Transcript
Speaker: Hello and welcome to Behind the Chair with myself Lauren Garfit, professional hair and makeup artist. This is the podcast with a guest that I bring along where I talk about all things hair and makeup, the good, the bad and the ugly. And this week my guest is Zoe.
Speaker: Zoe is a business mentor and a hair and makeup artist. Zoe's been my business mentor for about two years and I've personally learned a lot of invaluable information from her. She's also a talented hair and makeup artist and she specializes in like editorial, natural, bringing out the very natural no makeup makeup look.
Speaker: And she also has a very special talent when it comes to business. She's helped hundreds of makeup artists with their businesses and mindset, making this industry a better and more supportive place. So please welcome my guest today, Zoe. Hello. Thank you so much for having me. I don't know why I feel quite nervous.
Speaker: Yeah I feel a little bit nervous and also it was making me laugh because when you said oh and you know she she does that no makeup makeup look I'm thinking well that's exactly how I've arrived today so hello no makeup
Speaker: Love it. You're reffing the no makeup makeup and you do it beautifully so you're all good. So I'm just going to jump in straight into, I've got some questions. I've actually been really excited to ask you these questions because I think that you speak really honestly and you are just who you are and there's like no apologizing for it and
Speaker: That is one of the reasons why I joined your business mentor and we'll talk more about it and I'll explain more about it. But anyways, so first question, Zoe, please tell me your story all about you and why you got into helping other makeup artists. Oh gosh, we're going to be here. Lauren, this podcast, should we give people a warning that this might be the longest podcast ever? I'll try my... Give you the short story. I'll try and give you the short version. OK, so I've been a hair and makeup artist for the past 14 years.
Speaker: Predominantly started out in fashion and commercial. I worked with lots of big brands. Loved it. Loved being on set. But then when I moved to Essex, I was just sort of struggling with the back -breaking travel and, you know, ferrying my kit around. And I just felt like I wanted something else, something that was going to be stimulating in terms of hair and makeup, but just was also a bit easier in terms of
Speaker: I'm not having to carry around my kit as much, maybe something a little bit more fulfilling. Not that, you know, the fashion side wasn't fulfilling, but it's mostly about aesthetics, which, lol, we are hair and makeup artists as to do with aesthetics, but I just wanted something a bit more fulfilling. So then I took the step into building up a bridal business. Now, you know all about this as a bridal hair and makeup artist, or bridal makeup artist.
Speaker: I absolutely loved it. I loved every second of building that business. I loved my clients. I loved doing both the wedding side and the fashion and commercial side. They sort of worked really well together and the business grew quickly and I believe it grew quickly because I was loving it. I just absolutely loved it. I fully embraced you know my style which was quite funny actually because
Speaker: being based in Essex what do you naturally assume is going to come to mind when you think of Essex hair and makeup? We think orange skin and just you know over the top hair and makeup and as you probably know that is just not my style not my vibe at all and I believe that because I embraced what I wanted as a bride to be and what I thought you know my clients might want in terms of embracing something a bit more natural a bit more stripped back
Speaker: I believe that's why my business grew so quickly because I niched down so quickly. And obviously off the back of that, other hair and makeup artists started to go, hmm, how did you do this? How do you feel so confident showing up about makeup? How have you managed to get this client? How has this happened? How have you got that campaign? And I got so many questions in the end that I was like, you know what, actually, I'm going to start doing some training. So I offered one -to -one training in hair styling.
Speaker: in makeup and I absolutely love the education side and off the back of that I was like hang on a minute maybe I could step into education as well and then pretty much that is how the vibe was born so the vibe is an educational platform for hair and makeup artists or for anyone in the beauty industry really that wants a community a safe space to learn grow and share jobs learn about you know embracing your authentic self so that
Speaker: you can actually enjoy business. I think we've been fed over the years all this narrative about hustle, hustle, hustle, reach these targets, do this, do that.
