BEAUTY DISCOVERED IN FINANCE

A young graduate in finance lands in the beauty business by design

Make – up has been in use for a long time. Today, make- up artists are playing a  major  role in shaping the beauty space and they have taken a step of being a little more creative with the kind of trends that are available. The use of make- up to enhance one’s beauty is not something new. The desire for beauty has always been common but the main difference today is that people now know much more about beauty. For instance, they have gained a lot of knowledge   through various social media platforms. Some even take a step and enroll for beauty courses offered at colleges just to learn and prepare themselves for a career in the make- up industry. Social media has become a critical way for people – especially the youth-  to find the trending  makeup tutorials. This is in line with the latest makeup looks from popular celebrities and social media influencers.

With the popularity of make- up today, the industry has become very profitable and complex. Nowadays, new make-up lines are created through the combined efforts of cosmetologists, dermatologists and even social media stars. The history of make-up has always been as much a record of gender norms as it is an archive of beauty standards. Nevertheless, in the last few decades, the stigma against make- up for men has slowly faded away. It has become a common thing for men to wear make- up. Still it’s hard to say when, exactly, the taboo of men wearing make-up was shed. It seemed that suddenly, men who were always cosmetically curious but afraid to appear  less  masculine gave it a try. To some extent, cosmetics’ new mood feels more casual, less focused on sexiness than on self-improvement.

Isaac Kimani is a nail technician as well as a make – up artist. He is a hardworking, committed and a focused person. He started his business in a very small way because at that time, his capital was limited.  He therefore needed something to do in order to earn some income. After he had completed his degree course in finance he was not able to secure a formal job in the highly competitive field. “It was during that time that I decided to venture into business,” he says.   “The idea of being a nail technician came first and it was influenced by the fact that I loved the way ladies would look after getting their nails done,” says Kimani. At that time, he hardly knew how to go about such a business and he had to enquire from experienced nail technicians.  After some few lessons, he became quite good in the field.  That is how   his successful entrepreneurial journey in 2016 begun. “When I started my business,   I decided to use my name for simplicity and easy identification by my clients,” he shares.

 After graduating, he got an internship at a bank which later retained him. Nevertheless, the amount of money he was being offered could not sustain his needs. He therefore started his business with the little savings.  With time, the business grew. “My main focus then was to build my business and career so any additional knowledge that could work hand in hand with my business was my top most priority,” he   says. According to him the business is well paying.  He has used his knowledge in finance to manage the business effectively.

Social media

Further, he states that he has been able to expand his customer base through various social media platforms. “I make sure that every work I post on these platforms is an improvement of the previous one and it has really grown my business,” he avers. One of the marketing strategies that has seen his business grow to greater heights is setting aside specific days or a specific month for customer offers and discounts. “I do beauty combos where I do nails’, toes and facials at a discounted price,” he says. According to him, the offers and discounts have enabled him retain most of his customers and  also attract more. Through his posts on Face book, Instagram and Tik tok, he has been able to build his image and also advertise his work to a larger audience.

In his more than six years of practice, Kimani has been able to withstand competition based on the fact that he is a male makeup artist.  Ninety per cent of his clients are females. Additionally, through his past experience, he has been able to understand how ladies need to be treated in terms of making them comfortable and relaxed while beautifying   their faces. In order to be successful in his artistic journey, he is keen on giving his customers an exemplary experience.

Gruelling

Being a successful entrepreneur is not a walk in the park. Often, it is a gruelling exercise that is fraught with many ups and downs. And Aizoh beauty studio is not an exception. For him, one of his greatest challenges is when a client is not happy with the look after her makeup session. “The face is an important part in anyone’s appearance and if the client is not happy, that means that she cannot face other people confidently,” he shares. To address such an issue, he listens to his client and gets to know if there are any adjustments that could be done to improve the looks.

Most of the clients are not familiar with the booking process. “Some of the clients don’t know how to book, you get a call from a client and she needs you to be at her location in the next one hour and maybe at that particular moment I am already attending to another client , so it becomes a big challenge,” he says. In order to overcome that hurdle, he sends his customers weekly messages with a reminder of how to book their make-up sessions. Further, he keeps on reminding his customers of the booking process in his weekly posts.

  He further adds that, earning income on a daily basis could also be a challenge if you are not financially disciplined.   He therefore saves 50% of his weekly income in a bank for the purpose of purchasing stock. In order to stay abreast with the ever changing beauty trends which is very key in this line of business,  he has  purchases  the most recent products in the markrt. To make himself familiar with the latest makeup trends he ensures that he spends most of his free time watching You tube tutorials and movies on Netflix .

Aspirations

The young entrepreneur is emphatic that he has not yet unlocked his full potential.   “I would like to expand my business country wide by setting up several beauty parlours  in different locations which will not only be for business,  but will  also serve as a school for educating young artists in the field of make-up,” he says.

Advice to upcoming makeup artist

“For you to be a great make-up artist you need to be a very good time keeper, you shouldn’t be too slow or too fast,” he states. According to this upcoming entrepreneur, one of the key qualities that makeup artists should possess is time management.   “Not only should they be punctual, but they should also use the least time possible when applying makeup on their clients. His advice to aspiring and upcoming makeup artists  is to be hard working, to collaborate well with their clients and also explore all the possibilities until they  succeed. “Stick with it, stay curious, and be generous with your time and skill,” he ends.