Success #2: How One Female Entrepreneur Sold Her Successful High-End Spa Businesses To Impact Hundreds Of Lives – With Tiffiny Luong

Michael:         Hi my name is Michael Nguyen.  I’m a founder of Asiasuccessmagazine.com where Asian entrepreneurs come and share their stories.  Today, I have a woman, who came to the US by boat and not only to transform and have a lot of success in her business, but also to transform her career and motivate lots of people.  She’s also master in celebrity hair and make-up artist and she has worked her magic on everyone from A-lister which include Ivanca Trump, Lucy Liu and many more that we can even mention on her ironclad contract.  She’s an elite national trainer for motives, business and life motivational speaker or coach.  Here she comes, Tiffiny Luong. Tiffiny, welcome.

Tiffiny:            Welcome! Thank you so much Michael, and thank you so much for inviting me.  Hi everyone.  I am honored to be here today with Asiansuccessmagazine.

Michael:         Alright, one of the nickname I’ve heard about you is the “Transformer”.  Can you quickly tell the audience what it’s about and how you differentiate your nickname “Transformer” to others?

Tiffiny:            Well, a lot of my student or my fans, they named me transformer because I have three souls. I turned many lives; the first life I changed was people who are already famous – people who are already well known.  When they’re just normal – don’t have make-up or hair done, on their minds that when they’re walking on the street, nobody knows what they look like.  The second one why I’m a transformer is because what I love to do is; the person who is very normal; they don’t know what they do in life.  There’s woman out there or they have no wish, no boy in their life.

I help them to transform the way they look, the way they talk, the way they can apply themselves and know their goal setting so they can be successful and hit their own life and help their children.  My third transformer is I love for people who entrepreneur.  People who have great minds, great status and they have like… they want to do something but they had nobody to help them, or they don’t know what is level 1 to level 10.  I’m there to help them to find out what the key ingredient for them to transform.  Transform is not just make-up, but it’s also money.

Michael:         Got you.  I look at your website.  So you’re into beauty and wellness and small business.  Can you help the audience go back in time a little bit and share with them what brought you to the beauty industry?

Tiffiny:            I’m Asian, everybody knows that.  I come from boats, refugees from Vietnam.  My parents are very well known in Vietnam.  My parents are very brave in bringing us and coming to United States.  When I come here in Unites States… every Asian family, you had two choices; become a doctor or engineer?  Which one you pick?  My choice was I still listen to my parents, but I go to engineering because I can’t be a doctor because I’m too scared of blood or dead people, so I go to the beauty industry.

It’s a funny thing – I love hair and love make-up.  I’m an artist also.  I love to draw.  So when I’m in college, the money to pay for my college education is my… I work doing hair and doing make-up on the weekend, but I fell in love with it.  But when I get married, my husband says, “What do you want to do?” So that’s why I love to do is make people beautiful.  But I cut hair when I was 14 years old.  I charged people 2 cents to cut hair because I love the fashion industry.

Michael:         Right, right.

Tiffiny:            I can change people’s lives in that way so that’s the reason.  I just love arts and I love just my idea for transforming other people and see people change their life, right there in your chair.

Michael:         That’s very… You’re obedient a little bit not going and follow the path of being a doctor or lawyer, and follow this dream a little bit.

Tiffiny:            I do follow my dream because I believe in being is all about you and what you love.  And also I’m a woman.  If you love what you do – and especially in beauty, you have to make yourself look beautiful first.  Beauty industry is never die in my book.  It gets me so far because a person with heart, a way that my parents raised me is, they was like,  “Okay, you have to be an engineer or a doctor.” But right now, they are very proud of me because I believe what I’m going to do and I keep going – I never give up.

This is what my success – become a motivation speaker and become a beauty industry’s expert because what I do is to give back to industry as not just charity but it’s also make people feel good, look good.

Michael:         One of the key things that people ask me and sure ask you is that, how do you attract celebrities like Ivanca Trump and Lucy Liu to be your client?  I mean, because of so many people working in the, like the make-up artist and celebrity client like you.

Tiffiny:            Well, everybody’s doing it.  Every girl, every guy is in the beauty industry for make-up artist or hairdresser.  When I choose my path, my career in the beauty industry, I plan out.  I put my goal.  Who I want to be and I put idol and I put… believe it or not, 30 years ago I’d put it on dream board.  I put on dream board who I want to help, who I want to do make-up to and who I want to talk to, and one day I’m going to meet that person and one day I’m going to be that person.  So you create that dream board.

Most people dream board in their head, but for me I put it out.  I cut their picture out and I said, “One day, I’m going to do you”.  So it’s all about you line up your career.  I see myself as an advisor, beauty lover out there and who wants to get to the next step to your level to success of your career, first you need to know where you’re going. You have to set your bar high because you have to do first.

You cannot be famous right away – just wake up and be famous.  You have to get and stare to be famous so you have to get step by step to be famous.  So first of all, you have to be balanced here.  You have to know who you are.  You have to volunteer and what I do is, I’ve got everything I want to do in the dream board.  Like if I want to do Ivanca Trump, I want to do Kim Kardashian, I want to do all of these movie stars.  I put in the dream board so that way I can reach my dreams.  So first what you need to do is you need to work with people, pick one idol. So, I did it. I volunteer.

