In this week’s episode, I talked to someone who I believe is doing absolutely incredible things in the wedding industry. She is Brianna Michelle, a CEO and an Award-Winning Make-up Artist who owns a six-figure mobile hair and make-up business, Brianna Michelle Beauty, catering to clients in the wedding capital of the world, Las Vegas. She is also a business coach and a mentor for wedding pros, helping them with strategies, marketing, and mindset for their business to help them scale to six figures. She is also the host of The Millionaire Babe Podcast.

The conversation about how there are so many people out there that do exactly what you do but there are also so many people who need what you do. Then you start to think about how the abundance mindset can truly help you learn and grow from each other without reading on each other’s toes. 

How did Brianna get to where she is now today?

Brianna’s story is the epitome of a struggling wedding professional. She is the walking poster child for struggling bridal beauty pros. Her degree is in Broadcast Journalism and has worked in the field of media for 6 and a half years. She had some really amazing opportunities, one of these is that she worked for the Oprah Winfrey Show. She got in when she was 18, she worked really hard and really quick, up to that point where she burnt herself out. Because of this, Brianna realized that this wasn’t really her calling. Burning out so quickly was a sign to her that this wasn’t meant for her. 

She also remembers a day when she was still in Chicago, walking by the department store, and seeing women having fun at the make-up counter. Even as a child, she has always been into beauty, she remembered playing with her grandma’s make-up and has always loved the beauty and glamour world. That’s when she decided that she wanted to get a job working at the make-up counter. She eventually got a job and one thing led to another, and she has been doing make-up gigs for her client’s weddings.

According to Brianna, people were loving the way she does their makeup and loved how she was helping women transform. It was that moment where she realized how much she wanted to do more of this, she doesn’t want to just sell cosmetics because she really wanted to help women transform and feel confident. 

She started her bridal beauty career and business in Chicago in 2003. For Brianna, it was a complete failure. Although she would get bookings here and there, there were so many factors up against her. Aside from she didn’t know how to start a business, she also had a hard time with the initial investment. She didn’t know anything about how to run a business, she lives in a city so she had a hard time transporting her pieces of equipment without a car. She was aware that back then, she had a lot of limiting beliefs. She didn’t really believe she was capable of becoming a business owner, let alone a six-figure business owner. From limiting beliefs and childhood issues, it made her feel like big dreams are not possible. That you just have to work really really hard and maybe you’ll make it one day. 

It wasn’t really until she and her boyfriend moved to Las Vegas. She had no idea that Las Vegas was a wedding capital. By then, she has already thrown the towel in her wedding makeup business by then since she thinks there was no money to be made in that industry. Growing up, her parents always wanted her to be a teacher and a nurse. They also tell her how being a makeup artist does not pay the bills and is not going to be sustainable as a career. 

Things really started happening when she got another retail job. She was in her early thirties at the time so she knows things are really starting to get serious. Even when she has this retail job in Las Vegas, the bridal make-up aspect has always been like her calling. She would eventually discover opportunities where she can showcase her skills and passion for doing wedding makeup for the brides. In an effort to gain more experience, she tried to apply to the different job openings and would get denied at first because she lacked the license. Even though there were a lot of hurdles when she started, she decided to try again and went to school to get a license to become a professional make-up artist. Which then eventually grew into a six-figure business in a year’s time.  

She knows from her experience that there were a lot of challenges that subtly tell her not to pursue her business but it is her decision to move forward that let her push past all of those hurdles that eventually made a difference in her path to success. Brianna believes that if your calling and passion are in your soul, they will keep coming back to you until you cannot ignore them anymore. 

Brianna explained the benefits of being able to have faith in the pivotal moments, she highlighted that going to school and getting her license while still on a retail job was not really part of her plan, but because she would get booking every Saturday, she knows she needed to change something. This was her turning point and the main factor she considered if she was either going to find another job or take a leap of faith so she can do her business full time. 

