Sheila Bella:
You're listening to the Pretty Rich podcast where you are totally the heroine of your own story. I'm your host, Sheila Bella. And I built a seven figure PMU biz without a degree, without a fancy website or a sugar daddy. And if you and I hang out here long enough, you're going to start to believe that you can do it too, because you really can. I know you think, I don't know you, but I do. I really, really do because I am you. And I believe we're all on the same journey together. My perfect job didn't exist, so I created it. The job I wanted wasn't hiring me, 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. We are recording now, Jules. We've been sitting here dilly dallying, around playing with my kids-
Julie Barnett:
And the stuff on your desk.
Sheila Bella:
That's true.
Julie Barnett:
Like you do.
Sheila Bella:
Okay.
Julie Barnett:
What else are toys for?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Well, I have office paraphernalia and toys on my desk. Anyway, so people probably know you from my Instagram stories, but I don't know if they know you from my podcast.
Julie Barnett:
I don't know either, but it's weirdly random when we travel that people suddenly say, "Oh yeah, Julie," I'm like, "Oh, how do you know me?" Apparently you do talk about me on your podcast.
Sheila Bella:
I do. I talk about you a lot. And did you guys know that Julie edits this show?
Julie Barnett:
Well, now I do.
Sheila Bella:
Well, you know what? The last few ones have been really good. The really good ones, Julie edits.
Julie Barnett:
Oh.
Sheila Bella:
Really. I'm like, "Wow." So professionally done."
Julie Barnett:
Who knew I had a gift for podcasts? I had no idea.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. So, today's topic is, can you work with friends? Yeah. I mean, I think you can work with friends.
Julie Barnett:
Totally. Yeah. It just depends on the friend. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
The friend. And the job.
Julie Barnett:
And the job. There's a lot of conditions.
Sheila Bella:
Because people ask me and you all the time, like, "What? You guys known each other since you were 11? How? What? How do you-"
Julie Barnett:
Because you meet people and you keep relationships.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. It's crazy, but they ask me all the time, how did we make it work? Or why does this work? And I have to say it hasn't always worked.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I have lost friends that I've hired.
Julie Barnett:
I know. And that's, what's tough about it. If you take a chance on people, every time you hire somebody. I've never been in a position of hiring somebody, actually. I've always been the, what do you call it? The hiree?
Sheila Bella:
Hiree.
Julie Barnett:
Hiree. [crosstalk 00:02:52] I know, but the person applying for the job-
Sheila Bella:
Whatever. [crosstalk 00:02:56].
Julie Barnett:
I've auditioned people. It's not the same thing.
Sheila Bella:
No.
Julie Barnett:
When you audition people, it's usually for a specific gig for a certain time and then it's over and done. It's not a long term.
Sheila Bella:
It's a short term.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. It's a short term thing. But when you're in an entrepreneurship like yourself and you're hiring for long term, I mean, you're hiring strangers more than likely, right? People you've never met before usually. But unless you're Sheila, you were smart, but you called people. You literally reached out to me or else I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today.
Sheila Bella:
That's true. I've heard stray puppies, though. That used to be my thing.
Julie Barnett:
Ah, yeah.
Sheila Bella:
That was a bad thing.
Julie Barnett:
I mean, the thing is, is like you like to help people. It's been one of your very good qualities. You're not just a boss, you're like a friend. I've never worked for somebody in my life that is like you, or as understanding as you. And I think, that's why all of us we're closer than just employees and bosses. It's more than that, it's a family.
Sheila Bella:
It really is.
Julie Barnett:
We built a family and families, of course, fight. Families have their differences, but what makes a difference between a working relationship and a non-working relationship is communication. It really all comes down to it. Remember we had meetings about it ages ago. If you have a problem with me, can you just say it out loud or just tell me so that it doesn't fester? I mean, don't marriages go through the same thing?
Sheila Bella:
Right. It's the same thing. Well, I mean, so my pediatrician, this is related, I promise. My pediatrician, it was her 23rd wedding anniversary when I took Grey to the doctor, a couple of weeks ago. And it was their 23rd wedding anniversary and I was like, "Oh my gosh. So what's your secret? What's your secret for a long happy marriage." And her advice had me on the floor laughing. She just said, "Don't get divorced."
Julie Barnett:
Don't get divorced. Be in there for the long run.
Sheila Bella:
She wasn't even kidding. She was like, it's like not an option. It's just you just work through it. You work through it. You are committed enough where you're like, "Okay. We're here."
Julie Barnett:
I agree to that with a certain extent.
Sheila Bella:
Oh. [inaudible 00:04:51].
Julie Barnett:
What if it's an unhealthy relationship? And divorce, isn't an option.
Sheila Bella:
Well you do things to make it healthier for all that.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. Yeah. I can't judge because I don't know the circumstance.
