We were lucky to catch up with Angeline Pedrosa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angeline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

All businesses are risky but creative service based businesses are definitely riskier. Creative services for the most part are viewed as luxuries and not necessities making it a tad bit more difficult to start up. Here is my story. I originally went to college to study graphic design many years ago. After college I found myself working soul crushing corporate jobs because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. Although the pay was decent, the micromanaging, long hours, being overworked took a toll on my well being. I found myself dreading going to work and always feeling extremely stressed and anxious. After many years of working corporate jobs I decided to give being a makeup artist a real try. I started by practicing on friends, family, pretty much anyone that would let me. After a few years I left the corporate world to work as a makeup artist. It was definitely risky and really did take a while to really be able to see a return on my investment in becoming a freelance makeup artist. I basically felt like I was starting all over again. I worked as a contractor for various companies as I was growing my own name and brand. I collaborated with many photographers and other businesses in the industry to create exposure and develop a portfolio. It definitely was a lot of investment, both time and money. Fast forward 10 years later and I’m happier, I love what I do and I get truly happy and excited to provide amazing services for my clients.

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 started my career in New York City over 10 years ago, being a native born and raised New Yorker, I grew up in the northern section of Manhattan and at a young age I was exposed to all things beauty and fashion. I was completely obsessed with makeup so I eventually changed career’s to pursue makeup artistry as an adult.

My years as a makeup artist has taught me some valuable lessons on problem solving. As a pro, I sometimes have no clue what a client’s skin condition will be. At times I have clients with troublesome skin that is either sensitive, acne ridden, dehydrated, clogged, rough texture, etc. As an artist, I have learned how to diminish the look of a clients skin in various conditions. Makeup doesn’t disguise it but rather can enhance or highlight skin conditions. This is where I come in and explain what needs to be done to achieve healthier skin for big events. I also do prepping and setting to help diminish it but I truly care about how to help clients achieve healthier skin so that on the day of their big event we are not trying to layer tons of product to smooth out texture and therefore leave the skin looking heavy or caked on. This is what clients love about my services, I take the time to listen to them, analyze and give valuable feedback and advice on how to achieve that healthy skin glow. They call me the glow pro since my signature makeup look is radiant skin that looks like skin not makeup.

I also only use high end and professional grade products so that its not only better for your skin but it looks and lasts beautifully for many hours.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started off working in corporate America after college and was an aspiring makeup artist on the side as a creative outlet at first then as a side business. I eventually left corporate to pursue my creative passion. It took years to be able to transition and my best advice is to plan it out as best as possible. I had invested thousands in product and tools to be able to provide makeup services for clients. I took makeup courses to work on my skill set. I assisted other makeup artists on various types of makeup jobs from editorials, to video/film sets to weddings unpaid just to gain experience which was extremely valuable. I learned many skills and tricks from others in the industry that I would not have learned otherwise.

These sacrifices helped me in the long run to establish my own niche signature look and brand.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My best source of new clients has been word of mouth and referrals. As I provide a luxury service, potential clients are more reluctant to pay for a service from a provider they haven’t heard of. Clients share their experience with others and refer their friends and family to me. I have many lovely clients who exclusively book me for all their special events and spread the word. This is crucial as clients that are referred to me already feel confident in my work because they’ve heard real experience and will pay my rate without trying to bargain or haggle versus a client who just finds me on an internet search and doesn’t understand the value and quality of my services. This helps my brand attract clients who seek quality and not just a ‘bargain.” Anyone can do a bargain service but a true pro brings another level of expertise and skill and therefore charges accordingly. Having clients write reviews is also key to helping create trust for your business and services provided.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.angelinejasmin.com
• Instagram: @angelinejasminbeauty & @angelinejasminbridal
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/angelinejasminbeauty
• Linkedin: Angeline J. Pedrosa
• Yelp: Angeline Jasmin Beauty

Image Credits
Heather Glen Elysian Bloom Photography Adrian Lopez Photo Kate Marie Portraitures Johnny Summer’s Photography Jessa Marie Photos Susan Bellson Photography Adrean Indolos Photography Katie Kolbert Anna Davis Kathryn Kramer Alex Zubia Jihane Debbabi Beatrice Lo Shelby Pfeiffer Hanna Rivera