Michanna Murphy shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Michanna, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
My neighbors dog! My downstairs neighbor has an amazing cane corso named Butte Beloved and I love her like she is my own. I see her everyday, I walk her, buy treats, clothes(pink is her favorite color), cool dog collars, and even bring her upstairs to my apartment sometimes. She brings me an unbelievable amount of joy, and I am so happy to have her in my life.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am currently a full time makeup artist who has also become a social media manager, and a dance choreographer. I am a professionally trained dancer with a BFA in dance from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. I started doing makeup as a preteen because of dance and continued to do it all throughout college and graduate school. While in grad school, I was teaching dance, performing with various companies, and working retail in the beauty space. I ended up working for MAC cosmetics, and that was my introduction into the world of professional makeup artistry. After working for MAC and several other brands over the course of 10 years, I became a full time freelance makeup artist and named my brand Makeup in Black and White. My schedule became demanding so I stopped dancing, but was able to work with a range of people including high profile politicians and celebrities to hard working women who are trailblazers and successful entrepreneurs.
One of my clients who is a successful entrepreneur in the heath care space inspired me to work with her in a different capacity and one that could help her increase her visibility on social media because I believe in her company and the potential that it has to offer affordable, high-quality, healthcare. I also recently had the opportunity to take on a choreography project in my hometown which was a wonderful and nostalgic experience.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I believed that STEM was not for girls and now I know that is not true at all!
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Working for yourself is no easy feat especially in a competitive field like makeup artistry. During the time when I was trying to grow a clientele, it was a struggle, and still is. The world is constantly changing, and with that, the demand for makeup artists can sometimes shrink. I constantly juggle meeting clients, establishing relationships with them, perfecting my skillset and product knowledge, and learning and mastering new skills to keep me in the game. There was a time when I thought about giving up and moving back to my hometown because I was not getting enough work to support myself. Somehow I talked myself out of quitting, I reached out to some account executives for some cosmetic brands, and became a freelance artist for some major brands like, Chanel, MAC, and Laura Mercier. I hustled hard for those brands so that I could get consistent hours, and that helped me stay afloat.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
The important truth that few people agree with me on is that consistency trumps everything else. Consistency beats talent, popularity, a great network, and maybe even nepotism.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop procrastinating when it comes to the things I really want to do. I have a long list of things I keep putting on the back burner that I would make a priority to complete or at least get to a good place for someone else to finish or continue.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @michannamurphy
- Linkedin: Michanna Murphy
Image Credits
Myron Fields, Elliott O’Donovan
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