Sheila Bella:
But she just said, "Don't get divorced."
Julie Barnett:
Don't get divorced.
Sheila Bella:
Anyway, obviously with a grain of salt, but don't think there's some element of that with us?
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I can not divorce you in real life.
Julie Barnett:
No, we're not married.
Sheila Bella:
Right. Right. So, I guess it goes along with the attitude that if we have, if something's festering inside, I can't go on without addressing this with Julie, first. I have to call her. Because it's more than just work level or whatever passionate project [crosstalk 00:00:05:29]. I'm that committed.
Julie Barnett:
Totally. No, we've both been there over the past five, six years when we've been working at Sheila Bella together. In the beginning, it was really rocky and people wonder how we got to this point. It was a rocky road, okay.
Sheila Bella:
It was rocky in the beginning. That's true.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah, Totally in the beginning. Because A, you weren't just teaching me how to do permanent makeup. You were teaching a lot of people. Sheila's by the way, one of the best teachers out there. And that's not just being biased, okay? I've worked with other people. We actually try to make learning fun and continual at Sheila Bella.
Sheila Bella:
It just is.
Julie Barnett:
You came up with this crazy idea of brow and sips, right? Where you can have fun.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, yeah. Brow and sips.
Julie Barnett:
Brow and sips.
Sheila Bella:
We need another one soon.
Julie Barnett:
I know. I miss that.
Sheila Bella:
After the summit.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. That's like our relaxation and what makeup is.
Sheila Bella:
Let's tell them what brow and sips are.
Julie Barnett:
All right. There's two things that we love doing, which is hanging out with each other [crosstalk 00:06:18], doing permanent makeup. Wait, there's three things, and drinking. It doesn't have to be booze, but with the brow and sip, it's usually with a drink in hand of your choice.
Sheila Bella:
Well, it's booze, though.
Julie Barnett:
It's booze, but not with me or at the moment because I'm pregnant.
Sheila Bella:
Yay.
Julie Barnett:
Yay. So, when-
Sheila Bella:
I'm not going to be that friend, by the way, that gives you a nonalcoholic wine. People try to do that to me and I was like, "This is terrible."
Julie Barnett:
Just give me grape juice.
Sheila Bella:
It was disgusting.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. I believe you.
Sheila Bella:
Just give me grape juice.
Julie Barnett:
Just give me grape juice or apple juice.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
I'd be fine with that or Martinelli.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. So yeah, the brow and sips?
Julie Barnett:
Yeah, And then of course, what was funny is we changed the setting every time. It wasn't the same circumstance. Once we did at my house, and we blindfolded ourselves.
Sheila Bella:
Oh, that was funny.
Julie Barnett:
It was really-
Sheila Bella:
It's on YouTube, by the way. If you guys want. Well, don't try this on real people obviously.
Julie Barnett:
No. Please don't. Please.
Sheila Bella:
No, but we had a blindfolded microblading challenge and see who could do it.
Julie Barnett:
Who could do the best brows. [crosstalk 00:07:10] Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Just from feel and memory.
Julie Barnett:
Oh my God. I swear, I think it was the straightest brow I've ever made in my life, with zero arch.
Sheila Bella:
We were two glasses in.
Julie Barnett:
Totally.
Sheila Bella:
And blindfolded. It's on YouTube.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. And then we ended up all rapping at the end of the night. That was awesome.
Sheila Bella:
Not gift wrapping.
Julie Barnett:
No, no, no. Rapping-
Sheila Bella:
Rapping.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Like Vanilla Ice.
Julie Barnett:
Vanilla Ice Ice Baby. And Leslie kicked our butts. So we did that. And then we went to Temecula like you do. You go to wine country.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. We did wine and sip, oh sorry, brow and sip vacay. Road trip.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Went to Temecula. Went to wine country.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
And by then we were 5,000 glasses in, by the time we got to the microblading latex.
Julie Barnett:
Sheila says, I now edit all her podcasts, so I now listen to all her podcasts. But literally the last podcast I edited was when before you decide to go into a business relationship with somebody, take them on vacation.
Sheila Bella:
Yes.
Julie Barnett:
So this is what we do.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
Usually we hang out with each other, we vacay with each other.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
We obviously have fun and there's play dates.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
It's just more than just business. So-
Sheila Bella:
I know. We got to this point, we got to this point.
Julie Barnett:
And so yeah, we've lost people on the way for multiple reasons. Not just with business. Stuff can get sketchy and people have different opinions and different goals even. So why does it work with you and I who have known each other the longest out of everybody. It's literally because-
Sheila Bella:
And all of us at Sheila Bella who are just working for-
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Our little community right now. I freaking love our girls.
