R2RB Podcast - Women Entrepreneurs and Indie Artists Series

Brushstrokes of Determination with Veronica Rios

• Deb LaMotta

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When Veronica Rios brushed vibrant colors across a child's face, she didn't just see a business opportunity—she found her calling. This episode features the incredibly uplifting tale of Veronica, the heart behind Over the Rainbow Face Painting Company, and her entrepreneurial leap during the most unlikely times, the COVID-19 pandemic. Transitioning from a makeup artist to a business owner, Veronica faced not only the challenges of a global crisis but also the hurdle of a cease and desist, proving her resilience as she moved her life and business from Florida to Delaware. Her passion for her work and her clever use of design tool Canva to enhance her business materials are just a few of the highlights of her inspiring story.

Facing uncertainty can either paralyze us or push us toward paths unimagined. "My own journey, entwined with health scares and the discovery of a non-cancerous tumor, echoes the theme of resilience that runs through this episode. Opting for chemotherapy over surgery, I had to reevaluate my career and life choices, ultimately finding profound solace and purpose in the world of makeup artistry." It's a powerful reminder of how art can serve as a sanctuary, healing us while opening doors to new, more fulfilling professional avenues.  

This podcast episode celebrates the vibrant community of women entrepreneurs who uplift each other through shared experiences and mentorship. From Veronica's humble beginnings at her godson's birthday party to the importance of connections within the face-painting industry, we underline the strength found in solidarity. The shared wisdom and advice for women chasing their dreams, the significance of networking, and the joy of helping others shine are all central to this conversation. Join us as we not only discuss the mechanics of business but also revel in the profound connections that make entrepreneurship a journey worth embarking on.

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Speaker 1:

Hi and welcome to the R2RB podcast series Woman Entrepreneur Spotlight. I am in the studio today with Veronica Rios of Over the Rainbow Face Painting Company. Veronica is located in Newcastle County and have no fear, she does travel. Yeah, all over, Veronica. Welcome and thank you for joining me today. How are you?

Speaker 2:

So great. Well, first of all, thank you for even having me and giving me this opportunity I am doing. So what like today? I'm doing a way better than I have in the past few days. As I go forward and forward, things become more clear for me and I become more optimistic and very positive. So today I'm feeling just optimistic and very happy. Oh, I like that.

Speaker 1:

So how are you? I'm well, thank you. Thank you for asking. I like to ask two questions to get us warmed up, and the first one is if you could have any superpower, which one would you have?

Speaker 2:

I think it would be to remove evil in the world. Evil and hate. I think that is really a stem of where a lot of negative things come from, and if we removed it and harmonized and became one as a human race, I think we'd feel a lot more love.

Speaker 1:

Oh, my gosh, absolutely yeah, and you're so right about the hate. Yeah, we definitely need to eradicate that. So what's your favorite app on your phone and why? Oh?

Speaker 2:

Canva. I cannot stop talking about Canva. Have you heard of Canva? I use Canva. Okay, I love Canva so much that I didn't even know Canva was a pro option, because I kept seeing like, oh, this is, you can only use this if you're a pro. And I'm like what does that mean? And then I found out like it was a membership. And when I ended up getting the membership because I used, I mean I'm telling you I was using Canva for my resumes, for my business cards, for invoices, for invoices for flyers, and I was like you know, I'm using Canva. Looking at Canva right now, so like I was like, okay, let me just see what pro is. And when I use pro, I mean it gave me a world of different options. And now my flyers and everything look 10 times better. And I can't like I talk about it so much to people. Just use Canva, just use it, it's my favorite app.

Speaker 1:

That is so funny because when I first started with Canva, or when I first heard of Canva, it was like all right, I'll check it out. And, like you, I only did the free part of it. And then I switched over to the pro and I use it the same way as you do, and we have a video player on our website that we are finally being able to use, and I'm doing the backgrounds in Canva now.

Speaker 2:

Okay, yeah, so there's a button on there that says elements, and then you can literally type in anything. And it'll give you a viarity of different backgrounds, different pictures, images, gifs, anything you can think of. It's there, and so it makes anything that you wanna create look professionally made, and it's not. You did it you did that. Right, I know my business cards. Everyone's like, oh my God, these are so cute and I'm like I did that. I did that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I've done the business cards with Canva as well and ordered them, through them, yeah, so oh my gosh, the pricing is great. Now we'll have to talk more. Yeah, yeah, oh gosh. All right, so let's start. Hopefully, I start in the right place. So you started over the rainbow face painting in 2019, but, of course, due to COVID-19, you received a cease and desist letter. So you started and you got shut down right then. But let's back up a little bit. Prior to the face painting, where were you and what were you doing?

