Hidden Gems: Meet Patricia Love of Perfection by Patricia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Love.

Hi Patricia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2006, I was burned out as a cosmetics manager in the retail industry and had a desire to be my own boss. I knew had a talent and around that time freelancing in makeup for events and photoshoots was starting to become popular & little did I know that the big “BOOM” in hiring an on-location artist for weddings was on the horizon! In those days, a bride would go to the salon to get their hair done and hit the makeup counters or have a friend do their makeup. Now it is totally just assumed that a bride will be booking an H&MU team for her wedding.

It took me about three years of consistent networking with local photographers, venues, planners and other vendors to start creating a local name for myself. Before I knew it, we were booking about 80 weddings a year plus many many photoshoots, magazine publications and commercial shoots. I built a six-figure company and had a team of 7. In 2019 I hit a breaking point where I realized I was stretching myself too thin. I was away every single weekend from my family, juggling sometimes five weddings in one weekend. I knew I had to take a step back and revaluate what was important to me, my health and my family. I have a 2nd business as well with the number one skincare company in N. America. It’s my online franchise which I am super proud of. That allowed me to take some time off and cut my weddings down to about 35 a year.

In 2020, we had a major halt for six months due to covid. It was another “break” for me and another moment I was so grateful I created a plan B on the side along the way with my online skincare business. This created time for me, once again, to reevaluate what I wanted out of Perfection by Patricia while still being a present mommy and pulling in an FT income with my ecommerce gig.

We are now seeing in 2021 weddings full swing again, but I am finally confident, fulfilled & empowered since I’ve learned to say ‘no’ more. I think that is so important for a business owner. Knowing when to say no, when it’s going to spread yourself too thin. I’ve always said you have to take care of yourself before you can give your best to others. I have to have a happy medium in order for me to perform my best work and to give the best service.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Last year was definitely a struggle with six months of no income doing hair and makeup due to covid. Again, I am so thankful I was smart enough to start another business on the side seven years ago that I’ve built residual income from. It truly is the saving grace for me.

The struggles in the beginning of my business were not knowing how much I was going to book each month. It’s a scary thing to not know IF you will have bookings to come in the future and not have that “steady” paycheck. You have slow months and you have busy months. But no month is alike! Another reason why I think it’s smart for business owners to have multiple streams of income.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Perfection by Patricia?
We are an on location Professional Makeup and Hair Design team! We specialize in Makeup and Hair Design in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and surrounding areas. Our team is available for on-location services for:
Weddings
Engagement Photos
Special Events
Photo Shoots
Publication/Media
Senior Portraits
Boudoir

The feedback I receive from clients that I believe sets us apart from other companies is our timeliness/quickness in getting H&MU done and also our response time in communication.

When we do a wedding we never go over a 4 hour prep time for parties. I personally feel making the wedding party sit there all morning at any time more than that is nuts. So I will make sure we have enough hands on deck to make that happen depending on their party size. We a lot about 30 mins per service. (30 mins for hair and 30 mins for makeup) Also, you can ask any vendor out there who’s worked with us….WE ARE STICKLERS ABOUT STICKING TO THE TIMELINE & NEVER RUN OVER! I am super proud of that.

I never let an email go unanswered for more than a day (most of the time, I am responding immediately or within a couple of hours). I think our clients appreciate that very much. In fact, I know they do because most of the time they are astonished that I’ve “replied so quickly”.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is watching my mother sit at her vanity and do her hair and makeup. Most of the time she literally had nowhere to go, but she sat there and still made herself up. I rem lots of 80’s music playing in the background, AquaNet and Covergirl. My mother still has that same vanity to this day and I know it will be something we will keep in the family.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@perfecitonbypatricia.com
• Website: perfectionbypatricia.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/perfectionbypatricia
• Other: https://plove.myrandf.com/