When I start working, I worked with very high end salon, and I go follow that person but believe it or no,t I volunteered for two and a half year.  Shampoo girl and hair/make-up girl first to get people know me and then from that point, I became an assistant with very well known people because you have to go apply with where these famous people go.  So I apply with salon like all the movie star go or where famous people go.  I volunteered –  shampoo their hair or prep their make-up, because a lot of people nowadays they think they go to school and they get out and they get a great job right away.

And also you have to have attitude. You have  to have a great attitude.  So myself when I come in to work for a certain place, I give them 110 of myself and I’m lucky too because, luck and also you’re determined.  They go together, because I who you met in the right place, right time.  I was in the right place, right time because I had so many people refer me but that’s how I get into know a lot of movie star and even today I love to do them because I just do not do it as a job anymore, I just do it because I love them and it’s a wonderful feeling.

I would love to help every single person who love the beauty industry and get people to know the high end of industry of make-up or hairdresser or hairstyling.

Michael:        Alright.  So the key is be very specific on what you really want and focus on that and you will get it.

Tiffiny:            Right, that is right.

Michael:         So before you become a motivational speaker, I know that you have several spmall businesses,  can you talk more about the mind set when you come from a make-up artist and then go ahead and open several of the business.  What is the mind-set? What is the motivation that opened the business and helped more people?

Tiffiny: First of all is it’s a long story from beginnings was I come out and I own my first salon.  My first salon,  when I come first and I charge very high and haircut, a lot of people around are like, “You’re Asian girl, no way you’re going to charge me that kind of money”, because knowing people pay for that but you know what, I say, “You know what? When they come to me, they go and stay with me forever.”

So first thing before I become a motivational speaker, I come out my first salon and around me was 8 different salon and every single person, even my own family would say, “no way you’ll be successful. No way are you going to make it, because you’re Asian and all.  There are a lot of hairdressers who know more famous more than you”.

But you know what, what I did was every single day, again my goal, my dream board,  I line up, what I want to see my life in two to three year plan, so I line it up.  What I did I would stand outside.  You know Texas – the heat is 110, it’s really hot but every single day, I stand outside my door of my first salon – I stand out there, and every single person going to dry cleaner or going to Hallmark card shop that was near my salon, every time somebody come in, I took their clothes and people think I work for the cleaner.  I took their clothes and bring it in to their cleaner and they say, “Oh thank you. Do you work for the cleaner?” I said, “No, I just opened the salon next door.  I would like you to come and cut your hair.  I can do your make-up and facial.  If you don’t like it you don’t have to pay me.”  I started with that.  I started my first salon doing that.

A year later, I expanded from 1500 sq/ft to 5200 sq/ft, and people still love it.  Really I work very hard and put your goal on the long term.   In my lifetime I own four day spa, salon day spa but I’ve been retired for 8 years. With that, look like you’re asking me how from salon owner to going to motivation speaker, because I own the salon.  I feel I only help myself because I love everybody else in my employee but I cannot give it to them.  I cannot help them.  The only thing I’m helping them is to give them whatever they put hours into work.

So 10 years ago I ran into this company.  It’s called Market America.  One of the branch in there was the [inaudible 12:12] by Loren Ridinger.  I saw the vision of that company.  I saw the, “Oh my god! This company can help me with my dream and goal and help me to help other people empowering another woman or man who can be very big and very successful –  become entrepreneur and become a millionaire if they follow the system”. So, I took that challenge 10 years ago.  And 10 years ago was very hard on my life.  It was the bad time of my life.  I was sick.  Also I have three very small kids and my husband is still working.

So, I took that chance and partnered with Market America’s un-franchised system.  Followed the system for two and a half years.  Following two and half years six month later, I become six figure income.  So I sold all my spa, all of them to become an entrepreneur and help others.  I give up being the owner of salon and day spa to become elite national trainer promoted by Loren Ridinger and also shop.com with the brokerage company and go around the world helping people.  It’s not about your gift; it’s about what you can give to other people.  That’s how my career started.  I took it and I run with it.

Michael:         Okay.  I guess for some people they might only, right now in their state, they may just own simple salon’s, so I just want to go back.  You said you grow your salon from 1500 sq/ft to 5200 sq/ft, what was the revenue at that time that allowed you to really to expand two or three times?

Tiffiny:            It’s huge because what happened is when I started small and with the value of my knowledge  of my information of the…

Michael:         So we were at the time that you grow from 15,000 sq/ft to 52,000 sq/ft,  and I want to ask would that success how; can you tell us about that success meaning in terms of revenue or the growthpercentage per year?

Tiffiny:            It’s both, because from 1500 sq/ft, and we can expand bigger because everybody around was the first so many customer and also they see that my ethic of looking at it and also we have so many customer and so many  employees, so many people want to work for me.  So they come and apply and I have opportunity with the salon that goes into bankruptcy so you got to move away so I took it.  I took the chance and took that salon and was empty for a long time because the person who owns it, her heart is not into it. So I take that opportunity and say, “You know what, I need something bigger and I need to expand my…“.