Speaker 2:

So prior to the face painting, I was a makeup artist and I had been a makeup artist for quite a while. I started doing makeup just for fun when I was 19. I didn't know I was gonna take it super serious. And I had taken it serious for a while and then I was working at actual locations, like a Mac makeup for instance. And then I also worked for a company called Riley Rose.

Speaker 2:

And then, when I had my daughter, I kind of realized I can't really go places. This is, I just had a kid. I can't go to a physical job. So I ended up doing this thing where I'm like well, if you need your makeup done, you can come to my home, which has a studio in it. So I was doing studio makeup. For mainly I wanted to do bridal, because I find bridal so beautiful, but at times I would do keinses, which is like sweet 15s and especially events such as that, and I thought I wanted that to be a career. But there was just a big shift. It was a big shift and so I was doing that for a while and then I was doing it out of my home and I had did that all the way until the pandemic right before the pandemic actually, and just before the pandemic, before you went into the face painting, were you in Florida.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I was in Florida. I lived in Florida from ages 15 all the way to 25.

Speaker 1:

Okay, all right. So then you made the shift to. We made a move. You didn't do a shift, you did a move.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, after I want to say COVID took over our lives and four months after COVID was a nationwide emergency, we moved four months after the mandate had happened and after four months we drove all the way from Florida to Delaware and started a whole new life and continued the quarantine here and it was a lot. It was a lot.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I can't imagine.

Speaker 2:

It was a lot yeah.

Speaker 1:

You literally pack up your family and was there a reason that you came to Delaware? Did you have family or yeah?

Speaker 2:

so well, here's the thing the owner of the house that we were living in in Florida. He was an elderly man who had some health concerns and he wanted a way out of dealing with people. He was terrified of COVID, as everyone was. I mean, as you can imagine, people were stealing like people were taking things off shelves and it was a complete I mean I don't know. I feel like at that time so much happened that it's hard for me to so when I say here, I think about it. It was traumatic, but he wanted to get away from people. So he came to our house one day and it was the day we were gonna pay rent and he was like listen, I gotta tell you guys something. I put your house up on Zillow and I was like what, yeah? And he was like yeah, and I got a buyer. And we're like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean we are just looking at him with our rent in hand and we're like why would you do this? And he's like I don't wanna be around people, like I don't wanna catch COVID, I'm scared, I don't wanna die, which we felt for him.

Speaker 2:

Okay, sure, I get it, but my husband's job was a job that was also very physical with people. He just got laid off because of COVID. We all got laid off because of COVID and now we're being kicked out of our home because of COVID. My mom lived in an elderly only complex so we were not allowed to live with her. My mother-in-law could not move us in because there was only one bedroom and she was occupying it. There was nowhere for us to go in Florida, not in, and he told us by the end of the month we had to be out. Well, so we were just. We were frazzled. I remember him leaving and I'm pouring, crying and I'm like we just had a baby. What are we gonna do?

Speaker 2:

Like the only, thing he could think of is I'm gonna call my dad in Delaware. I'm just gonna tell him, like hey, see what his advice is. Luckily, his dad said listen, the people who are renting my house left. You guys can take the house if you want it. The house was in horrible condition. It's in horrible condition. I mean we still have a lot to work in, there's a leak in our roof and it's a lot. But we took it because I'm not gonna raise a child homeless. That's not gonna happen.

Speaker 2:

So we could not take everything with us. We had to throw out majority of our furniture, take our child, take what we could. And we just came. We drove straight through. I mean we got here within 16 hours of driving. Usually it takes almost two days to drive and we got here in 16 hours and we were tired. But when we got into the house it was a mess. The house was a mess. I mean we couldn't even sleep properly. We had to clean up a corner in a room and fix that corner so that we could sleep and we were still tired. I mean we were in a whole of a whole, just a world of her.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, oh my gosh, covid had overturned so many lives taken, had taken so many lives, and it was just a horrible time for everybody and that is just oh my gosh. Well, I am glad that you are in a much better place now.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Do? You and your husband have worked so hard to get both of you to where you are. Wow, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

Yeah yeah. I'm very, I'm grateful. It's still the beginning, but it's still a very. It's a positive beginning and I'm very happy that at least we were able to find somewhere very quick to go, because some people are not fortunate. Some people also lost everything and they were not as fortunate. Some had to stay in a shelter. I'm very thankful that, even though the house was in deseret and the house needs a lot of love we're able now to give it love.

