We were lucky to catch up with Christina Neptune recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
I don’t like to refer to it as the craziest risk, It’s what I like to call a leap of faith. During the moment that I started culinary school. I had recently seen one of my children go through a terrible situation, so I was unsure of the strategy or what I would do. At that point, I had to decide whether to dive headfirst into something I had been avoiding for so long.
My beauty business would be significantly impacted by this choice. My firstborn, my beauty business, was the one that allowed me to grow in my faith. Putting this company on the back burner would have a negative financial impact on me. This risk allowed me to discover a deep-down affection for something I had never known existed.
I would begin a rigorous course that required my full concentration. Staying focused on a goal that I was silenced from beginning to end, I would have had to take the risk of declining clients. My quest for self-motivation kept me going. I was motivated by a task that no one could understand.
There were issues at the program’s ending. It was anticipated. There are moments when you have to entirely put your confidence in a dream that no one can see and risk everything. Things only became frantic when I was near the end of my education. But it was the wisdom that ensured I did something right. I gained insight by taking that significant risk. I was aware that even though everything was ultimately falling apart, God would carefully put everything back together. He is and still is.
Christina, 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?
Please allow me to re-introduce myself. Well, back when we first chatted, I was still exclusively a makeup artist. Then I had explored all the other talents I have. After that, I made much more investments. In every aspect of my life, I have been growing. 
I work in a variety of fields. The oldest of the bunch is my venture into the makeup industry, so I’ll start there.
In the year 2012, I was involved in a violent domestic partnership. It almost ended my life. I transitioned from working with individuals who have disabilities to the beauty sector. A lot of things happened very rapidly. In 2012, I enrolled in a professional makeup artistry school and completed my training in a domestic violence shelter because I no longer had that career foundation to rely on.
Later, I begin to feel a desire to work in the cosmetology industry. I made that choice over a decade after graduating from makeup artistry school. The makeup market had grown so overcrowded that I had to make a choice. Therefore I aimed to make sure that I raised the bar by having a wide range of skills so that I could survive in this business. A year later, after earning my cosmetology certification, I started barbering school. My dream and desire was to work as a makeup artist on television and movie productions, thus I wanted to make use of these talents.
Fast forward, I started a Professional Culinary Arts and Hospitality program in 2022.
Some people would pause and wonder, “How did she go from beauty to food?” However, I did launch a catering company in 2016. Periodically, I provided catering. Cooking helped me relax and was a highly therapeutic activity for me.
Not to add that I started an organization in 2016 that God gave me as a vision.
The name of my organization is Virtuous Hearts. Virtuous hearts serves the neighborhood and helps those who are less fortunate or need help from the community. I have spent my time honing the talents that God has given me.
There are lots of folks that are quite active. But the real question is: Can you do it with excellence and love? I genuinely believe that I do these things out of love. Because of this, anything that I produce, design, or help with is of the highest caliber.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the fact that I didn’t entirely own my company. I discovered that I had a vision from God. I came to fulfill my purpose on this planet so that I might live and carry out the ideas that he had given me. Running a business demands a great deal of wisdom and the kind of love that allows you to keep going even when things don’t go as planned.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Let’s start with the initial funding for my makeup business. To be very honest, I had no money when I entered the beauty industry. I had no money to my name. I had nothing but faith. I was working part-time jobs for the money. I was assembling my kit by buying cosmetics from drug stores. I was able to use the money I earned to gradually put my gear together. I received no business grants. I didn’t even get a manual on how to do this right? I just followed God’s directions on how to move and conduct this business, relying solely on Him. This is the actual truth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cneptuneartistry.com
- Instagram: @cneptuneartistry @virtuousheartsinc @_chrissyscreations
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/cneptunemua
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaneptune
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/CNeptuneArtistr
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/CNeptuneArtistry
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/christina-neptune-artistry-and-beauty-dania-beach?utm_source=ashare&ref=yelp-android