Surviving the pandemic can be tough, but why not do it in style?
Fancy face masks, gloves for shopping, and social distancing – welcome to our new daily reality. While the pandemic has had a devastating impact across a vast swath of industries, it is tough to imagine any business harder hit by the COVID-19 virus than the Beauty industry. Are you one of the millions that are stuck at home, stressing about money, bills, and saving your sanity? If you are, you don’t need to just focus on surviving the pandemic; if you’re willing to try, you can thrive.
Cheer up fellow beauty professionals – help is here. Well, sort of. I’m here to offer the best tips, tricks, and advice gleaned from fellow cosmetologists and estheticians on how to survive during these trying times.
First, let’s discuss everyone’s most pressing priority – paying the bills. How many expenses can the stimulus check truly cover? It’s impossible to cut hair or provide a skincare service while social distancing, so what can you do to channel your creativity into success?
Apply for funds:
The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) and associated charities have created a relief fund geared towards helping beauty professionals. They will provide $500 to licensed beauty professionals who are unable to work due to COVID-19 as emergency aid for short-term relief. To apply for these funds, visit pbacharities.wufoo.com or probeauty.org. This money has been supplied by donations and is only available until funds run out.
Get Creative and Earn Cash from Freelance Sites:
Trina and Kady are beauty professionals that work in Hollywood. They do fantastic makeup and hair for the stars in la-la land using their skills to create looks that range from the fabulous (think beauty) to the bizarre (think aliens, monsters, blood, and gore). They’ve been putting their creativity to use by creating designer face masks and artwork from home.
“The face masks have been blowing out the door.” Trina says. “I offer a wide range of fabrics to choose from, and they can buy the filters directly from me as well. I’ve been posting photos of the fabrics on Facebook and Instagram and have so many orders that I’ve put a hold on accepting new ones.”
Kady set up an Etsy store where she offers custom paintings (perfect Mother’s Day gift!), designer plant and flower- pots, and hand-made jewelry. She says the income stream has been small but provides enough to keep the lights on and food on the table.
Beauty pros are a creative, skilled, inventive group of people. Now is the time to get up off the couch and put your artistry to good use. You can offer consultations via Zoom or any streaming platform (one artist has been making money giving makeup tutorials via Google Hangouts). Face masks will be in demand for an unforeseeable amount of time, and custom artwork and jewelry are always in demand. A nice bonus to creating an online business is saving your sanity – you’ll
survive in much better shape if you keep busy than if you spend the entire month binge-watching TV in your pajamas with crumbs littering your pj’s top.
So – roll up your sleeves and channel your creativity to create something fabulous! Please share your great ideas in the comments section. You can also email us at [email protected] and type BEAUTY BLOG in the subject line.
Now excuse me while I let Netflix know that I’m still here and wipe the crumbs off my pajamas. Follow this blog for more tips, tricks, and examples from your fellow Beauty professionals on the best and brightest ways to go about surviving the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have any tips or a story you’d like to share, please email me [email protected]. Type BEAUTY BLOG in the subject line.