Speaker 1:

Nice, so good.

Speaker 2:

You know?

Speaker 1:

yeah, oh, my goodness. So during the time that you got to Delaware, when you arrived in Delaware, until now, where and when did your face painting come into play?

Speaker 2:

Okay. So, oh man, this is very this is okay, just a little bit of a, but let me explain, okay. Okay, as you know, it started in Florida and then I quickly got cut at the knees. I still had my whole kit. Okay, this kit had all my paints, all my brushes, and there was no love being given to it.

Speaker 2:

When I came to Florida, I continued being a makeup artist. I said, well, this is all I know. Face painting didn't work out. Maybe it was a sign that it just wasn't meant to be, because COVID came and just knocked me off and I completely abandoned my kit and I didn't even look at it. I put it up in my closet and it was there in the back just collecting dust and I was doing makeup. And I went to school and I got my license and I made it legit here in Delaware.

Speaker 2:

I went to Shilling Douglas and I graduated from Shilling Douglas and a few months ago actually at the end of October, unfortunately we found out I had a tumor behind my eye, and so I'm very lucky the tumor was not cancerous. But I did not want surgery, me neither, reason because we lost our mother to a surgery in September of last year. Oh my goodness, surgery terrifies me because she went into surgery very positive. She thought she was gonna come out fine. You just spoke to them and she did not make it in surgery and so I'm terrified of it. So I told them I don't want surgery. What is my options? And they said well, we could put you through IV chemo. Chemo reduces the size of tumors and with time it can go away. It's just a hard thing to do.

Speaker 2:

Right yeah, and I said anything that is gonna stop you from putting a knife anywhere near my eye, I will do it. So I've been in IV chemo and, with that being said, the jobs that I were working were having a hard time with me because I was tired at times, at times that I was feeling sick. Of course, I've had to switch schedules a lot with employees just to get to my appointments, and I could tell that my managers were getting very frustrated and they were telling me Veronica, we sympathize with you and we want you to be okay, but it's making it very hard for us to be able to schedule with you having to leave all the time to your appointments and you getting sick during your shifts. And we're not saying that you need to leave. We don't wanna fire you, but we want you to understand. I think they wanted me to say I'm leaving without them having to kick me out. Right, you know what I mean, I do. I got the picture very clearly with what they were saying and I kind of was in this awkward position where they're staring at me and I said you know what. I'm gonna go. I said I'll give my position to someone else. You don't have to fire me. I know that you don't wanna say it, right? Because then that would mean you'd have to pay me unemployment and you don't wanna do that. So I will go.

Speaker 2:

And I sat home and my husband was like you know, babe, that case is still sitting in your closet with all the paint in it. And I looked at him and I'm like you're right. And he goes. I know life is a lot for you. Lately it's been a lot. And he said but you always love children, you always love being creative, you're very artistic by nature. You've always been super, super, you've had the eye for art. And he goes. I think that this would be the time and place for you to put yourself forward and grab the kit and just paint. He's like I know it's weird, I know you're probably uncomfortable, but this way you can schedule when you want, you can book when you want. Absolutely, it's your way of taking control of your life again. Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

So I did. I took my kid out. I bought some new paints because some of the paints there were expired and I didn't want to use that. And I got down to it and I was painting my days away and painting, and painting and going through IV and painting and going through the works, the emotions feeling sick, up and down, but then I was able to book a gig and the results of my first gig really set my heart in motion for being like oh my God, this feels right. What again, it feels where I belong and the feeling was just so overjoying that immediately I wanted to book my next gig. I just wanted to do it consistently, I mean, and I came home every day after that and I painted every day and I still paint every day. I wake up, get my kit ready, make her breakfast, take her to school and while she's in school, I paint my heart out.

Speaker 2:

I practice, practice, practice. And I mean, I know I'm not like these professionals who've been doing it for years, but I feel like I know I can get there and I feel already happy with what I have produced. So I got back there. It's like life did a full circle I, what I thought was never gonna happen again, popped back up into my life in a way that it wasn't expected. But it's, I got back there.

