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Female Founders: Fiona Taylor of Faces by Fiona On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Everyone is not cut out to be a founder and that’s ok! Some traits that most definitely assist in being a founder include responsibility, confidence, accountability, persistence, problem-solving ability, drive for success, competitiveness, and determination that you are capable of success by putting forth the effort.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Fiona Taylor.

Faces by Fiona was founded by Fiona Taylor, a professional hair and makeup artist specializing in providing beauty services for discerning clients. Taylor has over a decade of experience in leading her business and is well-versed in enhancing clients’ natural beauty as well as transforming their looks for special events and occasions.

Early in life, Taylor became a professional model which exposed her to the creative and captivating world of makeup artistry. She quickly realized the power that appearances can have regarding confidence and the way others are treated. She fell in love with the industry and chose to attend Miami International University of Art and Design to study fashion design. While there, Taylor had the opportunity to partner with MAC Cosmetics, Sephora Brand, The Body Shop, and The Red Door Spa, all of which exposed her to insider secrets and allowed her to gain hands-on technical experience in the field. Taylor has also received training from Kerastase and R + Co.

Taylor’s background in the fashion and beauty industries informs her creativity daily and helps her keep up with ever-changing trends. Before ever crafting a look, Taylor strives to understand the desired theme, mood, and facial anatomy of each client, resulting in a cohesive final product.

In addition to being a skilled designer and makeup artist, Taylor’s vast experience has helped her develop excellent managerial skills. She is adept at coordinating large-scale photo shoots in fast-paced environments.

On the side, Taylor is currently developing Beluxxia Beauty, a line of bespoke beauty products designed to meet the unique needs of her clients. She will also release a bridal beauty e-book in the fall of 2022.

At the end of the day, Taylor is inspired by fearless women who want to rock their world with confidence and put aside what others think. Taylor’s passion lies in helping clients bring out the beauty that lies within so they can exude confidence, glamour, and regality.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve always been enamored with the glamour world! My mother used to model and she took me along with her to a fashion show in which she walked. I was also a child model during this show and was dolled up backstage by professional artists. The show’s excitement and fast-paced beauty environment were mesmerizing! I knew from that time, I felt a calling to that type of work.

I participated in child beauty pageants in the Midwest and decided to attend a model school that introduced me to the basics of etiquette, posing, and hair and makeup for modeling. Although odd jobs came up along my journey as a young adult, modeling always allowed me to recenter and feed my passion for the beauty and fashion industries. From my experience modeling, I become interested in the creative intricacies of what makes an editorial look come together. I began to collaborate with photographers in the industry by modeling as well as a hair and makeup artist.

I proceeded to attend an art institute to study fashion design. Oftentimes I would find myself assisting in designing a clothing collection, organizing the company’s photoshoots, and providing the beauty services. With each opportunity I was given, I flowed interchangeably between the different careers with the ultimate goal of learning how to manage my own business. I looked at every job as an opportunity to learn from my mentors/bosses and develop strong business and creative strategies by learning my artistic craft and learning entrepreneurship.

After starting Faces by Fiona, one day I found myself decreasing my hours due to client demand at my full-time job at a salon until eventually, I needed to put my entire focus on developing and nurturing my own company.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Sure! I would say the most interesting story would be winning our most recent award of “Best Beauty Team North Texas.” This really opened my eyes to what can be achieved if you’re consistent and always strive for success. Paying attention to the customer and their needs is a must! They’ll tell you exactly what they need and hope they experience. This is how I planned my beauty essentials company! Listening to the needs of your clients will tell you how to grow your business.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest moment to this day has been a situation where a bride got married in the heat of a Texas summer and decided to have her photos taken outside. I was hired to provide her wedding services and stay after for touch-ups. After her ceremony, I hurried to the beauty station to prepare for her return to refresh her look. Just then a bridesmaid told me that she needs help urgently and they are taking photos outside already. I’m thinking a tearing moment may have caused a small disruption in the finish so I grabbed some essentials for a quick fix.

When I arrived at the scene, I was shocked to have found the bride’s face pouring out sweat to a point of no return! It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of water at her! I had the flower girl grab a handful of paper towels and had her bridesmaid use my fan to cool her off enough to stop sweating so I could make the corrections. It was like trying to put makeup on a face that wouldn’t stop running water. Thankfully, I finally got her face to calm down enough to patch her up for her bridal photos. Afterward, I chose to completely redo her face makeup using a heavy layer of a particular product that blocks perspiration and set her profusely with a waterproof setting spray.