Speaker: a whole cookie cutter style marketing process and the way that my business grew so quickly was that I went against that. I did what I thought felt good for me and I believe and we've seen the results from people stepping into what feels good for them that their business can grow and they can feel good whilst growing it without it feeling forced, without it feeling
Speaker: you know sticky or icky and so yeah that is how the vibe begun and that is how I am here today. Was that a short enough story of how to go? I mean I think that was pretty perfect and just to like add to what you literally just said about makeup artists sort of growing into their own I do find that like although I feel like everyone on the vibe sort of gets along with each other
Speaker: We're all very, very different in our own like different ways. And we all have quite a different style and like different personalities as well. But it's nice that you've been able to help bring that out in people. Yeah. And I think, do you know what? It's a really interesting point that you say that Lauren. It is a real diverse mix of hair and makeup artists within the community. But our one core thing that kind of draws us together is that we are celebrating ourselves
Speaker: embracing ourselves and therefore we're able to embrace others because there's no expectations. I don't expect you to show up in a certain way. You don't expect me to show up in a certain way. And I think that that energy is the attraction of the community. People can show up and just not feel too judged about what they're sharing. I want it to feel like a safe open space for people to ask questions and for us to all chip in and help. And I think I am really proud of what we've built.
Speaker: More so than that, I'm really proud of the type of people that we've managed to attract to the membership, yourself included, obviously, because, you know, everyone is just embracing themselves. And it's amazing seeing the growth off the back of that. Yeah, I mean, you should give yourself a big pat on the back.
Speaker: I also really, and we've said this, we've had this conversation before, but like, I always say to you how good you are at the business side of things, you know, as women as well, not just creatives, but as women, we tend to be a little bit like, I'm going to generalise here, but we tend to apologise a little bit for the business side of stuff, finances and all the sort, you know, the icky bits. Don't we? Yeah. Say that again. Sorry, I missed what you said.
Speaker: we can bury our head in the sand a little bit with the business side of things. How did you get good at that? And do you think there's a secret? Like, what do you think that secret was to getting good at that? This is going to sound really cliche and I'm sorry in advance, but I genuinely believe that it comes down to being brave, experimenting and
Speaker: accepting the fact that you are gonna fail at points. You're gonna try things and they're not gonna work, but you're gonna dust yourself off, you're gonna get yourself up, and you're gonna try something else. I have always been a bit of a go -getter.
Speaker: inherently part of who I am, I've always just gone, you know what, I'm gonna do it. Almost just to prove to myself and that negative voice that we get sometimes, it's like, you can't do it, you can't do it. I've always had this thing of like, right, screw you then, stupid negative voice, I'm gonna do for you. Your phone, your phone was like really funny at the funniest time. What did it do? Because you were like doing a silly voice, but your phone also did like a silly noise.
Speaker: Can I also just say, one thing that is not great with my business is the tech side of things. Even before we jumped on this call, I have issues with tech all the time. But back to, you know, back to, is there a secret source? No, I don't believe there is a secret source, but I think if you're gonna go into business, you have to be brave. You have to be willing to put yourself out there. And it's a lot easier to,
Speaker: put yourself out there if you know who you are hence why the whole ethos of the vibe is really kind of getting down to the nitty -gritty of who you are because if you know who you are and what you like and what you want and your strengths and your weaknesses you can grow and you can evolve and that is how business growth happens you know you're brave enough to put yourself out there authentically you're going to attract the people that love you and you're going to get rid of the people that don't and
Speaker: You know, it's accepting the fact that there are going to be some people out there that don't align with what you do. And yeah, it can suck and actually it can be quite painful when that happens. You know, we get clients that don't want to book us. We might try out, you know, launch a new product or service and it absolutely falls flat on its ass. You know, things like that happen. That is life. You know? Is it fit again? Oh.
Speaker: It did jump again, but it's all right. I still heard what you said, but I'm laughing at you saying flat on its arse instead of flat on its face. Yeah, well, you know me, it's going to go straight in. Any opportunity for a swear word, I will definitely, you know, jump on that. I'm all for the swear in it all.
Speaker: But you know things go wrong and I think that when you run a business you have to accept that there's going to be an element of failure and if you can learn from that failure then you can grow and I genuinely believe that that is my secret and you know I'm still making lots of mistakes now on this journey to wherever I want to go.
Speaker: but I'm able to look back now and go, oh, what I did then was good. And I want everybody else to be on that journey as well. We're all on different timelines. We all want different things, but we're all giving it a go. And that is the secret. That is how you grow. You keep learning, you keep experimenting, and you keep dusting yourself off. So yeah, that's the secret. I'm sorry if you wanted it to be like a special formula, but the special formula is,
Speaker: is being you and experimenting and not being afraid to fail. No I think that's really good advice. Also on a side note that how did you discover who you were and any tips for that?
Speaker: Do you know what? I've been on a bit of a journey, Lauren. It's been a big, bloody journey. I've always struggled with embracing who I am, ironically. Especially as a kid, I was always told I was too much, too loud, too bossy, too much of this, too much of that.