Speaker 1:

So I'm back here and I'm happy. That is wonderful and just your case for your makeup artistry pieces that you use, that you had had, say, when you were getting ready to move. You had to throw out almost everything and the one thing that you didn't throw out was that that case. It might've stayed on your shelf. And God pushes us in different ways and all over and tests everyone, and for you to do and get through what you have accomplished today is amazing and kudos and congratulations to you, thank you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it is well now that you say that I didn't think about the fact that I didn't throw out that kit Right. That's crazy. I didn't think that's crazy. I didn't think about that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Wow.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that kit was there and it was just very quiet waiting for you to do what they the kid already knew what you needed to do. So, yeah, that's pretty neat, that is really neat. So you practice all the time, you practiced all the time. With who did you practice on?

Speaker 2:

My daughter, which she's about fed up with the phase paint, but I have to do this thing while I bribe her. I'm like listen, I'll let you be on the tablet If you just let me do it on your, just like a little butterfly, let me just. She'll be like okay, but after this we need a break. Okay, mom, and I'm like okay.

Speaker 1:

So then I do it on the. I'm practicing. How old is she? I'm sorry, how old is she?

Speaker 2:

My daughter's five, going on to six, okay, and her personality, because my daughter is the my only child. She's around adults, 24, seven. So she's a very grown up for a five years old. She has a very articulate, very well mannered. She can present herself well, like if you ask questions she will give you an adult answer because she's around adults, so that's all she knows. So she lets me paint her and she's about fed up with the paint.

Speaker 2:

My husband lets me paint him and it's funny because here I am doing childish little looks on this grown man with a beard, but he's shaped his beard off so that I can get in there, and the things he's done for me to be able to paint. And I remember him looking at me and he's like you know, babe, I know nothing about art but what you just created on me is beautiful. He's like and I know you're in the right place, I just know it Right. And he's just so happy about me that he invested so much of his money and time and effort into me because he believes in it. So it's been nice to have my team. It's a very small team but it's a great team. I love it.

Speaker 1:

I love it. And you had said about your husband, just you know saying hey, why don't you go get that box that you didn't throw away? And you know, kind of take it down and dust it off. And he didn't push you, and you know that's how this all works. Sometimes it's just a little nudge. A little. You know encouragement and you know your team is awesome.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's crazy.

Speaker 2:

It's so crazy it's just. God must have knew that box may not be used now, but eventually she'll take that box off that shelf and at the right time it'll be in use. And it is at the right time. I needed it the most and it's saved. It's saving my life in a way.

Speaker 1:

For so many reasons on so many levels and, yep, so that is your hope chest altogether. Yeah, so you practice on your daughter, which I've seen on Facebook, and I have seen your awesome husband letting you do the face painting on him? Do you have other adults that ask for face painting when?

Speaker 2:

you're out of it. So what's so crazy is I don't have friends in Delaware, except for one. I've made one friend and I made a. It's so weird how we became friends. I was trick or treating with my daughter and I said hi. I said I live right behind you. I just want to say your house is really pretty. She's like you live behind me.

Speaker 2:

I was like, yeah, she was, we should be my friend. I was like, okay, and this lady was so awesome. Her name is Rachel and I love her so much and we exchanged numbers right in the middle of her putting candy in my kid's bag and she gave me her phone number and we text each other. And now every Sunday it's been a ritual for a whole year we watch movies together every Sunday and so I paint on her now and she's like, hey, you got my face paint on my face and she loves it. She's like, yeah, make me into who you want to make me. You want me to be a butterfly. I'll be the best butterfly you've ever seen and it's been great, because not many friends will want that. You know, not many grown up friends will let you do that and the fact that she's let me is so nice and the fact that we became friends in a little different way, and it's special.

Speaker 1:

That is really great. That is really great. Yeah, it gives you a whole new outlook to you know, doing an adult has to be very different from you. Know, the child's child's oh, very, very, very different. It's very different. So you're telling us about over the rainbow, face painting and your makeup artist business. Prior to that, you've done this all by yourself. You've put your, you've put your businesses together All by myself.

Speaker 2:

I didn't know what I was doing.

Speaker 2:

I had no idea and I didn't have a plan. I literally all I did was I always remembered seeing this ad for something called Legal Zoom. Okay, legal Zoom was a company that did everything in one. Okay, they got you your EI nine, they got you your LLC. They did they, checked your state's laws. They've had it in a package, all for you.

Speaker 2:

And because I didn't know what I was doing, I remember just calling the 1-800 number and I was like, listen, you know, I'm doing this for the first time. I don't know what I'm doing and I just need to know what is my steps. And she's like this is what you need to do. And I just went with it and I said, okay, well, today I'm gonna promote and I'm gonna do this, and tomorrow I'm just gonna contact this person, because that's what they told me. And then, oh, I need insurance, right, because if something happens, I need to make sure I'm insured, right, every business has insurance.

