We recently connected with Heather Kelly and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

There is always a perceived risk in leaving your comfort zone. My “risk” was in leaving a full-time position in retail cosmetics to running my own business. I had learned many makeup application techniques from brands Bobbi Brown, NARS, and Too Faced Cosmetics and remained among the top producers in sales. I was great with teaching people how to apply makeup, what products they needed, and in making them feel seen and beautiful. But at the end of the day, I was selling product – not the service. I took a leap of faith by quitting the 9-5 job and investing in myself. I built a kit full of product I felt performed well, created a website, and booked several weddings in advance. I was able to transition from makeup counter to weddings and events successfully and never looked back.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I provide on-location makeup services for my clients including weddings, special events, and makeup lessons. What sets me apart is being able to color match any skin tone and seamlessly blend makeup to look natural. I am proud of leaving my clients more confident than when they sat in my chair and to be able to enhance their natural beauty for a bespoke look. Whether it’s a bride who wants to look glowing or a 60+ year-old wanting to learn relevant makeup techniques for her skin type, I so enjoy helping each and every woman on their makeup journey.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think most of us had to pivot in one way or another during the pandemic. I chose to uproot my life from Texas to Florida. There were several factors that went into this decision, but at the end of the day I knew I would have to rebuild my brand in another state. One thing that worked in my favor living and working in Austin was the vast amount of people who valued the services of a Makeup Artist, and how quickly my client list grew just through word of mouth. Once I got to Florida I started marketing and booking weddings, mostly a year out due to Covid-19. There was definitely a buildup but now I have wedding seasons just as busy as I did in Texas.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I learned the value of building rapport with wedding photographers because professional pictures are the best proof of the detail in my work. An iPhone picture is great but building your gallery with professional images is much preferred for all branding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.HeatherKellyArtistry.com
• Instagram: @heatherkmua
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherKellyMakeupArtistry
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/heather-kelly-tallahassee

Image Credits

Haint Blue Collective
Alicia Osborne Photography
Levi Alvarez Photography
Gentry Roberts Photography