IAM991- Make-up Artist Helps Women Look and Feel Their Best

Hania Issa is a professional makeup artist and small business owner in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

Hania initially pursued her passion for art as a fashion designer, and transitioned to the makeup and skincare industry over 15 years ago.

After working internationally and in Washington for dermatologists, beauty salons, and spas, Hania fulfilled a lifelong dream in 2020 by establishing her own business, Beauty By Hania, LLC.

In addition to running her business, Hania is a wife and mother of two small children.

• CEO Hack: Following up with the client
• CEO Nugget: (i) Don't wait for the right time to do business (ii) Don't be afraid to niche down
• CEO Defined: Freedom to make own decisions, work around my schedule and learning different aspects of a business

Website: http://www.beautybyhania.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautybyhania/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeautybyHaniaLLC/

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Transcription

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00:24 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I am CEO podcast.

00:52 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Hania Issa of Beauty by Hania LLC. But, Hania, it's awesome to have you on the show.

01:01 – Hania Issa

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

01:04 – Gresham Harkless

Super excited to have you on and looking forward to jumping in. And before we do, I want to read a little bit more about Hania Sofia about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Hania is a professional makeup artist and a small business owner in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Hania initially pursued her passion for art as a fashion designer and transitioned to the makeup and skin industry over fifteen years ago. After working internationally and in Washington for dermatologists, beauty salons, and spas, Hania fulfilled a lifelong dream in twenty-twenty by establishing her own business, Beauty by Hania LLC. In addition to running her business, Anya is a wife and mother of two small children. Hania, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:44 – Hania Issa

I am ready.

01:46 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's do it then. So to kinda kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you guys started. What led you to start your your your business?

01:55 – Hania Issa

Sure. So, you may have noticed that, from my accent, I was not born in the United States. I am originally from Syria. And, from an early age, I loved drawing, and I pursued my passion for art by studying fashion design. And while working in the fashion design industry for a few years, I was exposed to the makeup world, and I fell in love. So I made a career switch, and I worked in the makeup field, and I gained great experience from working, in the makeup industry.

Also, I trained with a dermatologist who specializes in acne treatment, and that taught me a lot about skincare. I was ready to open my own business when I met my husband, and we moved to the United States in two thousand 2009. So I had to, learn a new culture, a new market, and I went back to school and got my aesthetic license. I worked, at two high-end spas in the Washington DC area. But after that life got in the way, I had little kids, and we moved abroad again. Finally, we settled back in the United States in two thousand eighteen. And, in two thousand twenty, I established Beauty by Hania LLC.

03:24 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I appreciate you for sharing your story and all the awesome things that you've been able to do and kind of the growth and transition. I think so many times we are Sure. We don't we don't realize the journey, we take as individuals, and how that even impacts our business, our expertise, and our skills as well.

03:40 – Hania Issa

Absolutely.

03:43 – Gresham Harkless

Yes. And, so I wanted to hear a little bit more about your business and how you're working with your clients. I imagine that, I don't know, correct Correct me if I'm wrong. Like, some of the design work that you do probably overlaps with some of the work that you're doing now.

03:54 – Hania Issa

Yes. Absolutely. I because makeup is about its art, its colors. I have the eye to see my client's potential, and I translate that into, reality. So and it's so fulfilling for me.

04:09 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. I can hear it, in your voice and that passion that you have. And so could you take us through a little bit more on how you work with your clients and how that process goes?

04:18 – Hania Issa

Sure. So I help women look and feel their best. I offer makeup services, eyebrow design, skin care, facials, and recently, I began, offering permanent makeup, which is like cosmetic tattooing to the eyebrows.

04:34 – Gresham Harkless

Okay. Absolutely. So that's when you have the permanent eyebrows and everything.

[00:04:38.19] – Hania Issa

Yes. Correct. Microblading, it's known for.

04:42 – Gresham Harkless

Okay. Cool. That's exciting. And it sounds like you've been able to evolve, but I imagine that you said, at the end of the day, it's kind of like, you know, bringing that art to people's the way that they look and the way they present themselves.

[00:04:53.30] – Hania Issa

Absolutely. Yes. And it's very fulfilling for me.

[00:04:58.50] – Gresham Harkless
I can hear that. And so I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. This could be for you personally or your business, but what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?

05:09 – Hania Issa

I think it's communication skills, and it might sound sounds funny coming from a person that English is, not my first language, but I am a great listener. I, listen to my clients ask. I ask the right questions, and I get my clients to articulate their visions of how they would like to look. And I use my artistic ability to translate this vision into reality. And sometimes when my clients don't have a clear vision, or they are open to, trying new ideas, I have, the eye to see their potential, and I make recommendations.

05:52 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Yeah. It's so funny that you said that because I think so many times when we think of communicating, we always think of what we're saying, what we're writing, what we're doing. But I love what you said about actually listening because I think we forget that communicating is about having that back-and-forth. And if we don't listen, then you're not having much of a back-and-forth. You're just talking. So I think that's huge, and I'm sure it translates into how you're working with your clients and serving them.

06:16 – Hania Issa

Yes. It's important to make the clients, like, feel heard and understood. It's very important.

06:23 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Because I feel like that's all we want to do and, of course, you know, be able to look beautiful while doing it, but to have that opportunity to make sure that you are appreciated. You're seen, you're heard, and you feel like, you're being listened to is huge. So I appreciate you for doing that.

06:37 – Hania Issa

Sure. And at the end of the day, it's about them and not about me. I use my talent to help them look their best. So that it's all about them.