Speaker 2:

And so I just was Googling the best insurance, but what was affordable for me at the time? And I didn't know. I didn't know anything, I didn't have anybody guide me, I didn't have a mentor, I didn't have a friend. I didn't even think about asking a friend. I kind of was just like I'm rocking on this boat solo and I'm gonna figure it out. And I'm proud of that because I can look at it and say I, a woman who knew nothing, did it all. I searched and I wrote all my notes down and I bought this folder that contains all my files. I printed everything out and each one has a tab and I created my own contract. I didn't even know what a contract was, but I did it and I made sure that my contract was right by a notary.

Speaker 2:

And a notary re-readed and she was like, hey, this looks legit. And I was like, perfect, I didn't know what I was doing, I was lost and I did it somehow and it's all worked out and I'm so proud of it and it's my baby. My business is my baby.

Speaker 1:

You should be proud, because it's a lot. I mean, first of all, like you said, it's no easy task starting the business and then starting the business by yourself. Most of the women entrepreneurs that I speak with usually have had a mentor or a friend or somebody. But you, being who you are, and just even with the move from Florida in the midst of the COVID, getting into a home where you have to give it a lot of TLC, to where you are now with your face painting over the rainbow face painting here in Delaware, you should be very proud.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate that very much. It's not often I stop and give myself credit. I've been. I am a person I will admit a very little and never stop to look at myself and say, hey, man, you did this. You're like. I never do that, never, if anything. I ripped myself apart a little bit and I think that's just because I grew up very I've never grew up with a lot of pads on the shoulders, so I'm in the process of learning how to give myself a pat when I stop and I look at my plaques.

Speaker 2:

I received my letter in the mail from Legal Zoom saying congratulations for starting your LLC. It says thank you, let's be the first to say congratulations. And when I read that, I said look at you. You did that. You found they asked you for all this information. You filled out all your paperwork. You learned what all this meant. You googled and researched and you did it and you're official. And there's a paperwork that says you're official, with your name and your business and it's yours. And you alone did that. And I'm and for a moment there I did cry. I cried happy tears because I, after everything that's happened after all, covid put me through I made it back I made it.

Speaker 1:

Oh my gosh, you have, and that is just the best part of this story so far. Oh my gosh, that is great. So there's a godson involved in how you got your business going here in Delaware? Tell us about that.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my god, so, my. So my husband is the youngest out of very, so his siblings are way older than him and so he has a niece that's literally my age, which is crazy to me. Okay, as I remember, she came to my house and I remember her saying I think I'm pregnant, and she came to me because I had just had my baby and she confided in me because she was nervous and she was like I need you to go to the hospital with me. I'm nervous and I'm like, okay, we'll go go Once the hospital. And as soon as they came back in the room, they're like you're pregnant. She was still happy, and the first thing she said is do you want to be the godmom?

Speaker 2:

And I'm like, yes, and I would. So I was the godmom. And here we are here, in some change, or more than a year later, it's about to be his very first birthday. And she was like man, these face painters are expensive. And I was like I'll buy paint, I'll paint kids. And I said it jokingly. Okay, I said it jokingly and I said I'll just like pin, trust some photos, right, I'll just see how they look. They're not going to look great, I told her, but they're going to be something.

Speaker 2:

That thing is is that, because of COVID, not many kids got painted, because COVID had hit right when his birthday started. It did get to paint some, but his birthday was what pushed me, or even made me, think about face painting. Her even saying that made the word face painting come into my life. Like I didn't even think about face painting until she said it and I was like I could do that. I could do that and I love children and I would love to do that and I would love to make them happy and I interact. My interaction with kids is so fun because I still feel like I'm a kid at heart. So when I'm talking to children I'm like, hey, do you want to be a tiger. We're going to tiger.

Speaker 2:

You want rainbows, we can do this. Let's have some glitter Like, and it's fun and it's so light hearted and anything you give these kids, they smile. So he was the one. My godson was the one who the word was thrown out there for and it stuck with me.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that. And how did you come about with over the rainbow part?