Although I used the waterproofing spray, I had not considered using a product that prevents perspiration since I would normally use this for stage performers or theatrical makeup. It has become a staple technique for all my bridal clients! It is one of the best steps in the process to ensure brides and their wedding party members stay flawless under the relentless heat of Texas summers. This was a hard lesson that led me to utilize a better technique that now sets me apart from other beauty companies!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’d like to mention a previous employer named Janis Saffel as a prominent figure of my past that has helped me by leading by example. She is an incredible entrepreneur and saw the potential in my abilities. Often, I think about how she handled different business functions such as hiring, graphic design, marketing, employee management, customer relations, sales, and business challenges. She was always optimistic about her experiences and was a great critical thinker that always had a solution for whatever was thrown at her. She listened to her clients’ needs and found growth opportunities, like making clothing for clients in her front room as an add-on service, to expand her business into a great corporation. I will forever be grateful for her leadership. I was able to see a blueprint of a successful woman business owner through her humble example.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience, what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I would say it is believing in one’s self and having a supportive and encouraging family. Many times, women and mothers tell me they have great ideas but belittle their dreams by saying they have no time or it’s out of reach due to motherhood duties and responsibilities. Our society puts a significant amount of pressure on women to be the sole proprietor of housekeeping and children. Throughout history, women have not had a fair chance to chase their dreams, careers, and business ownership possibilities. Not to mention the long-time struggle with being unable to own property, get paid fair wages, and vote for their best interests.

In my own experience, I found myself putting my career on hold due to pregnancy and putting faith in the father of my children to allow him to finish school and be the provider of the family as I took a back seat. I felt a social obligation to become less career-oriented and driven towards my dreams as I gave the chance to my significant other instead. In my case, it didn’t work out in the end and I still had to become the provider as well as take on the role of caretaker of my family. To make a long story short, I vowed to never put too much of your future goals and aspirations in someone else’s hands to navigate. Life doesn’t wait and you should strive to succeed in your passions and find a healthy balance be it with family support and/or another solution to assist you in attaining your goals.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

I would love to see more business programs to teach, empower, and inspire young ladies. I remember as a young child, a speaker came to my elementary classroom and spoke of a program on the great values of being an entrepreneur. I begged my mother to take me to this weekend program to “learn how to be a boss!’’ To this day, that experience stands out as a prominent memory that helped me recognize accountability, the drive needed to run a business, and what you can achieve in return. It would be great if more of these types of programs were made available.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Having a female perspective in business decisions could balance out a lot of contrasting views on healthcare, childcare, paid time off, nursing mothers, and flexible opportunities to work as well as contribute to family duties. I personally love to hire mothers as virtual employees whether it be for tutoring my sons, administrative, or graphic tasks. This allows them to work from home and contribute towards their personal goals outside home duties. It assists in my business needs and helps facilitate a healthy life balance by working on other tasks in which they can feel accomplished.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

Myth: Having no personal time. If you stay organized and plan out your duties, process, and off time, and stick to them you can achieve a good work-life balance. Anything is possible with the correct amount of problem-solving and effort. If you find yourself having less time and can’t get work accomplished, you may need to hire someone and train them on particular processes so they are off your plate and you can put focus on other priorities.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder, and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

Everyone is not cut out to be a founder and that’s ok! Some traits that most definitely assist in being a founder include responsibility, confidence, accountability, persistence, problem-solving ability, drive for success, competitiveness, and determination that you are capable of success by putting forth the effort.

People who find themselves wanting to have a supportive role or contribute to a large corporation to earn a paycheck with a set number of hours worked should seek employment from a regular job. Entrepreneurs really don’t trade time for money. They see the value in developing strategies to implement, are growth driven, and are problem solvers to the extent of waking up early, going to bed late, and working off of a handful of sleep hours. Getting the job done right is the most important thing. Your payout in return will be of greater value.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. How to manage taxes and deductions to maximize business prosperity.
  2. You will have no set working hours. Every hour available can be spent on an idea or project.
  3. To find ways to grow, you’ll have to think outside the box.
  4. You’ll need to organize a creative growth schedule and stick to it.
  5. The importance of finding your niche market and then developing that brand.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

My services empower women to recognize their beauty and self-worth. I use beauty as a tool for sharing a touching moment and helping the client to appreciate themselves. Learning to see beauty in yourself is an important aspect of confidence for women and other genders across the spectrum. Since women’s value in society is placed so heavily on the appearance and attributes of celebrities, it can make a person miss the attributes that make them uniquely beautiful.

Having a company that provides services and celebrates a diverse clientele with the flexibility to provide cultural customizations, and being trained in all hair types, skin tones, and genders makes people feel welcomed, accepted, and not ostracized due to a lack of inclusion and training. We consider everyone to have features that can be enhanced. Not only does it enhance your outer appearance but it instills happiness and confidence inside.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I’ve seen people be brought to tears of happiness in their beauty transformations. Having worked with women from shelters and elderly clients that otherwise cannot experience the joy of applying their own beauty services allowed me to see firsthand how amazing a beauty transformation makes someone feel. They never imagined beauty can help you feel uplifted and stronger. There is strength in beauty! I always say when you’re having a bad day, put on lipstick. It can instantly fix your mood and allows you to take on your adversities with more confidence. I truly believe

#beautymakesadifferce.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Tyra Banks. She is fierce, charismatic, and inspiring in her drive to succeed and see others live out their hopes and dreams by overcoming obstacles. I’d love to have a mini-interview on her personal climb to success and learn from her personal experience.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Female Founders: Fiona Taylor of Faces by Fiona On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.