Finding Peace in the Busy According to Betsy Nguygen

Life is full of chaos and sometimes finding peace (and keeping it) can be difficult. Betsey Nguygen, who balanced a tech day job with doing permanent makeup, knows what it’s like to have her plate full. It’s a situation that many artists can relate to: the flexibility also comes with growing to-do lists every day. She tells us her tips on finding your center in this busy world.

Tell us about yourself! Your background, history & the nitty gritty of all things you!

I’ve always had a beauty passion, I went to Cosmetology school about 20 years ago and got my cosmetologist license. I did hair and makeup in addition to my tech job for many years. 

How did you first get into the beauty industry? The PMU Industry?

I got into permanent makeup because I wanted to get my eyebrows done but I didn’t want to have the look back in the day that was super harsh and tattoo-looking. My aunt told me about 10 years ago that there was something called tattoo embroidery. 

Fast forward a few years and I was tired of doing my eyebrows so I decided to check out eyebrow embroidery. I had no idea microblading existed. I am not a big social media person and my son told me I should go on Instagram and see what’s out there. That’s where I found Daria Chuprys, who I trained with. I figured that I could add it to the services I was already doing for my clients. Slowly but surely I transitioned from my tech job to permanent makeup and now I am doing it full time.

What makes you feel the most beautiful?

As I get older what makes me feel good about myself is how I can project myself and help others feel confident in themselves. For me it’s being healthy, present and being able to help people.

How do you prioritize everything you have to do?

I have to have a to-do list. As old school as that seems, things get lost without one. Being a business owner, I've learned that I need to know when to turn it off.

People ask questions and they want answers right away. At the beginning that was hard because if you see something that could be easily answered you want to  respond to it right now. It’s easier to set a time frame like in the morning This is what I am going to do. I am going to respond to all my clients and inquiries and get my day started. Set time at the end of the day to follow up and answer any other questions. Definitely a to-do list is the way to go for busy business owners.

What does peace mean and look like to you?

Peace to me is being accepting, understanding, and respecting people. We’re always going to come across things we don't agree with but that doesn’t mean we need to take a negative or disrespectful approach to it. Having that peace of mutual respect is huge whether it’s between family, friends, or business partners.

How do you bring peace into your practice as a PMU artist?

I am always  truthful with my clients because I feel like in this industry you need to set expectations and be realistic with your clientele. I get a good amount of clients coming in for correction work and I respectfully let them know if it’s not something I think I would do a good job covering. It’s really important to educate them because if I turn somebody away, they’re going to look for another artist. As an artist who truly cares about the industry, about the work I put out and the longevity of my clients’ tattoos, I always give them the information so they can decide for themselves.

To hear Betsey’s thoughts on how to manage when it feels simply, unmanageable, tune in to our podcast.  Fnd Betsey on Instagram.