Julie Barnett:
We know each other. I mean, it's almost like with a boss that you're afraid to talk to. There's going to be miscommunication, there's going to be misunderstandings. There's going to be people that take advantage. Let's face it. I mean, when, when you get too close to somebody, sometimes there are those few people out there that are really going to try take advantage of a good person. It's all happened to us, you know? And it's happened to you a lot where they take advantage of your good nature. We've seen it happen [crosstalk 00:09:04]. Yeah. It's both of you. Yes, exactly. And then that never works out because it's one sided. So it never works out when one person is giving more.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
Like in a relationship, if you're giving someone all the nurturing-
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
You're just giving, giving, giving, what are you receiving in return? All you expected was to have the same commitment, the same level of passion, the same dedication. And if anything, all you cared about was that they communicated with you and allowed you to move on like any relationship. Just, can we have some closure here?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
Don't just leave me in the dust and forget about me.
Sheila Bella:
Well, I think, it's investment. We're invested in them or they're invested in us.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I think, it's when you work together, it's how they say, or at least I used to hear, never married somebody that you don't live with first yet, because you don't know what they're like.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
That's the advice that they gave, right?
Julie Barnett:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
I've done it both ways.
Julie Barnett:
Yes you did.
Sheila Bella:
I've done it with my first marriage, I didn't live with the guy, right?
Julie Barnett:
No.
Sheila Bella:
The second marriage, the one that worked-
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
The one that I liked currently, my favorite one currently-
Julie Barnett:
Careful, hopefully always, yes. Keep him, I like him.
Sheila Bella:
Right. Yeah. I'm like, oh, I got to know him first. We lived together first. I mean, regardless of your morals or anything like that or your values, there is something to that. I feel in many ways, it's the same with, I hate to say this like friends.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I mean, now I'm at the point where all my best friends we've worked together at some point, right?
Julie Barnett:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah. At least at some [crosstalk 00:10:36]. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
It's almost, before I can trust you, can we work together?
Julie Barnett:
Can we work on a project?
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Can we work on a project together without wanting to kill each other or [crosstalk 00:10:46] at least getting through it.
Julie Barnett:
Even before working together now, professionally, we worked together in high school.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
We did projects.
Sheila Bella:
We did projects together.
Julie Barnett:
We did shows together. I mean, we were part of a team already.
Sheila Bella:
We would partner up-
Julie Barnett:
Yes.
Sheila Bella:
And then do projects together.
Julie Barnett:
Okay. So both of us have the same favorite teacher growing up from high school. Her name is Ms. Taylor.
Sheila Bella:
Ms. Taylor.
Julie Barnett:
We love her so much. And-
Sheila Bella:
Shout out, Ms. Taylor.
Julie Barnett:
We have a total Ms. Taylor fan club here. So-
Sheila Bella:
Totally. Forever.
Julie Barnett:
Every time Ms. Taylor would give out a project and she would be like, you have to work in teams. It was almost like our hands reach out for one another.
Sheila Bella:
Yup.
Julie Barnett:
It was just a constant, okay, we got this.
Sheila Bella:
Yup.
Julie Barnett:
We got this. Because we knew, we knew even then.
Sheila Bella:
And we do that at work now.
Julie Barnett:
We do. Yeah. When we did social media day, we're like-
Sheila Bella:
We did a social media day.
Julie Barnett:
We can get this really fast.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. So wait, let me give you guys a tip. Let me give you guys a tip. For those of you who are like, Oh my gosh, I can't go on stories every single day. I can't do IG TV every single day or show up every single day. What we did was, we had these filming days where we would all split up, we'd have our photo shoot. And then after we have our photo shoot, we'd all split up and then we'd have four or five cell phones. And then we'd all film stories, just stupid, stupid stories-
Julie Barnett:
Content. It was a day of content.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Yeah. It was a day of content. It was fun.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
It was like an educational stuff. And then, we would have the artists split up in pairs, split up in pairs. And then you had all of these topics to cover, like, "Hey, show us your setup." And then the second topic would be like, "Tell us about your first client experience." All these stuff. We had a list of things to get to. So when I said, "Okay, let's all pair up, find a partner so we can get things done faster." Julie and I, we have a ton of theater experience. We're like, "We're done."
Julie Barnett:
We're done. We got this. 15 minutes later and they're still working on question two.
Sheila Bella:
And we were just like, banging it up [crosstalk 00:12:34].
Julie Barnett:
We got this.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Go. Tell me about your first client experience.
Julie Barnett:
Oh great. I got this.
Sheila Bella:
Okay. Tell me about your favorite pigment line.
Julie Barnett:
Awesome. I got this.
Sheila Bella:
It's just like [inaudible 00:12:45].
Julie Barnett:
Yeah, no, totally. That's the thing. It's like you have no inhibitions and in comfort level too, it's like, okay, well totally comfortable with this person.
Sheila Bella:
That's true.
