Meet Ana Acosta | PMU artist & owner of studio Eyebrows4UTX , LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ana Acosta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ana, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
1) What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I always wanted financial independence and freedom. I also quickly realized that I am an entrepreneur by nature and I never felt that a 9 to 5 job was for me. Being my own Boss and owning a business means that I can express myself through my work, I have no limit on my earnings, I have the desire to be the best, and I have the flexibility to work on my own terms. For example, thanks to my private business, I can now make sure that as much time I put in my work, I also invest a lot in myself. I travel a lot, I work out every day, and I spend quality time with friends. Owning a business is a lot of work. I spent over 10,000 hours practicing my PMU skills, but looking back, this is very much worth it!

2) Social impact: how does your business help the community or the world?

I help the community in two ways, through my work, and through my business story.

My work helps women feel confident in their own skin. I see unique beauty in every client and my role is to shine light on this beauty. I truly believe that inside every woman there is a beauty queen waiting to be revealed to the world.

Sometimes, perfect eyebrows is all what a Queen needs to shine!

My business story inspires the community to overcome any challenges and follow their dreams. I am an immigrant who moved to the US 5 years ago. I did not speak English; I had very little money, and little business skills. Yet, I was able to establish my own successful business that provides me with financial freedom and great standard of living. My story is about overcoming challenges and that no matter how many obstacles I face, I am always moving forward. I felt this mission is close to my heart that I established a PMU online training program, not only for Texas based women, but also for every woman in America who wants a career in PMU. In my program, I not only focus on PMU skills, but I work a lot with my students on how to overcome their fears, how to market themselves, how to manage sales, and how to manage social media. It’s a truly holistic training program. I always say to my students, if a non-English speaking immigrant woman made it thus far, you can all make it too!

3) Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

I always believed that no risk means no return. The only reason someone takes risk is “hope” that this risk will lead to a happy outcome. Because of that hope, I have always been willing to take risks. I took a risk by moving to another country at the age of 26 without knowing the language. I took a risk to leave everything behind and start my life from scratch. I took a risk by starting a business when I had very little business skills. I took a risk by leaving my marriage and financial dependence on my ex-husband. What people see as risks, I see as opportunities for growth

5) What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?

I think the balance between being ambitious, being a perfectionist, being social and being authentic and genuine is the most important factor behind my success.

Being ambitious is important because when I opened my first small office, everyone was telling me I achieved success, but deep inside I knew this was just a step. I envisioned my office bigger and in a better location. Only because I had that vision, that eventually it became a reality

Being perfectionist is important because even if what I am doing is just one step towards the end goal, I have to perfect it. I always believe that I can do better and that there is room for improvement in my work. That is why I make sure to take 3 to 5 courses and training programs every year to raise the quality standards of my work.

Being social and enjoying the public attention have helped me a lot. I enjoy being active and engaged with people on social media which in turn has helped my business significantly.

Being authentic and genuine with my clients is a way of life. I enjoy being open, honest and sharing and my clients know this about me. They know that I will always say and do what is best for them and not what is best for me.

6) How to know whether to keep going or to give up?

I find the famous quote “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life” to be very true. Sometimes you are lucky, you know what you truly love, and sometimes it takes few ventures to do that. Before I became a PMU artist 👩🏻🎨 , I was a master of a waxing treatment for a year, a hair extensions artist for a year, a manicure and pedicure artist for 2 years, and body masseuse for a year.

You have to try whatever interests you and give it 10,000 hours of practice. Only then, you can truly feel if you love what you do or not. If you don’t, feel free to change your profession. Life is a flow and money is just one step in this flow. When you find your path, you enjoy the process, you feel proud of your work and you will give your best to your clients. Do that and the money will comes easily into your life. I spent 5 years to find my profession and it was worth it.

7) Work-life balance: How has your balance changed over time? How do you feel about balance?

Balance is extremely important to me especially as life get busier. To help maintain balance, I strictly follow a set of rules

– Sunday is family day and I do not discuss any work matters

– Morning is time dedicated to myself and loved ones. Every morning I start by giving gratitude to God for what I have. I then practice Kundalini yoga to pump energy in my body and calm my excited mind. During this time, I do not check my phone and I do not discuss any work matters. Only after a fulfilling breakfast, I can then check my phone and start the working day.

– Flexible schedule means I can meet with friends for lunch, go to the gym daily, and take care of any personal matters

– Bedtime has its own routine. I leave all duties, problems and all disturbing thoughts outside the bedroom. This is possible through meditation and then talking to loved ones like my man, my sisters or close girlfriends.

8) What makes you happy? Why?

Nothing makes me happy because happiness come from inside me. I choose and want to be happy. I look at the beauty of the nature; blue sky, green grass, birds singing, sun shining, etc. and I am happy. I see my clients smiling, read grateful letters from clients or watch successful stories of my students and I am happy. How could I not be happy when Alli, one of my students from Louisiana, was not making any money, but after my basic PMU course, she started making $1,000 a day! Happiness can be found in the simplest things; comments on Instagram, wise conversations with my man, time spent with friends, traveling, etc. Happiness is always a choice!

9) Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?

The ability to create something is truly magical or some form of a miracle. I can use the hands that God gave to me to create miracles every day. This makes me feel special and unique. Of course working with hands require a lot of persistence and hard work. Luckily, I have both. Until today, I get goosebumps every time I see the beauty my hands create. Truly miracles!

10) How do you define success?

Success to me is defined in three words. Productivity, impact and results.

Producing work that I am proud of.

Impacting the life of my clients and students

Achieving Results through wealth and money creation
 
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business story inspires the community to overcome any challenges and follow their dreams. I am an immigrant who moved to the US 5 years ago. I did not speak English; I had very little money, and little business skills. Yet, I was able to establish my own successful business that provides me with financial freedom and great standard of living. My story is about overcoming challenges and that no matter how many obstacles I face, I am always moving forward. I felt this mission is close to my heart that I established a PMU online training program, not only for Texas based women, but also for every woman in America who wants a career in PMU. In my program, I not only focus on PMU skills, but I work a lot with my students on how to overcome their fears, how to market themselves, how to manage sales, and how to manage social media. It’s a truly holistic training program. I always say to my students, if a non-English speaking immigrant woman made it thus far, you can all make it too!
 
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The itinerary will reflect my personality and what I am passionate about

Work: Of course I will have to show them my office

Nature: I love nature and it’s only fitting that I will take them on a tour to explore the best parks in Houston

Inspiration: I love visting places that inspire like NASA and the Museum of Natural Science

Self-care: I will take them to my gym for a nice workout then treat them to a nice massage and spa experience

Nightlife: Having been in Houston for 5 years, I know the best night restaurants with live music
 
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My father deserves a lot of credit for the passion I have towards hard work. He worked for 35 years in the schooling system where he became a school principal, built two schools and fostered a team of dedicated and passionate school staff and teachers. Seeing him passionate about his work, surrounding himself with people he enjoyed working with, and dreaming big, made me grow up wanting to do exactly the same.

My first job also had a huge impact on my career. I worked for a “Groupon Company” where I was an account manager responsible for creating online offers. The culture was very entrepreneurial and everyone had a sense of ownership and treated the company like their own business. The dream of having my own business was born on this job.

Website: http://eyebrows4u.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/eyebrows4utx?utm_medium=copy_link

Other: https://eyebrows4u.net/