I understand leverage because you only have one income and there’s no way you can get further in life.  So I took a second one so that’s the reason. I’m ready for it, so my average percentage and also a lot of employee, a lot of people like to work for me.

That’s how I started.  It was great because when I started the next that second salon, my son was only two months old.

Michael:         Wow!

Tiffiny:            Yeah, just two months old.  If you really love what you do, just pick it and expand. So it was very successful.

Michael:         How much did you acquire that bigger salon when you decided to go big?

Tiffiny:            That time, it was like 20 years ago and that time it was about a $180,000.  And at that time, it was a lot of money.  Nowadays it’s a half a million dollars.  That time, that kind of money to me is a very big deal.  It is very big.

So we took it and my husband and I think about it.  I know my work ethic and I have a lot of cartel to follow.  And I want to make another bigger dream come true and have a place to work and they don’t have to worry about one week have income and one don’t. So, I build really good relationship and help individual to achieve their higher level of beauty industry –  not just cut their hair for $8.  There’s nothing wrong with it.

Michael:         Absolutely!  No one cuts hair for $8.  When you open a business that big, can you share with the audience what worked and what did not work at that time? When you have big establishment like that.

Tiffiny:            Yeah, because first of all again,  I’m Asian but most of my employees – 99% is Caucasian or different other country.  So it’s hard because they have to look at you, you’re ability to communicate or what gets you good and all that stuff.  So it’s hard to see, to put it in out there from the beginning so it was hard to understand all the culture, all the what we need.

Hairdressers, their mind is very artistic.  They don’t have a set goal, and I’m different because I listen to my father, put myself to college, maybe I have that mindset already but most of them don’t have.  They live from pay checks to pay checks. It’s hard because I’m a caring person and it hurt me when I know they have so many goal and so many – they can make it, they can make it bigger but that was one thing my challenge.  When I own my spa, is I know that individual can do so much more but they don’t care how much they made or they don’t care about the client.

That was my trouble,  my biggest problem was try to make people realize, “Honey, you have more than you think. Look in the mirror, you have more than you have.” But that time of my life, I don’t have ability of motivation speaker to help and to bring that person what they see in the mirror take them out and just “Look, you have more than what you think”. They just accept it – $500, $600 a week.  They are happy, but I see them more than that. They can achieve more than that.  So my part from this,  I’m trying to get my team to set their goal, to get their goal with me to achieve their goal with me. That was my problem.

Services had no problem because the reason people who see my business card – medical aesthetic, nutrition’s certified and all this stuff in my title,  people look at my card and say, “Oh my gosh! You do everything”.  The reason I do that, and I highly recommend it to all the salon owners, spa owner or any business, if you own a restaurant you better know how to cook.  If you own a salon, you better know how to do some of the services.  So for myself, I know everything about services. I learn everything because I’m a prey.  I do not depend on other people and also I don’t want people go,  “Okay I feel like go to work”, then my business will close.

Michael:         Yeah, right.

Tiffiny:            So my style is, I learned everything about the business.

Michael:         So what are some of the tactics that you used to motivate your employee so that you can go above and beyond their level of pay check and contribute more or realize their potential, more than they can… What are some of the actions that you did earlier?

Tiffiny:            I did a lot of actions for my employee.  Even today, they still come back to me and say, “Tiffiny we love you and we appreciated you and we learned so much from you.”  What  I did to my employee what I do, I put in all percentage.  That means that if you achieved this amount of money, for example, if you bring in $1000 services this week, then you get paid 45 to 55%.  That means 45% is yours and 55% is mine because of course we are a high end salon and spa.  And I always tell them, if you bring in $1200 or $1500,  then you will get a  percentage of 50% – Your 50%, mine is 50%.  If you bring in $1500 up, then you will have 55%.

So I give them a percentage for their services, and so it motivates them so much.  And also I think too, I give them what is called team effort, because I have like one time, I have 47 employees.  I divide them into three team, and each team has three different levels.  Like it’s called master level, there’s stylist level and then beginner level. What they do is, at the master level and motivate the stylist level and the stylist level motivates the beginner level. I give them each of them from 2% to 5% of the part.  That means if you reach that goal, I give you the bonus commission of whatever you bring into the group.

That helps and that’s big time they like the team work. They don’t have jealousy. They don’t pass up and don’t fight for client. They help each other. The beginning people will shampoo for the stylist people, the stylist people put the talent into master level.  So, it puts together team work. That’s big time work for me, and I would never change that because people like to work together if they benefit.  If they don’t benefit, no way they work together.

That’s the reason that I’ll take that as my theory of success – to help and life coach another salon and another business.  Right now, I am customized health and beauty industry not just beauty industry but I’m helping doctors how to get the patients level up and also services up so that they can capture the avenue.

Michael:         So two of the most effective way for you is 1) – to incentivize your employees,  2) is to develop to into teams to that they can help them out.

Tiffiny:            That’s right.

Michael:         And then you bring the blueprint then apply it to some other industry.  Like you said, the doctor’s office and chiropractors and things like that.

Tiffiny:            That’s right, because everybody wants to have a piece of the pie but they don’t know how.  So, if you can get the team work together and follow the same formats, same systems, all people success – even the beginning to the high-end, so you have to balance it out.  And when you worked balanced out, especially in beauty industry, it’s a very hard industry because I everybody’s very jealous there’s lot of competition because it’s fashion.  Fashion changes every 15 minutes.  So, the best way is the  team work and that’s the number one.  I travel around the world teaching, it is team work; how to levitate people and how to empower others.