Julie Barnett:
And it's almost the audience doesn't matter because you're just talking to the person in front of you.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. We're just talking to each other. That's-
Julie Barnett:
Right. It's a little more intimidating. Would you think, Oh God, people are going to be watching this.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. However many followers, like 59,000 followers are going to be watching this.
Julie Barnett:
I have to say, the first time I went out on social media or just in general, doing a demonstration on lips. And I don't know, I gave a shout out to Star Wars because I'm a giant nerd. I'm a giant geek. And I was like, if you haven't seen Star Wars, blah, blah, blah. And then I got a comment from someone saying, well, I haven't seen Star Wars and you're judging me. I was like, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. They took it so personal. I was like, you know, I was joking, okay? Because I'm a joker. I literally am just that way. But that's okay. It's living, learning experience.
Sheila Bella:
Someone is bound to not like you.
Julie Barnett:
Never read the comments. Never read the comments. Just get it out there and whatever happens happens.
Sheila Bella:
I don't know, I'm immune to it at this, well, not immune to it. But yeah, it doesn't bother me as much at this point because I mean, that was one comment that stuck out to you-
Julie Barnett:
It did. Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
But there are so many comments that were like, whoa, those lips look amazing.
Julie Barnett:
Right. Well, I was trying to be funny. And I guess, I failed.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. If you haven't seen Star Wars, then you can't be friends-
Julie Barnett:
I know. I said something along the lines of that.
Sheila Bella:
Obviously, I'm not going to like, Sheila's never really seen Star Wars.
Julie Barnett:
I still can't believe that sometimes.
Sheila Bella:
See? And we're friends. And we're friends. You're okay, lady.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Who was upset about that. Don't want to worry. Julie will be nice to you [inaudible 00:14:15]
Sheila Bella:
Hey, Richie's 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. Let's 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 podcasts and all of the things I use and believe in to up level 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 note, text Sheila to, 31996 right now. And if you already did, high five sister friend.
Okay. So let's talk about a couple of things. So you were talking about how you need to be equally invested, right? So it's like a win, win.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
And that's something that, Will and I actually always say to Laura. We say it to Laura or he says it to Laura. He's like, "Win, win," he puts out his fist and she goes, "Win, win." So Laura, for those of you who don't know, she's our operations director. She does a lot and she's like a little sister almost, right? So it's win, win, win. It's like both parties are getting something.
Julie Barnett:
Definitely.
Sheila Bella:
Even with our nanny.
Julie Barnett:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Sheila Bella:
Even with our nanny, our live in nanny. It's win, win. Win, win.
Julie Barnett:
Win, win.
Sheila Bella:
We are getting something and she's getting something. Because when we found Lynn, she was in a studio apartment in a bad part of town, sharing it with five people.
Julie Barnett:
Oh, yeah.
Sheila Bella:
And here we are in a big house with an extra bedroom and we're like, "Gosh, why are we not letting Lynn live here?"
Julie Barnett:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Sheila Bella:
At first my husband is, especially comes from a different background and different culture. That was not a good thing. Was like, whoa, it was a little weirded out by it. And now he's like, "Oh my gosh. Of course."
Julie Barnett:
She was a part of the family. Every time I come over, I'm so happy to see Lynn here because she really creates a warm family environment. I also am like, well, I didn't have a live in nanny, but I grew up with Sheila who had a live in nanny. I was used to see you-
Sheila Bella:
When you came over to my house, [crosstalk 00:16:51]. That's right.
Julie Barnett:
I actually thought Lourdes was like an aunt because she kept calling her, Tita or Ate.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
And I don't know Tagalog.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
I literally thought she was Sylvia's sister.
Sheila Bella:
So for people who don't know, my nanny who changed my diapers and cooked for me has, still works with our family to this day and I'm 38 years old, but in different capacities. Obviously, my diapers didn't need to be changed anymore, so she helped around the house. My parents started a business and they needed help running the store and she still works for them. She still works actually with them [inaudible 00:17:30].
Julie Barnett:
It's like a 40-year relationship. Really-
Sheila Bella:
Absolutely.
Julie Barnett:
That has continued. And they're friends. It's family. You know what I mean? It's like she is literally a part of the family.
Sheila Bella:
I got this mentality, this family mentality from my parents. For example, let's say a lot of the times when the kids grow up, nannies have nowhere to go.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
But not here. That's not our-
Julie Barnett:
This is a lifetime commitment.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Well, whether you come or go-
Julie Barnett:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
If you want to go fine-
Julie Barnett:
Sure.
Sheila Bella:
But if you have no place to go and you decide to stay, we'll figure something out for you. That probably, now, it's just coming to me right now. That truth, that type of culture, that time of assuredness probably comes through to everybody who works there. Like, Oh wait, this is different. And it's true, too. And sometimes it's not good for us. For example, maybe we have somebody who's not that great at their job.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
We will find something else.
