Episode 266
Entrepreneurship, Mentorship, & Beauty Gives Back | Mireya Villarreal & Julie Hightower Co-Founders, Beauty Gives Back Foundation
In this episode, learn how purpose-driven leadership, mentorship, and community-building can transform businesses, lives, and the future of the beauty industry with Beauty Gives Back Co-Founders Mireya Villarreal & Julie Hightower
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
🔅Build with purpose: Tie your business to a mission that creates impact beyond profits—it will strengthen your brand and community.
🔅Seek mentors and be a mentor: Success in beauty comes from guidance, and paying it forward accelerates industry growth.
🔅Prioritize wellness: Protect your mental and physical health to avoid burnout and sustain a long career in beauty.
🔅Invest in financial literacy: Understand cash flow, funding, and strategic planning so you can grow without losing stability.
🔅Leverage events for growth: Networking and education events (like Beauty Gives Back) are opportunities to gain tools, connections, and scholarships that directly support your career.
🔅Give back strategically: Find ways to support your community—whether through scholarships, mentorship, or volunteering—to create a ripple effect of empowerment.
🎟️On September 15th, join Beauty Gives Back™ for a one-day experience filled with mentorship, networking, and inspiration from some of the most influential leaders in the beauty industry.
👉 Get tickets here: www.beautygivesbackfoundation.org
👉Follow Mireya on Instagram
👉Check out Pink Pewter
👉Check out Pink Pewter Foundation
👉Follow Julie on Instagram
👉Check out Daisie Foundation
The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.
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The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.
Transcript
Marea Villarreal and Julie Hightower are the co founders of the Beauty Gives Back Foundation.
Speaker A:Marea is a CEO and founder of Pink Pewter as well as the head heads up Pink Pewter Foundation.
Speaker A:She is also the board of directors for the American Beauty Show.
Speaker A:Julie Hightower is an executive board president of the Daisy foundation and the Daisy Project.
Speaker A:Today we're going to learn about what makes these two change makers community builders and visionaries.
Speaker A:What is the Beauty Gives Back foundation and how did they come to this?
Speaker A:What is this entrepreneurial journey of these two incredibly powerful women that are making changes in our industry?
Speaker A:Welcome back to the Hairdresser Strong show.
Speaker A:My name is Robert Hughes and I am your host.
Speaker A:And today I'm with Maria and Julie.
Speaker A:How you doing today?
Speaker B:Hey there.
Speaker B:Happy Tuesday.
Speaker C:Hello, everyone.
Speaker B:Happy Tuesday.
Speaker A:So, Julie, you look like you're out and about.
Speaker A:What are you.
Speaker B:What's going on?
Speaker A:Robert?
Speaker B:I am committed to mental wellness and moving my body.
Speaker B:And I am committed to doing 20,000 steps a day.
Speaker B:And so you caught me in the midst of that, but I was very committed to what you're doing.
Speaker B:We are very committed to what you're doing and super excited to be on your show.
Speaker B:So I am moving my body.
Speaker B:So I encourage everyone to get their cardio in, move their body via walking, do something, because you'll feel better in your mind, in your heart and yourself.
Speaker A:Well, it's real.
Speaker A:The entrepreneurial experience of life includes multitasking.
Speaker A:And you're right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay, so let's start with Maria.
Speaker A:Tell us a little bit about, like, tell us like a little bit out.
Speaker A:Like your pink.
Speaker A:You have pink pewter.
Speaker A:You have.
Speaker A:You're on the American Beauty show board.
Speaker A:And tell us a little bit about, like, your entrepreneurial journey through all that.
Speaker A:Like, kind of like, what are the, what's the kind of like, high level experience you had and if you could include any, any, any major learning experiences along the way to get you to where we are today.
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:First of all, I want to tell everyone how incredible, incredibly honored I am to be on this show with you.
Speaker C:Last year, you were at Beauty Gives Back.
Speaker C:And let me tell you, everyone loved you.
Speaker C:Like, loved you and I loved you.
Speaker C:And we are so excited to have you back at our Beauty give us back event.
Speaker C:Because I'm just saying you are phenomenal at what you do.
Speaker C:You talk with your heart and you're not.
Speaker C:Bullshit.
Speaker C:Okay?
Speaker C:That's why I like you.
Speaker C:I only hang around with people that have a light, and you have the most incredible light and your Wife.
Speaker C:Oh my God, I just love her.
Speaker C:I just love her.
Speaker C:But let's, let's, let's, but let's, let's go back to.
