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

Fabiola, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

After about 8 years as a makeup artist and 3 years as an elementary teacher, I decided to leave teaching and do makeup full time. It was not an easy decision. I was taking a big risk leaving a stable income to do what I love. It has definitely had its pros and cons. It’s been great not dealing with the teacher stress and burnout. On the other hand it’s become harder to pay the bills, especially in the economy that we’re in. I’ve recently had thoughts of going back to teaching but I don’t think I can put myself through that again. Not saying that teaching is horrible. What made my teaching years more difficult is I went into it the year COVID hit, it was definitely a challenge. Teaching was always a temporary plan for me, I thought I could maybe do 6 years while still doing makeup on the weekends. However, teacher burnout got real that third year and though it was only September of the 2021-2022 school year, I made my decision that month that I was done. I finished off my third year and I felt so relieved. I have had a passion for beauty for as long as I can remember. I consider myself a business person as I have always provided some type of good or service for others. It requires a lot of effort to become noticed in the beauty industry. Especially now with social media, we have had to adapt to new trends and content creating to lure in business. And that can be fun but also discouraging when you don’t see results. Although it has been very challenging, I feel satisfied with my decision. I am doing what I love and there is always room to grow and improve.

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 became interested in hairstyling at the young age of 10. I enjoyed practicing on my sister, cousins, and friends. Growing up I also enjoyed working with anything arts and crafts. I’ve always felt very creative. Throughout high school I was known for hairstyling, making cakes, designing custom invitations, and photography. I really enjoyed all of those things and it kept me busy. I also enjoyed playing with makeup but it wasn’t till I was in college when I decided to finally touch someone’s face. It was about 2015 when I began my makeup artist career. I then realized I had too much on my plate and with school and working I had to take a few breaks here and there. Eventually I decided to only focus on hair and makeup. I felt it was what I was best at and enjoyed the most. I was a big procrastinator and that is not the best when going to college, It was and still is a constant battle with myself. I have never been the type to keep up with a written checklist or calendar. But somehow I was able to keep myself accountable. My weeks consisted of school and my part time job. And on the weekends my hair and makeup business. I did my best to finish all or most of my homework during the week so I could focus on my clients on the weekends. After receiving my bachelor’s in business administration, I went on to receiving my master’s in education. I received my master’s in a year but it was one of the most difficult years I’ve ever had. It became so hard I had to stop offering services for a while. It hurt to have to stop doing what I love but it was to attain another goal I was working at. Once I was a teacher I still offered hair and makeup services on the weekends and looking back now I don’t know how I did it all. Though I enjoyed some parts of teaching, I found working with clients made me happier.
Now it’s been 2 years that I’ve been a full time makeup artist since leaving teaching. And like I mentioned in my previous question, It has not been easy at all. I can truly say I love what I do though. I love when clients express their love for my work and enjoy my services. I will always do anything that I can for my clients because I love and appreciate them. I have had clients who have turned into friends and I love being part of their happy moments. I can genuinely say that I provide my clients with the best service I can offer. I am always thinking of ways to provide more into my services or simply showing my appreciation. I have offered specials and small gifts for my clients. My favorite that all my clients receive after their appointment is a touch/thank you kit. My clients love it and they feel appreciated.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This is one of the hardest parts. I talked a bit about this in the previous questions, but social media is definitely a must in any business these days. I can’t say I have the most followers on my business account but I have seen growth throughout the years. One of the main things I can say is simply post. Post your work as much as you can. That can be difficult if you are not attaining enough clients to do so, but this is where you can be creative and have fun with it. Look for models! People love being models. This also gives you a chance to practice your craft and really create something that represents what you want to offer. If it’s goods that you offer you can always make samples. Anything can be made into content for social media. You definitely want to provide as much information as you can because once you have a potential client’s attention, they’ll want to know details. Post everyday if you can and repost your post everywhere that you can. Do not worry about being annoying, your posts will find the right people. Word of mouth is always one of the best marketing mechanisms, ask those clients to also share on their socials. It’s ok to ask them to leave you a review or tag you. I have received many clients from TikTok and Instagram and even though I don’t always receive the most likes, those posts somehow end up helping my business. One of my favorite strategies is also reusing your content. It’s ok to reuse photos or videos of your work. One day you can use it to post your availability another day to share the products you used or something. Posting consistently shows potential clients that you have clients, even if some posts are late or reposted. It also shows more of your work, it gives them an idea of what you have to offer as well as inspiration for what they are looking for. I love when clients come to me and show me a previous glam that I’ve created as their inspiration. Also, don’t forget to post about yourself. People also want to know the face behind your business and some backstory. Connect with your potential and previous clients. Follow them and social media, like and comment on their posts! It shows you care and reminds them that you’re there when they need you. I would also recommend investing in a booking site or website. These are usually easy to connect to your socials and clients can easily find more information on your services as well as book.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn being a “yes” person. In the beginning of my career I felt like I had to say yes to every inquiry or simply accept things that made me uncomfortable. This was mainly an issue while I was in college. I was overdoing it with my business plus school and my part time job. I used to think that if I said no it may come off as unprofessional or I wasn’t doing good for my business. It became very stressful at some point that it was affecting me at school and at home. I had to put a pause to my work and take a step back. I eventually learned that it’s ok to say no. I had to learn that I also needed to make time for me and my family.
Another example was a time I traveled to clients and they were over an hour late. Once they finally arrived one of them was very rude to me and I just took it. I felt very disrespected as not only a human but an artist. If I could go back in time I would have said no to waiting because having me wait over an hour was already disrespectful. At the time I felt that as the service provider I had to wait on the clients and maintain quiet while they spoke badly to me. I now know that I have every right to deny service to anyone who doesn’t show respect and I can speak up professionally if I need to.

Definitely keep in mind that anyone or anything that prevents you from enjoying what you love to do can easily be stopped or prevented.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fabixbeauty.glossgenius.com/
• Instagram: fabixbeauty
• Facebook: Fabi X Beauty
• Other: TikTok: Fabbbii_

Image Credits

@nevelsweddings
@barriosfilms_
@liliasphotography
@daynarneephoto
@momentsbyjax