Michael:         There’s a lot of things to learn from this and I wish we had more time. The thing is,  so you told me at that time when you opened the store at 5200 sq/ft, you said your son at that time was two years old.  And then you grew out at that time with 57 employees at a time;  how do you juggle, how do you train your mindset to be strong enough not only to be a leader but also as a role model for your employee so that they can continue to be motivated?

Tiffiny:            Well, everybody asks me that. Everywhere I go, everyone asks how come I can comfort my, and also how come I can balance my life from a mom, from a wife and from great boss or great motivation speaker?  Honestly, I’m a very lucky woman that I have all of that because to me, to us it is everybody in life, you and I and all the listeners right now of Asian success magazine, we all have 24 hours. We all have 24 hours.

I always go with my spin. If you have 24 ½, I’ll give you a million dollar right now.  So they would laugh and they go, “Okay” and nobody raised their hand because I hold in my hand every single one of us have equal 24 hours. 8 hours you sleep, 8 hours is called life, everything about life in your hand – your children, your love life, you cook for your children, shopping and all that stuff and then 8 hours is your career, your job and everything else.  But myself I’m very good at balance. I’m at goal, and also you have to have a mindset.

If I’m at work, I have to put a 100% and more at work.  I don’t think about home.  If it’s my home, if something is in my home and I forgot something and I have someone take care of it because I don’t get myself… If something happened that morning or something like that, I know.  It would sit there and waiting for me to go home and take care of it.  So your mindset is if it’s at work, I would never bring home.

In fact, of the reason of who I am today everything at work, when I go at work I put myself a 100% in that work. When I get home, my purse drops on the chair and at the kitchen I open that kitchen, I go directly to the kitchen – put my jacket up and start cooking because to me if you’re not a role model at home to your children, cook them or loving your husband, you can’t be a role model outside.

That’s my theory.  That’s why employee and people around me and my students respect me because it’s not about what I can do, but what they can see around me – what to talk, how to talk, what you see me on Tiffiny; watch me teach watch me talk outside, she lives like that. So, every woman out there; you can do it.  You just put your head into there and mark yourself out and you schedule out. When at home, I turn my phone off because at home, it’s my time with my children. At work, I turn my phone on for my employee.  So you have to know how to switch off and on when you’re at work or you’re at home.

Michael:         Let’s go back to some of your creative way of marketing earlier.  So, you’re saying that when you first opened up your store, you used to go around and offer to take the clothes from your potential customers and clean for them.  Is that the way it is?

Tiffiny:            What I did was, because people go into the room, dry clean they bend themselves out and go into their car and get their clothes out. Some of them, they had difficulty to get the clothes out. I’m tiny, so I can go in there and get it really quickly.  To me, building relationship and communication is very important.

My number one theory of success, business, retail or relationship is called complications. So, complications to me is a very important because if you don’t have connection with that customer, patient or student, or fan or anybody else, you will break that connection very easily.  So for me, that with that building relationship, building trust.  I’m holding their clothes so if they don’t like me I’ going to drop.  I’m holding their clothes and also they trust me on it and also you have to have great attitude, and the way you look the outside image is very important.

It’s so funny, this weekend I’m going to a wedding. One of my clients, my first client wedding I’m taking all that clothes from her in my hand and taking to laundry,  she still reminds me. She said “you know I always wonder.  How come the person who worked in the dry cleaner looked so pretty in the make-up.” So, she’s been my client for the last 21 years because that was the first time we met and now her daughter is also my client, now she’s getting married.

The thing is, you have to build relationship –  bond from beginning the first time we met like the first time I met you. To me, if you want your client to stay with you or getting better,  come to salon and become famous with your own territory of business. I’m not talking about beauty industry because a lot of people think they mistake who Tiffiny is.  I’m not just beauty industry, I am business coach for all rounded business.

So, the reason I get into that because I feel people think it’s like okay if I do service that was it. No, if you do service, you need to service yourself first. You need to look the part; you need to believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter what you sell first.  My theory is we have to product the product.  You have to wear it.  You have to eat it.  If you own a restaurant, you better eat your own food. So, you have to product the product. Number two is your service, that means your service is the first thing – is your greeting your customer. Number three of my success is consultation. You have to spend two to five minutes to do consultation with your client.  Number four is follow up.

Michael:         We’ll come to the second part of talking more about that and…  With your experience as a business owner, when you opened the spa, what are some of the business tips or actionable items that my audience can do it and take actions immediately and get result?

Can you offer several tips for them?

Tiffiny:            Sure.

Michael:         For example, I think majority of people may have problem with marketing.  With your creative marketing, would you offer some of the ways for them to get more clients and build more relationship or things like that?

Tiffiny:            First of all in marketing is to plan what you believe in your products. For me,  marketing is huge. You have, especially holiday coming up you need to be on your theory of where you’re at because if you don’t use the season, especially in United States, it’s so easy to market because they have so many holidays.