Speaker: And I dialed that down for quite a long time where I'd feel quite embarrassed, especially being a hair and makeup artist and not being overly feminine. People were always very confused about that as well. I love girly things, obviously, but I would say that I'm probably a bit more of a tomboy and I always have been. So I've always been told to be put in a box, be this instead, don't do that, do this.
Speaker: So it's been a journey and I would say do you know what's interesting and I've been very open about this but when I had my fertility journey and I started that process of failing terribly at something that I couldn't control it really made me stop and evaluate okay what is it here that I want
Speaker: what is the block here, you know, am I wanting children because I've been told I should want children or do I want children because that is actually going to make me happy and I started my whole self journey, my whole mindset journey, that whole spiritual journey came from that and I believe that's why the vibe has been able to grow quite quickly and actually me sharing my fertility story on my bridal Instagram which was
Speaker: pretty like hanging out your dirty laundry but I just thought you know what I'm struggling right now and you know my clients there might be other people out out there that are on a fertility journey as well that might actually get a lot from this.
Speaker: just know that they're not alone and I think that was really the catalyst for growth because being human, being vulnerable, talking about failures and how you're working to overcome them is one of the most amazing things that you can do not only for your own self -growth but also to establish connection. Connection with potential friends, potential clients,
Speaker: So I've really got to dig deep during that journey and it's been a seven -year journey. I still haven't reached that bloody goal of having a child yet. Is it there? I don't know, but am I at peace with it now and can I embrace other things in my life? Yes. So again, it's that journey of growth and failure, embracing what is and learning to adapt and evolve to your current situation. Running a business is hard.
Speaker: But running a business is even harder when life happens. And we're all going to experience variations of life being a bit of a dickhead to all of us, whether that be grief, fertility issues, mental health. We're all going to get hit with that. So I'm sorry to go in really deep and philosophical, but it genuinely is how I
Speaker: have established and embraced my authentic self because I've seen so much growth off of the back of that situation. Yeah. I like, no, I love, I love the real talk. That's why, you know, I love it because see how it is. That's why we're here, isn't it? We're here to, we're here to talk. We're here to, I mean, you knew that if you get me on this podcast, it's just going to be, I'm going to tell you my whole life story. I'm going to tell you about my vows. You know, I'll probably start talking about my, you have a poo in a minute. Like, you know how you said, Oh, I think it's like maybe
Speaker: airing my dirty laundry a bit. But I think there's like, I think there's a fine line between airing your dirty laundry and sharing your experience in a way that can relate to others and sharing it honestly. And you're like doing it from a place of like, this is what I'm going through. I'm sharing it because I'm hoping that other people can relate. You're doing it from that sort of
Speaker: perspective, whereas I know there's plenty of like rubbish on social media and online where I think a lot of it is attention seeking. And a lot of it can just be for like hype, you know, just, oh, I just want attention sort of thing, you know, views and like clicks. But I think you do it because you connect, that's how you connect with others. And I think you do it from an honest place. I don't think you do it from a place of like, like an icky,
Speaker: I really hope not. I mean, it's obviously really daunting when you're talking about something so personal because, you know, there is an element of, you know, this has been hard and maybe I do want attention. You know, and I don't think that that is necessarily a bad thing if the intention behind it, like you say, is genuine and is open and honest and isn't just for clickbait. I don't agree with that at all, but I think
Speaker: If you can establish some connection, you can maybe help someone else, then I think it's for the best. And to be honest with you, I'm an oversharer. If someone will meet me for the first time, you know, and I'll probably tell them my whole life story anyway. So it doesn't really, it's not like I'm doing it and I've never spoken about it before. You know, my friends, family, you know, someone I just met in the coffee shop that morning probably knows this story because
Speaker: I am really open and I think being open and honest for me has been a massive part of my journey and healing and growth so I only see good come of it and there's going to be people there that are like shut the hell up like I don't want to hear it which is absolutely fine but this goes back to what we were talking about the people that do resonate with it are my people and they're the people that I can help that want help the people that don't want to hear it that's absolutely fine they're going to find somebody that they connect with that suits
Speaker: them you know in a better way. But there's been things that you've shared not fertility because I don't quite relate to that but other things that you've shared that are personal situations like
Speaker: working within the hair and makeup industry and sort of the not always the good side of it, like the negative side of things. And like you've talked about them either on your stories or like in a sort of comedic way on your reels. And it's literally made me feel like, oh my God, I'm not the only one that like feels that way. So it's good. It's good to like say it and it makes me feel like, oh, like relief being like, oh, I'm not like alone.