06:50 – Gresham Harkless

Yes. And I love that you said that because I'm a big believer in us all, being given talents or gifts to showcase to the world and, our abilities, and I think that when you're able to do that, it takes things to another level because you're able to kinda, for lack of a better term, translate to what a person wants sometimes when maybe the words don't always come to them.

07:13 – Hania Issa

Sure. Totally. Agree.

07:15 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

07:27 – Hania Issa

So something I learned actually throughout the years is, I don't know if it's a hack, but it's probably a tip more of a tip, is, following up with the clients, the importance of following up with the clients because many businesses, think that the business end when they sell the product or the service. It's the relationship that begins when you sell something. And I always follow up with my client, check on them, and this actually, gives me an opportunity if something, goes wrong or if the client is unhappy with something. I have an opportunity to fix the situation. So this is very important.

08:14 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I think that's a phenomenal hack, and I'm a big believer in, you know, sometimes hacks are just helping us to be an Arizona genius to do that, what we do best to lean into our gifts. And what you said is so huge because I think so many times when we help a client and we never follow up with after, we don't get that interaction, we don't build that relationship to understand how it went, how we can improve, or even just fix things sometimes. And I think when we have that follow-up, that allows for us to still be in our zone of genius and serve our clients even better.

08:45 – Hania Issa

Sure. And some clients, if they are unhappy with the service or with the product, will just not come back to you. Right. And if you want a thriving business and you care about the relationships that you build with your clients, it's important to follow up with them.

09:03 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And for better work, you wanna have that conversation because I think so many times we don't sometimes understand that and don't know that. But if you make it a point to follow up, you make it a point to do that regularly, For one, it provides that opportunity for that, but I also think that it builds that connection, that human interaction that we sometimes miss when we're talking about business.

09:25 – Hania Issa

Absolutely. And there is another tip I learned is, the importance of, building a community of complementary industries. For example, I collaborate with photographers, wedding planners, and hairstylists, And, my business grew so much out of those collaborations. Not only did my business grow, but I also developed friendships with those collab with those people and professionals. So it's very important.

09:57 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That's huge. And I think so many times we don't realize that people are having, you know, sometimes conversations. In business, you try to align yourself or connect with or build synergies with those people who are having similar conversations. So it may be a hairstylist or someone that's doing nails or something along those lines, but often they might be having similar conversations, and it can create that synergistic, relationship between the businesses, but also the client as well too.

10:24 – Hania Issa

Absolutely.

10:26 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So would you consider that to be what I call a a CEO nugget, which is more of a word of wisdom or a piece of advice? It could be something you would tell, a client or it might be something you would tell your younger business self.

10:37 – Hania Issa

My younger business self is it has been a long, life dream dream of mine to open my own business. And, I would say don't wait for the right time to do your own business because I always wanted to have my own business, but I always find reasons not to. Oh, I have small kids. I'm moving. It's not the right time. But after that, I have done it now. I wish that I'd done it sooner. So if you have the passion to do something, if you have the means to do it, it's always the perfect time.

11:19 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. And I'm a big believer too in that if you feel like when you're doing something when you finally start the business and you do whatever that thing is that you're super passionate about, and then the one thing you say is I wish I had done it smooth sooner, that means that you're in the right place and you're doing the right thing. That's for sure.

11:36 – Hania Issa

True. And time is so precious.

11:38- Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. It's one of the most valuable resources.

11:43- Hania Issa

And one another thing is, I would say don't be afraid to niche down. I used to think that I have to be, the service provider for everyone. But, once I, determined, who my ideal client would be and once I got clear on, what my core values are, I was able to attract those clients and, be able to work with those clients who share similar values to mine.

12:16 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. And and that's huge. And I love that you use that word attract because I think so many times when you get, you know, that clarity about this is who I wanna work with or this is who I wanna, you know, bring or see, you know, come through the the the door, so to speak. It allows that to happen when you get clear on that and you start to start to try to serve them. And not to mention from a marketing standpoint, it's less expensive and it's less costly to try to speak to everybody because it starts to become, you know, confusing. The messages aren't as clear. But when you're able to kinda draw down and speak directly to your ideal client, that's when great things start to happen.

12:50 – Hania Issa

Absolutely. I mean, you can't please everyone.

12:55 – Gresham Harkless

Right. Yeah. Absolutely. And so now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So, Hania, what does a CEO mean to you?

13:08 – Hania Issa

So I don't know if I consider myself a CEO. It's a one-person company, but I hope it will expand. But for me, owning my own business, gives me freedom, the freedom to make all the decisions, the freedom to work around my schedule and my family's schedule. Also, I'm learning all aspects of a business, and that's very stimulating to me. And I have grown so much since I launched my business.

13:38 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I love that. I love hearing about the growth and especially hearing about, how long you have had that as that seed, that dream that you had, how has this come to fruition, and how you've grown so much as a result of doing it. And I think that's one of the things that we all can keep in mind regardless of the title of CEO, entrepreneur, business owner, whatever that might be, is in having that growth and seeing our dreams come to fruition and inspiring those around us and creating a win-win opportunities is one of the most remarkable things about this journey.

14:09 – Hania Issa

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm always, looking for ways to improve and learn more. And it's it's fascinating, all the information out there, and it's been great.

14:21 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And, Hani, I truly appreciate that definition, and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know, and, of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

14:38 – Hania Issa

Sure. They can go to my website, beauty by hania dot com. They can, if they wanna have any questions or they would like to request an appointment, they can submit, the form on my website. I'm also on Instagram as Beauty by Hania. They can reach out to me there as well, and I'm just looking forward to hearing from them.

15:01 – Gresham Harkless

Definitely. Definitely. And we will have the links and information in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you. But, Hania, I truly appreciate all the awesome work that you're doing and the time you took today, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

15:13 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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