We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christy & Kemper Kaliana a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christy & Kemper, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with something countless entrepreneurs have had to figure out on the fly – how have you dealt with the rise of remote work?
In a industry like ours, on-location work is, while rewarding, taxing on the physical, energetic, and mental body, so it is advisable and never too early to make plans for “graduating yourself” to another level of management, responsibility, and (hopefully!) income.
When I, Christy, was at the beginning stages of this leg of my professional life, I was in Miami firing on all cylinders and burning the candle at both ends, promoting myself solo and getting booked on a LOT of production and wedding gigs. I was hired onto an international contest TV show with 150 participants and was asked to put a team together of hair and makeup artists that I trusted to get the job done and which I would manage throughout. It was a eureka! moment for me when I realized I could…should…and wanted to apply the team-building model to my career path so that I could eventually do less “on the ground” and more behind the scenes, remote, management-level labor—this was the initial conception of the idea that would become what is now Divine Beauty Artists, a national business with impeccable reputation and upward trajectory.
Four years ago, my husband, Kemper (who is now half-owner) and I fulfilled our dream of living off-grid in the far-away mountains of Colorado! With such an endeavor, you either need to be loaded ($$), have a skillset that fits into the local scene, or have your own business that is transferrable (i.e. remote!) to any location with Internet access. Luckily Christy had done her due diligence in the above mentioned graduation plan, Kemper was in a position to transition to shouldering half of the admin duties, and Divine Beauty’s income could cover our entire household’s expenses. Fast-forward to today, we have been afforded the luxury that everyone desires but that few have the work ethic to manifest—freedom to make our own schedule, travel, create beautiful DIY projects on our perfect property, devote all the energy necessary to the endless chores to upkeep an off-grid sanctuary, spend quality priceless time together and enjoying marital bliss (really!), and—the bottom line of this story—work less for more money.
With in the ballpark of 300 artists nationwide, and only two at the helm, Christy and Kemper have their full-time hands full and are currently (and constantly) actively making moves to update, upgrade, streamline, and automate the process from start to finish, which includes a smoother and more successful and enjoyable relationship with our clients and artists alike! Our bread ‘n butter is bridal, but we handle almost any situation in which hair and makeup artistry is required.
Here just a few of the other highlighted benefits of how we have structured our (mostly) off-location, semi-retired, remote business life:
*We are able to provide more support (and training) for our artists with educational and career-growth opportunities
*We are able to handle the organizational, logistical, back-end communication and facilitation that many artists do not want to do, so that they can focus on doing what they do best—executing badass beauty for our brides on the biggest day of their life!
*We are able to give more attention to the more subtle and psychological components of a bride’s process, guiding them through insecurities, indecision, and offering a deeper-than-surface perspective of beauty, which puts them at ease and reminds them of what’s most important for their wedding.
*Christy doesn’t have to be on location anymore, so she can choose which weddings she wants to take herself, which we always turn into a nice day or overnight getaway, and she can be an alternate fill-in in case of emergency.
*We are complimented often by clients that our response time is fast, and that our system is extremely organized, as many companies either never even responded to their inquiry, or completely ghosted them just before their big day! This ensures trust and confidence, and one less thing to worry about on an otherwise stressful plate.
From artist on-boarding to initial client contact to hair and makeup trial to tweaks along the way to final photos and five-star review, we create a full experience for our brides and artists that make them feel seen, cared for, and accommodated. All of this is made possible by the way we have optimized and made remote-work work for us!
Christy & Kemper, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
The following will be from Christy’s point of view and perspective, rather than Kemper’s, as this is more her arena of expertise and department within Divine Beauty Artists.
Before the business became what it is today, my individual journey in the industry and as a hair and makeup artist began a little over twenty years ago when I worked for multiple high-end makeup lines and attended and worked for one of the largest makeup schools in South Florida—Cosmix. I have always had a knack and an inclination for bringing out and accentuating beauty in many different facets of my personal sphere, including my own interior design, home decor, and fashion, and have explored expression as an artist through many different mediums my entire life. During my time at Cosmix (which I found is a rare example of a school that really emphasizes the actual technique of makeup application), along with attending cosmetology school and receiving my license, I quickly discovered that the same flare naturally and easily translated into a talent and passion for bringing out and accentuating beauty in other people through hair and makeup artistry!
I gained momentum and experience, developing and honing all aspects of my craft, by helping other artists put together their makeup lines from private label companies as the wholesale showroom manager at Cosmix, by selling airbrush makeup/tanning kits, by working for many skincare/cosmetic lines, and booking lots of my own freelance gigs—production for MTV, VH1, and HTV, as well as traveling as a national Cover Girl artist…to name just a few.
