We were lucky to catch up with Anie Attaryan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Anie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Earning a full-time living from my creative work has been a challenging journey. Nevertheless, it has been the most rewarding. I have always had a strong passion for art and I believe that has led me to where I am today. I started off as a traveling makeup artist. I met a lot of people and built many experiences that helped with my professional growth. I love building relationships with people and focusing on enhancing their beauty. I love making them feel beautiful in their own skin. It took a lot of hard work, dedication and persistance. My daily earnings were barely enough for me to cover my gas at the time, but I was okay with it. I had a vision and goal of where I saw myself and that was my focus. I began working from home as my clientele began expanding. I had a small space to work with. I later began working at a salon where I was doing makeup on the weekends. I’m not going to lie, it was hard. I was a full-time college student who didn’t believe I can make a living by doing makeup. Throughout the years I became more confident in myself and my work. I learned to value myself and my craft. I built valuable relationships with clients that became family. I couldn’t have done it without their love and support. I quickly found myself dreaming of having my own salon and being my own boss. In my seventh year of being an artist I had stumbled upon an opportunity. Never did I expect myself to be running my own business so soon. At the age of twenty-six, I finally made the decision to get my own salon. As fearful as it was, it has truly been one of the greatest decisions I have ever made. I am PROOF that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Nothing comes easy but definitely worth it.

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?

From a very young age I loved to draw and be creative in my own way. I attended art school for eight years. Going into college I knew I was going to major in something creative. I chose Graphic Design for my field of study. Makeup is another art form for me. People’s faces became my canvas. I knew that the beauty industry is where I belonged. Opening my own salon is one of my biggest achievements and I am so proud of myself for that. This taught me that regardless of any obstacles you just keep pushing through until you reach your goal. My salon provides makeup, eyebrow, and hair services. My main focus is soft glam. This means I never encourage my clients to change their appearance but simply just enhance what already exists. I love paying attention to the small details. My goal is to make people feel confident and prove to them that, “less is truly more”. I am proud of my style and love attracting people who believe in my craft.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is witnessing your own growth. As an artist you never stop learning. Each week, month, and year is an opportunity for you to keep progressing. No matter how content I am with my work I still attend classes and trainings to learn new techniques, keep up with current trends and learn how to incorporate my own creativity into it all.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my audience and clientele by consistent engagement. I picked models and reached out to people who were nice enough to let me practice on them. I built relationships that were able to help with the growth of my social media. If I was lacking a specific skill I would make sure to focus on that particular skill. I would do it as many times until I felt confident. Stay consistent, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how stuck you feel, DO NOT compare yourself to people in the same line of work as you. There is space for everyone to grow. Let your focus be yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.anieattaryan.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/makeupbyanie_
• Facebook: Facebook.com/anie.attaryan.3
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/anieattaryan
• Other: Salon Instagram: instagram.com/mbastudio_

Image Credits
Haldane Morris Edita Graphy JayJayStudios