We’ve been fortunate to connect with so many brilliant artists, business owners and leaders over the years and so we reached out to some of these talented folks to discuss what it takes to be successful.

Deniz Kilic

I truly believe in order to be successful in anything you do, including owning your own business, you need to have a real connection with your clients and your community. Building these personal relationships not only brings in more business, but a connection and trust that is invaluable. When your clients trust you, they believe in you. And with that trust, comes referrals, other business offers and success. Read more>>

Donnie Rasmey

First and foremost, to be successful, you have to clearly define what your idea of success actually is. Personally I don’t think success can be quantified by your status, income or possessions but rather by your fulfillment and joy that each day brings you by doing a job you genuinely love. If your means of income is also your passion and you wake up everyday eager to get to work while maintaining a healthy work/life balance than that to me is successful. The way to do that is to say true to who you are and to your vision, never compromise or give in to negativity, Read more>>

Udenie Wickramasinghe

Tragedy or Trajectory? To me success is very much based on how we absorb personal losses in life and how you use it to uncover your integrity that has been buried by your own hands years ago. If you have been held down by guilt, pain, trauma, a divorce, loss of a family, painful childhood memories, a horrible job or a broken relationship, I want people to understand that no tragedy is wasted on you. It makes your life richer, you are wiser, you sync with your true authentic self. Read more>>

Brianna Watts

I believe there is a formula to success and within that formula things can be replaced and/or added on to. Success is a personal journey and is defined differently by each individual. Throughout my life journey thus far, I have learned about my own success through the observation of others. To achieve success, it takes consistency, dedication, knowledge, focus, awareness, accountability, a plan, wellness, discipline, skill, faith, open-mindedness, and hard work. Read more>>

Jamie Herring

I once heard a speech by ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN titled “Make your Bed”. If you haven’t read his speech, I would highly recommend it, as it is a daily reminder of what it takes, at least for me to be successful. Admiral McRaven says, “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. Read more>>

LB

To me what it takes to be successful is a lot of things play a role in becoming successful but the biggest thing that will get you there is the mindset. If your mindset is not there, you will not be able to reach the levels of success you want to achieve. On the road to success, you will experience a lot of things that will test you, and try to break you and make you quit but that is where the strong mindset comes in. Read more>>

Krista Kallish

If you asked a thousand people what it takes to be successful, you would receive a thousand different answers. I would imagine most people would define success as making a large amount of money. Of course we all want to be successful in that way, but the path to which we get there is what it takes to be successful. To me, success means the power to choose what direction I want my business to go in. My success is fueled by my pure Read more>>

Giovanna Ficara

Success can have many definitions but to me, I would say it definitely takes a lot of consistency, hard work, and determination. Having set goals in mind and timeframes that you would want them to be achieved helps a lot but ultimately you are the only one that can make your own success happen. Read more>>

Marisa Lonic

It takes consistency to be successful. You need to show up, even when it feels uncomfortable, even when you’re doubting yourself, even when you’re not totally motivated. Consistency is important for two reasons when it comes to business. The first is for your customers. People won’t buy from you unless they trust you. If you’re not doing what you say you’ll do, like send a weekly newsletter or regularly show up on social media, they’ll think of you as a flake. They’ll question your ability to deliver. Read more>>

Jasmine Adams

When it comes to being a makeup Artist or any job where you’re offering service to others. The key to being successful is providing a comfortable friendly environment. It is important when you are serving clients that you make sure you’re customer service is top tier. I also believe that another key to being successful is always go with your gut when it comes to your business. With social media we can get caught up with how others are handling their business and how their business is growing and we get distracted with trying to do things like others rather than doing what works for your own business. Which can make a business owner lose track of what their business needs specifically. Read more>>

Stephany Barboza

I think to be successful first of all, you need to know where you want to go, and what your vision is. Make that vision so clear that you can imagine it every day. Who do you aspire to be? who do you look up to and why? what’s stopping you from achieving success? List the steps that will get you closer to your goal & the struggles you could face along the way. And remember that being successful could mean so many things for people. Read more>>

Chefwillie305

I am still on the journey to being successful. It takes sleepless nights, losing friends, dedication, failure, conquering fears, getting out of your comfort zone, setting routines, And financial discipline. Read more>>

