Is 2020 flying by as fast for all of you as it is for me? I cannot be the only person who feels like all the days are sort of running together. Sometimes it feels like I am accomplishing nothing and everything at the same time. As some of you may know from older posts, I started my first business this year called Cynful Creations, LLC. It’s been the best adventure and I am so excited about what is to come.
After months of filling my mind with loads and loads of girl power, I choose bravery. This applies to literally all aspects of my life these days. Want a new body? Need new habits? Urging to change your career? Thirsty for knowledge? Ready to be your own boss? Or if you’re anything like me, are you ready to see your name and logo on your products? My first piece of advice to you is to GO FOR IT! Even if you’re afraid, START ANYWAY.
Getting Started
My make-up journey began when I was around 18 and I started working at a beauty supply store called Sally’s. Unlike many other employees that worked there, I was not interested in cosmetology school. I was working two jobs because frankly, I was tired of taking the bus everywhere. This store happened to be next door to a Subway I was already working for as a sandwich artist. I figured I could easily transition from one job to the next and save some travel time.
My goal at the time was just to save money to buy my first car. Little did I know I was being introduced to my passion before I ever knew I had it. I fell in love with EVERYTHING beauty. Hair supplies, nail art, eyelashes, and you got it MAKE-UP! One of my favorite parts was watching all the different kinds of women that came in. I loved teaching about new products and ways of doing things. It was my goal to make my customers excited about the products they chose! Taking pride in my knowledge and my ability to teach others. It was about feeling powerful through self-expression and loving yourself.
Being so young, I did not listen to the early desires I had to take the beauty industry head-on. I worked many many jobs between then and now, most having nothing to do with the beauty industry. What I did do though was gain knowledge from each oddball job I worked that would lead me to the path I am on now. I learned about sales working for a company called Cutco. Next came retail marketing experience working for companies like Crossmark. I perfected customer service skills through jobs such as being a cashier and providing customer support over the phone for various employers. Every job taught me a different skill.
Create Your Purpose
None of these jobs were my ultimate passion, but each one gave me another skill I would need to be successful in entrepreneurship. I didn’t even know it at the time. To anyone who is not currently working in their desired field, I want you to know that there are lessons to be learned in your current season that will serve you in your passion! Show up, do your best, and learn from those around you. Strive to be the best at what you currently do and watch the doors of opportunity swing open for you! I had ZERO ideas on what I wanted to be, what would give me purpose. What I learned is that I don’t have to search for purpose, I AM PURPOSE. You are too!
As I mentioned, I have worked in several positions over the years. Currently, I am working for a company I love called Premera Blue Cross. I started in customer service almost 5 years ago and worked my way over to Product Configuration where I am learning to be an Analyst. It’s important to understand that I do love the company I work for. But it is not what I wake up in the morning thinking about.
I am so grateful to have a good income that allows us to live a great life, but there is still something inside of me yearning for more. My desire is to wake up in the morning so freaking excited to start impacting others through my work that I could barely even sleep the night before. Is that even possible? Do people REALLY wake up every day EXCITED to go to work? That is how I feel like life should be!
Take A Risk
I have been bleached blonde now for a couple of years and have really enjoyed it. Feeling great from eating well and working out caused me to like shopping a little more than before. Playing with new looks became interesting and I found that I really enjoyed doing my make-up. Everywhere I went I would get compliments about my eyeliner and I even played around and did other people’s make-up showing my techniques. My fiance decided to purchase an international make-up certification course as a gift and I was so nervous to attend. My experience was so limited and it was intimidating being in a room of professionals ready to get certified. What ended up happening was I fit right in and left a Certified International Make-up Artist. CRAZY!!
Soon after that, I signed up for a program called Beauty Essentials at The Fashion Institute of Technology. I was hoping to gain some knowledge about the beauty industry as a whole to see if my new home may exist there. I knew I loved make-up and setting up photoshoots, I wanted to see what else I could do. This program was SO MUCH FUN ya’ll. I absolutely loved it. I explored manufacturing, production, packaging, consulting, fragrance, design, color, and so so much more. That fire started to burn inside of me saying this is it, this is what I am here to do. I am a woman of business who will rock in the business world. I persevered my whole life and didn’t even know it was happening.
Research and Do!
Self-help is huge on my list since last year when I discovered I was not living the life of purpose God intended. After diving deep into my faith, confronting many skeletons, and listening to ALL the girl boss’ (like Rachel Hollis, Jasmine Star, or Marie Forleo), I was ready to create my dream life. I decided I was going to fund my make-up line myself. I started even though I have no idea what I am doing. So I found a manufacturer at a lab, explained my idea of wanting a vegan lip kit that was long-lasting and in a unique package. I then selected the tubing with a beautiful rose gold top along with elegant black velvet-like boxes that store the product. The whole kit slides into a rose gold box that included my logo. What a crazy experience to watch your idea come to be!
Learn as You Go
That is not the end, I am a one-woman business so every part of this launch is on me and me alone. My days are filled with learning about photography so that my advertisements are up to par. I am learning to create swatches to showcase my color selections. There is exploring the art selfie’s involved as I am using my own lips to showcase my brand, the same as I did in my logo! After all, its called Cynful Creations, and I am Cyn who desires to fill the world!
The other moving parts include learning the world of shipping. Then there is making sure my bookkeeping is in order so I can pay taxes properly every quarter. I have to consider price points, learn about budgeting, and income statements. Then educate me about labeling laws, acquire a reseller’s permit, and obtain a business license. There really is so much more that goes into this than I ever knew, but I am learning! I fall short every day but that failure leads to learning which transforms into growing.
Make it Happen!
If there is something that you have always wanted to do, like start a makeup line with little to no outside investors, I encourage you to go for it. You may be nervous. There is a good chance you think you are not ready or don’t know what you are doing. That is okay! Every expert had to start somewhere. There is no one that became a professional without first being a beginner, which is where I am. Do not let that stop you from taking the first step. You are what you say you are and if you want to enter the world of beauty, or whatever that thing is for you, all you have to do is start!
Thank you universe for the manifestation of creating my own lip kit as the start to my Cynful Creations make-up line!