Speaker 2:

So that one when I was practicing my face painting and I had no name at this point when I was practicing I was watching the Wizard of Oz and it's been my favorite, my favorite movie. I remember watching it with my mama when I was little and I remember singing some little bit, you know, and as I was painting I was using a rainbow color and I'm singing somewhere over the rainbow and I'm looking at the paint and I laughed and I took them. Look at my husband. I'm like wouldn't it be cute if I call, if I called my business over the rainbow? And he was like oh, that is a nice name. And I'm like wait, why shouldn't it be the name? I'm like that's the name, it's over the rainbow.

Speaker 2:

I was like we use rainbow colors anyway. We use all the colors. I love it. So it's just watching Wizard of Oz and loving the song and singing it and using the colors. It just meshed together. It worked.

Speaker 1:

I love it, yeah that is great, oh my gosh. So let me just ask this question what advice would you give, though, to a woman entrepreneur starting their business?

Speaker 2:

I think when you're going to start something, you need to block out the voices that tell you you can't. You need to block out the voices that say, but what if? There? Don't listen to the what ifs, listen to the what can? Okay, what can happen? What can happen is you fall in love with something you never thought you'd fall in love. What can happen is you make children happy. What can happen is you become to become a pro at it. What can happen is it blossoms into something bigger than you ever thought.

Speaker 2:

So just go with your first foot forward and just keep walking. Don't look back. Do not look back. Just keep going straight and ignore the negatives. Ignore anything that anyone says that you can't. You need to believe in yourself wholeheartedly. Just believe in you and only you. And don't let no one tell you that you cannot do it because I had people tell me things I did and I chose to ignore because I believed in myself and I'm so glad I did, because sitting here right now, I have 18 booked gigs and I could not have told myself that a year ago. Yeah, and I'm so proud. So when I tell that person, do it and do it with your full intentions and do not look back.

Speaker 1:

Don't look absolutely and and again. The other women that I have spoken with say the same thing, and I'm so glad that you didn't give in to the naysayers and that you went with your heart and what was best for you and loving what you do. And so you are now how far into doing face painting.

Speaker 2:

Even though we did the first LLC in 2019 and it didn't take off, I am. I did start it in October of 2023. I Literally started it the two nights after finding out I had a tumor. So let's see, that was October 23rd. At October 25th was the day I took out my kit and went to starting to face paint.

Speaker 1:

So October 25th, 2023 was my first yeah, it's amazing, and you still have the same kit.

Speaker 2:

Yep, you know it's so crazy. My kits I bought from Harbor Freight. It was a 39, 99 dollar kit and it was a aluminum and it was used for a clarinet. I Took it apart and I said you know what, how can I make this into a face painter kit? I bought metallic metal, I bought everything I need. I screwed in the pieces, I used the drill, I used the hard tools. I didn't know what I was doing. But now it is a face painter kit that's magnetic, it lights up, it holds paint, it has a deep compartment because I made it like that. The whole thing is purple now, and before it was silver and it has gems all over it. And I did that and I made it into the most beautiful thing and when I bring it to places the kids are like, wow, it's so cool looking because I made it fun.

Speaker 1:

I made it fun to look at and that's, that's what they tell you to do. You know it's a cliche. People think you know, do what you love and it will carry you through wherever you want to go With it. And that's what you have done with over the rainbow face painting and Veronica you are just awesome with with you You're welcoming me. My gosh. So many people probably or maybe not, I don't know I'm probably given up before now, and you know, with COVID, so many people were defeated for so many different reasons. It certainly took a toll on everybody, like I said earlier, and for you to fight through COVID, your family, fight through what you all had to go through when getting and moving to Delaware, dealing with your cancer diagnosis again, that could have been something that you would have said. Could have said, oh, you know, enough's enough, I can't do more, but yeah, fighter that. You are here, we are in 2024 and that is just amazing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, honestly, I'm gonna tell you something. I, being someone who, hereditary, had been diagnosed with depression, I thought my depression was gonna beat me. I literally thought when I had my diagnosis, I said, no, this is what's gonna keep me in bed, this is what's gonna keep me in bed and I'm not gonna get out. And I decided I'm going to be the one in my family to break the cycle. I'm not staying in this bed. I'm not letting it stop me. I refuse to give up. I refuse to not Make something of my one life. I got one life to live and I need to live it. I'm not gonna let it beat me and I'm so happy, I'm so happy at where I am.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that is complete determination, uh, complete. You know the belief you have finally got had, the belief in yourself that you knew you could do that, you wanted to do that, and there are so many people that isn't it's not hereditary, but there's so many people that from again COVID that we're dealing with the mental health and it's not easy and it is different for everybody. I understand that. But just to maybe hear your story, um could help that you know somebody listening to to the podcast later on, because I know depression Is, is, is an ugly thing, um.

