The Magic Behind the Curtain - Chapter 22

When I got home from the trade shows I realized that this “business” was a real thing.  We had already accumulated hundreds of clients in just a few short months, but seeing the explosion at the trade show was just a huge reality punch!

Remember, I was still a 1099 contractor, so I still had other clients.  I decided then that I would devote all of my time to growing this business.  I took it on like it was my own.I began building out the marketing materials, the trade show, the website. I began working with the magazines, submitting articles, sending products to any and all media I could think of.

I booked EVERY SINGLE TRADE SHOW that I could find.  And the booth I built was the complete opposite of what I saw in the industry.  At the time everything was White, Light Green, and a soft gold.  Most of them were simple pop ups.  Usually square.

So, my trade show booth was Black and Dark Blue!  And it was ROUND!  And it had a SWIRL on the top!  And I took a page out of my radio days.  Back then we would flyer everywhere.  We would hang banners on every standing surface. Anything to make noise and stand out from the rest.  That is exactly what I did.

I also saw that all of the women usually wore uniforms of some kind.  Or business suits.  So, I had all of my girls dress in whatever they felt most comfortable in, but it had to be all black.

And my girls – HOLY HELL!  I did not do this on purpose, but by the time I had gathered all of my outside sales people, and inside sales people and brought them to the show – I had the most GORGEOUS group of women you had ever seen!

If you have ever worked a trade show you know – it is the hardest work you will ever do!  So I tried to make it as fun as possible.  All the girls were SUPER awesome and fun, so it made things easy for me.

We would have sales contests, bonus structures, dinners at amazing restaurants, snacks hiding behind the counters…

But I also knew that all this fun could easily turn wrong.  I would walk around the shows and NOTHING irritated me more than that to see vendors SITTING in their chairs, looking at their phones, or looking like they were not having a good time, or even interested in talking to anyone who walked up.

Or… there were some who would talk, talk, talk – but to EACH OTHER!

Or even worse.  (as I gag) would walk around with no shoes on because they showed up in high heels!  And they would look miserable!

Anyone who has ever worked with me will tell you – that everything I just listed above is my BIGGEST pet peeve!  I did not care if they were mad at me.  I would not have anything less than a WELCOMING, FUN, professional, even modelesque environment.

And in return, in the background, they would make a ton of money, have lots of fun, and be spoiled rotten.  And that’s the way I role…. To this day.

This is also the time that I met Roz May.  She had originally approached us at the Los Angeles show and introduced herself as a local Public Relations firm.  I had no idea that she would become my big sister, my conscience, and my mentor in the Beauty Industry AND Life.

Roz and I got to work right away.  She taught me all about how Public Relations works and what I should be doing to get the attention of the magazines.  This is back in 2007.  Facebook had just barely opened up to everyone, and Youtube was just starting to be a thing for Beauty Vloggers.  In fact, I do not even think the word “Vlogger” had been invented yet!

So it was all about getting in the magazines and on TV.  And Roz did an amazing job!

The first time we did a media tour, or “desk sides” as they are also called, was in 2008. Now, when you read all of the pages of Instyle magazine, Vogue, Allure, etc. you have all of these fantasies of what it is really like there.  It should be all “The Devil Wears Prada.”  Right?  Wrong…

Except for Vogue – it is an entire floor of cubicles with small little rooms, bins and bins of clothing, accessories, skincare products just lined up and down the hallways.

When you go to these meetings they will usually meet you out in the lobby and will not meet with more than two of you.  If you are lucky – you get to actually go inside the doors.  If you are REALLY LUCKY you get to have your meeting, on a stool, in the “beauty closet.”

The Beauty Closet is a Hot Mess / Magical place where all of the products that are sent to them, from ALL of the companies, are put until they are ready to write an article about the subject.  A very pretty version is shown on Allure’s YouTube Channel.  But I promise you – that is not what they usually look like.

The only office that lives up to its Hype is Vogue.  This is the mecca of Beauty as we know it.  The waiting room is beautiful, and I can literally people watch for days.

On either side of the couches are Vogue entrances with security glass doors.  The employees will walk out of one side and right in the other.  What’s really funny is that they all “model walk” the entire way across the lobby.  They do not look at each other, and they do not speak.  Just walk.

One time when I was riding up the elevator I was standing next to a very thin, young girl who was holding a plate with her lunch on it.  She was on her way back up to the office.  She had what looked like four dollups of paint on the plate.  I quickly realized that was food.  They were four HALF bites. Lunch is served.

I didn’t even think about it until that day.  I have never been one to look or even care about my weight.  The jeans are either tight or they are not.  At this time in particular I was still able to LOSE weight.  So it was not really a thing to me.

But on that day I realized that I am actually FAT when you compare me to these girls!  These girls were all struggling to be size ZERO.  And here I was in the beauty business at a healthy 12!  (clears throat)  At that time….

It was funny that my eyes were very open to what made me so approachable in this Beauty Industry I was in.  These girls were so absolutely consumed by how thin they could get. They constantly compared themselves to the girl standing next to them.  They were miserable all the time!

When it came to me – I was the loud, silly, goofy, fat girl!  Hahahaha!!!!  They all wanted to be my friend because I made them all look skinnier!!!!

Well – I rode that shit all the way to the bank!

Even when I went into very high industry, executive events.  I wasn’t as buttoned up as them.  I wasn’t as skinny as them.  I didn’t take myself seriously like they did.  So I was not a threat!

People just opened their doors to me.  Shared things that no executive should ever share with me.  Numbers, secrets, formulas, gossip.

They did not think I really got it.  I was just fun to have around.

Please do not get me wrong.  I am not putting myself down here.  I am just explaining the way things USED to be.  This was before all the fun “kids” that were my age grew up and became Managers and Owners.

There were many people who did not take me seriously, or looked down on me because I was young and silly.  I did not know all the esthetician lingo.

And it did not bother me one bit.

On the personal side of things.... I was falling way behind on my school.  I was now traveling like crazy and kept missing my classes.  I had finally just gotten my General AA and needed to get serious about my Bachelors Degree.  So in 2007 I transferred to the University of Phoenix online program.  This enabled me to get my degree, while on the road.

So, every night I would go straight back to my hotel room after the show and do my homework and attend my classes for about 3-4 hours.  I was NEVER with my team.  That was their time, and this was mine.  I didn't know it back then, but that was the smartest thing I could do.

I was still pretty new to managing teams.  And managing a team on the road was a completely different thing.  It ended up being my saving grace because it gave me some separation and kept me away from any riff-raff that was happening at the bars.

I was still NOT an employee of the eyelash company.  I was still a Contractor.  There was no stability so I needed to make my own.  Because I was doing it part time, it took me SEVEN years just to get my AA.  I was bound and determined to get my Bachelor Degree as soon as possible.  So I signed up for full time online classes.  Full schedule, full homework.  All while traveling at least one week a month and staying focused on growing this business that just never seemed to stop.

And this was just the beginning.  Everything that Roz was doing was paying off.  And suddenly the celebrities came calling....