Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Hoang.
Hi Tiffany, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After graduating high school in 2018, I thought I had a good idea of the type of career I wanted to pursue. I started a financial sales job around the same time I started my first college courses. At the time, I thought that finance would eventually be the field I would go on to specialize in. I studied, got myself certified to sell financial products, attended seminars, flew out on business trips and closed sales. But it wasn’t all that I had thought it was going to be; and neither was college. I quickly realized that school was no longer for me and the company culture I had begun to surround myself in was slimy and regrettably toxic.
By this time, half a year had gone by and I had finished a semester and dropped out of college, quit my job and abandoned the financial field entirely. Looking for a new path to follow, I found myself falling back on the cosmetic industry as I had always been into beauty growing up. First I tried to work as a nail tech and eventually was introduced to permanent makeup (PMU) in the form of ombré powder brows which I ultimately stuck with.
I put my new skills to work at a PMU studio as an artist while trying navigate a new chapter in my adulthood. Unfortunately during this time, I also had to endure hardships in a troubled home. I became completely unmotivated, lost, and was letting my drive for success slip. To me, my world was crumbling with no direction, no money, and dwindling hope for what I once imagined for myself.
Then came the pandemic at the end of 2019. With an already bad and ongoing situation, quarantine made living off of credit cards tougher than ever and work an impossibility. I resorted to delivering groceries just to make rent. I was able to save enough for another PMU training after many months of inactivity and no practice, but nonetheless, I was determined to get back into it. Even though I had experience in the industry and wasn’t starting from scratch, I was in desperate need of a better training to refresh my skills and boost my confidence!
June 2020 came around and my boyfriend and I took a road trip across Texas to El Paso for my training. Despite living off credit cards, with debt continuing to climb, it was worth every penny as this training was a huge turning point for me in my career. After I came back after a successful training, I never looked back. I soon found myself on track to gross nearly six figures in income as a new business owner.
Over the course of my career, I’ve taken a handful of training to get where I’m at and I’m still learning and improving every day. I’m so proud and grateful that I’ve been able to come this far and get to the point where I’ve now added an academy segment to my business that is now growing. To be able to teach other women my technique and empower them with brows that boost confidence is a huge blessing.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes, I did gross a lot with my business, but that’s before a slew of business expenses on top of start-up expenses, not to mention my personal debt and bills! It’s easy to watch from the outside and assume I’m living my best life stress-free as a successful 22 years old entrepreneur, but in reality there’s a lot of struggling, self-doubt, and sacrifice that goes on behind the scenes. There’s always pros and cons. It’s amazing being my own boss and being able to control my schedule – work and personal – and is probably my favorite part of entrepreneurship.
In contrast, I wear just about every hat there is to wear when it comes to operating my business. I am my own sales, marketing, and service department all in one and more. If I don’t push my social media campaigns to book clients, there’s no income. If I don’t keep my skills in practice, I’ll lose reputability which results in no income. If I don’t wake up and put in the work that’s necessary, things don’t happen which is super tough when there’s no guarantee and only you to keep yourself accountable. Anything and everything that’s needed to keep a business running is not optional, it’s required! This is one of the most discouraging challenges and ultimately what crushes most small business owners when they get started. But for those with determination, strong mindsets, and the will to prevail, the self-employment route pays off if you can overcome the daily hurdles that are thrown at you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a permanent makeup artist, I offer ombré powder brows (not to be confused with microblading) and soon will be expanding into other PMU services. PMU techniques require micro-pigmentation into the upper layer of your skin to create a nice soft natural shade and gradient versus traditional tattoos (PMU is less invasive). It heals with a very soft finish and can save you so much time by cutting down on your daily beauty routines.
Do you sweat your makeup off? Work long hours? Have kids and not enough time for yourself? Over plucked your brows and now they won’t grow back? Want to have no make-up days with confidence? Then this service is perfect for you.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
If you find yourself doing something that you enjoy and you can make money doing it, don’t hesitate. At the same time, don’t allow profit to be your only metric of success. It may not come in the first or second year. As long as you educate yourself on how to be responsible in all aspects of the business from finances to the delivery of services/goods and stay determined in the face of adversity, it’ll be worth pushing through. Failing is part of the process, but giving up halfway and starting again at square one is something that can easily become a vicious cycle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emeraldinkcoscheduling.as.me/schedule.php
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emeraldinkco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Emeraldinkco/?ref=pages_you_manage
