Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Antoyia Fortune. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Antoyia, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My personal mission is to empower others through proper education on skincare systems and makeup application. I have found a passion for uplifting and empowering women to be their best selves, therefore uplifting from the outside, in, and inside, out. When I started this business, a complete moment of transparency, I didn’t recognize my full potential and value. I’ve always had a level of confidence, but it was shaky at times. I’ve had a crash course in personal development through my Mary Kay business. I’ve been able to find a happy medium of humility and tooting my own horn! I’ve learned to help others recognize the beauty that is inside and how to highlight that on the outside.

Antoyia, 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?

How did I get into the beauty industry? It was not something that I imagined I would do, let alone with a direct sales company. Makeup, the beauty industry, was not something I was exposed to. My mother is a no-makeup girl to this day, and the most she would wear is lipstick. So with her being my first point of contact, it was not of interest to me either. However, my maternal grandmother was a diva and would wear makeup daily, I believe watching her sparked my interest as I got older. She was definitely one that had the matching hat, shoes, and suit; her Sunday Best. As I grew older and went off to college, I would play with makeup but I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and my makeup showed up that way LOL

In 2013, I was approached by a college friend about a business opportunity with Mary Kay. At the time, I was working full time as an advocate for low-income and foster care youth to set them up for success in post-secondary education. Truly working in my passion of being a connector and resource finder, a proud Social Worker. Honestly, I was broke and on the brink of burnout so I was looking for something and didn’t believe it would be wrapped as a Mary Kay business. I was very reluctant when I started my business because I didn’t think I was an ideal candidate. But as I think back to all of my career choices, I didn’t have experience doing those jobs either but yet I found success in my career as a Social Worker. Here I am now as a successful business owner with Mary Kay.

To those in my world, I’m affectionately known as Your Neighborhood Beauty Bawse. When I started my business in my home state of Kansas, nine years ago and moved to Texas, I had a lot of customers that believed that they had to find a new consultant. I had to explain that I’m happy to serve from wherever I am – from my neighborhood to theirs. So it became a moniker for my business. The uniqueness of “bawse” comes from Lily Singh (shout out to her) and my desire to be a boss but not in the traditional sense and dismissing what can be a negative connotation of the word boss. I’m still very much a BAWSE in my own right. I love that my business has connected my passion for uplifting and empowering others with the simplicity of sharing my skills for skincare education and makeup application. My job is simple, I ask you to join for a complimentary experience, you try the products and share your honest opinion, I offer the products to you and follow up with you to make sure you are satisfied with your products. I am here to serve and since I take that stance with my business, that servant’s heart has blessed me. I am happily serving the skincare, glamour, and body care needs of the everyday woman looking for an everyday skincare system and glamour look. In the pandemic, I’ve learned to navigate my business in the virtual world, so I have a lot of women to contact me about how to show up on video without looking sleep-deprived or like they are at a beauty pageant, finding a happy medium and comfort for them. I truly just love what I do and watching my growth not only in my skills but as a woman. I loved who I was, who I am, and who I’m becoming. Shining that light is my daily journey.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I keep in touch with my customers to the best of my abilities, by their preferred method of contact. I try to collect that information during our initial contact. Meeting my customers where they are is super important to me. I think about myself and how I often tell people, that if you call me, I may miss every call, but if you text me, then I’m more likely to respond. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to them, it is that my day is very much in demand and I may miss the call between tasks and I’m better able to fully communicate through text, messenger, etc. I have some customers that much prefer that I give them a phone call and I meet that need, but there are times that I may send a quick text or e-mail to discuss quick news like sales or promotions. My customers receive a weekly e-mail – if they chose to let them know of upcoming trends and media mentions. I am very active in my private VIP Facebook group, where I give day-to-day updates. So I try to meet my customers in various formats of communication. Thanks goodness of the rich legacy of 55+ years of Mary Kay, I definitely use it as a benefit. I’ve learned that once people fall in love with a product they are not easily swayed. If you have found a product that works for you, why change? So you have my stellar customer service and Mary Kay’s rich legacy…sounds like a winning combination!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Pivot…that’s the journey of an entrepreneur and business owner. Let me be honest from the day I started my business, I was not all in, but I’ve had a few life circumstances that have required me to reevaluate the importance of owning my business. In 2018, I was laid off from my full time, let’s make a side note that I was unhappy at this job, but I was working. At the time, I had a part-time job as well, so I said I’ll maintain and work this part-time job, but a few months later, I was laid off from that job. I’ll be honest, it was a shot to my ego and belief in myself. I had to quickly pivot to figure out how was I going to maintain the lifestyle that I had become accustomed to while working a 9-5. There was a lightbulb moment, but it was a dim lightbulb, but an aha nonetheless, WORK YOUR BUSINESS! So I started looking at the systems that were not in place for my success in my business, got connected with a mentor, and got to work. I was able to build my business and customer base to help with my day-to-day expenses. Then 2020 happened, the initial 2-week shutdown, I said I could handle that. People would be surprised that I tend to be more introvered than extroverted. But it’s something about when you tell me I have to stay home that makes me want to leave. So another moment of a pivot, navigating how am I going to continue to run the business that thrives off me being face-to-face with people. Thank goodness for the pivot of our Corporate staff, that has helped us navigate our virtual world and how to offer the best experience virtually. You still get the Mary Kay experience, you just have to see me on the other side of your computer screen. Talk about a pivot!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marykay.com/afortune
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/AntoyiaChanel
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AFortuneMaryKay
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/neighborhoodbeautybawse