Instagram as core Business Strategy of a Wedding Make-up Artist: Simple tips on how to do it right 

Brianna explained how Instagram helped her connect to the brides, which was for her, really really easy when she did it properly. For Brianna, there are a couple of things you have to look at in your business, one of the key things is where do your clients hang out? That’s where you wanted to focus your marketing. Since Instagram is the number 1 social platform for brides, these brides go on the platform most of the time to look for wedding vendors and they check which one has a compelling Instagram profile, judging if the profile has an “Instagram-worthy” feel. Brianna said this is the first step toward attracting future clients. The second one is connecting to them, and making sure they are engaged. Her formula was a very 3 simple step strategy: Attract, Connect, and Convert. 

Authenticity and Trust on Instagram: How to Use Voice Messages to Establish your Authentic Voice

As wedding business owners who are used to wearing so many hats and trying to do almost everything, we have to remember not to get lost in all the other tasks that we have to do. She claims that the importance of taking the time to fully understand our wedding clients will help us really connect on completely different levels. A good example of this is doing voice memos and messaging as a personal touch.

For Brianna, our main job in the wedding industry is to sell love.  Since we are selling love, we should be careful not to approach it with mediocrity. By using voice memos and voice messaging, we are connecting to our brides in such a personal and approachable way that they feel connected to us that they feel like it’s a personal process and that it gives them the attention that they feel they want for the most important day of their lives and it shows them that we care. 

A way to take out sales conversations from a DM without feeling weird about it

We all have been there, someone would be interested in our services and would immediately ask for the rates. According to Brianna, it is important never to give the rates via direct messaging. As creatives, it’s really important to understand what we are selling, and more about serving our brides and being helpful to their needs. Serving in a way where the brides understand what kind of service she’s getting, which is a product or service on the most important day of their lives. If you communicate your rates via direct messages, it does not serve a high-end price point as a different approach would be. 

She recommends addressing this concern by saying something personal to them, getting to know them by asking for all the necessary information to better help them, and moving it to an email thread. Brianna said in all the years of doing this in the wedding industry, she only encountered 2 people who didn’t want to give her their email addresses. She said if you’ve successfully transferred the conversation to an email thread, it is easier to go back and check the flow of the conversation, so you can better serve the brides in the best way possible. 

Instagram Marketing and How Wedding Pros can make the most out of this platform

First things first, Brianna recommended creating a plan that contains the know-like in the trust factor, it all comes down to using Instagram as that additional boost. The brides who visit your Instagram account probably have seen more than just your actual profile, they have probably seen your wedding business from different social media platforms. But since Instagram has its amazing features, it is created in a way so that brides will know, like, and trust your wedding business. 

If you earn their trust, the brides will be more confident to book your services on their special day. Instagram provides a visual platform for your wedding business to be able to build relationships and fully connect to brides emotionally. It’s not just putting up pictures on your feed or stories, it’s really being intentional with how we are communicating and connecting on an emotional level. 

4 things Brianna wished she had known before becoming a Wedding Makeup Artist

1. According to Brianna, there is so much mindset that goes into starting, growing, and sustaining a business. She wished she believed in herself more instead of holding back and having doubts.
2. Second, she wished she had been aware that breaking from the norm was okay. Despite knowing the basics, she realized what works for some people may not work for others. She wishes she had known this sooner. That it was okay to empower creativity, explore other options, and think outside of the box.
3. Third, Brianna mentioned how important it is to follow your own gut and intuition and refrain from second-guessing ideas and strategies that could potentially be helpful to your wedding business.
4. Lastly, investing in yourself is very important. She shared the story behind the greatest pivotal moment in her career where she was terrified to invest in her business because she was afraid it wouldn’t work and that she has never invested in herself and her business before. She wished she knew that she needed to put away money for the investments her wedding business is going to need in the future.

Brianna’s “Six Secrets to Six Figures” free mini-course and learn the 6 fundamental elements every business needs to make your dream your reality!

Brianna emphasized that when you fully commit yourself to something, you automatically start making things happen.  And to help you earn those six figures just as Brianna did, she is now offering a free mini-course entitled “Six Secrets to Six Figures”.

This freebie consists of 6 modules on what it takes to be a six-figure earner. The course is quite dynamic, because of the things you don’t normally think about but are eye-opening that would totally help your wedding business. Make sure to check this out so you can start creating your dream life now! Connect with Brianna on Facebook, and Instagram, and check out her website