Business, Beauty & Balance With Brittany Wallins

We chatted with Permanent Makeup Artist and Beauty Entrepreneur, Brittany Wallins on business, balance & advice for new PMU artists. Read on to learn her thoughts!

Tell us about your business! Tell us the nitty gritty details.
I started in a home studio and didn’t expect to get as busy as I did so quickly. I ended up doing more than I could handle and with a young family, felt it would be better to work in an already established studio where I could do my job and go home and not worry about the business side of things. I was offered a position at a local cosmetic tattoo studio and it helped to get my work/life balance back. Once my son started school I was able to devote more time to the business side of things so I am now in my own studio space and thriving. If you aren’t sure how to run the business side of things, talk to someone in your area about how they do things. There are tons of resources now. It’s easy to burn yourself out in this industry so don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Tell us more about you!
I was born in Texas and moved to Edmonton, AB, Canada when I was a baby. Then my family moved to Tucson, AZ and now I’m stuck in Calgary, AB, Canada (my husband was born and raised here so we aren’t leaving). I did everything early, I graduated high school at 16 and went to school to be a medical assistant then transitioned to medical research and then sleep medicine. I got married at 22. I have now been married for 13 years and have 1 beautiful son who is now 6. I have a fur baby named Murphy who is a big sheepadoodle and I’m pretty sure he thinks he is a human kid. I love people so this whole social isolation thing is my worst nightmare. I love being with family and friends sharing good food, good wine playing games or sitting around a fire in the backyard!

The journey through entrepreneurship is such a rollercoaster. How do you manage all the things? How do you keep the balance?
I always say I work to live, I don’t live to work. Being self-employed without a steady paycheck, it’s so tempting to work on demand. I fell into that trap thinking that if I didn’t accept every client with every appointment request (including evenings and Sunday’s) that my business would fail. My breaking moment was when I realized I had worked so much one week, I hadn’t been the one to put my little boy to bed once. I cried and realized something had to give. I set better hours and stopped answering messages after business hours ended (your clients should not expect to get a hold of you at 9pm). For me that means no weekends and only working 3 days with 2 evenings a week. I’m sure I don’t get all of the clients I could, for example the ones that need weekends. But I get allllll the baby boy love and I have a great marriage and we have enough to get by so that’s enough for me! Set your boundaries and the clients will still come.

MEI-CHA is all about community! We want to celebrate your community and those who’ve helped you along your journey. Is there a person, group, organization, resource, etc that you want to thank for their efforts, support, mentorship, love or encouragement?
I absolutely love MEI-CHA for all of the community support they provide. I’m also fortunate to have great family and friends. The AAM also provides tons of support and education!

What is your biggest piece of advice for someone who is starting their journey in the beauty industry?
My one piece of advice to new artists would be to set your hours and stick to them! Also, don’t set your prices too low. You can always run specials to lower your prices, but it’s hard to increase your prices down the road when your clients are accustomed to them.

Read more about making authentic connections in permanent makeup here or shop Brittany's favorite microblades, MIDAS here!