Speaker: So it's a very isolating world. And I think running a business can be incredibly isolating. So we're human beings. We're just looking for connection. And I think that has been my whole thing ever since I was born, probably. I just want to connect. I'm just so desperate to connect. So yeah, so I'd say that going back to your original questions, that probably is the secret sauce for me personally. I'm not just somebody going,
Speaker: go know your dirty laundry, go and tell me everything about yourself and share it with your audience. You should only ever do that if it aligns, if it feels good for you and if the intention is going to be helpful. In terms of sharing it on my bridal page, not your average bride, I decided to do that because I had to explain
Speaker: why I wasn't able to be as mobile on certain jobs because when you go through fertility treatment, you know, you're overly pumped full of hormones and it's incredibly uncomfortable.
Speaker: And so I wasn't able to lift my kit, so I kept having to explain to people that I might have to bring an assistant or I might not be myself because I'm a hormonal freaking mess. And in the end, I just thought, hang on a minute, I might just, there might be other people on this journey. I'm just gonna publicly announce that this is what's happening. And yeah, off the back of that, I think that human relationship, that human connection, that honesty,
Speaker: helped people to be like I like her you know she's got swollen ovaries poor thing but you know it's just the makeup artist i was looking for one with swollen ovaries exactly oh natural natural oh swollen ovaries yes please that's the type of girl i want on my wedding day that sounds really really painful so yeah
Speaker: I'm sorry you went through that. Thank you. We're all good. And if anyone is listening to this that is on a fertility journey, sorry, just a side note here, Lauren, but if anybody is struggling or is on that journey, my inbox is open. Please don't suffer alone. If you can't tell friends, you can't tell family, you can tell me. Oh, bless you. That's sweet.
Speaker: The vibe is an amazing place, going back to talking about the vibe, and I wanted to know where you see the vibe in five, ten years. Yeah, it's a good question Lauren, and it's an interesting question because I haven't thought that far ahead yet.
Speaker: It's a great question and I'm going to try and this is a really good question for me because this might actually help me with aligning with some goals. The way that I work is very, I don't plan ahead and I've spoken about this on the membership actually in terms of I never used to open my bridal books too far ahead because I didn't want anything to be set in stone in the future because things change so often and so quickly.
Speaker: So I guess my goals and what I would really like for the vibe is to essentially continue the way that it is. I'd like to host more events and more business retreats, more spiritual retreats, more in -person, I'm going to say that word again, but connection. I definitely want to embrace more of that and
Speaker: I'm really going on this journey of business coaching at the moment and bringing in human design, which I know we've spoken about a little bit. So for anyone that doesn't know what human design is,
Speaker: It is essentially an energetic blueprint that uses lots of different spiritual modalities such as astrology, the Hindu chakra system, the Chinese yiqing and quantum physics. So it all sounds a bit woo and a bit scary and a bit overwhelming but what I've learned from studying this is
Speaker: It's just backing up my original message of what I wanted for the vibe in that it's teaching people to really get in touch and embrace their most authentic selves on an energetic level.
Speaker: and that makes people incredibly magnetic. And so I guess I would really like to start bringing more of that into the vibe, more wellness, more in -person events. I mean, it literally came up the other day about getting a caravan with like good vibes only on it and me doing a tour. Let's see if we can make that happen. So yeah, I guess staying on the same path, I wanna keep the membership. I don't want it to,
Speaker: I don't want thousands and thousands of members. I think that would be overwhelming. I think it'd lose its magic if we did that, but I would like more in -person events, more retreats, more, maybe some more programs and courses where I can work with people on like a smaller scale, like a group of four or five people and just really kind of get into the nitty gritty. So yeah, basically what I'm doing now, but just on a deeper, a deeper level. Yeah.
Speaker: So the next thing I wanted to ask you about is something that really has angered the community, the hair and makeup community recently. And I just feel like you're probably one of the best people I could ask about this. Because you're such a good advocate for the hair and makeup industry, and particularly in the wedding space. I know you know a lot, you've got a lot of experience in that area. And I'm not going to name the
Speaker: company but there was a website that posted a blog article and it was sort of about hair and makeup artists wasn't it and I would talk about it and I considered like doing a whole podcast about it and like addressing like the points and because this I mean you could just talk about it for quite a long time couldn't you?
Speaker: Fucking doorbell. Fucking hate everyone's doorbell. Go on. Hang on. Do you know what it is, Zoe? It's other people's letters. It's not even mine. It's not even my parcel. That's why it pisses me off.