Speaker 1:

I don't suffer from depression, but I get the winter blues, I get the seasonal, yeah, yeah, you know disorder, um, and it, you know, am I miniscule part of it. You know, knowing that feeling. So who asked you for fighting through that too and breaking that?

Speaker 2:

cycle it was. I mean, it took me a while, you know. You know that Saying where someone says I have arrived, Mm-hmm. I Don't want to get emotional, but I have arrived because, uh, I. For a long time I was hiding in the dark and over the rainbow.

Speaker 1:

Face painting saved me and I'm so happy that I arrived to my destination and welcome and welcome to it, and I am so glad that kit came with you, yeah.

Speaker 2:

For sure I mean this kid, I, I don't know what I mean. I guess god. I guess now I can say god knew what was coming. But um, when I lugged it into the car on moving day never did. I think I was gonna get back into it. And there were times I almost threw the kit out when cleaning my house and I didn't. I kept saying no, leave it there, leave it there. I paid for it, leave it there and I'm glad. So yeah.

Speaker 1:

I'm very glad also, absolutely, because you wouldn't be here sitting and talking to me and talking about over the rainbow face painting. And before I forget, why don't you let everybody know where to find you, how to find you, how to book you?

Speaker 2:

Yes, so actually you could find me on both Facebook and on Instagram. Those are the current places that you can find me. So on Instagram I actually am. I believe it is. If you can just give me a second, it is over the rainbow F dot P on Instagram, and on Facebook it is just simply over the rainbow face painting. And do they call you to book you? So no, so on, you can DM me on both and then on Facebook there is a link for my email. You can click the link and it sends you straight to your Gmail, opens up a message where you can write to me, or you can click the message me now button and then on same on Instagram. There's a contact button on Instagram where you can call me on Instagram and you can also directly message me on Instagram.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and you said you've already have 18 gigs on the book.

Speaker 2:

So yes, that's for the next four months. I don't know what's going on past the four months, but it's a good start. And it's a great start. It's more than what I was expecting, oh my gosh.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. So I do ask the question that, knowing what you know now and what you've gone through, would there be anything that you would change in the beginning?

Speaker 2:

Yes, 100%. There is something that I would have changed because I didn't have a mentor, because I wasn't taught I didn't know. When you come into a new business, it's best to connect to other face painters in the area to know what their paying rate is. I didn't know that you're supposed to connect. I didn't know that because no one taught me that. You know, had I known that, I think I would have reached out to them and be like hey, I'm a new face painter in the area, what's your going rate? So that I know.

Speaker 2:

To be fair, that I wish I knew, because I think that's how some people grew to not fully like me in Delaware, and that's fine. I think I wish they had given me a chance to share my stories that they knew I didn't know any better, but I do now and I did get new connections and I did make friends and it got better and I changed my prices and I grew from it and all of it is really just a learning process, right? So I think in the beginning I would have definitely reached out to more face painters to learn more.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's great, that's a great. I like that because I don't think everybody you know you're not the only one you know, probably that hasn't joined a group or hasn't reached out. Yeah, you know, you get caught up in what you're doing for yourself and then Thank you for that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely, there's so much going on that you have to do that. It's really hard for you to mark every. You might miss a step and you don't do it intentionally with the intentions of being that way, but there's just so much on your list that talking to another face painter to know their price is something that you didn't really think about. You know, yeah, but yeah, that's something I would have changed so that I would have respectfully came into the community with respect.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, yeah, I mean, we all learn every day. We learn, excuse me, we all learn something new every day, and you know that's great advice for another woman entrepreneur as well. I had wrote this. There's a post that you probably have seen, too on Facebook Remember that there's room for everyone in every field. Well, let's chair each other on and support one another as we all accomplish our goals and dreams. Some of the best people I've met are my direct competition, and I love that quote.

Speaker 2:

Yes, thank you notes. Oh man, that quote couldn't hit a closer to home. There were some competitors here who are not happy about me, but then there's some competitors here who were so nice that they actually gave me work. Okay, they gave me my first gig. One of them gave me my first gigs and I remember calling her and I said I can't thank you more. You could have ignored me completely and been like I'm not helping you, you're my competitor. But she didn't. You said, hey, hold on, I got something for you and it was the best first gig that could have ever had and I thank her so much for it.