Julie Barnett:
You nurtured them. You really do.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Or we'll train them.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I don't know if that's great all the time, but we have such good artists.
Julie Barnett:
Right now, we are solid. I really feel-
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
We have a solid team-
Sheila Bella:
Agree.
Julie Barnett:
We're strong. In the beginning, there was a rockiness because a lot of them were new starting at the same time.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. I mean, she did a mass hiring guys. A mass hiring and-
Sheila Bella:
I hire girls that I've met in the bathroom at two in the morning.
Julie Barnett:
I was like, Yeah. I love you so much. You're my best friend.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
It was because she felt a connection-
Sheila Bella:
Oh my God.
Julie Barnett:
And she goes on instinct. The thing is, she has to like you. That's the first thing, that's the first test. It's, do I like you?
Sheila Bella:
Yes. But you got to try people on.
Julie Barnett:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
I feel it's when you realize that you can work together and that you're invested in the same goal, which is the survival of us all, it's not just us and our family. This is a shared thing.
Julie Barnett:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
This a shared thing for everyone.
Julie Barnett:
You always said that. I have to succeed, not just because I have a family because everyone who works for me has a family.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
I know you said that so many times.
Sheila Bella:
I mean-
Julie Barnett:
So many times and the stress level you had in the beginning. Just getting us all started, making sure we were doing our end of the bargain-
Sheila Bella:
Practicing. Jesus.
Julie Barnett:
Practicing, practicing so much practicing. You would think it's not a big thing, but it really is just getting together to practice or doing it on your own. You know what I mean? And you have to have the desire to get better. I think, everybody who's there now-
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
We're the ones committed-
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
To getting better. Those who are no longer with us, they were in it half fast. It was like one foot in one foot out.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
It sometimes takes that amount of commitment to really trust somebody. Because what it all comes down to is, do you trust this person?
Sheila Bella:
Don't you think that those people though, that we lost along the way and then realize that they're just kind of half in, when they signed up for this, they probably also thought that they were all in.
Julie Barnett:
Completely, completely.
Sheila Bella:
So, they weren't lying.
Julie Barnett:
No. I think it's a revelation over time.
Sheila Bella:
They realize, "Oh."
Julie Barnett:
And goals change. For some people, it was too much.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
Too much to handle. It really is a lot to handle. You're dealing more than just with art. You're dealing with human beings.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
And human beings can be really easy to work with and then the opposite. If it gets to a stress level for a person to handle, especially when they're not putting in the work, that's the problem. If they're not excelling or if they're not improving because everyone doesn't start off as a brilliant artist. Nobody does in permanent makeup, you have to work for the bottom up. If you're not committed to that, or if you just don't feel that it's your line of work, then that's why they're not here anymore.
Sheila Bella:
I mean, the learning curve for microblading and permanent makeup is really, it takes a long time. I think, people think that it'll-
Julie Barnett:
It's not about how fast you get it done. It's about how well you get it done.
Sheila Bella:
It's time on skin. That's why I really think that people underestimate the value in free work.
Julie Barnett:
Totally, totally. And I tell that to my students now who I teach eyeliner and lips, too. You really have to set the boundaries about where you feel comfortable and how many models you take. But you'll know when you start charging, when people start-
Sheila Bella:
You'll know.
Julie Barnett:
Asking how much. How much does this cost? Then you're like, "Okay, okay. I'll charge." That's when you know you're being noticed. When you're being recognized for your art. There's no greater feeling when people take the time to tell you, "I looked through so many portfolios and I found you." That is so flattering because-
Sheila Bella:
That's so cool.
Julie Barnett:
Think of how many artists out there that, not necessarily competing with. I don't like to think of it as a competition. I like to think of it as more or less just working in the same field.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
It's like picking a nail salon.
Sheila Bella:
A nail artist.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Well, it's something that really, we are artists and I feel like artists are sensitive about our artistry. We take it so personally-
Julie Barnett:
So personally.
Sheila Bella:
Like it's an extension of our soul and our-
Julie Barnett:
It's our pride, really. I mean, think about it. I mean, it's like, you're walking around with my art on your face.
Sheila Bella:
That's so crazy.
Julie Barnett:
That's my calling card.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
If someone compliments you on your face, that's a compliment to me.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
And that's where I feel my pride in my-
Sheila Bella:
I feel famous.
Julie Barnett:
I feel famous. Yeah. [crosstalk 00:22:43] Well, you see, I got my brows done by Sheila Bella. Here's my artist.
Sheila Bella:
No. When you see my celebrity clients on TV or in movies and stuff like, "Yeah. That's mine. I'm famous."
Julie Barnett:
Oh my god.
Sheila Bella:
But I mean, obviously nobody knows.