Rachel Wood

I don’t think there is one recipe for success. I think there’s a list of reasons why a certain company is successful. I think you have to love what you do. If you aren’t passionate about it, people will know and they won’t trust or hire you to do the job. You also have to be accountable. If you say you’re going to do something, you need to do it. It’s all about building trust with your clients so they allow you to do what you do best. In my field of work, my clients want to know they have partner. Read more>>

Fallon Marie

I believe is a lot of work that goes into being a successful artist after you get your license it’s not just about the technical skills there is a lot of behind the scenes that you need for success as a beauty professional. For true success you must continue your education and prioritize your schedule for the business side of it as well which does take discipline and motivation. Read more>>

Kelley DeHaan

To be successful has many meanings to me. Building a personal client relationship is very important to me, learning about my client will allow me to personalize their day and make it even more special. Communication is huge! Being available within a timely manner lets my couples know I am there for them, if they have questions or concerns, they have them answered quickly. Read more>>

Taylor Geas

What do I think it takes to be successful? Success has always been a funny one for me. It’s like one of those subjective terms that fits one criteria and not all. I guess I’m talking a bit existentially, but what I’m trying to say is if you give a rocket scientist a violin, even though he’s incredibly smart, he’s going to look dumb. Same goes for success. What makes me more successful than a man that spends his day fishing off the pier? Money? Status? Power? Some might say yes, Read more>>

Irtashia Horn

I believe determination and focus are the key components of become successful. It takes perseverance and patience to stay focused. Most would say that’s easy to do. In all reality, if and when we have setbacks, that’s when we really realize that we have what it takes. Taking the time to examine why we had a setback or a failure is allowing us to have a learning moment. This is the perfect time to use those learning opportunities to be bigger and better than before. We must continue to remember why we started and what’s our end goal. Read more>>

Helen Kagan

WOW. It’s a really loaded question! :) You know what? I truly think it could be anything. After many years of studying various traditional and non-traditional sciences, modalities, approaches, working in many different fields, having innovative ideas, developing various Projects, having a lot of rejections and refusals, having some small and big successes as well as small and big failures – yes, I can say that really, it can be just anything that can lead you to success. Read more>>

Sam Jezak

To me, success is less about numbers on a profit sheet, or engagement on social media posts, but more about constantly improving and striving to inspire. To spur this success, or at least the pursuit of it, takes a lot of self reflection and self critique. Every year I compile my favorite photos of the year, both as a matter of record keeping, but also as a way to compare and reflect on how much I’ve improved and changed year over year. Sometimes, it’s an uplifting exercise, marveling at great work that really makes me feel like I’ve leveled up. Read more>>

Amanda Hemstreet

Success can mean something different to everyone therefore it makes it difficult to state exactly what it means to be successful. What do I think it takes to be successful? Persistence, balance and heart are at the top of my list. You have to be persistent and willing to put in the extra hours, go that extra mile, continue to drive to reach your overall goals and be willing to make some sacrifices to help you hit that end reward. Read more>>

Bianca Adams

I think there are 3 ingredients to being successful: self-confidence & courage, risk taking, and knowledge and execution. Success first begins with self-confidence and courage. Self-confidence and courage are the tools needed to start on the road to success. Self-confidence is required because you first must believe in yourself and that you can achieve what you have set out to achieve. If you are selling a service or a product you first must believe that it can be done. Read more>>

James Farese

To be successful achieving a set mission or goal, I think the deciding factors most often boil down to the grit and determination of the person leading the work towards achieving said goal. Failure only happens when you stop working towards your goal. Too many people today expect fast results and if tangible results are not realized quickly, many people tend to get frustrated or even give up. Read more>>

Lauren Ogle

“Successful” is such a broad term, so first and foremost, I believe that you need to determine what “successful” looks like to you, your business and your family. Then, identify and stick to a system that works for you. For me, on a monthly basis, I like to do a brain dump where I jot down all the thoughts in my head for my business and personal life; my overall intentions for progress and evolution. Read more>>

Vempre Terrell Jr.

Success is a word that is clearly defined in some situations, but difficult to define in other situations. A person may see an individual who is pursuing a particular goal and view that individual as someone who is successful. However, when the same person pursues the same goal for themselves, the definition of success may either be removed from his or her vocabulary, or gain a totally different definition. One word is able to clearly define what it takes to be successful: Read more>>