Business for Self-Employed Creatives

Song Lopez had a successful career as a celebrity makeup artist for TV and film, which came to a halt in 2020 when the pandemic wiped out production. During that time, she embraced the solitude and got to know herself. She learned to live in the moment and remembered why it's so important to play.

She's created a new identity for herself, one that evolves with her as she continues to grow. In this episode, we discuss how she turned makeup into a business by developing her own custom makeup line, but also why she wants to be known for more than what she does. Who she is is more important. She explains what it means to live a life of purpose, on purpose.

Now, as an intuitive life coach, she helps others heal their traumas and move confidently towards their goals. We talk about changing narratives, taking accountability for our lives, and why the hardest job we'll ever have is the work we do on ourselves.

Connect with Song @makeupbysong

Connect with me on your favorite platform: https://pods.link/aardvarkgirl

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00:43 And I thought, people do this for a living? I lived in Washington. I wasn't living in LA, in Hollywood, where this was normal. I wanted to be a veterinarian or a firefighter, teacher, you know, helping that way.

03:07 Makeup artists today have to be ready to produce things being thrown at them at all times. I always say you have to be a quick thinker. You have to be able to calm the talent, build them up, make them feel amazing, you know, and still make the client happy.

07:28 So we are absorbing, as makeup artists, a lot of the insecurities, the stress, energetically. So I always say when I get home, I'm just drained because I've taken on all their anxiety and insecurities, and then I'm using all my energy to be like, “You're amazing. There's a reason why you got this job.” and reframe their narrative that they've got going on in their head at that moment.

08:42 When I mentor makeup artists, I’m like, look, it's not about you. This isn't about you. This isn't about how you feel about something. It's really about coming together as a team.

11:03 When you look at kids who are a part of a team, the ones that are coachable are going to be the ones that actually do better, that work well with people, that are a team player. 

11:52 Being an entrepreneur and a freelancer, I'm always looking for opportunities to build a business in any fashion.

15:19 I really don't like to be known as just a makeup artist. I like to be known as somebody who does makeup, and somebody who's knowledgeable about it, and has their own makeup line. But as far as being that as my identity, that was the biggest thing of my growth is to not monetize on my soul, on my life, and being like, that's my identity. I think being a makeup artist should be something that should be looked at as like, this is what I do. But then who I am goes deeper than that.

16:55 I am in so much gratitude for the pause that 2020 brought. Under those circumstances I decided to take and invest 100% into my personal growth.

Let's go back to playing through the day. Instead of looking at dishes being daunting, I started putting music on and I started reframing that narrative. I get to do the dishes. I get to, not I have to. There's something that happens in your body, and in your mind, when you say “I have to do this.” There's a resistance. But when you say, “I get to,” it feels better.

23:54 I realized that I was constantly running from myself, whether it was jumping from relationship to relationship, like you had said, or over shopping. I was drinking it away. I was eating it away. I was relationshipping it away. I was sleeping it away, whatever it was. But once you take and go inside, and you start figuring out who you are, it's a game changer. Nobody can tell you who you are. 

26:55 I used to call it my imaginary dinner table. I would invite everyone over to my dinner table. Anybody could sit at my table. I mean, they were backstabbers. They were jealous people. They were all kinds. I just wanted a lot of friends because I think that made me feel like I was somebody. But as I've grown, and as I've found out who I am, the less people I'd rather have around. I want more quality. And those people that are around me, that are my quality people, understand me. 

29:24 When you say yes to somebody, you're actually saying no to yourself. So making sure that when you do say yes to something, it's something that you're like, okay, I'm willing to give up my time. Time is something nobody gets back. You cannot make more time. You can make more money, right? And also, the people that you have in your life, if they're going to be upset and not honor you because you don't feel like going out, then you need to do your checks and balances. Because those people, the reason why they're upset is because they need to fill something up within themselves, and they're putting that pressure on you. 

34:00 The attitude of gratitude of just being like I'm so grateful for this very moment where I am completely being provided for. I'm in gratitude. Regardless of the fact that my career ended. Regardless of all that stuff. The attitude of gratitude was also the most important thing that I did in 2020 when I was growing. I woke up every day in gratitude for that day to be able to create, and to play. Not to stress. Not to take it for granted. To play and create.

36:41 A Goddess is a grower. A Goddess is somebody who is constantly thriving to be herself, to give to others, to help others with her powers and her mindset and her growth. And so then I became a SASS Goddess – Short And Sweet with Song, and then Goddess. And I want to encourage women to step into that goddess power of growth, of being powerful, being confident in who they are.

The hardest work anyone will ever do - it's not parenting. It's not being a good daughter or son. It's not being a good coworker, or not being a good boss. The hardest job there ever is out there is the work that you're going to do on yourself. Because most people would rather shop it away, rather eat it away, drink it away, gamble it away. Because there's a multitude of different things to do all day long that can make you avoid yourself. And people are doing that.

43:16 Once I woke up and I took 100% responsibility for everything that happened in my adult life, is when things started to change.

46:58 And I started to say I didn't like who I was, how I reacted, regardless of how he came at me. I had no power. I gave my power away every single time, and that bothered me. I didn't like that because I want to know who I am, be in control of who I am. That is the real power. 

49:50 Living your purpose also means knowing who you are, your authentic self. And when you know who you are and your authentic self, you're going to find your purpose, whatever that is. That's what's happened for me, and that's how I know that that is the truth.

51:14 Stop thinking. Stop overthinking of what could go wrong. Stop overthinking about what somebody else may think. My biggest advice is get out of your head, get into your body, and start doing what feels good. 

54:25 You could just be sitting down, being content, and just enjoying music. That's meditation. It's being present. It’s being in the moment.

55:05 Now I live 24 hours at a time. I'm in the present moment as constantly as possible.