Maggie Jones on Turning a Makeup Hobby into a Viral Cosmetics Brand and Supporting Independent Creators

As a part of our series about entrepreneurs who transformed something they did for fun into a full-time career, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maggie Jones.

Maggie Jones began what is now her makeup brand as a hobby creating makeup looks for her Instagram page, @blendbunny, in 2017. After some time learning the ropes and getting to know the makeup community, she launched her own line of cosmetics and runs her own successful business. What began as a hobby became a brand that went viral within just 3 months of beginning.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I had a very loved and relaxed childhood. My parents never put any kind of intense pressure on us as kids and I believe that really helped me to blossom into who I am in my own comfortable timing. As far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated by beauty and makeup! I can even vividly remember the exact shade of lipstick Sleeping Beauty was wearing in her enchanted sleep on the Disney VHS tape I watched over and over as a little girl.

What was the catalyst from transforming your hobby or something you love into a business? Can you share the story of your “ah ha” moment with us?

My “ah ha” moment came gradually. I started as an influencer, or what I call a “content creator”. I created makeup looks with interesting and challenging concepts because I’ve always loved creating art as much as I have always loved makeup. I began receiving amazing opportunities from other makeup brands, to test, create with, and share about their newest products. I consistently was sent eyeshadow palettes that felt very confusing and incomplete to me. I wanted to create a palette that I, personally, would grab over and over: a palette that had a complete gradient of shades for blending and that was laid out in a way that made sense. So I did it.

There are no shortage of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge?

That was the trickiest part to me. I have always been a dreamer. “Some day”, “one day”, “Imagine if…”. I guess this time I just went for it, ready or not. I told myself “I’ll learn as I go.”. I was intimidated by the actual business aspect. Taxes, numbers, customer service, shipping, etc. It all felt very overwhelming to me. But I think what happened this time was I looked around me and saw all the other makeup brands, big and small, and thought to myself, “I am not incapable, or unintelligent, or less than anyone else who went for it. If they can do it, so can I.”

What advice would you give someone who has a hobby or pastime that they absolutely love but is reluctant to do it for a living?

You have to have a very real conversation with yourself. ‘Is this something I’m willing to do?’ A lot of it is trading the laidback joy of a hobby for the sometimes stressful parts of a business. To me, it was worth it. It had gradually become a business anyway. I was taking jobs from other brands, working on their timelines, with their products, and letting them direct my art. It just felt right to transition to working solely for myself.

It’s said that the quickest way to take the fun out of doing something is to do it for a living. How do you keep from changing something you love into something you dread? How do you keep it fresh and enjoyable?

I think, like I mentioned, I was fortunate to have had a slow, gradual transition from hobby to work to my own business. I make sure to carve out time in my week for creating makeup looks just for fun. I try to keep that part of it completely not about work. But to be completely honest, I do have a lot of fun with my business. I mean, it’s makeup! I think when you love something, it never truly, fully feels like work.

What is it that you enjoy most about running your own business? What are the downsides of running your own business? Can you share what you did to overcome these drawbacks?

Oh, I love everything about running my own business. I really love the freedom I have, the ability to be home with my family and work with my husband. The hardest part has been the customer service and shipping. We always ship out very quickly but I am always held accountable for the mail carrier’s shortcomings and delays and people aren’t very patient with that. I overcome it by just really acknowledging people’s frustration and trying my hardest to make something good come of something frustrating. It’s very rewarding to work with people and turn a situation around.

Can you share what was the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

The most striking difference between my expectation and reality is how much money it takes to run a business. How much of your profit goes right back into your business. That’s been one thing that I didn’t really expect somehow!

Has there ever been a moment when you thought to yourself “I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to get a “real” job? If so, how did you overcome it?

So far, no, thankfully. I haven’t experienced that yet! Fingers crossed I don’t!

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?

I can’t think of any really funny ones just yet! I know when I first started, I cared so much about my reputation that I would send out double orders to people whose packages were super delayed, with the request that they send back the original one if it ever arrived. So many people did not send back the original one and just kept two. Very naive of me! I learned to let people wait longer for their packages!

Who has inspired or continues to inspire you to be a great leader? Why?

My dad inspires me more than I can say. He has run his own business for 40ish years. He coaches me through a lot. He teaches me so much when it comes to having a business mind. I take his advice very seriously. My husband has taught me so much about work ethic and showing up and getting it done. I look up to his work ethic a lot. My mom worked her way up very high in a predominantly male work field and her hard work that I witnessed my whole life is a huge inspiration to me as well. I have a lot of hard workers around me who inspire me to be better and work harder. I am thankful.

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

I feel like being a good person with a good heart and working with those intentions in your heart makes the world a better place for even one person every single day. I am very serious about focusing my brand’s social media attention on smaller artists as much as bigger names in the makeup community. I try to support and uplift all artists but especially those that don’t get that treatment from every brand. It works out in my favor, the smaller creators are some of the most talented!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

-I wish someone had told me that a lot of customers will try to take advantage of brands. I wasn’t aware of that. Again, my naivety showing. It baffles me sometimes when people are dishonest or take advantage of others.
-I wish someone had told me how to handle restocking of products. We have sold out a few times and every time, the waiting period between restocking is so hard!
-I wish someone had told me how to balance business and personal life. Especially when working from home. My office, my emails, my work is IN MY HOME. It has taken me a while to learn how to disconnect.
-I wish someone had told me not to open business emails at night. I am too sensitive for it. When there’s an upset customer and I open my emails at 10PM, it really disrupts my nightly routine. Again, learning to disconnect is key.
-I wish someone had told me that nothing just comes to you. Things don’t happen unless you work for it. I spent a lot of time waiting for opportunities, instead of reaching out and grabbing them. Whether it was hoping for a big/celebrity makeup artist to stumble on to my line, or hoping a retailer or something would reach out to me. I go for what I want now and if they say no or they don’t answer my inquiry, it just makes me work harder for next time.

What person wouldn’t want to work doing something they absolutely love. You are an incredible inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Well, in the makeup community, I’d love to inspire a very even playing field. Some of the social media platforms make being discovered difficult for makeup artists as well as makeup brands. I have been fortunate in my success, but that will never change what I know is true. It’s all about money and fame and not so much about talent. You have to hope you catch a wave. I’d love to inspire the bigger brands and artists to lift up smaller brands and artists.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Prayers only work when you do.” I think about this a lot, in so many areas of my life. Nothing works when you sit still and do nothing. Work hard and pray/manifest/dream at the same time. Go for it.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest 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 with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Nikkie de Jager, aka NikkieTutorials. I love her energy, I love her story, I admire her success and it would just be a dream come true to sit down with her one day and just hear what she has to say. Also, I’d obviously love to see her use my makeup!

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