Speaker C:Okay, so I started in a 600 square foot salon, $12 haircuts to grow in an international brand sold in over 42 countries.
Speaker C:And let me tell you, my life and my journey hasn't been easy.
Speaker C:And if only I would have started with the right mentors, I would have probably been 10 times better than I am right now.
Speaker C:And I made a lot of mistakes, horrible mistakes where I was days away to filing bankruptcy.
Speaker C:And the mindset and the power of the passion that I had kept me going, kept me going and I rebuild my business and I got back on track better than ever.
Speaker C:But let me tell you the reason we became partners in this event, the nonprofit is because it is so important to give back.
Speaker C:And I noticed that in my journey, the more you gave, the more doors were getting opened.
Speaker C:And I don't know, having a business and having a nonprofit is one of the most incredible things that I've ever done.
Speaker C:Because you know, non profit world, giving back is like the medicine for your soul and your mind.
Speaker C:And I'm just so honored to have met Julie because I'll be honest with you, all my life I've been doing that, you know, like giving back.
Speaker C:But I never knew that how important it was to, to, to give back in a different level.
Speaker C:9 years my company has been sponsoring her nonprofit and, and she did beautiful things, like beautiful things with her nonprofit.
Speaker C:And, and I realized that we don't have this in the beauty industry.
Speaker C:And we needed to bring that love and passion over here.
Speaker C:And that's why we co founded the nonprofit Beauty Gives Back to be able to give mentorship, inspiration, empowerment and all these things.
Speaker C:And our September 15th event.
Speaker C:So I don't know, I mean it's a journey.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, how about, how about you Julie?
Speaker A:What is your, what is your story?
Speaker A:Kind of high level story of getting to where you are today?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:So my background is pretty unique.
Speaker B:I'm Robert, a little different than yours and Maria specifically.
Speaker B:I am not originally from Chicagoland.
Speaker B:I moved here for my medical sales career and pursuing something completely different.
Speaker B:And really, I'll be honest with you and your, and your audience is that non profit give Back being a blessing pouring into the community was modeled by my parents and my grandparents.
Speaker B:And so it was just something that was expected.
Speaker B:That's what we did as a very young child.
Speaker B:So I really didn't know any different.
Speaker B:And I knew the secret sauce after it being modeled and being fulfilled in every way.
Speaker B:And having my joy cup overflowing was to be the blessing to others.
Speaker B:And so through my medical sales experiences and serving on other nonprofit boards in Chicago and outside of Chicago, I was exposed and learn very, very early on about give back through random acts of kindness.
Speaker B:And that's how Daisy actually was created.
Speaker B:And so Daisy is known for random acts of kindness, specifically targeting women and children, specifically in socioeconomic challenge communities.
Speaker B:So we're known for surprising children in schools for the holidays which are gearing up for we do Mother's Day makeover.
Speaker B:You have to come and have Maria do your hair, y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker B:But anyway, Maria goes to work, rolls her sleeves up.
Speaker B:We work with other hairstylists to make moms feel good and dads feel good just in time for Mother's Day and Father's Day.
Speaker B:And you just don't know what your one yes is connected to.
Speaker B:And so in learning and being exposed to people, you hear people's stories and journey and you're like, wow, my one yes was connected to that.
Speaker B:And maybe if I wouldn't have said yesterday, would she feel good?
Speaker B:Would she be propelled, would she feel elevated?
Speaker B:And when you find the need, everything comes, the money comes, everything comes.
Speaker B:And people will say yes and they'll be on board.
Speaker B:And so nine years later, we're literally going into our 10 year anniversary of honoring children and women across Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee now.
Speaker B:Didn't know at the time that it would amass to this honestly.
Speaker B:We started in a very, a very, very close friend of mine's basement.
Speaker B:And I'll say you asked me about the learning.
Speaker B:Never underestimate the power of purpose and passion.
Speaker B:Because let me tell you something.
Speaker B:You want to let you want make God laugh, tell him your plan.
Speaker B:Because I can assure you I did not want to do what my parents did, which was non profit.
Speaker B:They're on like multiple boards still to this day.
Speaker B:I did not want to do it.
Speaker B:I ran away from it at my church.
Speaker B:Everything that I was involved, I was like, oh no.
Speaker B:Because I know this is going to be work.
Speaker B:But I had to get out of myself and say, what if I serve?
Speaker B:What if my yes and what if me putting my apron on can benefit and be a blessing to somebody else?