I have a gift (that comes with considerable challenges) for seeing the best…and the beauty!…in people (interior and exterior) that they are not even aware of. The benefit is that if they are open to it, I am able to bring my fullest insight and intuition into coaxing this beauty to emerge from the inside out, and assisting the person in seeing and stepping into their truest self, through not only my presence but through my skill as a hair and makeup artist. The difficulty is if unwilling, closed off, and overwhelmed by their own insecurity, I become the closest target for envious projection. Nonetheless, I love what I do, and I hope that the seeds and hints of encouragement that I have planted in my clients over the years have or will one day bloom into full beauty!
As I have taken myself mostly off location so that Kemper and I can run Divine Beauty Artists from behind the scenes and live the life of our dreams, I now am able to focus on transmitting all that I have learned in 20+ years to my teams of artists for their personal and professional enhancement as well as the overall growth of our company! This is not an easy task, especially in the era of social media influence. While online tutorials and learning from home is a great convenience, those who are not professionals in the industry have a false sense of expertise and knowledge when it comes to hair and makeup products and styling, which has a tendency to put a wedge between the consumer and the artist when they come to us for our services.
Because of this, to stay ahead of the trend curve, as well as to promote Divine Beauty as a luxury brand (as our clients come with high expectations, especially when paying our higher price point), we require all of our artists to carry high-end, professional product lines in their kits—trust me, the brides are looking! Our industry is becoming more inundated by the day with tons of new products, lines, techniques, styles, and even technology and equipment, so it is of the utmost importance that our artists stay up to date, educate themselves, practice, and share with each other what they are learning; we want to be able to offer a wide range of options and trustworthy, tried-and-true opinions and suggestions for our brides. For these purposes, therefore, video tutorials and social media are our allies!
With all of this said, I am most proud of the relationships I have built with my artists, some of whom have been with me from the beginning (which speaks volumes to me, and is a case-in-point for exactly the kind of company culture we strive for). As I said above, I am able to see others at their highest, truly recognize their value and worth, and acknowledge it directly to them as often as possible. I do this on the regular with my artists, and when they do the same with me and with each other, it only serves to boost morale and build the types of relationships that promote individual as well as company-wide success.
Our most flourishing and well-rounded artists are the ones who have a self-motivated desire to constantly level up in every way—within themselves and in their craft—to have clear and transparent communication, and to take constructive criticism and responsibly respond. I do not have a competitive spirit and operate from a deep understanding of abundance and flow. If I’m cutting off or standing in the way of someone else’s, I’m cutting off and standing in the way of my own. When we work together, believe in each other, and help promote each other’s highest potential, we all benefit a hundredfold.
For this reason it’s ironic, but makes perfect sense, that we are as successful as we are; in fact, you might say it’s our “secret” to success. Also for all of the above reasons, though we don’t require it, we have many artists who ONLY want to work with Divine Beauty. As the Universe would have it, I seem to be interacting with a very intelligent filtering system which sifts through the rest and brings us only the best!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
To put it simply, our impeccable reputation has been built on consistently high standards of integrity, customer service, team rapport, positive professional relationships with colleagues in the industry, and of course, top-notch artistry and skill in the actual craft of hair and makeup. Besides what we have learned along the way and have implemented by way of marketing and making adjustments to keep up with the ever-rapidly-changing times in technology and industry specific business practice, we have not set out with a specific strategy to gain a certain desired status amongst our peers. We want to be the best, not for competitive and self-serving purposes like greed, popularity, or envy, but so that the flow of energy between all involved (admin, artists, planners, clients, etc) can be shared and exponentially increased. This is true abundance rather than lack mentality, that not many business owners and entrepreneurs (especially in our industry) understand—there is more than enough to go around.
However, if that’s a bit too abstract or difficult to grasp (i.e., just be a good, fair, honest person), here are a few concrete practices that we believe have contributed to our reputation:
*Timely responses, follow-through, and follow-up with clients
*Attention to detail and a high degree of organization
*Genuine care and concern that shows clients and artists that they are truly seen and heard
*Ability to infuse and demonstrate a sense of calm and ease when corresponding with brides about their big day, which is typically overly overwhelming
*An overall accurate intuition regarding beauty, and a finesse at reading subtle cues in order to interpret what’s going on beneath the surface
*Promptly, confidently, and clearly taking care of unexpected challenges that arise. You might call this “good customer service,” but we take it a step beyond the “client is always right” adage by authentically connecting and empathizing with the person on the other side in order to find the best possible outcome for any situation while also maintaining fairness, solid boundaries, and ethical principles.