So, what I use the most of when I used to have a salon and day spa, even right now, I use a lot of holiday time because every single month in United States you have some kind of holiday. To me, that is a mover shaker of the business.  To me, it is how you’re going to use it. People love to have something of a package.

I never do any marketing without just one product. I always combine services. So like for example, if you do a beauty industry, you have five service in your salon – nail, hair, make-up, facials and pedicure. You need to market together, because the problem is people give $5 off,  10% off, coupons offer, you’re going to lose a lot of money.  For me, I do package.  So what I do package, 1) You do, like for example you going to put facials or your nails together because the client who do facials never think you have a nail, or people who do facial, they go somewhere else for their nails. So, you need to put that together, you have to do package together.

And also, you need to combine services and not just for beauty industry but same thing with restaurant, same thing with doctor’s office, same thing with anything else, you have to put into package.  Because packaged service is the biggest promotion and also people like to have, okay you have facial, then next time you come, next time you hear what I say, next time you come, then you will have 50% off of your manicure.

So, when you do something like that you bring people back in, not right then but people saw a package that you have that service, but if they come back next time they do another service and they’ve got that discount. So you know they comeback twice. If they come back high with your service, with your personality, with your attitude, our look of your businesses, they come back forever.  I have customer for a long time because the way you treat them. So the biggest for me for marketing is package.

Michael:         Packages and leverage the holidays, you command yourself in that. How do you keep their schedule always booked?  I think there’s always a problem for a lot of spa owners and a lot of salon owners.

Tiffiny:            Well first of all, my book with my clients, talk about myself and my employee used to, we book, like myself with six months ahead.  My employees, the lowest one is month ahead.  This is how I’m teaching them.  Right now I’m business coach for a lot of salons, a lot of businesses even a health professional is when a customer come in, you need to have three key.  It’s called follow up.

The first key is three days, 14 day and 21 day. So, what I do is I always book the client.  First is three days,  so first day is three days, 14 day and 21 day.  This three days when they got services, I would say, “Honey, you know, like [inaudible 34:44], the salon.  I just got your facial done, right? You love it”. Because after that customer, and then, what day was that with you, is that month.  We always follow this month is good for you or this day because facial is 28 day. You need to remind them 28 days it’s your return to do your services and treatment. Then I book her and she says,  “I don’t know I have time that day.” “You know what, sweetie I’m going go ahead because you are very valuable for me.”

So we always book the schedule before the client walks out the door then.  I tell them “We’re going to call you in three days to make sure that schedule is still good for you”. Did you see that? Then they say, “Okay, that’s great”.  So the three day, you can confirm the schedule and still have 25 days before they come to you again.  So, what we do is we always use follow up, we always use schedule appointment before that client. See the problem nowadays, they sit there and I’m talking about nail salon.  When they walk in, they get the color and then what you do you don’t talk to your client and then once they’re done, you don’t offer anything for them to come back to you; you let them go.

To me, if you get your client, it’s like bread and butter. You get your client to book you before they leave.  Your book’s always booked because the research in people already, you only have 2% for them to cancel. If they don’t book 8% they never book you. So, if people have services, you need to reschedule for them or rebook the next appointment right away, then three day you call them and you check your schedule,“Is that okay, yes or no?” Then and you can schedule the next one.  If it doesn’t work out, 14 day, you’re going to call them and remind them they have appointment.

I use the same thing – I sell products the same way.  21 day, I’m going to call them, remind them, “Okay sweetie, next week you’re going to have appointment”,  or if I sell any product I always have that free service so that way I make sure the client take the product right, apply the product right or service right.  So, the key thing is you have to work for service to service. You cannot just wait for the customer book for you.  No way, no way your client will book for you.  So that’s the reason.

Michael:         Tiffiny, it’s like 1) make booking as a default action every time your customer comes in and 2) keep following up, and following and following up.

Tiffiny:            Follow up, three.

Michael:         Three.

Tiffiny:            Yeah, three.

Michael:         And guys, I hope you guys can really take advantage of Tiffiny’s advice and really implement, this follow up system, her system into your business to make sure that your business really worked.

I’m sure the audience can learn a lot from those business tips that you just provided to them. Let’s talk about your journey in fashion from business owners to become a motive trainer and finally you’re a motivational speaker.  What drives you?

Tiffiny:            First of all, I love make-up.  I am a make-up lover and I love beauty industry. Years ago I have a chance to look into a company from Market America Motive by Loren Ridinger. The reason I pick Motive is a lot of reason 1) they are professional make-up line and 2) is they have unbelievable customized; it’s called customized foundation, a look for what kind of skin care.  So that way I can help innovative beauty industry or make-up lover,  like make-up artist or skin care specialist aesthetician, medical spa, dermathologist; they can customize exactly skin tone and skin regiment for their client or patient and they can market the product 200 to 400% and also the avenue is so big because it’s not make-up, it’s a service.

You compile the make-up for your patient or your client. So, when I saw that I took it because it’s 1) one, they are brokerage company.  They researched the product A to Z. They make sure the product works.  I won’t do any business with anybody if the product is not this good or not what they say.  That’s the number one. 2) The reason I like about them is the owner of Motive by Loren Ridinger, she’s a creator directors.  She works so hard and she gives like us because she always – every single day, promotes the product, creates the product, researches the product, but I don’t have to do that.  The only thing I need to do is to promote a bit of the product out.  I don’t have to do research. I don’t have to have a warehouse.  So, she does everything for me.  3) The reason I love I’m using Motive to empower other women or men who love beauty history, but don’t have money to start a business.