Speaker 2:

And now we're the greatest of friends and we share so much in our group chat and we share all the pictures and every time I make a new design I send it to her and I think, hey, is this a good tiger? And she's like hey, it's a great tiger, just try to tweak this. And it's great because we've come together and it's so beautiful to see that she's a competitor but she's not my friend. So it's nice that that quote is so on target. It really is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, with the other women entrepreneurs as well, and some of them have the same story where other people in the same field have not been as welcoming to them. But that's the best way to learn is by somebody else, and I always think that we're complimenting the other person by going to them and becoming friends with them, and because the other part of it is we all. We might all do something similar, but it's always something different. So your face painting, right, it's going to be different.

Speaker 2:

Yes. So what I've learned is every artist is different when it comes to face painting. You've got the face painters who like to have their lines thicker and make them look more large, and then there's artists like me who's like very fine lined and very skinny with her lines. So we've all learned that, like, even though we're a face painter, we're each unique in our own ways and we've all taught somebody. I've learned something from another face painter who also learned something from me, and so we all shared something, and it's really nice and that's why I think I told you in the beginning if I can remove the evil and hate in this world, we would have all came together a lot more, and that's exactly why I feel that way.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely. But again, if everybody came together sooner and quicker. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, I'm going to be right about that. That's right. Is there anything else that I haven't touched on that you would like to share?

Speaker 2:

No, I do just want to say the quote, the part in that quote that there's enough room for everybody. I want to say this there is millions of people in this world, millions OK. There's events going on every day. There's things going on every day that there's an opportunity for you, in every way, to be a part of it. If you can be anything in this world, be the light, be the positive and be the good, because there's so much bad that we can contribute the good. And that's what I want to say, and I think we've touched on almost anything that I would have loved to say. So I thank you for all your questions. They've been amazing and they've also helped me realize some things too. So, no, I think we've touched on everything and it's been perfect in every way.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, Veronica. I appreciate that I do have a question. Are you going to be at any events, or are these all private events?

Speaker 2:

I am going to be at some events. So there's a few events that I did donate my time to meaning I did not take any profits from because these are events that are for special needs and children with cancer. So I am doing childhood cancer with the company Coaster Adventures. They're doing an event for children with cancer. It is so that you can come and donate blood to children who really need it and I will be their face painting. There's also a few pop-up events with Nino products as well, and then I am doing a special event with Brandywine Zoo. If you're a member or you want to be a member, you can go to Brandywine Zoo and become a member. We're having a special members-only event. I'm on their website as well. And then there's some events that are private because it's employees only. But yeah, those are some events I'll be working at and they're going to be fun.

Speaker 2:

You can also catch me at the Bug and Bud Festival. It's going to be a lot of people that I am working with Nana Poppins. So I say why we should all work together is that me and Nana Poppins came together. She's another face painter and we're going to both be working at the Bug and Bud Festival which is going to be so much fun. Oh, that sounds like fun. Where's that one? So the Bug and Bud Festival is? Ooh, there's that one. I believe it's in Dewary Beach. If I'm correct, dewy Beach down.

Speaker 1:

Ok, so down in the south.

Speaker 2:

That's how you say it. And there's also the Rusty Rooter. It's going to be another one of that's going to be happening on Dewy Beach as well. So these are all fun events that are going to be happening and they're family, great family fun times. So I hope you guys all follow me and click on the events. They're all post, they're pinned and post on my pages so they're very easy to find.

Speaker 1:

Good and again. People can find you on Facebook and on Instagram and they can message you and call you and email you.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome.

Speaker 1:

Veronica, you are amazing. Thank you so much, so are you Well, thank you.

Speaker 1:

I'm so glad that we connected and I look forward to meeting you in person, because I tried to get out to as many events that I can to meet all the great women, and the other goal of mine with the podcast is I love to connect women entrepreneurs with other entrepreneurs, as you have already done that, and so I will also be giving your name out to all the other ladies. Thank you, you're welcome, and there's always some events Somebody else is doing that you could be a part of, so I look forward to seeing all your paintings.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate that, all right. Well, thank you. I just want to say, before anything else, thank you for giving women the opportunity to speak up. Thank you for giving us a place to come and talk about ourselves. It is a beautiful thing that you do, because not a lot of places in the world are for small people like us to be out there. So thank you so much for this. You're a blessing. Honestly, thank you.

Speaker 1:

Veronica, I appreciate that so much. You have no idea.

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Debra LaMotta

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