Speaker B:And when you get your, when you move yourself out of the way and think of others, you're restored, you're renewed, your joy cup is overfilled and you'll be blessed in so many ways.
Speaker B:And it's not just money.
Speaker B:Give me the good health.
Speaker B:I want good health.
Speaker B:Because you got good health, you can get anything you want.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker B:Hopefully, to answer your question.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, totally.
Speaker A:So, so let's, let's do this.
Speaker A:Maria.
Speaker A:What, like, along your journey and like discovering like everything that you've like learning and, and you know, even like along the way to ending up to this point where you're, you're built a Beauty Gives Back foundation with Julie.
Speaker A:What would you say, like, if there's another entrepreneur out there that wants to build a business but also is passionate about helping others, what, what like is like was your biggest learning experience along this pathway of yours?
Speaker A:If you had to pick one or maybe two, you.
Speaker C:I'm going to say that, you know, going into the entrepreneur route, you have to start with the right foundation.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:And you have to know your finance.
Speaker C:If you don't know your numbers, you're not going to succeed.
Speaker C:And I'll be honest with you.
Speaker C:Julie always said, and she actually taught me, slow feed, don't eat.
Speaker C:But it's really true when it comes to that.
Speaker C:You, you got to keep on hustling in your business and you got to get the right mentors to keep on growing it.
Speaker C:Because if you don't have those mentors or you're not in the room to keep on growing your business, it's going to be hard.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Distractions are there.
Speaker C:You have to be laser focused in, in what you're doing.
Speaker C:And honestly, yes, I'll say passion sells.
Speaker C:It did for me.
Speaker C:I created, you know, an accessory that never thought that I would ever selling all over the world, you know, people made fun of me.
Speaker C:But you know what?
Speaker C:I was so passionate and so laser focused on my mission that I ended up making it successful.
Speaker C:You can do whatever you want.
Speaker C:You just have to have the organization in place in order for it to be successful.
Speaker C:And I'm going to go back to, you know, the nonprofit now.
Speaker C:Now, now I have a, you know, a lot of people say, mar, I want to start a nonprofit.
Speaker C:I'm like, I, I say, you know what?
Speaker C:I think you need to volunteer.
Speaker C:Right One, in the beginning, learn from how, how to grow it.
Speaker C:Because I'll be honest, it takes a lot of time.
Speaker C:My business is established already and I have people that work with me and run it and everything.
Speaker C:If I had to run my business full time, there's no way that I would have this kind of distraction because it's a lot.
Speaker C:I'm not saying it's a good distraction for me because it's my purpose now.
Speaker C:But it takes a lot of time.
Speaker C:Like our beauty give back event.
Speaker C:It's one year in the making.
Speaker C:You know, how to do a show.
Speaker C:It's a lot.
Speaker C:Everything, the build up, it's starting with the right foundation, the right, you know, things that you need to implement it so it could be successful.
Speaker C:And it's like that with any career.
Speaker C:Your career, an event, you know, working for someone, organization, and being very strategic on how you build your business is important.
Speaker C:But you have to be honest.
Speaker C:I always say if you're honest, the doors will always open.
Speaker C:If you lie, forget about it.
Speaker C:The beauty industry is very tiny, okay?
Speaker C:And it's gigantic, but it's also very tiny.
Speaker C:There's very few people that you know, you know what I'm talking about.
Speaker C:So you have to have those relationships that will keep on helping you grow.
Speaker C:Because if you don't have them, it's hard, right?
Speaker C:Especially hairdressers.
Speaker C:We know a lie, we know bullshit in two seconds.
Speaker C:And you have to be an honest person in order to have the most successful business.
Speaker C:I see it all the time.
Speaker C:People see it right through you.
Speaker C:So be honest.
Speaker C:Growth is very important when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Speaker C:And, you know, being in the room with the right mentors is important.
Speaker C:Also.
Speaker C:Education.
Speaker C:You're doing the education, we're doing the education.
Speaker C:We have a show that has, what, almost 30 people, what is it, 28 people, Julie on stage that are going to be sharing their blueprint to success.
Speaker C:That's the reason why, you know, me and Julie started this, is because we're around so many people that want to become entrepreneurs, but they didn't get that education.
Speaker C:You know, when they got out, they stayed in that little box.
Speaker C:So what we are doing is we're shaking that box, we're shaking the mind, and we're letting people come on that stage and, and share those, you know, triumphs and the mistakes.
Speaker C:Because when I'm on stage, people don't want to hear that I have a successful business.