That’s three reason for me to expansion to a Motive cosmetic.  When I started 10 years ago, I had no idea what I’m getting into, but two and a half year in the business, I started the company know who I am.  I’m starting to become and they elected me elite national trainer for the company and travel round the world and I think of them every single day because they give me the opportunity to help other woman and also they help me to realize that with my talent of background, makeup artist and also become what I believe in teaching another make-up artist and people who love doing makeup to a next level and becoming entrepreneur.

Michael:         Okay, so let’s say I’m a successful, let’s say if I were you, a successful entrepreneur I’ve got the cash flow from my business, life is good, I have a great family to support me and I guess, a lot of people in your situation before you become a trainer or a speaker, they would have asked themselves, “Why, I mean why is this mission, why is this in my mission to go out?” I guess, because if you want to motivate people just from entrepreneur level to go out and do like the thing like you; what are some of the mindset that fuel your strength for you to go out and go above and beyond what you are capable of?

Tiffiny:            Thank you for asking me that question.  It means a lot to me. Now, you get tear in my eye.  First of all, before you teach anybody or before you motivate anybody, you need to believe.  You have to have a belief.  You have to get that belief in your own self.  I realized that I was really lucky. As you say, I have everything set.  I have incredible husband who supports me, who let me go whatever I want to go.

The reason I become a motivation speaker and maybe taking Motive and run that.  The reason I saw it, that’s the only way this business, only way I can help other woman to take my lesson, to take what I have, to pay very small amount and for me, to not quit my evil pie, put myself down because of the system and also the reason why I fall in love with what I’m doing because I’m taking the system and taking what I have and to accept it and giving to other people and motivate them and I get them to – I teach every single week, every single day.  It motivates me because I see people change. I see people change their life from not just selling make up, by not just using make up or not just beauty business but changed their life from internally and outside internally when they look up themselves in the mirror.

I have students from Africa, from all over the place travels to see me but this motive to me is motivation.  Motive cosmetics to me is motivation.  I’m using make up like candy.  They help individual woman who is sitting in that chair or woman who loves the make up to realize that they’re beautiful. They can become entrepreneur. Your mindset is first, you have to believe in the product, you have to believe in yourself and also you have to do what you love first.

If you don’t have that, I will never sit here.  If  I don’t have support, and my family’s support, I don’t have a belief in what I believe in;  myself, or my own company or Motive, I will not sit here and talk to you or travel around the world and help.  So, my… to really compound this down is believe in yourself.  Believe in what you sell, believe what you do and also put in goal plan.  You have to have your goal.  Read your goal every single day and put it in actions and don’t let people move you because every person has different mind.

My mind is very strong because nobody can move me except myself.  So, you have to remind yourself every single day. The only person can change me is me, because a lot of time, you have so many negative from left to right so you need to block that out and you have to say, “I am this individual who motivates myself” and that’s the reason every single day, honey, I go out.  I feel free.  I could talk all day long, no problem.

Michael:         What are some of the challenges when you first get started as speaker or trainer? Apparently, you’re so excel in becoming entrepreneur but when you transition into a new role, with different expectations and skillset, how do you come around that?

Tiffiny:            First two years, I cry every day.  It’s because you come from a very successful woman –  own so many spa, #4 in Dallas, my salon was voted #4 in Dallas.  It was very successful.  And then I took this journey, networking journey with Motive by Lauren Rangager, take it and run with it.  My employee was negative on me.  Was like, “Oh my god! She do that kind of thing”. And number two was, “she’s not focused on our salon.  She do her thing”.  There’s so many negative things but they don’t realize it, I do that to help them but people don’t… they only think of themselves, they don’t want to see what other people would do for you.

So, from beginning, people don’t see it but now they see what I’m doing.  A lot of people come back and apologize to me.  But the first time was very difficult.  You have to balance on  three keys.  1) is people around you, but they don’t know what to do.  Motivation speakers,  especially agents don’t know what that is. 2) They don’t accept it.  The girl who do movie star, was charged from $250 to a $1,000 with a make up and go into homes and help people, teach people and people who don’t even know how to use the brush and help them.  People don’t realize that. People don’t see that and go, “Oh my god! Are you crazy?”

So from beginning, it was so hard and so many obstacles in my life.  A lot of times to that point, I’m like, “Oh my god! What are you doing, Tiffiny?” I have a name.  I worked for Sebastian for 16 years.  My name was very high.  If it’s anybody is a make up artist, they know who Tiffiny Luong is, but for me to take it to the next level with motive is just, I have to give it up from beginning with a lot of talk, lot of negative people talk to me.

But I believe one day, in fact from beginning, my set was, my believe one day, I would change the thinking – of people think about what I’m doing or thinking about motive cosmetic, and thinking about what the industry can move because my thing is, if you do by yourself, you’ll never be rich or you’ll never be on going income.

