We had the good fortune of connecting with Essie Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Essie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

I feel like I’ve been preparing this for years, soaking up every experience, learning from challenging bosses and fabulous mentors and wanting to one day be the person making the decisions. I wouldn’t have someone telling it’s not in the budget or we aren’t sure that’s going to be impactful while they sit in an office with limited interaction in the field. I have always said I want to build and I want to mentor and be an example for women of how to lead and let them thrive. I started small and had goals every couple months on how to build to get where I wanted.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My journey has been anything but easy, I think being a women in any industry requires a lot of ambition, discipline and always feeling like you have to continue to prove yourself. When I worked for corporate companies, there was constant adjustments being made, I was always getting a new boss like every 6 months and having to adjust to their styles of communication and expectations which taught me a lot. I was known to be vocal, when it came to challenges and solutions which my peers all faced but were fearful of speaking up and not everyone appreciated honesty. I didn’t know any other way to be than honest, not being a “YES” person was also a challenge for me it’s just not in my nature so I had to strive to really find ways to be what they wanted without compromising myself. I learned that no matter what the result I could sleep better knowing I was authentic, I knew I worked hard and they could never take that away from me. Learning to adjust to change and being flexible was a huge lesson for me that stays with me to this day. Learning to reliquish control because you can only control constants, and most things aren’t and having a back up plan, and a backup plan for that plan served me very well.

My story is about someone that loves creativity and business and being able to do both is what makes me the happiest. I strive to always find ways to leave the world a better place than how I found it, that connects with my relationships with employees and clients alike. I want my brand to impact everyone in a positive way, to make people feel good and connect people. As a makeup artist it’s it fuels my creative side, the business part of it fuels my entrepreneurial mind.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the seasons where I live, in the fall there’s apple picking and apple cider donuts and fun! The restaurants are amazing, I love exploring amazing food and there’s so many local to me. The Inn at Pound Ridge is phenomenal, Ibiza for some Spanish Fusion and Mereki Tavena for amazing Greek!
There’s amazing small businesses in my town which I love to support a ton of women owned as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So many women have shaped my journey, from art teachers who spawned my artistic creativity as a child, to a teacher that taught me to believe I was good enough, to a boss that made me feel like I could never surpass her, to my mother that told me women can do anything, to a SVP at a company I worked at that said her drive was that she wanted a seat at the table. I get inspired everyday to better myself, to support other women and to be a lifetime learner.

Website: www.essiecohen.com

Instagram: @essiecohenmakeup

Linkedin: Essie Cohen

Facebook: Essie Cohen Makeup Artist

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