Speaker: I feel like you should keep this in the podcast. Just put it in. Because do you know why? Because I knew it was going to happen. I just knew. And then I could hear them sort of at the door, like you won't be able to hear it. But I knew it was about to come. And I was like, please don't. Because I'm like, I'm in the zone talking about a serious subject. And then the loud buzzer goes off anyways. So.
Speaker: back to this business. So this company have written this article and I get a bit like mad and I tend to just like rant and I don't think I make much sense. Whereas I think you are quite articulate and quite diplomatic in your response. So I think you should explain
Speaker: a little bit more about this situation and I'd love for you to tell me how you feel about it and why you think that there's some sort of weird underrepresentation and undervalue sometimes as to how we're represented as a you know an industry and like yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, I have a lot to say about this, obviously. I take it in my stride to kind of be the voice for hair and makeup artists because, you know, if you were to start talking about it and shouting about it from an angered space as a hair and makeup artist, that could be, you know, off -putting to clients. Potentially, it might not be, you know, it could be. So I take it upon myself to be the voice and share
Speaker: in a way that does feel fair in that I can sort of see why in the stage like that happened but also what the hell are you doing and then that means that you can then share that with your audience so that the message is getting across but you don't have to feel solely responsible for that message. So why do I think this happens? This happens so much.
Speaker: often hair and makeup artists are undervalued by other people within our industry, whether that be photographers, whether that be planners, whether that be, you know, even clients themselves at times. And that isn't the case for everyone. There's a lot of amazing people out there that do value us, which is amazing. We love you. But why do I think this happens? I think it's because we are
Speaker: predominantly female industry and I think as women we have very low self -esteem and low confidence because of the patriarchy and you know we have been told that our little job of making people look nice isn't a serious thing to do, it doesn't
Speaker: you know, serve any real purpose, you know, it's like a hobby. If you were told that enough times, eventually you start to believe it, which is why I believe that I want to step in and remind people that you are still a business owner. Yeah, you're doing something you enjoy. That doesn't mean that you're not valuable. Yeah, you make people look good. Just because you're not saving lives doesn't mean that you're not valuable.
Speaker: As hair and makeup artists, we can have such an amazing impact on our clients. We can make them feel and look amazing, and that is good for so many reasons, for mental health, for confidence, but we seem to give so much to everyone else, and we don't seem to get that support back. So I just believe that we're mostly underrepresented and undervalued because there's just a lack of confidence there, and I believe that that is a reoccurring theme as women. It's really hard for us to
Speaker: step into a space where we feel brave enough to say what we need and what we want and what we want to get paid and there just isn't enough support hence why I wanted to set up the vibe in the first place because we should be empowering one another not attacking one another and you know
Speaker: that particular company that you're talking about there's been several companies that have done that now and we are actually paying them to be on their directory which is just insane so we're paying them thinking that we're going to get support and they throw us under the bus by basically saying we're not valuable or not worth it so off the back of that I wanted everybody to kind of read that and spark a little fire and go
Speaker: you know what actually I've had enough of this and what I do is important how I make people feel is important how I make people look is also important and my time is valuable I'm valuable and I am going to charge what I charge and I'm going to embrace my job and celebrate my job and celebrate myself because no other person in the industry is better than the other
Speaker: We are all doing a job. We all have the same goal, which is to make our clients feel amazing. And we are part of that. So why should we be overlooked? And it's just a theme that keeps coming up time and time again that I won't stop shouting about, to be honest. It's funny, every time something like this comes out on social media, it's the amount of messages I get. It's like, mum! It's true. I think you...
Speaker: describe that beautifully and that's why i asked you because i tend to just go on the rant but i know that like really what i want to say is what you just said that's kind of how i want to say it but it ends up just coming out like blah blah blah blah
Speaker: You know what, the best tip I've got for that, because I want you to express yourself and be authentic and the message that you're sharing is actually important for your clients to know as well. Because if we can educate people enough about what we do and why we love what we do and the impact that we have, that is incredibly magnetic.
Speaker: it educates people so that they can see our value the annoying thing is i feel like we're constantly having to justify ourselves so because of that it comes across as incredibly emotional whether that be you know sadness anger and so the best piece of advice i've got if you've got something to say either i'll say it for you no problems or
Speaker: Take a step back, write down everything that you want to say in that emotional state, sleep on it and then put it, re -put that together in a way that feels informative and educational and then you can still kind of educate people and get your point across without it feeling charged, emotionally charged.
