Meet Tina Dixson | Beauty Entrepreneur and Custom Mask Maker

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

Hi Tina, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
To depend soley on self and let go of my security blanket. Letting go of my corporate job, which was my security blanket has been my most difficult decision I’ve had to make thus far. I was with the company for 15 years and made a really good living. I no longer lived check to check for over a decade. It allowed me to invest in stocks, have a 401k plan, nice savings account and maintain a consistent 5 figure balance in my bank account. I could vacation wherever I want, buy whatever ever I want, invest in whatever I want; life was good, and my bag was secured! However, I was hit with a company layoff due to organizational restructuring. Now, the company did give those who were impacted the option to find another position within the company or choose to accept a severance package. This is where the hard decision comes into play. Do I choose to stay with the company that has provided great financial stability, or do I choose to believe in myself and step out on faith and secure the bag on my own? This decision plagued me. It was a bittersweet situation filled with uncertainty, hopefulness and fear. On one hand I was thinking, well my goal has always been to work for self and now I have the opportunity to do so full-time with a severance package as cushion. And on the other hand, I was thinking, that severance won’t last forever and what if I fail, what if I don’t make the sales that I need in my business to support my lifestyle, will I have to change my lifestyle, what if I lose everything that I’ve worked so hard for, trying to pursue a dream? This tough decision required me to do some deep soul searching and spend a lot of time with God. It forced me to be honest with myself and what it is that I want out of life and how bad do I want it. Ultimately, I decided to take the leap and believe in myself.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Mulah Cosmetics is a luxury, vegan based and cruelty-free cosmetic brand that caters to all shades and complexions. Mulah Cosmetics is a labor of love. I’m a lipstick lover and I gained an interest in learning how lipstick was made and what’s in it? So, I did my research and invested in the raw materials and a lipstick mold and started making my own handmade lipsticks. Originally, it started off as just a hobby for fun and to appease my creative side. It wasn’t until an old friend of mine got sick with cancer, that I decided to turn this hobby into a business. I created a special red lipstick and a GoFundMe account for my friend to help with the cancer treatment costs. For everyone that donated $10 or more they would get the special red lipstick for free. I chose red to represent blood cancer awareness. That did well, so it prompted me to start giving my other friends and family samples of my lipsticks so they can wear and take to work. I was surprised by the response I got; the ladies were loving the lipsticks and orders from their co-workers were starting to flow in. The overwhelming amount of support gave me the confidence and motivational boost to turn my hobby into a business. We’re now 8 years in and growing. and now offer a full portfolio of products, not just lipsticks.

The ministry behind Mulah Cosmetics is what sets it apart. It was founded on love and caring for others, beauty for a cause is what I would call it. Mulah Cosmetics provides an outlet for me to engage with others and encourage them to “create your own standard of beauty”, which is our motto. Beauty can be described in so many ways, depending on who you ask; like having a caring heart can be described as beauty, and having a caring heart was the foundational start of this business.

I’m most proud of the relationships that have formed as a result of me starting this business. We’ve partnered with several non-profit organizations to provide fundraising campaigns, sticking true to our ministry of beauty for a cause. Also, I get excited about seeing someone’s spirit uplifted when they try on one of our lipsticks. It’s true that when you look good you feel good, and when you feel good you do good. I’m exciting about being a small part of why someone feels good about themselves. Think about it, it’s just something about lipstick that makes you feel “put together”. Once you put the lipstick on you get this feeling like “okay I have arrived and now I’m ready to handle shit”. Or imagine you ran out the house with little effort put into your appearance, but you see ole’ dude that you think is kind of cute, you grab your lipstick and put it on, and instantly you feel put together, LOL! Now, tell me that’s not magic! Which brings me to our Magic of Mulah beauty events.

I hosted my first Magic of Mulah beauty brunch in 2020. It was such a success! Originally the purpose of the event was to learn, eat, sip and shop. Attendees would learn beauty tips, how to use featured products, how to dress up your look and shop with the featured vendors, all while being entertained and enjoying a tasty brunch & mimosas. However, God had a different plan; it turned out to be so much more than that. The ministry behind Mulah Cosmetics kicked in and turned it up a notch. It ended up turning into a motivational women’s empowerment brunch and networking soirée. Not only did the vendors get to come on stage and share their stories but also those from the audience. Business owners and aspiring business owners in attendance told their stores, gave advice, did giveaways and made new business buddies. The room was filled with love, motivation. hope, encouragement, and fun. It was definitely one for the book in my eyes. Once again setting us apart from others; we’re more than just a business that sells products, we’re a ministry.

Being pushed outside of my comfort zone is what got me to where I am today in business. When I no longer had my corporate job to depend on, it forced me to truly believe in my potential and take my business to new levels which required me to do things I had never done. mainly because I was uncomfortable, or it “wasn’t my thing”. The un-comfortability was really just fear in disguise. It wasn’t easy, because business is mostly mental. Outside sources can interfere with your mental state and ultimately interfere with your business when you’re a one woman show. You must have the right mindset to run a business successfully. And therefore, I had to get over the uncomfortableness, aka fear as well as remove those things and people that were not good for my mental wellbeing, and that was and still is quite a challenge. Not to mention the pandemic hit and brought new problems and new challenges. I overcame my challenges by spending time with God, introducing self-care routines, reading more books, and surrounding myself with those who were where I aspired to be in business. These things brought about new creativity, knowledge and business ventures.