To be honest with you, 10 years ago, I don’t even know the word ongoing income. That word ongoing income make me laugh and go, “Okay, Tiffiny keep moving. Keep talking. Keep moving” because my theory is my goal.  You market your office.  If your mouth is closed, your office is closed. Every day, I go out there and talk to people, change their life and that fight and that give me so strong and strength to be successful today is never give up and then whatever people say…  Number one negative people put on you is your family.  I think to understand the title, but today they file on you.  So never give up. Just make sure, patience and go with your dream and system.

Michael:         Come around and see the situation where people label you and something negative and something really not about you, how do you come around that?

Tiffiny:            Becoming a nail tech, nothing wrong with that but people always see this Vietnamese woman or Vietnamese girl who in beauty industry, they automatically call you an nail tech.  To be honest with you, I never do nail. I’ve got my nail done but people think in beauty especially my hair and the way I dress, fashion, so people always think I’m a nail tech.

I want it to people to see different part of Vietnamese woman in beauty industry, not just nail;  we change industry.  Nine years ago, Star Telegram interviewed me as successful American story and I say it into that newspaper, “We are so blessed in America, to bless to have Vietnamese –  people like us who are so artistic in nail and so valued their time and they work so hard to get everybody have beautiful nail because really nail industry is luxury industry.”

It’s not for… not every average people can have, but if you go out and like right now you have teenager have nail done.  A man have nail done.  Because to me, I am a person and I am a Vietnamese and I want people to know that I am proud to be Vietnamese because we have Vietnamese woman and man out there in beauty industry to bring out beauty in affordable price to people to get their nail done, but I just wish all of us to put us next to level higher, so we can have the price range when I talk to you.

I wish I can have some, put them together and teach them how to coach the business coaching and help them to put in a lovable, in high luxury prices or services.  Not just, “Okay, I go get my nails done” .  Because for me I put it for myself, I am entrepreneur in motivation but I’m in beauty industry and I want let people know I’m Vietnamese but we are different level and different services because I want people to respect individual who will do nail.

I’m really honored to have; they work so hard and I wish we could bring maybe you and I, and others help bring nail industry to a level it’s called luxury.  Because it’s luxury nail honey, they’re doing why honey, we need to have luxury price.

Michael:         I like the analogy that you have.  So, instead of thinking of yourself just as nail technician, there’s something luxury about it so it motivates them more and motivates more to contribute.

Tiffiny:            Exactly, and also, I would love if we can motivate them, stress them up and get them… Because it’s just a beautiful place. You come into nail, I tell you sometime, I have tear in my eye when I come to the nail salon because I think they work really hard and didn’t get paid luxury prices.  So if we can motivate them and I think people would take more honor to go get this service and individually to believe that it’s a luxury and you should be proud you do luxury services for people who make you beautiful especially nails and everything else. That’s on service not just nail.

Michael:         So in your opinion, what are some of the limiting beliefs that preventing woman from success and realizing their full potential?

Tiffiny:            First of all, to become a woman, and I see many life and I travel around and I see it. The first stop is themselves. They don’t believe themselves. Second stop is family. The husband or the partners do not believe in them.  To me, first of all, if you believe in something that you can do and achieve the goal and become an entrepreneur, anybody can become entrepreneur. Not just you and I, but anybody can be.

It just has to have a mindset, that goal set.  The problem is a lot of woman out there, they put themselves, “This is not me.  I’m not that type of person. Oh my god!” even I saw this woman, “Honey, you can make a thousand dollar. Thousand dollars an hour. Thousand dollar a day”.  I talked about thousand dollar a day” And she go, “No, I would never deserve that”.  And I said, “Why not?” The problem is their mindset appear, they believe somebody register in their mind, was like, “You cannot do what a lot of people do” they put in  their mind, you cannot make that kind of money. Is that make sense?

So their mindset were, “Oh no, that’s too much”.  Even though I talked to a lot woman, they go, “Why not, if it’s thousand dollars a day, you can make it.  I’ll teach you how”.  But in their mindset, “Oh my god! That’s too much money.  I don’t know what to do it”. Their mind set is, “Okay I’m accepting $8  an hour or I’m okay with $400 a week” because their mind set is a simple one.

Second thing is the negative of their spouse, or companion or family who tell them you’re not beautiful enough. You’re not pretty enough.

Micheal:          Talented enough.

Tiffiny:            Exactly! So that’s two things as to why women stop. They can get that away from them. They can do whatever men can do.

Michael:         So next question, in your experience, how did you get around that? Some of the tip that you can show the audience?

Tiffiny:            First of all, you need to look at yourself first. You need to find an idol. You need to find a coach because a lot of time, you don’t see you but other people see you. Lot of time, you look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I don’t know me”. Who is that in the mirror? But if you listen to another people say to you, you have to put negative to positive. It’s a lot of time, people said, “Oh, your hair is beautiful”. “Oh no, I hate my hair” because a lot of people take the negative to positive to a point so my advice to every woman out there, take it first, you need to love yourself first. Honey, you have to love yourself first before you love any man, anybody else, you need to love yourself.