Speaker C:They know I have a successful business, but they want to know my mistakes, my father failures.
Speaker C:How did you work with that company and not break it?
Speaker C:Like, you know, it's hard or how did you work with that person?
Speaker C:You know, it's difficult.
Speaker C:What are your strategic moves?
Speaker C:What, what are your mistakes?
Speaker C:Are the number one thing that people want.
Speaker C:And on that stage, we bring in key change makers in the beauty industry that have different stages in their lives of success for mentorship, for growth, for getting your business to the next level.
Speaker C:Because you need It.
Speaker C:You need it.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:What about, what about you, Julie?
Speaker A:If we.
Speaker A:If you were thinking, talking to the entrepreneur who's listening to this, who wants to grow a business or is growing a business or maybe has a business, but let's just think like they're in the process, but they also want to give back.
Speaker A:What advice do you have to to them as an entrepreneur but also as a philanthropist, someone who wants to launch something?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:So what?
Speaker B:One thing I would ask is, why do you want to do this?
Speaker B:If you can't tell me why and not be clear on.
Speaker B:I'm not talking about a pitch.
Speaker B:I'm talking about why do you want to do this?
Speaker B:And if you don't know your why, then you need to sit down, reflect, meditate and pray and ask for guidance.
Speaker B:And it will come in a whisper because if you don't know your why, you're just, you're just, you're just running around chasing something that's not there.
Speaker B:So that would be my first thing.
Speaker B:And I asked why a lot because I think we focus on the what, but we don't focus on the why.
Speaker B:Then I would say is that are you treating your business like a hobby or a business, and so you need to be positioned.
Speaker B:So when I knew that I was going to be making investments, I started putting my money up.
Speaker B:And a little bit goes a long way.
Speaker B:And I put it in accounts where I knew that it could accrue because I knew it was coming.
Speaker B:And the different exposure that I had.
Speaker B:To Maria's point about a mentor and a sponsor, I had a mentor, slash sponsor.
Speaker B:And the difference is a sponsor is going to bring your name up in a room when you're not in there.
Speaker B:The mentor is going to give you guidance and tell you and share and say, you know, Robert, you know, think about it this way and that however, a sponsor is going to bring your name up when you're not there and make suggestions and put you right on the next level.
Speaker B:So I had mentors and sponsors and my parents that modeled it and my grandparents that modeled it that said you need to put your money up and you need to save and stack for what's to come.
Speaker B:And I'm not seeing that.
Speaker B:I. I am not a trust fund baby.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker B:My parents are from the South.
Speaker B:They worked very, very hard to get to where they are so that my sister and I could afford, you know, afford the next level and be elevated.
Speaker B:And I'm so grateful for that.
Speaker B:So my charge was to be better than them, to not be Disrespectful to my grandparents and all of my ancestors that came before me.
Speaker B:And so I wanted to model what I was going to be teaching and sharing.
Speaker B:And so I put money aside.
Speaker B:Never knew that I would ever be involved in a nonprofit.
Speaker B:Never knew that I would be doing a lot of the things that I do.
Speaker B:I have my own LLCs, all of those things.
Speaker B:So it's positioning.
Speaker B:So my question is, is what is your.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:How are you positioning yourself?
Speaker B:Because here's the thing.
Speaker B:If no one supports it, you got to be in the position to support it.
Speaker B:You got to be in the position to write that check if something doesn't come through.
Speaker B:Maria can attest to that.
Speaker B:I know she'll nod and say that.
Speaker B:And so the why, the positioning, and have you found the need?
Speaker B:And when you found the need, I said it earlier.
Speaker B:Everything will flow and come if you're operating in excellence and integrity and character.
Speaker B:But if your character is raggedy and not above par and not in excellence, just.
Speaker B:Just stop.
Speaker B:Just stop while you're ahead.
Speaker B:And I am not in the.
Speaker B:I am not one that discourages people at all.
Speaker B:But serious people move differently.
Speaker B:Serious people want it.
Speaker B:They're not.
Speaker C:Oh, I kinda.
Speaker B:But maybe I'm gonna start this accessory business, and maybe.
Speaker B:No, you're not serious.
Speaker C:Bye.
Speaker B:See you next time.
Speaker B:Let us know how it works.
Speaker B:But serious people, they got a plan.
Speaker B:And here.
Speaker B:And I was.
Speaker B:I was sharing with some young ladies that are.
Speaker B:What is it called now, Robert?
Speaker B:It's a b.