Julie Barnett:
But the funny thing is it's all of us did that. We watched on Megan-
Sheila Bella:
Megan Good?
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. Megan Good. We watched her on there and it was like a cheering section. Like, "Yeah. Brows." It was hilarious, but so encouraging.
Sheila Bella:
That's so funny. Yeah. So funny.
Julie Barnett:
We have the same goals. I think, that's why it works because we're all passionate about it. We all love each other. The last thing we had ever want to do would be to hurt the other person.
Sheila Bella:
We're just such good natured people.
Julie Barnett:
I think so. And like I said, sometimes it works because it depends on the people, depends on the job and the circumstance and it may not work for everybody, even if you're best friends, because you're going to find areas where you see different or not eye-to-eye.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
But what keeps the relationship going even though you're two different people? Communication. Let's face it.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
If you talk, that's how we got through our hard times.
Sheila Bella:
Exactly. And being open to it. The thing is when your friends or when you work together, you it's like a crash course in that relationship. You have to have difficult conversations and some people can't handle it.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
You know how they say, they said, well, maybe I say this, power just reveals. Money reveals. It doesn't corrupt, it just reveals.
Julie Barnett:
A lot of things.
Sheila Bella:
Right? It does.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. It can reveal a lot of things.
Sheila Bella:
I think that working together, if you're honest and you communicate just reveals. In many ways, it's just going to reveal, is this the right type of person to have around? And unfortunately you'll never know until you try, but I've cried so many times. People see our wonderful company now, but they don't know how many people we've gone through-
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. And it hurt. It hurts because those relationships that were so close in beginning then they become estrange, then it feels like you want to keep them in your life, but you don't want to offend anybody by keeping them close. So you keep in the peripheral. I do like to keep relationships, but I don't like to hurt anybody. You are very, very attuned with the emotions and your emotions, get in with your line of work. If someone wrongs you in business, they wronged you and wronged your family, around everyone else's family.
Sheila Bella:
Well, especially-
Julie Barnett:
You did this to everybody, not just to you, you did it to everybody.
Sheila Bella:
I know. I know. That's true. I have to say that, I don't think that way any more of some people. My first year of friends, our little circle at Sheila Bella, yes. But, I have to say it takes some time for me to allow somebody in again. It does. I feel, you guys have been there for me throughout a lot of things. I've seen you guys be there for each other, for each other. And then now we have all of these new ventures as a group.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
I mean, we're not just microblading anymore.
Julie Barnett:
No.
Sheila Bella:
There's so many things our team is doing.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. We have AAM.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
We have the summit.
Sheila Bella:
We have this.
Julie Barnett:
We have this. Honestly, there's so much that Sheila Bella does that nobody really understands that there's more to it.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. We're not just doing services.
Julie Barnett:
We do a lot of small ventures that, everybody has another job.
Sheila Bella:
Everyone has another job.
Julie Barnett:
Everyone has another job
Sheila Bella:
I think it's exciting for people.
Julie Barnett:
It's exciting to go to work. It's like when people wake up in the morning and dread the day, obviously you're not in the right place. That's why you need to figure out where you should be so that you have a happy life.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. I feel so lucky.
Julie Barnett:
No. Yeah. Totally.
Sheila Bella:
Sylvia says that, too. Sylvia is my mom.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
She says that, too.
Julie Barnett:
She literally said that to me the other day. She's like, "I feel so lucky to have you guys."
Sheila Bella:
I'm with her. I mean it. She texted me and Laura, the other day, we're on this, it's called the Five Foot Leaders Chat.
Julie Barnett:
That's hilarious.
Sheila Bella:
She doesn't even know. Five Foot Leaders Chat and then she named, I don't even know if I told you this. She named everybody at work. She was like, Leslie and Kevin, Julie and Steven, Jennifer and Anthony and Laura. She just named it in her melody in her song. And she was like, "Wow, look." Oh, by the way, those are our girls plus their husbands, right? And she's like, "Wow. I feel so good. How did we get so lucky?"
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. And what's interesting is not just us working for Sheila Bella. I think, all of our husbands at one point have done something for Sheila Bella. All of her husbands. Leslie's and my husband, they work at the same company, but they all work in software and IT, so they help computers.
Sheila Bella:
Thank you. My WiFi is hella fast now. Thank you.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. I mean, seriously, he was there today working on just adding RAM to our a computer. And then Anthony, he composed the Sheila Bella theme song.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
I mean, all of our-
Sheila Bella:
He's going to do something for me today. I need him to do something for the summit right now.
Julie Barnett:
I mean, there's so many things that our partners have just invested in it because we're invested in it. And, "Honey, can you help us? If we give those little bat eyes. Like, "What do you want, honey?" And be like, "Help us." And they'll help. It's great. All of us are not just close to each other. We're close with each other's spouses, too. And that's what's also-
Sheila Bella:
And our kids.