Speaker: Talking about the impact that we have on clients and brides, but I've had brides say to me that one of their favorite parts of their wedding day was the getting ready, was the hair and makeup because it was so relaxing and it was the pampered time.
Speaker: and it was just you know all the buzz before like the getting ready and it is like it's such an intimate part of the wedding day it's really important to have someone there that first of all knows what they're doing and second of all has like the right energy. I agree and as you know I'm married and I would agree that actually
Speaker: one of my favourite parts of the day was getting ready, getting ready with my girl mates and putting the music on and dancing and having a laugh and I would almost argue that it was probably better than the actual ceremony. My husband doesn't listen to this. It was so much fun. If you are listening to this, Mike, I love you, but I preferred the wedding morning apologies, but also no. What about the wedding night?
Speaker: If you want a quick story, if you want me to share some more dirty laundry, I can. I need to hear this, I've not heard this. It was a freaking disaster, okay? So I got absolutely battered on my wedding day. So much so that I, they had to put me in a taxi, or put me and my husband in a taxi. It's not all about me, although it feels that way sometimes.
Speaker: I put me and my husband in a taxi to the hotel. I got out of the taxi, completely left my phone, my purse, everything just left in the taxi. Got up to the hotel, vomited all over the bathroom floor.
Speaker: managed to get into bed and I can openly say that there was no consummation of the marriage because I was I mean absolutely if he did try that would have not been very good for anybody so I woke up the next morning and was like oh my god I don't actually remember getting home why are there chunks on the bathroom floor where is my phone
Speaker: a shit show the actual day itself was absolutely fantastic but that the end of that night i just got so excited and was just on such a high that i just drunk too much and just got absolutely battered and then the taxi driver bless him like dropped around my stuff the next morning to the hotel and uh yeah what what a wild
Speaker: embarrassing evening but what a story I love that story that's amazing thank you for sharing that intimate deal I'm sorry if anybody's listening to this thinking maybe before that story you're thinking wow this business coach sounds
Speaker: She said she got her shit together. I can tell you that on that wedding night, there was no shit together at all. But we're human, okay? We're human beings. We make mistakes. Actually, I don't really see it as a mistake. I had a really good night regardless.
Speaker: you know i just my liver didn't thank me um but back to what you're saying perhaps that's why the wedding morning was was was great i wasn't pissed so i i remember the wedding morning and i remember it being great ah i love that story um do you ever see yourself going down another career path well you've probably seen this
Speaker: from what I've been sharing within the community anyway but I've just finished my Reiki training. This is also another hilarious thing about me as a human being is I am a walking talking Jekyll and Hyde. I will either be
Speaker: throwing up in a bathroom or I will be healing someone with my hands. You just never know what you're gonna get and for a long time I used to really struggle with that kind of like all or nothing type.
Speaker: energy that I have, but I actually believe that it's that energy that has got me to where I am today, hence why I'm just embracing it and telling you everything. But do I see another career path? Yes, I definitely think I'm going to be embracing more wellness, holistic approaches to wellness, whether that be helping with mental health, physical health, with Reiki, more retreats,
Speaker: I've just started doing sound healing, basically on just a big wellness healing journey. And I think that that actually works really well alongside running a business because when we run a business, we forget about looking after ourselves. We often experience a lot of burnout. We're working so hard that we forget to look after ourselves. And so I actually think that the two of those things can go
Speaker: harmoniously together. So yeah, definitely more of a wellness journey, but Lauren, who knows? We could be having a chat in five years time and maybe I'm a baker. I just don't know. It's life amazing in that, you know, it's going to throw curve balls and, you know, God knows what, who knows what I'm going to be doing in the future, but I'm ready for it. I'm excited. I love that you've got such a free spirited outlook.
Speaker: Yeah, I think it's very difficult when we are... Do you know why that happened? And I'm going to bring it back to fertility again. I thought that was my path. I thought, you know what? I'm going to move to Essex. My business is going great. It could be better, but it's going well. I'm going to have a baby, though, anyway. So it doesn't really matter if I don't focus on the business because I'm going to be a mum. And when I couldn't do that, I was like, what the hell? This was not in the plan. Like, what the hell am I going to do now?
