Page 44 of The Funnel to You

Iturned in my notice today.

I did it!!! Before the December fifth deadline that I gave myself. My last day is going to be November 29. I didn’t want to leave before Black Friday, because it’s retail and I’m not going to do that to my team. And that way I can start helping with the transition. I told one of my managers back in August that I was looking to leave before the end of the year and they have been working with me to train my replacement since then. So this should be a pretty seamless process for that side of things.

The collaborations have been coming in steadily and I’ve been able to do some consulting for a couple of brands and small spas and businesses to increase their outreach to the community and have some more “ready to use” products for their target demographics. I never thought this would be something I would be doing aside from makeup, but the process has been perfect and I love the brands and locations I have been able to work with. The community outreach for so many of them has increased and it is more than just selling products.

And the paychecks have followed too. The free product has definitely increased for myself, as well as Ashley and Tilly, who has joined us in doing a few promotions and campaigns with us too. But being able to have a paycheck alongside it means that I can be confident in stepping away from my job. There are a few paid classes and resources on my site that are generating several hundred dollars every week too. And that will just keep growing as we add more to that section of the business for both consumers and businesses. And creating those is a lot of fun.

Natalie is launching a new line of cosmetics for her Christmas launch that was inspired by my “Pink Every Day” campaign so she is bringing myself, Ashley, and the founders of COBeauty out to New York to strategize on a few things before the launch. There will be a small launch of social media only beginning this December and then there will be a full collection in the spring. They were already planning a small product launch this holiday season so didn’t want to totally change that on their team. So this will be a secondary one that starts a new line and initiative for her brand.

I’m hoping this is the start of other major cosmetic companies doing something similar. It won’t just be a new cosmetic line but a new community outreach initiative too. She is calling it “Pink Every Day x Natalie” and has already told me she would like for me to be able to do this with other brands with just changing the collaborative name at the end.

So much is happening so fast but it is working so well! And it feels so right!

Matt and I have a meeting tonight and then tomorrow I have a Zoom call with Natalie and her team as we work out the social media plan for the next month until I will be in New York for a few days. It’s going to be a fast and busy end of the year, but this is so incredible. What started as me being nervous about that first farmers market meeting has turned into me meeting with CEOs and brand partners for major collaborative efforts.

How is this real life right now?

I’m meeting Matt at his house today to go over things since we are going to be dealing with some confidentiality documents and NDA’s that need to be signed and I don’t really want to go over legal jargon with everyone around me. With how fast this has all happened, I need to be able to just lounge around a bit and focus on relaxing after we go through all the documents.

It was a comfy clothes day for me so I get to Matt’s a little after six in a pair of black leggings and a long sleeve tee. It’s a sapphire blue color and it does amazing things for my skin tone and my eyes. Jewel tones are my favorite and the cooler months mean I can really lean into that coloring with my wardrobe and my makeup.

Matt opens the door before I even make it up onto his porch and helps me with my bags. I brought an overnight bag just in case. I have a drawer over here now so I don’t have to stress about all of my extras or for the nights that I fell asleep watching a movie. We have been dating since August and things are feeling really good with him.

He sets my bag into his bedroom then comes to meet me at the kitchen table. He greets me with a kiss and then we get everything set up.

“I ordered dinner and it should be here in about twenty minutes. Do you want to tackle some work before food or save it for after we eat?” Matt asks as he organizes some papers next to his laptop.

“Can we take care of things before dinner please? I know we may not finish it, but I want to get through what we can. I don’t know if I can do all of it tonight. I’m already feeling a little overwhelmed and don’t want to push it.”

“Absolutely. Let me grab the critical papers first and then we can take a break for dinner and then go from there.” Matt pulls out a folder with my branding on it. “I may have had some things made up for you.”

“How did you get all of this in so fast?” I ask him as he continues pulling folders, binders, pens, pencil cases, and even a makeup bag out of a box that I hadn’t noticed before.

“So, I might have actually ordered this stuff back in August. I wanted to surprise you with it once you hit the point where you would need some professional items to go along with what you are doing.” I gape at him, realizing how long he has had all of this.

“But what if it didn’t work?” I find myself asking him. I have been doubting myself so much these past few weeks. Is this all some big fluke and I’ll lose it all in a few months? Did they mean to reach out to another influencer? Is this really happening?

Matt must sense me spiraling because he comes up to me and rests his hands on my shoulders before dragging them down my arms to my hands. He interlaces our fingers and then waits for my eyes to meet his own.

“You are absolutely incredible, Sasha. I knew from before I even sat down with you at that coffee shop that you were going to do amazing things. And I just prayed that I got to be around to see it and begged to be a part of it – even if my part was small. I needed you to succeed and knew this was all meant for you. Being able to have a part of it on the back end and to encourage you to pursue what you love, this has been the most incredible year for me, because of you. And I know that this will work. Because this is yours. You put in the work. This is all you babe. And thank you for letting me have a part.” I choke back tears as he presses a kiss to my forehead. It’s tender and close and I feel like he is giving me some of his confidence through the touch.

I lean back a little so I can see his eyes again. “I could not have done this without you. I hope you know that.”

“You could have done this and more without me. I just helped speed up the process a little bit.” He winks at me. “Okay, let’s chat NDA’s.”

We sit down at the table and begin going through paperwork and signing on more pages than I feel is necessary, but Matt went through this with an attorney he knows and wanted to make sure I am set for this next chapter. Once Natalie announces the collaboration, there’s a chance that other brands will follow suit and we don’t want them taking the name or the model without proper channels being utilized.

Matt surprised me right before dinner arrived with another folder.

“What’s in this one?” I ask before opening it up.

“Open it and see.” He has a mischievous grin in his eyes.

And I gasp when I open it. Not only do I now have a bunch of amazing business supplies with my name and brand all over it, I now am the owner of Sasha Loves Lipstick and Pink Every Day as copyrights and Sasha Loves Lipstick as a trademark too. The business model is also laid out on the papers I am flipping through. Everything is here. The ideas that we talked through last week about Natalie are typed up and laid out in a seamless order from marketing to email campaigns to outreach opportunities for their core product lines.

As I keep going through everything, there are similar papers for more brands. All done.

“What is this?” I breathe out.

---