Julie Barnett:
And our kids. Well, me, not yet.
Sheila Bella:
Your upcoming kid.
Julie Barnett:
Upcoming kid. And all of us have boys. Isn't that crazy?
Sheila Bella:
Yay.
Julie Barnett:
I'm having a boy. Jen today literally said, "There must be something in the water here."
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. There's something in the reverse osmosis water filter in the break room-
Julie Barnett:
That you insisted upon.
Sheila Bella:
I mean, I like how it tastes.
Julie Barnett:
No. It's great. I can't complain. I feel very spoiled.
Sheila Bella:
What's up PMU sister friend? No, seriously. Do you want new clients all the time? Do you want to end the worry and anxiety over where your next client is going to come from? How awesome would it be to have a steady, I'm talking steady flow of leads and calls to your business, inquiring about your services. I'm inviting you to stop stressing and start living with my new online course NCC, which stands for New Clients Consistently. Here, you will learn how to guarantee, how about one client that loved you so much is going to turn into 10 more. There's a formula to this and it works. It works so well. This course is going to teach you how to create new clients, add to the current ones that you do have.
So if you have a PMU lash or any beauty business that's struggling, you've got to check this out. This is everything. This is the secret right here. It's a new era. You got to shake things up because of what you're doing, isn't working, stop doing it. Your pattern isn't working, so you need to get a new one and this is the ultimate pattern interrupt. So stop what you're doing. You got to go to sheilabella.com/NCC. Let's get you those New Clients Consistently. I'll see you inside.
I want you to tell everybody as we're wrapping up, what's your favorite quote?
Julie Barnett:
So it's kind of funny. I keep my favorite quote on my phone.
Sheila Bella:
Do you?
Julie Barnett:
That's why I was looking.
Sheila Bella:
What does it say?
Julie Barnett:
All right, so I'll read it for you.
Sheila Bella:
Okay.
Julie Barnett:
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." That's by Confucius. It's something I found in high school, because we were studying philosophers.
Sheila Bella:
Did you put that in your yearbook as your quote?
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Oh my goodness. That's crazy.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. So I've had this and I try to keep it on my phone, but my phone has changed and gone.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
And so I found it again, when you asked me what my favorite quote was, to prepare for it. And I was like, Oh, I'm going to show her because this has always been like my creed, because I have fallen. And you know this, I mean, most people who would know me know that it took a struggle sometimes in relationships alone. Not with friendships, usually my friendships are pretty solid, but in relationships with other guys, I was constantly just getting it wrong. And then finally, when you find that success, you know what I mean? I felt so proud of myself to get up and not become a bitter person. It could have been.
Sheila Bella:
I can't imagine that of you. I really can't. That's brave of you to not close up, right?
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Keep your guard up. And it's just same thing with friendships or employees or clients or work.
Julie Barnett:
Right.
Sheila Bella:
You have to keep opening-
Julie Barnett:
You're going to keep falling. Exactly.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
It's not the fact that you're never going to fall, but every time you pick yourself back up and you're just going to brush it off and you're going to go on with your life. And you know what? I feel so much stronger, but in all truth, with dealing with people. I feel that you can't walk all over me like you used to because I'm a people pleaser. I still am. Of course, I love pleasing people. This is why I love my job because I feel like I get a smile every time they walk out the door and that's like gratifying for me.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
That's the selfish part of my job is that I want to see you smiling before you walk out the door. I want to get a hug. The appreciation, that human connection, it's why I became a massage therapist. It's that giving to people, making them happy. It's why I became a performer.
Sheila Bella:
She's a giver, you guys, she's a giver. Look for givers not takers.
Julie Barnett:
You're the same way. You like to give, but I think you and I also have the same love language. And that's the thing, it's acts of service.
Sheila Bella:
Acts of service. Service. Room service.
Julie Barnett:
Totally.
Sheila Bella:
Acts of room service, you mean? Oh, okay. No, service. Yeah. Acts of service. Yes, of course.
Julie Barnett:
That's why I think with each other, we like to give and guess what? It's a showing of an act of service.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
What am I doing for you in the summit? I'm trying to give as much as I can so that-
Sheila Bella:
And she's pregnant right now, you guys and she's yes, she's going to be with me in the room.
Julie Barnett:
I just want to make sure everything goes well. And I'm like a pregnant body guard. If you hit the pregnant lady, all right, there's going to be a barrier there. You got to get through me and my big belly to get to Sheila.
Sheila Bella:
Isn't that what my husband calls you, right?
Julie Barnett:
What? A pregnant body guard?
Sheila Bella:
No. No. Whenever you travel with me.
Julie Barnett:
Oh yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. You're my other husband.
Julie Barnett:
I'm the other husband.
Sheila Bella:
Right.