Speaker: and I think that's why I'm so open to things now because life doesn't always pan out the way you expect it to, your business doesn't either and I think I use humour a lot because I just think we've just got to enjoy the ride you know it's it's going to be hard at times but as long as you stay true to who you are you've got a good support network
Speaker: you can do anything. So, you know, maybe I will be baking in five years time and if I am baking, Lauren, I will send you some cupcakes, don't you worry. But yeah, I'm open and free -spirited because it's a better way for me to embrace life and to embrace the twists and turns that are inevitably going to be coming my way. Amazing.
Speaker: So let's, you actually mentioned it there, but let's talk a bit more about mindset, because you're, I know you're really into the we're we're stuff. We call it we're we're, but it's like, you know, it's just a good name for it. And how do you feel that working on your mindset has helped your business and life feel like we've kind of already answered this question, but
Speaker: maybe just sum it up in a nutshell. So for me, working on my mindset has literally changed my life and my business. It's given me the tools I need to be able to deal with
Speaker: twists and turns, failures, growth and mindset itself isn't actually woo woo. I say woo woo because I mean I bloody love a crystal and a tarot card, that is a bit woo woo and a bit out there but the mindset aspect with expressing gratitude and having these wonderful rituals of self -care
Speaker: is an absolute game changer, especially in today's society where we'll bring it back to your original question of, you know, why do we think we're underrepresented and undervalued? It's because we have been told to be a certain way all our lives as women.
Speaker: and we've also been told to run our business in a certain way in order to succeed. Whereas when you strip everything back and you get back to mindset and you get back to the bare bones of who you are, you're able to manage things in a better way. You're able to validate yourself, empower yourself, and there's nothing more magnetic or powerful than that. I just think life doesn't have to be
Speaker: I mean, I'm saying this from an incredibly privileged position and I know that there'll be some people listening to this going, I haven't had the same start in life. I've come from a working class family and I've been fed and I've gone to school, but I still feel like me getting in touch with who I am and working on expressing gratitude just for the simple things in life. The fact that I'm chatting here with you now, the fact that I'm working from home today, I'm getting paid to work from home today.
Speaker: Expressing gratitude is incredibly empowering and it only helps you to look for more things to be grateful for and I think on a subconscious level that is where growth happens as a business owner but also in a personal level as well. You start attracting the right people into your life, you start attracting
Speaker: the right opportunities into your life. And I'm not just saying this as, oh, you sit down and you write down what you want and it happens. That is not how we work. There has to be action off of the back of that. But getting in touch with your mindset and expressing the gratitude and going on this self -care journey allows you to have the tools and the confidence to go after those goals and those opportunities that
Speaker: If you maybe didn't work on yourself prior to that, you may not have been able to embrace those opportunities that come your way. So I think it goes hand in hand with not only personal growth, but business growth. Good answer. If you only had to choose one self -care activity, what would it be? Having a bath. I know. I know that you're maybe flabbergasted by that answer because I'm like, I love raking. I love sound healing. But honestly,
Speaker: The single best thing that I find incredibly healing and incredibly just wonderful is either having a really lovely hot bath, lighting a candle, immersing myself in water
Speaker: or taking a warm shower and literally just like washing away the literal shit, the energetic shit of the day. And I just find having a bath just so great, like metaphorically speaking, in terms of like literally washing away everything that no longer serves you, but also just the physical feeling of being in water, I just love. Yeah. What is yours, Lauren? What's your self care like,
Speaker: I would honestly say like skincare. I love, like I could not go to sleep at night without doing my skincare. I couldn't sleep. I wouldn't be able to go to bed. But is that, that's classed as self care, isn't it? Of course it is. Yeah. Anything that you're doing for yourself that feels good is self care. It hasn't got to be like,
Speaker: this out there woo woo stuff. It can just be as simple as having a bath or spending that time doing your skincare because you're spending that time for yourself. It's almost like quite deeply meditative when you're picking your products and you're massaging them in and that is a beautiful ritual. Also really handy that you say that as a hair and makeup artist because that's a really simple thing that you can encourage your clients to do and it just gives them that ultimate
Speaker: feeling of indulgence which is amazing. Like in my opinion I mean maybe I am coming from a like you say privileged place.
Speaker: I honestly don't think there's any excuse for not putting moisturiser on or just washing your face. It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be a nine step skincare regime that you see online people doing. It can just literally be a wash and a moisturiser. It can be as simple as that. But I just don't think there's any excuse. I'm sorry, maybe that's controversial, but
Speaker: It's like putting on deodorant or like brushing your teeth. I just think it's like a non -negotiable. Yeah, all the dried up prunes listen to this kind of, oh no, you know, you should put on moisturiser. And you are absolutely right. But you know what, off the back of that, I think it can be, and this is why some people are also reluctant to indulge in the woo woo, the spiritual, the mindset stuff.
