Fearless Friday-Melody Anderson-Mellie’s Makeup May 23, 2008

TGIF and Happy Memorial Day! and welcome to Fearless Friday! I’m excited that this is already the third edition! I am privileged to have the opportunity to interview these fearless women and appreciate their openness in sharing their entrepreneurial journey. Melody shared that she enjoyed answering the questions because it helped her take the time out of her busy life to step back and take a look at her business.

I met Melody Anderson of Mellie’s Makeup when she had a newsletter contest at Divapreneur offering samples for being among a certain number to sign up. Melody e-mailed and asked questions about my preferences before sending the samples, another indication of great service. I received them right away and was impressed with the service and packaging. I switched to mineral makeup about five years ago and I’ve actually never tried the big brands advertised on the infomercials. My first introduction was from a small independent company like Mellie’s. Melody sent a sample of mineral blush in pink quartz. One issue that I’ve found with the several lines of mineral makeup I’ve tried is that the blush is often not colorful enough for me. The blush blended smoothly with my foundation and provided a subtle but visible glow. My favorite product is Mellie’s Foundation Primer. It’s soft texture feels like silk on my face and my test drive proved that it helped keep my makeup on and looking fresh all day!

Many of us will identify with the challenges that Melody has openly shared. I am thankful to be part of such an amazing support network. Just knowing that we are all facing the same challenges and sharing about how we are meeting them does so much to keep our spirits up. Please take a minute to visit her website to view her line of makeup and skin care products and join me in wishing her all the best for her success!

What inspired you to choose makeup as your art and your business?

In High School I was crazy about chemistry and I knew I wanted to work in the Cosmeceutical industry. I wanted to create the next big anti-wrinkle cream. I started college as a chemistry major and started collecting beauty products. My second year in college my Dad passed away and I changed majors to Business so that I could help with the family business. I never truly let go of makeup and grew to love the marketing/sales aspect of the industry. I finished my degree up in Business, took a couple of courses in Makeup Artistry and fell in love with every aspect of makeup. I loved applying makeup and started working on the side doing makeup jobs. I found out that building a makeup kit takes TONS of money and I decided to change that. I started doing more research on manufacturers and getting in to the business of labeling my own line. I have a passion for the color and texture of cosmetics and I want to offer great quality cosmetics without forcing people to shell out a lot of money.

How are you funding your company?

Right now my Husband and I budget a certain amount of our monthly income to help with the funding. I do not take any money from the sales either, we just put everything back in to the company, hoping it will grow.

Tell us about your makeup and skin care line. What are your favorite products?

Mellies Makeup is a culmination of many different manufacturers. I try and pick only products I feel have exceptional formulas and great qualities. I aim for high pigments but I also want the product to go on smooth and blend. It is priced reasonably so that women from all ages can enjoy it. I hate shelling out a large amount of money for a product that I am testing out. I might love it, but I take the risk of hating it and at department stores that could cost big bucks. I LOVE all the eyeshadows, I think I am addicted to having them. I love the eyelights, they create a nice glow of color. I use the eyeshadow pots everyday, they deposit great color and I get compliments on the range of colors I have. The Gel Eye Liner has to be second favorite product. It is something people look at thinking it is difficult to use, but it is really easy to apply with a brush and goes on really smoothly. It is hard to pick a favorite because many of the products feel like a part of me. I get so excited about each of them.

Are you able to work at your passion as a full time job?

Makeup is only a part-time thing. I try and do something with my line every night, but it never works out that way. I can get around to it maybe 3 times a week. I work a 40 hr a week job at the family business and I can squeeze some Makeup related business in during the day but for now Mellies is part-time. My Husband is amazing and is always trying to get me to do more with the makeup but we just got married and I want to enjoy the newness of that as well. He helps with everything and is even getting great with product names and what they are used for. My family is really supportive too and they tend to be my best customers.

Do you have a website and/or blog?

I have a website and blog at www.MelliesMakeup.com. It has all my products and the blog is some beauty tips with photos. I will have a gallery up soon with my portfolio and some work from a couple makeup artists that use my product solely. Keep an eye out for all that coming soon.

What do you like to do when you’re not working on your business?

I love spending time with my husband and we go camping to the beach alot. We go with my family to a lot of places and my nieces and nephews are too much fun to be around. We bought a fixer upper house so some weekends are consumed with renovation projects but we try and squeeze in fun too. I enjoy reading, and if I get the chance I will sit for hours. I practice makeup and apply it on family members just for fun if they let me. I truly enjoy being around my family and friends. I travel, not as much as I used to, but I have been to alot of really great places. I have been to Italy twice, Spain, France, England, Scotland, Mexico, and many of our own wonderful states. I just got back from Nashville TN which I loved. I learned to LIVE as much as possible from my Dad’s passing. If I feel like I need to do something, I make every effort to do it.

What do you do to achieve balance in work and play?

I can only do so much work before I feel bogged down, so I make an effort to stick to a schedule. I try very hard to manage my time in every situation, and I am a Pro at multitasking! What works the best for me is I try and stay in tune with my emotions, there are some days I am so ready to work on makeup that I can hardly sit still I am so excited. The moment I feel that disappear I will leave it be and come back later. I never want to resent that aspect of my life. It started out as something I loved and I would hate for me to resent it.

What advice do you have for other women starting their own businesses?

If you have passion and are willing to stick with it for all that it is worth you can make yourself a success. There are low points and days you feel like throwing it all away and going back to not having the stress, but if you can look at your product or service and still feel that surge of excitement, then you have what it takes to see it through. It takes hard work and time, sometimes more time then you are willing to give. Never stop learning about your product, industry, clients etc. Try and keep up-to-date on everthing because you will grow as your business grows. Never become discouraged if you don’t know the answer right away, part of being successful is using your resources to eventually find the answer yourself or utilizing your contacts to get the answer.

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