Speaker B:Gin.
Speaker B:Something, something.
Speaker B:I'm on the end of the millennial, okay?
Speaker B:But the newest of youngest of generation, and I was sharing with two of them last week that I mentor.
Speaker B:And I'll say this to your audience.
Speaker B:We have more resources than we ever had.
Speaker B:And there is no excuse with AI on your iPhone, with ChatGPT, that you can't have a plan.
Speaker B:That is just pure laziness.
Speaker B:I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know.
Speaker B:Like, I don't know how we operated without it before.
Speaker A:I know, right?
Speaker B:If you're serious, it will help you create a plan.
Speaker B:It will study your brand.
Speaker B:It can assess someone's brand.
Speaker B:There is no excuse.
Speaker B:So people that are serious, they're digging in.
Speaker B:I'm literally, I'm signing up for six AI classes in the next seven months because I want to study and learn how to differentiate myself.
Speaker B:Like, I'm not planning free, go online, watch.
Speaker B:It'll tell you.
Speaker B:But you gotta be.
Speaker B:You gotta be hungry.
Speaker B:You gotta do the investigative work.
Speaker B: I literally know my plan for: Speaker B:Do you like, literally, I know where I'm gonna be, where my plan is.
Speaker B:God may have something different, but at least it's written down.
Speaker B:And if it's written down, I know what I want, I know where I'm going to be, I know what I want, what I'm going to have.
Speaker B:And I see it.
Speaker B:It's in my phone, it's on my door, in my.
Speaker B:In my house.
Speaker B:And it's a constant reminder of what I said I'm going to commit to doing.
Speaker B:And it works.
Speaker B:And I'm a testament of it.
Speaker B:So what's your why?
Speaker B:Positioning.
Speaker B:They give me a plan.
Speaker B:You playing?
Speaker B:No plan.
Speaker B:You playing?
Speaker B:You are playing.
Speaker C:Julie's got a lot of energy right now.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Well, we need to start running.
Speaker A:I'm telling you, everything you all are saying is I love it because that's like the message alignment between what you all are doing and what we believe over here.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's definitely the same.
Speaker A:And so, so, so I love this.
Speaker A:All of the advice you got, the organization, you got to get your money right, educate yourself in business, stay on top trends, and do not forget mentors, advisors.
Speaker A:And I love this, this sponsored thing that you introduced.
Speaker A:So, okay, so it sounds like with all this advice and all from two very accomplished people, you all had came together to create Beauty Gives Back.
Speaker A:And, and it sounds like, I mean, I've been there before, so the audience who hasn't been before might not know this.
Speaker A:I'll let you kind of both kind of say your.
Speaker A:Your piece about.
Speaker A:About it.
Speaker A:But it sounds kind of like you're taking all of those experiences and you're bringing people into a space to share those experiences, to reinforce these, these, this guidance.
Speaker A:And also it sounds like you're ma help.
Speaker A:You're creating a space for people to find mentors.
Speaker A:So anyway, so that's kind of like my.
Speaker A:How I.
Speaker A:Where I'm at in my understanding and based on this conversation and my experience.
Speaker A:But I would love to hear from you all, you know, as we kind of wrap this, wrap this conversation up.
Speaker A:What is your.
Speaker A:What is.
Speaker A:You know, just what is your.
Speaker A:I don't want to say pitch, but like, kind of my mission a little bit.
Speaker C:Yeah, our mission.
Speaker A:Yeah, mission.
Speaker C:I'll be honest with you, when we started, we wanted to inspire.
Speaker C:We wanted to have a show to inspire, motivate, empower, and give back 100%.
Speaker C:But as we started going on this tour, I mean, we're getting like, we've been on tour for four months, like nonstop.
Speaker C:We're in front of probably 4,000, 5,000 beauty school students in salon suites by now.
Speaker C:And the key thing that we found is the connection that we've been with these kids and these students and these independents.
Speaker C:They, let me tell you, they need.
Speaker C:They're in school and they graduate and they are, they teach them how to use their hands to make them.
Speaker C:They start with the foundation, right?
Speaker C:And they start with the foundation, they use their hands, they teach them how to cut color, all of these things.
Speaker C:But when they graduate, they are a little confused, right?
Speaker C:They go into, you know, booth renting, they go into a salon suite, they go into commission salons.
Speaker C:And you know, they still struggle.
Speaker C:They still struggle.
Speaker C:And some independents are in there.
Speaker C:They, they got the clientele.
Speaker C:But it's that zero to five year mark that I see, you know, as a hairdresser, I'm talking now, I see that they need more of a push of to stay in the beauty industry.
Speaker C:So if we give.
Speaker C:And, and this is when me and Julie came in, when we, when we put this event together, we're giving them people like the experience.
Speaker C:Experience and the outlets to go and find opportunities.
Speaker C:It's a community that we do like.
Speaker C:It is like nothing.
Speaker C:Like, you walk into our show, you feel like you're at home, you're emotional, you'll cry, you'll hug somebody.
Speaker C:I mean, it's really awesome.
Speaker C:And it could be in any level of your career.
Speaker C:Everyone, business owners come, they love, they're like, oh my God, I'm going to open another salon.
Speaker C:Thanks to all the things that you're sharing.
Speaker C:I'm going to start my own brand.
Speaker C:Buying products, shampoos, whatever.
Speaker C:But the key purpose.
Speaker C:Sorry, I have my cat outside.
Speaker C:My key, the key purpose that we have is we, we want to keep them in the beauty industry.
Speaker C:We want to fuel them with the right education.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:I didn't get the right education when I first started.
Speaker C:Yes, I was in my mom's salon.
Speaker C:It was successful.
Speaker C:And yes.
Speaker C:But I didn't get to the next level until I started getting more mentors, like seeing what's out there.
Speaker C:I didn't know that, you know, being in a salon making over $100,000, I could have a side hustle on the side where I could make content, creating.
Speaker C:I could go work for a brand.
Speaker C:I could go work for a corporate.
Speaker C:I could be my own brand.
Speaker C:Like you don't know.
Speaker C:Unless you get out of the salon a little bit and you go and network and learn from other people that are doing something Different.
Speaker C:You get inspired, you get empowered.
Speaker C:So that's why it's created to keep the beauty industry strong financially and emotionally.
Speaker C:And most important, we want them to see that it's important to help one another and to give back.
Speaker C:Because if you don't give back, what is it God has given you?
Speaker C:The opportunity to have good hands, to work, the good opportunity to be around people.
Speaker C:But if you give back and you help other people that are in need, God blesses you in a different way.
Speaker C:And I see it.
Speaker C:My doors in my business open.
Speaker C:I. I get opportunities like there's no tomorrow.
Speaker C:I'm not even looking for it, but because I'm blessing, and we're blessing, the doors keep opening for more opportunities.
Speaker C:And you saw when you came to our beauty giz back, look at all the doors that happened to you, Robert.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:We had two of your speakers was at our, at our event.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker C:We do like, like I said, we do these kind of things.
Speaker C:And the more we help each other and you give back, the opportunities are endless.
Speaker C:So that's why we created this event so you could, you could see everything.
Speaker C:The business, the finance, the mental wellness.
Speaker C:But most importantly, learn how to help others that need the help.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker C:I love that mic drop.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:How about you, Julie?
Speaker A:You want to sell your.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:Your perspective.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:So I think Maria did such a beautiful job explaining it, but I will tell you that Beauty Gives Back is a buffet you can think about.
Speaker B:I don't like buffets.
Speaker B:Let me say that.
Speaker B:But I do like options.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I don't like buffets.
Speaker B:Miranda will tell you I'm a germaphobe, so buffets I am not, is not my jam.
Speaker B:But I do love buffets of opportunities.
Speaker B:And what I will say is, is that Beauty Gives Back is, Is a buffet of opportunities.
Speaker B:And what you come in with is what you will get.
Speaker B:And so Maria and I develop, developed four pillars when we wrote our vision and our mission for Beauty Gives Back.
Speaker B:One was to inspire.
Speaker B:I don't know anybody that doesn't want to be inspired and doesn't need inspiration in their life.
Speaker B:Because at some point you go, there's going to be moments of distractions, of life.
Speaker B:You know, the kids say now life be life, in life, will life.
Speaker B:And so you need all that inspiration that you can get who doesn't need to be empowered to be, to be pushed to be the best version of themselves.
Speaker B:And so we wanted to empower and you get empowered by being around people that challenge you, that make more money.
Speaker B:Than you that have been successful.
Speaker B:I love being in a room where I feel like not the smartest one in the room, but it's something that I can gain and learn from, and there's something that we can learn from everyone.
Speaker B:And the moment that we're not learning, we're dead.
Speaker B:Then we said inspire, want to power.
Speaker B:We want to develop.
Speaker B:How are you fine tuning what you have separate from going to the different hair shows?
Speaker B:You got something to say, Mary?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I want you to tell them because you're inspiring me by what you're saying.
Speaker C:Remember last year that girl that came in our show and wanted to quit?
Speaker C:She wanted to just give up on everything.
Speaker C:And the minute she came to our show, she was crying, and now she's making over a hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Like, she was a beauty school student ready to draw bow.
Speaker C:And me and Julie were with her, hugging her at the end of the show because she's like, because of this show, I wanted, I wanted to quit.
Speaker C:Tell her.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:It was just so spot on.
Speaker B:Like, it's just, it's just so many, it's so many stories and blessings and testimonials that have come from a one.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:And all it takes is one.
Speaker B:But you got to move on that one.
Speaker B:And I just think about just the schools going in alone that Marie and I have gone to in the last three years and just telling them and sharing with them, not talking at them, talking with them, and being collaborative on what you can have and the power of not underestimating anybody.
Speaker B:I mean, we have speakers that have been to jail that will honestly tell you that we did not know until the summer.
Speaker B:I honestly believe that they have been in jail, but they are driving.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, like, so I, I, I, I am a champion for those that are overlooked.
Speaker B:Those are the people that I love the most.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:And I, I, I told a really good friend, I'm gonna break woman code for a moment.
Speaker B:Don't ever underestimate any woman, including me.
Speaker B:Because when our mind is made up, move out the way.
Speaker B:We will run you over with the car once we decide.
Speaker B:And that's for everyone.
Speaker C:Don't say that on camera.
Speaker B:No, I'm just saying, I'm saying that figuratively, not literally.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:My sister's an attorney.
Speaker B:She will tell me to say that.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Not literally.
Speaker B:But what I'm saying is, is that when you're motivated, when you're inspired, when you're empowered, you're going to develop your fine tuning, your skills, your abilities, your talents, you're challenging Yourself to be in the other room.
Speaker B:You can take over the world.
Speaker B:And then you add that.
Speaker B:Give back that last pillar that we have.
Speaker B:When you're blessing others, when it's not about you, it's not about strategic generosity.
Speaker B:It's not about lights, camera, action.
Speaker B:If they never call Marie and I's name, the seed has been planted.
Speaker B:We can walk away.
Speaker C:Passion.
Speaker C:But do you see this passion of the voice?
Speaker C:We're not doing.
Speaker C:We're not doing this for the money.
Speaker B:We don't make a dime.
Speaker C:Zero.
Speaker C:We don't make a dime.
Speaker C:But I'm not embarrassed to ask for it so I could be able to give it back to the people that need it.
Speaker B:And we really need.
Speaker C:We fight for their.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:For their future.
Speaker C:Like, it's.
Speaker C:But the passion is there.
Speaker C:We're not.
Speaker C:We're not trying to sell you.
Speaker B:It's not a sale.
Speaker C:People are going to come by themselves, which we have a lot coming.
Speaker C:Wait till you see.
Speaker C:I'm not going to tell you the number.
Speaker C:We're like, like, honestly almost sold out.
Speaker C:I'm like, oh, my God.
Speaker B:And it's just such a blessing.
Speaker B:And I will tell you for the need.
Speaker B:Everything comes and when it's not about you, it's not service.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:It's not self service.
Speaker B:It's about service to others.
Speaker B:I'm telling you, it's a secret sauce.
Speaker B:I have won awards and accolades I will not go into right now that will blow many people's minds.
Speaker B:And I don't need to say it because you take away the accolades, the titles, all the money, all that stuff, who are you?
Speaker B:Who are you as a person?
Speaker B:What do you do?
Speaker B:How do you.
Speaker B:How do you uplift people?
Speaker B:That's legacy.
Speaker B:And this is legacy.
Speaker B:So she and I walk away tomorrow.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We have blessed so many people and we sleep very well at night knowing that we extended opportunities amongst opportunities and exposure brings expectation.
Speaker B:And I know that the opportunities in the rooms that I've been in over the years have brought a lot of expectations.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:So why will we be selfish and not share with others and be a blessing?
Speaker B:And that's what beauty gives back is.
Speaker B:It's a blessing.
Speaker B:It's a life changer.
Speaker B:If that's what you want, anything, just don't, you know, okay.
Speaker B:But we walk out.
Speaker B:We walk out with a plan.
Speaker B:I walk out excited.
Speaker B:We take notes and go back and replay how we can elevate and get better and be more of a bigger blessing.
Speaker B:So the onus is on.
Speaker C:Whomever is listening tell everybody yes.
Speaker C:Why don't you tell everybody what you spell when you went there?
Speaker C:You tell because your voice is there.
Speaker C:I said, Robert, why don't you share, you know, how you felt when you came to the event?
Speaker C:I mean you interviewed everybody, but you were in the event.
Speaker C:Tell everybody.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, my, my experience was that when you like, you know, we also host our, our an event here in D.C. so I'm thinking about it from multiple angles.
Speaker A:You know, I'm thinking about it like as a, as a, and I'm also, I'm also there as press.
Speaker A:So like I am not having like the, the full attendee experience, but I'm walking through it while I'm there.
Speaker A:And so like imagining walking in and having like this grand welcome the opportunity to check in and like have this, you know, take some pictures and kind of check out some of the vendors that are set up around, around the space and then going into this beautiful, beautiful ballroom and getting the opportunity to hear the stories of highly successful people from varying, varying levels.
Speaker A:You know, you had like, you had like people that sounded that, that were new.
Speaker A:Like I, I interviewed a couple people that hadn't been in the industry right now, but they're like, they're like early in their game and they're, they're making moves and then you had all the way up to you know, people that were in like executive level, people at publicly traded company, you know.
Speaker A:And so like the span was so dynamic and so anybody who's like an entrepreneur, you probably want to go and check this out because you're going to learn about what different people in different points of their career and based on different, different visions of the future.
Speaker A:Like, you know, because like, like our opportunities in this industry are so vast and there are so many different places directions to go in and, and, and like the, like when you're coming into the industry and you're new or if you just like, you know, depending on your exposure, like you, it's limited in like and social media is amazing but there's also a lot of downsides to it.
Speaker A:Like you can get kind of trapped into an algorithm.
Speaker A:You can get kind of trapped into a narrative and then you're not, you, you don't have any vetting process for your, for the, for the advice you're getting, you know, and like the equity that of value that influencers have is based on follower count.
Speaker A:And I think that, that, that, that bill is coming due where that is not as valuable for the person seeking advice.
Speaker A:That's valuable for brands who want to Push products and services.
Speaker A:But it's not really that valuable for the.
Speaker A:When you're measuring whether or not to take the person's advice.
Speaker A:So you know, you're able to go into a space where you've done the vetting process for them to discover your leaders and your advisors.
Speaker A:Whether or not you create a personal relationship with them or not, it doesn't matter because now you have, now you're adapting your algorithm to how high quality intake of information.
Speaker A:So like if that's the, if that's the only thing you get, that's tremendous because like social media, I talk about this all the time.
Speaker A:Like social media is the modern day TV where people just kind of sit around and watch it, you know, and now, but now because the invasive nature of social media is on your phone people's cons constantly consuming select.
Speaker A:You want to make sure your algorithm is trained to give you the life that you want.
Speaker A:And like how do you do that?
Speaker A:Like, so you need somebody to vet those people and it's a great place to get that experience of who should I follow and what are their stories and then also the opportunity to actually walk up to those people and meet them.
Speaker A:So I'm very excited.
Speaker A:Like, I think that is impressive.
Speaker A:Is awesome.
Speaker A:And you know, if you know all the viewers and listeners on that are on the show that are listening, they, they know that this is like my passion, like what you all are doing.
Speaker A:It's been such a pleasure to meet the both of you and it's an honor to have both of you in my, in my, what I call my community of people that I know, my relationships and everybody out there that you definitely should.
Speaker A:When's the, what's the date?
Speaker A:September 15th.
Speaker B:You said Monday, September 15th.
Speaker A:That's coming up.
Speaker B:So we'll be there.
Speaker A:Everybody else and watching, you should definitely check it out and you won't be upset.
Speaker A:We're also making a trip out of it to go and visit Chicago and for a couple days.
Speaker A:So you know, Chicago's a destination.
Speaker A:Not everybody's who.
Speaker A:If you're not in Chicago or the Chicago area, then there's an opportunity to check out an awesome city.
Speaker A:So that's my, that's my vibe.
Speaker C:I love you, Robert.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker C:Yes, we love that you're coming.
Speaker B:Yes, we love that you're coming and we wish you nothing but blessings and success and continued favor and everything that you and your comings and goings because it's only up from here.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker B:So thank you, both of you.
Speaker A:God bless and I will soon.
Speaker C:Bye.
Speaker C:Bye, everyone.
Speaker B:Thank you for watching.
