We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Missy Baker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Missy, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I am honored to say I acquired my work ethic from my mom! Growing up it was just her. My dad left when I was two years old and my mom had to do everything on her own. She worked a full time job, raised my younger brother and myself, ran a household, and tried her best to give us everything we needed.
Growing up, watching her push and work as hard as she did still inspires me to this day. I know that anything you want in life takes work. She raised us on the basis that if you want it and work hard enough, you can have anything you want. She promised it would be hard but so worth it and she has been right every step of the way!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been piercing for about 10 years. When I started this journey, I had no idea where it would take me or where I would end up. Piercing and tattoos have long been associated with bikers, jail, fetish, and all things taboo. I was 16 years old when I got my first tattoo. It was just starting to become more popular but nothing like it is today. Fast forward almost 20 years and I never thought in a million years we would be where we are today.
I have worked as an independent contractor for majority of my career. I started my business and slowly I have built my name throughout the industry and within my community by providing the best possible experience I can. When I first started, I wasn’t properly trained, I had to reach out to piercers that were much more experienced and ask for help. I was fortunate enough to have some really amazing friends that were piercers that would video chat with me or stay up late into the night answering questions to things I couldn’t figure out on my own.
When I think back to those years, they were so incredibly tough. I was inexperienced, restarting my life after some really traumatic incidents, running a business, trying to better myself, and grow into something I could be proud of. There were a lot of tears shed in those years. Fast forward to today. I am working at what I believe to be one of the best studios in the country “Black Lotus Tattoo, Piercing, and Art Gallery”. I run the piercing side and we are growing at an exponential rate. Every day I walk into work, I feel so blessed to be here.
I have pushed and strived to get here and it has been the most difficult, yet rewarding road I’ve ever traveled. In 2019, I became a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), that was a huge milestone in my career and every time I look at my certificate, I reflect on my journey. I take continuing education courses every year in order to be the best possible piercer for my clients, I am working on becoming a Graduated Gemologist through the Gemology Institute of America (GIA). I have signed an exclusive contract with “Body Vision Los Angeles” which was a huge achievement for me….the day I signed that contract, I cried; only this time, it was tears of joy. A wave of relief washed over me….I felt like I had finally done something worthwhile in my career. Like I had finally accomplished something SO big that one of the best jewelry companies in the world was looking in my direction…never in a million years did I think that would happen!
Piercing has been my saving grace in life. It has been the one thing in life I can always fall back on. It has been the one thing in life to never let me down. It is my escape, my safe place, my everything. When my life was falling apart, piercing was there for me. I know I will always have piercing to catch me. It is single handedly one of the most beautiful aspects of my life and I owe it everything I have to be the best I can be and that is something I am absolutely sure of.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, three qualities that were most impactful on my journey… I chuckled a little when I read this and instantly thought….survival mode! Can we count that as a quality? lol
I think three qualities that have helped me is a constant drive to better myself. I have never been someone who is complacent or content with just coasting.. I have a constant hunger to be the best I can be in anything I do. It has helped me in every job I have ever had. It has afforded me the ability to be in leadership role or recognized in some way at every job I have ever had.
People skills are a must! When dealing with the general public, it’s so important to be able to connect and come from a place of understanding and compassion. Every piercing I do is an exchange of energy. Every person I come in contact with, we have an exchange of energy. I try my best to make sure every interaction I have, my client leaves feeling better than before we interacted! The world is such a tough place and the smallest acts of kindness can leave such a lasting impression.
Confidence is key! You have to be confident in your craft and know what you are doing. It doesn’t happen overnight…I had so many nights I went home and worried, stressed, over-analyzed, and made myself sick over things I had done and/or had to remove or fix. The confidence comes with time, as with any profession, the more comfortable you get with your craft, the more familiar you get with troubleshooting or answering questions, knowing about the materials you are working with, etc…the more confident you become! Clients can feel that confidence and over time, you will build the most beautiful lasting relationships with them! It’s such a cool process. I have clients from when I first started that I am still working with and we have grown together. How amazing is that!!!
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
The last 12 months I feel have been my biggest session of growth in a long time. I have really had to work on setting boundaries with people. I read a quote the other day and it said “The givers have to set boundaries because the takers never will”…isn’t that the biggest truth.
I have had to learn that no matter how much you give someone, to some, it will never be enough. You can provide everything and anything [to some] and there will be a constant complaint that it isn’t enough or it’s the wrong amount….it’s been a hard lesson to learn. I have had to really back away from certain people because of this. However, I am a silver lining type of girl, so for me…it’s helped me be able to see who is an actual friend and who is just standing waiting for handout and it’s allowed me to leave those relationships behind and really nurture the ones that truly have my back as well.
I have also been able to really focus on my career and look at what I really want out of it and where I want to take it! I have started designing my own jewelry line with BVLA and I am SOOOOO excited about it! I really hope it’s successful and takes off within the piercing community.
I have upped my standards even more regarding what I expect from myself. I am focusing on expanding the piercing side at Black Lotus and make it be a destination not only for clients but for other piercers as well. I want to set the bar so high that we are the example for everyone else!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.blacklotustattoos.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piercingsbymissybaker/?hl=en
- Other: tiktok- @piercingsbymissybaker
Image Credits
Headshot from RNB2 Photography – https://www.rnb2.com/
