Exploring Life & Business with Angel Peterson of Be You PMU

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Peterson.

Hi Angel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Looking back on my journey to where I am now I almost always hear the song “Once in a lifetime” by Talking Heads and laugh. Probably telling my age with that one. haha

My life personally and professionally certainly did not go as planned but it is better than I could have ever expected now. Growing up I wanted to be an artist. The words “starving artist” didn’t detour me from my passion they fueled it because I had no question I would be an artist that wouldn’t be starving. Whether it was pure EGO or unrealistic optimism I was not going to quit pursuing my passion. I applied to art school my senior year of high school and KINDLY was told they loved my art but obviously impressive .027 was not the academic level the school desired in their applicants. Eh ok, off to a community college I went to bring that grade up and reapply. Let’s just say I attended several schools to get that GPA up but never reapplied.

I decided to attend full time the UNIVERSITY of LIFE!! I got several degrees…and obtained many certifications while attending such as divorcee, single mom, and woman with a substance abuse problem. I tried several careers in industries I thought would pay the bills but the one that started my thoughts small business ownership was becoming a hairstylist at a well know high end salon in Columbus, OH. I felt super passionate about helping women feel better about themselves and it gave me a creative outlet that I had lacked while in the 9-5 office jobs. In 2005 I left the high end, well paying job to scale back a bit and work part time after the birth of my daughter Kennedi. She was my world. I knew that my impact on the world first had to start at home and what kind of mother I was to her. In 2008, after once again trying the 9-5 office jobs (to get benefits and be a so called normal mom) I decided to re-enter the workforce as a hairstylist and rent my own small room. It was a struggle that I was not completely prepared for and I did not do well trying to juggle it. I was trying to work a full time job with benefits, work part time at the salon, and raise Kennedi. It was too much for me. So in true Angel form, I jumped without a parachute full time into the salon and left my full time job with benefits. I knew nothing about accounting or how to run a business. No degree in marketing or advertising. I would love to tell you that it was smooth sailing and I have been UBER successful since then but guess what I wasn’t!! This isn’t a Disney Princess storyline. This isn’t a Disney Princess storyline. For the next several years, I tried and tried to get things off the ground. Worked for other salons where I could try to build my clientele and maybe have my own salon someday. I also was dealing with some issues of self medicating my stress with alcohol which got worse and became a problem. Fast forward to 9/13/2014 after job losses, evictions, and struggles with alcohol that accelerated I finally decided to get help. I entered a facility to stop drinking (stayed for 101 days) and my whole life changed. It wasn’t roses and sunshine but it is a blessing I could never have planned for and I’m so thankful for all the failures that got me here.

Why do I tell you all this? Why did I take so long to get to the good stuff? I want other people starting out in business (or have a desire to start one) to know that regardless of what they are going through now or how bad their past has been it can be restored.

I feel truly lucky to have made it through all of this and to have my daughter alongside me safe after the misguided/bad decisions I made. She is my reason for putting so much love into my businesses. I want to leave a legacy and gift an example of how anyone can move past what they have been through and come out stronger. She inspires me and our backstory is why I am still here after falling down so many times. I truly believe that God had a plan to give her to me.

Never let someone else tell you how your story ends. Own your backstory…and write the next chapters on your terms!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have struggled personally with finances, being a single parent, and an alcohol issue. I opened a location prior to the pandemic in 2019 with a business partner and thought this was it and I had arrived. However, my story was not done and that location closed in 2020. Out of all the failures and losses I still was able to get back up again to create my vision, Be You PMU, BYOB Coaching, and Own Your Backstory Podcast.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I have my own business called Be You PMU. I am a permanent make up artist. My business is a labor of love. I help women feel confident through the art of permanent makeup. I have certification in Microblading and Permanent Lip Blush currently plus in the 2022 I am adding scar camoflauge and Areola for people that have been through trauma. I have designed online/in person courses to allow people to have a career in the beauty industry. My business provides support of an online/in person community where I host zoom group office hours to answer questions weekly plus personal 1:1 mentorship supporting women with my coaching program BYOB Coaching (Bring Your Own Backstory). This coaching program helps guide women to not hide their backstory or be ashamed of it but to embrace all that has brought them to where they are today and to THRIVE not just survive. BYOB Coaching show them how to start a business from the ground up and learn from the mistakes I made before I knew better. Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. -Maya Angelou This is my true passion to create a community of women that feel supported to be whom they are and love themselves. Out of the creation of my life story personally and professionally a podcast has also been birthed which launches first quarter 2022.. It will be a compilation of stories personally and interviews of others that have found success after trauma. We together will provide a real, raw, and funny look at how the mess we have been through has a message of hope.

What matters most to you? Why?
To be an example to other women that you can have joy, find purpose, and move on past your backstory to be successful is truly what matters most to me. I want to show my daughter a woman of strength that never quit trying regardless of setbacks. I want to leave a legacy that lives on longer than me of stories of women that were inspired to move past their backstory and create the life they truly deserve, no limits.

Contact Info:

• Email: beyou.pmu@gmail.com
• Website: www.beyoupmu.com
• Instagram: beyou.pmu
• Facebook: beyoupmustudio

Image Credits
Brian Matthews Photography