*Making sure our artists are well taken care of. Many in fact tell us from their own experience that “no other company” does it like we do. We pay more than they are used to, we communicate better than they are used to, we are more organized than they are used to, and we actually show them compassion more than they are used to. They’re able to focus on what they love to do and not be weighed down with what they don’t (the behind-the-scenes stuff!). This then translates into them being self-motivated to do good work, naturally wanting to only work with us (though we do not require it) and speaking highly of their experience with working with us and referring others in their professional network to reach out to work with us too!
*We offer hands-on assistance to our artists in portfolio building, social media presence, and additional training/seminars, all of which creates a seamless, symbiotic relationship—when they shine, we shine, and vice versa. We truly seek to build our artists’ and clients’ self-esteem for growth in reaching their full potential.
*We are available and accessible for everyone we work with, and can be quickly and easily reached for questions or concerns
*We have developed longstanding productive relationships with all of the top wedding planners and photographers in each of our states, and for many of them we are the only company they recommend to their brides for the hair and makeup portion of their package
*Continual website optimization and upgrades, and search engine relevance
*Hundreds of 5-star reviews with very detailed descriptions from satisfied brides on Google and The Knot. We always follow-up with a request for review after the day-of, but sometimes clients provide one without having to ask!
*Lots and lots of referrals from satisfied brides whose friends or family are getting married and reach out to us for their big day
*Historically trustworthy consistency and stability in all of the above, with proven evidence of upward trajectory growth
Again, one could follow the bullet points just listed and achieve a similar reputation as Divine Beauty Artists, but in actuality, the bullet points are not the magic formula. The magic formula is as boringly simple (but unfortunately not easy for most) as being a person with high standards of integrity, fairness, mastery in the craft, self-responsibility, and authentically connecting with other people in a way that upholds these (universal) values in a professional context. Karma is real. Good begets good. And if it is not sought after for the wrong reasons, a widely recognized brand with an impeccable reputation is the natural, effortless result.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
The story of how Christy and Kemper met is outside of the scope of this interview, and for another time. However, suffice it to say that when we met almost ten years ago, our lives fit together like missing pieces of a perfect puzzle—we are best friends, confidants, twin flames, and living our dream life of wedded bliss on a nine-acre slice of off-grid paradise. Of course with any successful partnership, no matter the kind, a process of merging, communicating, and synchronizing is required. Early on, Kemper had his own successful healing arts business, teaching yoga & meditation, providing bodywork, and writing books; while on the side, helping Christy with some basic busy-work admin duties for Divine Beauty (then under a different name), namely: sending out pricing info to initial inquiries, following up with potential clients we had not heard back from, and requesting reviews from satisfied brides post-wedding. While Kemper remains open to offering his services more actively and hands on as he once did, he converted his unique system into online courses for folks to discover organically as it became clear that Christy needed his full-time help, handling more than just the simple tasks just mentioned, as Divine hit a rapid growth spurt; so, he officially became co-owner in 2022.
This professional merging has been reflective of our personal relationship and life together in every way—we sit next to each other all day answering emails, we tend to the homestead and DIY projects side by side, Kemper drives Christy to every job she’s on (though she is mostly off-location now), and due to the deep inner work we have done, we love and are grateful for every minute of it, not “driving each other crazy” as would most couples…most couples in general, but especially those who are also business partners. Kemper’s skillset and past experience in various other positions, as with everything else with us, fit like a glove for what Christy needed for the next level of Divine Beauty Artists. In fact, he now knows more about hair and makeup than he ever imagined he would (though he’ll never be an actual stylist), and can take brides and artists from start to finish of the entire booking, trial, and day-of process!
The irony is, we ourselves are the furthest imaginable from much of the culture that exists primarily on the surface, and that is all-too-often the “m.o.” of the beauty industry at large, as well as the overly fantasized fairy tale of romance…completely missing the mark of true beauty, and true love, which to call forth is the underlying intention of everything we do at Divine Beauty (hence the name). Many are often surprised (and intrigued) when they meet us in person and discover the principles we live by and the authenticity of our union. While this presents a challenging contrast at times, we believe it is right where we’re supposed to be, and is a part of our calling in assisting others beyond the apparent transaction for hair & makeup, though we never force this upon anyone. We find ourselves with an incredibly stable, intimate, and desirable marriage (really what everyone wants), and have occasionally offered impromptu, casual “relationship advice” for brides and grooms we are working with who are about to walk down the aisle and embark on the most rewarding journey of any lifetime.
In the words of Kemper: I am astoundingly proud of my wife in every way, but to specifically speak on this endeavor, she very intuitively founded and built, piece by piece, a source of financial abundance that allows us a relative degree of freedom to focus on “what really matters.” I am also profoundly appreciative for her trust in my abilities and input, and for her willingness to share the load with me so that we can mutually benefit and continue what she started together.
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Grace Gatto Laura Murray