill, you have to work all the time. Don't wait for that client to come. Take somebody that you know. I mean, I understand it's a little bit of like investing. You're not making anything pretty much in the return, but that is an investment in your future.
Sheila Bella:
Love it. Love it. Totally agree. You were talking about how getting plugged into a community is so important. My next question for you is how do you stay connected with the leaders of our industry? How do you do it? Because you've met them conferences and that's how you started. What do you do now, because we all live so far away from each other, to keep that connection going and that friendship going?
Kristina Melnicenco:
I think that the most connection that happens, because everybody is so busy, everybody has so many projects and stuff, and I'm not a person that... I don't like bothering people. So I think the most connection is actually at those events, right? Or like doing a project together or doing something together. That's pretty much how the connection happens for me because I do understand that everybody is just so busy with what they do. I don't know how to explain that. I do like to spend time, quality time, but I would never bother somebody with just like, hey, how are you doing, or stuff like that.
You know? I feel like everybody's... So the most connection happens truly at the events and if we do any like projects together. Just like that.
Sheila Bella:
Working on things together.
Kristina Melnicenco:
The community that it's not with just let's say the industry leaders. I love the community that I build around my academy. So I have a support group for over a thousand people in the group that I created when I started teaching, and I'm so happy that I did that because it's such a supportive community.
Sheila Bella:
Your Facebook group, right?
Kristina Melnicenco:
Yes, it's my Facebook group. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Can you tell us where that is and what the name is?
Kristina Melnicenco:
That is a closed group though, so...
Sheila Bella:
Oh, it's closed.
Kristina Melnicenco:
It's closed group, yes. So it's only for students and attendees at the conferences are allowed to be in the group. I mean, it's a closed group for only attendees of the classes, conferences, online classes, and stuff like that. What I love about it is that people or artists that are in the group, they are so free to share any questions, and they're not ashamed to post any question there because it is a closed group, nobody really can see besides any other artists, so they help each other. I really love to see how that group develops, like how they are so free in the group.
And actually even I have some posts there saying that they love on how supportive is the group. So that is very important, to belong to a... I mean, there are so many Facebook groups open. Other ones open. Most of them I think they are closed because they don't want people that are not in the beauty industry to be in that group, but they're so supportive. So if you just search and add yourself to any of the communities, that's going to be great and it's going to help you a lot.
Sheila Bella:
Right. Right, or just go to the conference and then you can be in this group that she is talking about.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Exactly.
Sheila Bella:
That's amazing. One of my last questions that I ask every guest...
Kristina Melnicenco:
No, I don't want the last... No. More questions.
Sheila Bella:
Time flew, right? Time flies when you're having fun.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Exactly.
Sheila Bella:
What is the one piece of advice you have for anybody that is trying to live a rich life? And the word rich here on Pretty Rich Podcast doesn't just apply to financial wealth. It applies to chasing a purpose, to a mission. It applies to emotional wealth, to spiritual wealth, to relational wealth. What do you think is the common denominator of success and being rich in all of these things in life?
Kristina Melnicenco:
I think it's an open mind. An open mind and be focused on yourself. Don't compare yourself to others because their time is their time. Your time is going to come. So don't compare. Oh, they have so much and I don't. I started earlier than you. Let's put it that way, maybe. You know? Invest in yourself as far as like taking classes. I love taking classes. I love learning especially, like you said, anything that is like... You know the technique and everything, but knowing the business side, knowing how to interact with clients. And in general, just try and finding that balance because I'm a workaholic.
I work a lot especially in the beginning of my industry. I was just like, people are saying, "Are you a machine? What is going on? How are you everywhere?" And I do it even right now like I remember. It was just crazy. When I flew from Charlotte, North Carolina where I spoke at the Perma Blend at the Queen City Festival and at that night I flew to Australia and I landed at 5:00 and I was speaking at 2:00. I was like, "Can I please speak afternoon because I land literally at 5:00 AM in the morning?" It's just be motivated. Love what you do, but also try to find that balance.
I would say it is very definitely important to not burn out because I've gone through that time when you burn out. You love what you do, but it's important to take time. Just take some time for yourself. Give yourself some self-love. Do some yoga. Meditate. Think about where are you going, what is your purpose. Are you going in the right direction or not? Just stop for a second, breath, take one minute, think about yourself, think about what you want to do. Sometimes just shut your phone down. Literally I do that. I can definitely say that about six years in US, I worked without having really days off.
I worked seven days a week. I worked 8:00 to 8:00. It was pretty intense. But then I burned out and I remember how that feels. When you're a little depressed, you're kind of like, yeah, you have success, but it's like, I don't have time for myself, stuff like that. So try to find the balance. It's all good, success is good, but try to find that inner success with yourself. And you will see how everything kind of like goes on its own place.
Sheila Bella:
Beautifully said. Beautifully said. I don't know why you've ever been insecure about your English. That was amazing. You gave us so many points.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Thank you, guys.
Sheila Bella:
Where can our listeners find you and how can we work with you?
Kristina Melnicenco:
So I'm in social media as 5 Star Brows, so number five Star Brows, or Kristina Melnicenco. Also, you can find information on our website, which is 5star-academy.com. Do we have anywhere where we can leave this information as well?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, I'll put it in the show notes. Yeah, send it to me and then I'll put it in the show notes, you guys, so you can...
Kristina Melnicenco:
Also, if anybody has any questions for me, I would really love to hear them, or you can just approach me online in any social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, anywhere. Just message me. I love when people message me, and I love to be helpful.
Sheila Bella:
I can totally see that. I really appreciate you, Kristina. And again, use the code BELLA and receive $200 off on top of the early bird price, which is $500, so you receive a total of $700 off if you book for the 5 Star PMU Conference right, right now. And I'll see you guys in Cancun.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Make sure they go to the gym so we can see your beautiful...
Sheila Bella:
I was just thinking that. I was like, oh man, I got to figure it out.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Make yourself that challenge as well. Yeah, we're going to have a cocktail party and an all white gala party. It's going to be fun. A lot of information, a lot of fun, and I just cannot wait for this conference.
Sheila Bella:
I can't wait too, and I'll leave that information also in the show notes so you guys can access it easily. And until next time, you guys, bye Richies.
Kristina Melnicenco:
Bye.
Sheila Bella:
Grey, say share with your friends.
Gray:
Share with friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Grey:
Review mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Grey:
Thanks for listening.
Sheila Bella:
Thank you so much for listening. It is an honor to be a part of your life. If you enjoy this podcast or you're impacted by this at all, please take a minute to leave us a five star review on iTunes and share it with a friend, screen shot it, post it on your stories, your feed, your timeline, and don't forget to tag me. I would really love to see that. My Instagram is @RealSheilaBella. Also, lets carry on the conversation longer. Join our private Facebook group just for Pretty Rich Girls.
Just go to facebook.com/prettyrichsquad and check out sheilabella.com for more information on how to get more support on your beauty entrepreneurship journey and get going on your pretty rich lifestyle. Until next time.