Speaker: Some people lack so much confidence and value in themselves that maybe even doing something as simple as skincare can actually feel really difficult because maybe they don't feel deserving of that time, that space, that energy. You make me feel really bad for seeing that. I don't mean to make you feel bad.
Speaker: We, knowing how good that makes you feel, you should make it your mission to help and empower people to implement that aspect into their lives because you know how good it feels for you and you know how much of an impact that can have on your wellbeing, your mindset, you know, the way you look as well, 10 out of 10 by the way.
Speaker: You have the power to share that. You actually could, I don't know why I'm telling this into a business coaching session now, but you just can't help yourself. I can't help myself, but you have the power to empower someone else to create that time and space for them to want to do that for themselves. And that's why I do what I do.
Speaker: Because if someone can look at the way that I run my business, the way that I show up, it might just be the thing that they need to go, that's really inspiring and I want to do that and I'm going to try doing that as well and to see if it works for me. It's exactly the same, even on a really small scale in terms of just skincare. And to you it isn't just skincare, it is a wellbeing ritual and that could have a massive impact on someone else as well.
Speaker: You're welcome for all of the content ideas that are going to be coming your way. Yeah, everyone is welcome. If anyone, I mean, I think there's two people that listen to this, me mum and probably my best friend. Stop it. You're doing brilliantly. This will explode, I promise.
Speaker: let's hope so, and I'll become a famous podcaster. So yeah, so any final words of wisdom? Actually, I am gonna do a quick fire round after this with you, but apart from that, any final words of wisdom? Words of wisdom from me. You've given so many.
Speaker: Like sometimes I do these things, not to blow my own trumpet here, but I do sometimes feel like a freaking oracle. I literally, I'm saying things and I'm like, I might just grow a beard and put on a wizard hat already because I just feel like just saying some absolute corkers. I'll probably listen to this back, Lauren and go, no, no, no, you idiots. Like, you know, but at the time it feel, it's coming from a really heart -centered space. Like I'm saying it because I mean it and I really hope that whoever's listening to this,
Speaker: will go thank you I've got something out of this like you know whatever but words of wisdom get comfortable with being uncomfortable because life is going to be uncomfortable at times we can't avoid it and if you can get comfortable with being uncomfortable you will see exponential growth because if you can overcome a small thing such as carving out that time to do your skincare
Speaker: who knows what else you're capable of carving out and capable of doing. Start small, things are going to be uncomfortable, but you overcome them and that is you can give yourself your own confidence and own empowerment by challenging yourself to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. So yeah, I hope that's, I hope that, you know, should I put my wizard hat back on? Was that good?
Speaker: That's perfect. I feel like you need, what's the female equivalent of a wizard? A good witch. Yeah, I was going to say a witch. I was going to have a business called Wellness Witch, but we veto that. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, there needs to be a female, but if anyone's listening to this and you know what it is, please let us know. I do a Google search as you ask me my quick fire questions.
Speaker: Yeah, quickfire questions. Actually, this is probably quite good because you're going to be subconsciously answering them instead of thinking about them too much. Yeah. Lipstick or lip gloss? Lipstick. How long does it take you to do your makeup? Five minutes. How often do you wash your makeup? Brushes.
Speaker: No, I would say I probably use my brushes three or four times and then I wash them with washing up liquid. I actually suffer with blocked pores. I mean, you can probably see my blackheads from where you are. So I know I need to wash them like every few uses, basically. I would love to hear what some other people say. I really would. Yeah. And natural babe or full glam goddess?
Speaker: You already know the answer to that question. And Abe all the way, but still love a full glam goddess too. Yeah, you appreciate both, all the aspects of makeup, don't you? So yeah, thank you so much, Zoe. This has been like awesome. Thank you for all of your words of wisdom. I think if there's any hair and makeup artists specifically listening to this, I think there's like so many valuable tips.
Speaker: mental health and business tips that people can take away from this. So thank you so much. And yeah, that's been me, Lauren Garford and Zoe. And Zoe, do you want to share your Instagram handle with everyone? Yep. And firstly, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate you asking me to do this today.
Speaker: And my Instagram handle is at thevibe .education. And my inbox is always open if you've got any questions. And also, a female wizard is called an enchantress, sorceress, or witch. So, there you go. Ooh. Oh, like Enchantress. Thank you so much, Zoe, the Enchantress. I'm going to cut that going forward.
