We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Callie Duffield a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Callie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I was always interested in make up from a young age because of my beautiful mom. She was really the driving force for me to take a step towards doing my own make up and taking clients. My mom likes to always tell me the story of when I was 2, I would sneak into her lipstick bag and put it on better than women her own age! Who knows if that was really the case but in her eyes, it was!

I knew that I wanted to do more with make up when I would do my friends make up and I would see their reactions. I had wanted to go to cosmetology school after high school but I was offered a golf scholarship to a 4 year university. I went and got my bachelors degree in Child and Family Development but always found my way back to make up. Making other people feel good about themselves and learning about them is such an awesome part of my job!

Callie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a mother, step mother and wife. I have 3 girls and they are the biggest motivation to me and my business. My oldest will come to me with a fun look she saw, wanting to try it, then add her own artistic spin on it and that makes me happy to see her creative side thriving in her own way! I want to show them that they can do anything and be anything they want. Having confidence and expressing yourself the way you want is so important to me and instilling that in my children. My husband has been such a huge support system with our girls and my business, I couldn’t thank him enough.

I would say that my most requested look is soft glam. My clients usually are people who don’t wear a lot of make up on a daily basis or have a lot knowledge about what kind of make up they like. My whole goal is to make my clients look like themselves with just a little refresh or razzle dazzle! I love chatting and would definitely be labeled a chatty Kathy, so I tell my clients what I’m using and why I’m using a certain product for them. Make up can be scary to some but adding confidence to their belt with some make up knowledge is something I love doing!

I am most proud of being self taught. I have done a lot of trial and error on myself through the years and I never gave up. I am always researching new techniques, new products and new ways to apply make up. I want to keep challenging myself because I truly feel that you grow most in unfamiliar territory.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

My most effective strategy for growing clientele has been word of mouth. I have some amazing friends, family and clients that recommend me to new people and I am so thankful for that!

I am working on building my online presence and that has been beneficial as well!

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

The best source of new clients for me has been existing client referrals and putting my name out on different platforms. It takes a lot of courage to promote yourself and that is something I am still working on! These last few years I have been taking steps to boost my online presence and post what I’m doing. No one can book with you if no one knows what you’re doing!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @CallieContours
• Facebook: @CallieContours

Image Credits
Jordan Michael Turner Photography