Diary of a makeup artist #38 - Start Me Up

Now that I've moved to a new market and this gig is winding down, only 15 more days, its time for me to put my marketing cap on and Start Up Again.  Pound the pavement so to speak.  These thoughts have brought me to a Diary entry.

So you're a fabulous makeup artist, you live and breathe with your brushes and your palettes.  You spend every dime you make at your part time job on the latest and greatest at the cosmetic counters. Forget rent, you can live on the streets but you CAN'T live without that persimmon eyeshadow.

You are ready to take the next step, your fabulous your fresh and you are ready to conquor.  Not only do you look the part, you feel the part.

So now what?  Heres where this career gets really confusing.  Most newbie makeup artists hit a major turning point early on during the survival of the most marketable phase.  As I've mentioned before in other entries, you must build a portfolio of your work with images that are sell-able.  Not necessarily images that are bursting with every color in your kit.

What most wanna be makeup artists don't understand is that being a professional isnt about having every brush on the market or every color of eyeshadow or even having vast amounts of creativity oozing from every pore.  While having talent, a kit that works for you and brushes that help you complete the job are very important, being a good business person is what is going to make or break you.  I've met so many talented artists and photographers in my career.  And I have seen some of them flush their careers down the toilet because they couldn't get over their fabulous selves and pull off professionalism.

Becoming a freelance professional makeup artist is essentially become a business owner.  Your are in the business of selling and marketing yourself and your talents.  This goes for anyone with a talent, whether you're a makeup artist, a writer, a crafter or a designer.  Marketing yourself doesn't have to be a daunting task, be brave, you're only in charge of one person, you.  And isn't that the best person to be in charge of?

Since its been 11 years since I've started my "business of me", I think its time for me to update my strategy... Start Me Up Baby!!

Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones