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Daily Mirror: Moving On - Eva's Challenge
Daily Mirror, September 21st 2004
Overview
Eva Johnova works as a beauty therapist in West London. She only intended staying for a year but has been there for over two. It's time to move on, but to what? She feels she is not using her full potential and has been wrestling with this tension for months. With her 30th birthday only days away, Eva is keen to find a new beginning for her career.
THE OPTIONS
1. Be a make-up artist.
Eva's passion is make-up. People comment on her eye for colour and rave about her skill and ability to make them look great. Although Eva trained in beauty therapy, she has also completed a professional make-up training as well.
If she could wave a magic wand and transform her life, she would turn herself into a successful make-up artist, working on magazine shoots and fashion shows all over the world. Too good to be true? Not at all.
Eva has the talent and training to do this. Now she needs to beef up her confidence and find a way into this new world. She needs to make full use of any contacts she has and opportunities that come her way.
For example, on a recent night out a fellow diner commented on how gorgeous her make-up was. They got talking and the diner was actually a busy make-up artist herself, who offered to take Eva to London Fashion Week with her, to assist her backstage.
As London Fashion Week is running all this week, I have encouraged Eva to call this lady immediately and offer to help out on the two free days she has, and she must take every opportunity to assist her and others in this way until she has built up her confidence and contacts. She needs to create a brilliant portfolio of her work and then approach an agency to represent her. This will look all the more impressive if her work is with real models at real fashion shows, rather than friends and family.
2. Offer professional make-up at home
While Eva is building her professional make-up career, she could offer a make-up service to non-models! All women want to look good and the vast selection of make-up on offer is overwhelming.
Eva could be invaluable in putting together the perfect make up bag and then teaching women how to apply it all to look great. She could go shopping with her client and in an hour find the best skin care products and make-up for her. She could also offer to come and apply make up at the client's home before a big event or special occasion.
Eva needs to get a stylish postcard printed advertising her services and distribute in hairdressers, health clubs and shops where appearance conscious women are likely to be.
She should also approach the Women's editors of local papers and magazines and offer to demonstrate her services and generate positive publicity for herself in this way. The Party Season will soon be upon us and Eva must get herself known so she is firmly established with clients and work by mid-November.
3. Run make-up parties
Eva's great gift is with colour and instinctively knowing what works for people. She could use this gift with great success by running small make-up parties at women's homes. There are a number of companies who work in this way, including The Bodyshop and Virgin Vie cosmetics. Eva must decide which she prefers and get going with this immediately.
I appreciate that Eva is going to be busy with all of this and that she has to continue to work at the beauty salon to earn a living at the same time. But, it will be worth it and the plan is to be earning money from her make-up work as soon as possible so that she can make a smooth transition from the beauty salon, without financial stress. Eva is prepared to work and give up partying for a while - even her boyfriend will have to help out too!
Eva looks the part, has a warm, easy-going personality and is clearly brilliant with make-up. There is absolutely no reason why she can't succeed and achieve her dream. I think I'll be her first customer for the new make-up shopping trip!
The verdict
Eva's response: 'Fantastic! I really believe it can work. I can see clearly how I can make it all happen. I can't believe it's all so simple, though I know I'm going to have to give up most of my spare time to make it all happen. But I will. I really will. This is what I want more than anything.'
