WHO IS MICHELLE COLLINS?
No, I'm not the actress who was in Eastenders years ago, although have in the past been told I look like like the Eastenders character Tanya (Jo Joyner) and a student recently told me I look like Meryl Streep (no comment on that one!)
A few weeks into Lockdown I had a mini headshot shoot with my daughter Sophie, she had started to get bored at home and was missing her photography shoots, luckily I had done my makeup for an online training zoom call, I only had to put my tunic on, which I was missing wearing. It's normally my daily uniform.
So, here's the pic of me, imbetween zoom calls, avoiding the news, self isolating at the time but was still able to work online, which is still quite new to alot of us, but definitely has become the new normality, although we are phasing back into work now it's still a new way to work and also slowly starting to socialise.
As well as having a few off days and, let's be honest, we all had them as we tried to adjust to a forced isolation and loss of income, the worry about the future of our businesses, all the anxiety and struggles certainly affected a lot of people. I did try to mostly remain productive in lockdown by taking courses online myself, started working out (that didn't last very long) have eaten healthier, kept in touch with clients by sharing daily tips on my beauty pages, provided home facial kits and shared free home study courses for students. I've also been creating and updating all my training manuals, writing new courses and having them all accredited and approved.
During our "downtime", I'd rather call it "uptime" I forged new friendships and cemented existing ones and I want to thank a few amazing women mentors that really helped with confidence building and making me push myself forwards more, namely Tracey Fensome, Steph Heald, Jade Louise (The Contour Clinic), Claire Caddick and Sophie, my daughter who has been working so hard on the website and I think has done an amazing job, as well as running her own business. As women we all need to support each other and one thing I've seen during lockdown is how amazing women are at empowering each other and having each others' backs. (In my years in the industry I've seen good and bad and you have to remove the negative from your circle and focus on the positive support.) Stay in your own lane, there's competition in every industry, you just have to focus on you and where you're headed.
I've started teaching again, you can't beat face to face training for support and guidance, although it has changed, as we are now wearing increased PPE, (menopause and extra layers is a challenge!) limiting of student and model numbers and reducing practical contact time but my passion is still as strong to educate and nurture new and existing therapists to progress and raise their skills and confidence.
For those thinking it's too late to retrain, or just want a side hustle, I didn't train in Beauty until I was 30, over 20 years ago now. It's never too late honestly. Like everything it takes studying, lots of practice but if it's what you're interested in it will become your passion and slightly an obsession!
I teach because I absolutely love helping and supporting others by passing on all the skills and tips I've learned along the way, we are forever learning, especially in the Spa, Wellness and Beauty Industries.
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