Julie Barnett:
I'm always the guy. I knew if I ever swing the other way, which role I would take. It's really that way. I always knew that.
Sheila Bella:
You're so funny, Jules. It's so funny because speaking of yearbook quotes, you just reminded me of mine. My yearbook quote at Granada was, "Go for your dream as if your life depended on it because it does." That was my quote.
Julie Barnett:
That's amazing. Because it [crosstalk 00:33:23] still applies to today.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
It's crazy. We both kept our quotes, now it applies to us.
Sheila Bella:
I don't know if I would choose that now, I guess, that was me at the core.
Julie Barnett:
I picked that quote at the time because I literally my boyfriend broke up with him and I felt so [inaudible 00:00:33:38]. It was my first love. You remember?
Sheila Bella:
Right. Yes.
Julie Barnett:
Oh God.
Sheila Bella:
Let's not say his name.
Julie Barnett:
Let's not say his name.
Sheila Bella:
Let's not make him [inaudible 00:33:46].
Julie Barnett:
I don't think he listens to these podcasts, anyway.
Sheila Bella:
I doubt he does.
Julie Barnett:
But nevertheless-
Sheila Bella:
If you get a DM with from what's his name. Sorry. I heard you, bitch in Pretty Rich Podcast.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah. I had to pick myself back up in some way.
Sheila Bella:
Close things off. What is your best advice for how to live a pretty rich life? Rich in all aspects?
Julie Barnett:
Do what makes you happy and follow through with it. Because I never was one to aim for wealth. I aimed for happiness. The things I do will probably never make me rich and that's okay. But I feel rich in a sense where I wake up in the morning, loving the person I'm waking up next to-
Sheila Bella:
And the one inside you.
Julie Barnett:
And the one inside me. That's weird. Anyway, yes. I'm still getting used to the idea. Waking up in the morning, going to work with a smile on my face, happy to see the people I see.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
And literally in every other job I take on because that's the problem, is that I may take on too much, but that's because everything I do, I find pleasure in.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
I find pleasure in singing. I find pleasure in teaching and I find pleasure in just the human interaction. So literally-
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. You are like that.
Julie Barnett:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Whatever it is I see, you see the silver lining of everything. You find the pleasure in everything. You are one of the most naturally grateful people I know and that's something that I pray for, for my children. If anything, I don't pray that they're wealthy necessarily. I don't pray for anything material. I pray that they grow up to be grateful people. Just grateful. To me, I'm [inaudible 00:35:22] for here. I know that's your homeostasis. That's your wavelength, gratitude. I mean, it's so nice to be around. It doesn't matter what happens, where we are in the world. We're like, we missed our flight.
Julie Barnett:
We did, we missed our flight.
Sheila Bella:
We missed our flight. And we're like, that's okay. That's okay.
Julie Barnett:
It's the only time I've ever seen Sheila stressy. The only time. But she's like, "I have to get back to my kids. I have to get back to my kids. I promised my kids I'd come home tonight."
Sheila Bella:
I did [inaudible 00:35:51].
Julie Barnett:
I was like, "We are going to come home. We're at JFK, there's a flight every 15 minutes."
Sheila Bella:
Wonderful. Wonderful.
Julie Barnett:
It was actually every hour.
Sheila Bella:
But, we missed our flight.
Julie Barnett:
We did.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah.
Julie Barnett:
I swear, I almost felt like I let down her husband, too because he was leaving it up to me to make sure she thought-
Sheila Bella:
You are the one that's on time, not Sheila.
Julie Barnett:
You're the one that wanted water. Oh my goodness.
Sheila Bella:
My god, Jules. Oh, you guys should have heard her before we press record. But that's for another time. Okay guys, until next week. Next week, I think we're going to release this podcast on Tuesday. Next week is the week before the summit.
Julie Barnett:
Oh my God.
Sheila Bella:
I can't. I got to go. I got a lot of work to do. [crosstalk 00:36:30] Okay, bye.
Julie Barnett:
Hey guys. Guess what's coming up in less than three weeks. Okay, fine. I'll tell you. It's the Pretty Ambitious Summit. Oh my God. And guess what it is sold out, but don't worry. There's still a waiting list. And trust me, Sheila wants to let in as many people as possible. Where else could you come to gain knowledge about PMU marketing, get new connections, break through fears of social media and definitely master sales from the masters themselves? So, if you're one of the people that would love to still join us at the top, go to prettyambitioussummit.com and we hope to see you there.
Sheila Bella:
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, S-H-E-I-L-A to, 31996 and we'll be connected. I really love hanging with you guys on here. And one last thing before we wrap it up, I got to include my kids, right? #momfirst. So here are Beau and 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 you the best through infinity.
Sheila Bella:
Grey, say, share with your friends.
Grey:
Share with your friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Grey:
Review mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Grey:
Thanks for listening.