When makeup sales started to drop due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I started to panic because I had let my job go to pursue business full-time and now sales are dropping. People were not buying lipstick and makeup because we were constantly wearing masks to cover our faces. I started praying and asking God what now? And as I was cleaning and praying one Saturday, I started randomly cleaning out a storage closet, it wasn’t on my list of things to clean that day but here I was cleaning out the closet and I stumbled upon my old sewing machine. What I didn’t know at the time was that God was answering my prayer. Ironically, I had recently asked a relative to make me a mask for my Mulah Cosmetics, but she was super busy and didn’t have the time to do it, so I asked another relative that could sew, and she too was busy but said she will try but never got around to it. Therefore, when I found the sewing machine in my closet, I decided to try and make the masks myself. I had no intentions on selling them I just wanted a few masks with my business logo. I hadn’t sewn in many years, so I had no idea how it would turn out. I started watching sewing videos and researched how to do your own designs on t-shirts and masks and I invested in a cutter machine; so here I am being pushed outside of my comfort zone once again and just going for it. I made my first mask and was impressed. I remember wearing it to the post office to drop off some lipstick orders and a guy stopped me and asked who made my mask. I told him I did. He then asked if I could make him a Falcons mask. Now, I was new to using the cutter machine and rusty on my sewing skills, but I still said “Sure, I can do that!” Nervous, because making masks to sell was never the intended goal. But I made the guy the mask and he loved it and called me back a few days later with another order for his parents and a few friends, and then some of their friends called and placed an order and just like that I was in the mask making business. The reason I say this was God answering my prayer is because I have not stopped making masks since then, and I have experienced record-breaking sales in my business from just selling masks. I’ve created masks for big corporations such as Marta, to charitable organizations such as Hosea Feed the hungry, to small business owners such as Youneak Designs, to TV stars such as Latisha & Marsau Scott. Custom masks saved my business when makeup sales dropped.

Being an entrepreneur has taught me a lot of lessons. One, is to use your fulltime job to finance your business. I hear a lot of people advocating for quitting your 9 to 5 to work for yourself. That should be the end goal but the mistake I made was that I treated my business like a hobby when I had a 9 to 5 instead of treating it like a business. Had I put in the effort to grow my business financially while I was still employed, the transition from employee to self-employed would have been a lot easier and without the fear of wondering if my business can sustain me. Build your business up and ensure its financially stable before you quit your 9 to 5 job. I’ve also learned that success is right on the other side of your comfort zone. If you’re comfortable, then you’re not growing, and a reoccurring lesson I’ve learned is that if God led you to it, he’ll lead you through it. He has always made a way for what was meant for me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting, I would definitely schedule us a trip to Jeju Sauna & Spa for some girl time, relaxation and self-care. The next day will be filled with adventure starting with iFly Atlanta, and then Andretti’s. We’ll also have a shopping day where we’d go to a few pop-up shops to support other businesses as well as pass out our business cards and go to the Shoppes at Buckhead. The next day we’re not doing anything, she’s on her own for a few hours and we’ll catch up later that night to grab some good eats at Ponce City Market. The day after that we’ll pack a cooler and panic basket and catch an outdoor concert at Wolf Creek Amphitheater. The last day we’ll chill at the house, put some food on the grill, make some margaritas and just catch up on life and talk about our business goals, and watch the kids play.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shout-out everyone that has ever supported me; without them, I wouldn’t exist as a business. Also, a lot of my success comes from my support circle. My mom, friends and family have always supported all of my endeavors. Rather they were patronizing my business or telling others about me, they are the reason I’m successful. My best friend and my mom have always been my biggest cheerleaders and always willing to offer their time to help. Time is something that’s invaluable, so I don’t take that for granted. My stepdad was a big influence as well and I’m not sure if he even knows it. But he’s the one that instilled in me that I could do whatever I wanted. It started during my childhood, when I wanted to sing, he bought me a microphone and stereo system, when I wanted to be an artist he bought me art supplies, when I wanted to sew he bought me a sewing machine, when I wanted to design shirts, he bought be an airbrush machine and it goes on and on, no matter how many times my interests changed he still provided me with the tools to do it, and to me that meant he believed in me and whatever it is that I wanted to do. Presently, I have to shoutout my other half. He also attributed to my success by believing in me and having my back; if I fall or fail, I know he’ll catch me or help pick me back up. Last but not least, my faith in God. I have so many testimonies to prove that God will always make a way for the things that were meant for you.

Website: www.shopmulah.com

Instagram: mulahcosmetics

Facebook: Facebook.com/MulahCosmetics

Other: Instagram: @mulahmasks