Some people love their children more that themselves.  I disagree. You have to love yourself and you can take care; you look healthy, you feel, look good, and then you can take tour children because your children will follow you. The thing is, you need to love yourself, that’s the first thing. Second thing is negative people around you, you need to prove to them and you have to have, sit down with the business plan.  Sit down with the person who is going to be and  idol for you. You pick somebody and say, “You know what, I have a coach who can teach me” that person don’t believe in you but if you have to ask somebody else, can be your sister, can be your aunt, can be somebody who is you’ve been following for a long time.

You need to get that person in your court. You need that person in your style, so that way if the person who is negative on you, your spouse or your companion or anybody else to see it, “You know what, she did it. She have a goal, she set her goal, she has the budget, she has her asset, her goal, – everything to her style”. If you have anything lying out, that person will end up support you.

The problem is, you like a lot of stuff and never finish it. See woman, one thing, I learned a lot from men.  You and I talked about that. I go a lot of motivation speaker. I love all these guy. Men, they only have one memory so when they learn something, they get it and they run run and they get everything finished most of the man. For woman, we have lot of memory so what we do is … everywhere so we’re not focus. You need to be focus with your goal. You follow through it. If you follow your goal and you have a business plan, people will end up supporting you.

My husband in the beginning, he doesn’t know.  From a business, I bring a lot of money.  I come home and “You know what hon, I have something to make us more money”.  I want to be home. I want to be home with my baby. I don’t want nobody raise my children except me. So, I have a business plan. I told him how much I bring at home, how much I’m going to achieve.  I bring that to him as a blueprint for him. “Honey, look. This is what I got. Give me 6 months”. So I give him a timeframe so my goal when, how, and also why. You have to find your why before you find your how and the what. People, they find their what first, how then why.

Michael:         Absolutely.

Tiffiny:            Yeah. Why first because your why is big, make it happen. So you need to find that why and everybody else will support you.

Michael:         Is that the common theme that you saw in a lot of women when you go teaching?

Tiffiny:            Yes. Believe it or not, 70% of them have that same problems. Two things; themselves, they don’t believe themselves, they all have excuse, I have curly hair, I like straight hair so they all have that too. Really, stop them.  If you get that away from you, that’s the reason I cut my hair, I got one long, I got one short. I do not care what people think.

As long as I feel good, I love and this is my icon. You need to feel your icon. You need to feel your need. You need to feel good.  We only have one life to life honey, so it should never stop you.

Michael:         Tiffiny, how do you want to be remembered?

Tiffiny:            Well, put it this way.  For outside, my students and my fans who remember my hair.  I want them to remember is empowering. People always tell me… the first thing people Tiffiny is her slogan…It’s so funny. I always this word, just do it.  No excuse, just do it.  A lot of people ask me, “Do you work for Nike?” I don’t work for Nike, but I like that slogan and I want people to remember me is one day, we’re all going to die one of these days but if people remember me and my student remember me, just do it. Because every time they see something about make up or anything I say, Tiffiny, right there in your ears, just do it. Don’t make excuse, just do it.  So that’s how I want people to remember me.  When I leave someday I know they will remember Tiffiny say, just do it, no excuse.

My family though, my kid, I want them to remember me as their mom who devote for them from A to Z.  I’m a business woman but when I’m home, I’m a mom.  I cook, I do everything for them.  I work in the morning – I have meetings and everything, I come home at 2:00 o’clock and I cook and I do everything for them, then I have dinner.  I work again from 8:00 o’clock to 10:00 o’clock I’m done and my time with my husband.  You have to find out and my kids never miss me. I want them to remember me as a good mom and husband remember me as a good wife. I teach them though – a happy wife, happy life.

Michael:         Exactly. So, Tiffiny, if someone wants to know more about your course or you coaching or want to learn more about your classes, how do they get hold of you or how do they find you?

Tiffiny:            They can find me so many ways.  I’m a social media girl because I love social media.  So you can follow me on Facebook, TiffinyLuong, you can follow me in Facebook fan and I have Twitter or you could go on Instagram, or you can visit my website, TiffinyLuong.com.  You can check it out all my classes and course.

And also all my classes and people who invited me is all refer.   I teach everything.  I coach everything, so it doesn’t matter where the business comes from or individual business or corporation, I still do a business coach.  Right now, my mission is to help professional because for them, they can’t take school so far and they help the country and they help so many people to have help with problem.  So that’s my job right now, my mission is to help.

They can contact me anywhere, hairprofessionalsTiffinyLuong.com. There’s so many different ways to contact me.  My phone number is 817 719 3869.  It’s my office number .  My office is in Arlington, Texas and they can come visit anytime.  I love to help.

Michael:         Awesome.  I like to thank you, Tifanny for taking your valuable time and come here and share your valuable tips and stories.  I’m sure that your fan will love it.  Even I learned a lot today about your creative marketing and some of the follow up message – the compaign you did.

Tiffiny:            Thank you so much for inviting me.  My pleasure, anything I can do to help, you change one way at a time.  Believe in yourself and just go for it.  Just do it, no excuse.  No… Honey, that day you born, the day you die, nobody pick for you, but what’s in between; the day you born, the day you die, that’s you.

You need to do something about your life.  Make them feel happy and whatever you love, turn into your lifestyle.

Thank you so much Michael.  It’s my pleasure to be here with you and thank you everybody.  If you need help, contact me.