8. From Zero to One
Developing Technical Skills: A Continuous Horizontal Journey
For novice artists, the challenge often isn't about acquiring technical skills, as these can be progressively improved. Skills like mastering Whip or Pendulum moves or refining microblading patterns can be honed over time. Factually, improvement comes from practicing correctly. Unless fundamental errors are made during practice, it's rare for technical skills not to advance with consistent effort. The path to technical mastery might not be strictly linear, but the likelihood of improvement is high. Progress might occur in small daily increments or through sporadic leaps, but overall, it shows a positive upward trend. Technical skills, therefore, typically follow a horizontal trajectory, marked by minor fluctuations but generally upward movement.
True Marketing Challenge - Requiring Vertical Advancement
In his book "From Zero to One," Peter Thiel discusses the importance of vertical progress in new ventures. Vertical progress (moving from 0 to 1) involves creating novel concepts or innovations that disrupt existing markets, as opposed to horizontal progress (moving from 1 to n), which extends existing ideas. Thiel suggests that vertical progress is crucial for significant business breakthroughs. If a starting artist’s social media presence and assets are almost non-existent in the brow business, achieving a successful start might require substantial, innovative steps. For artists at the beginning of their journey, the challenge often isn't just improving their craft but making a significant mark in the market, which often requires creative, distinct strategies and a bit of ingenuity.
Thus, Thiel posits that vertical progress - creating new concepts and distinct value - is vital for businesses to flourish. In the realm of beauty, specifically the brow business, this translates to the following: If a starting artist's social media presence and assets are initially at ground zero or close to it, achieving a successful start can require something akin to a miracle.
Tips from Trainers: Not Always Applicable
When starting from the ground up, the leap from zero to one is a unique challenge, incomparable to strategies for growing an Instagram account at any other stage. This is akin to moving from no income to establishing a sustainable livelihood. It's relatively more straightforward for a trainer who accumulated most of their followers years ago to offer advice on adding another 1000 or 3000 followers. They can provide valid recommendations based on their experiences, highlighting the importance of consistent posting, engaging with followers, creating captivating content, and delivering value through reels. However, while effective for an account growing from 75k to 78k followers, these strategies may not be practical for an account aiming for a significant initial increase. These strategies might pose an overwhelming challenge for an account trying to gain its first 3000 followers.
Well-meaning Naivety, Lacking Ill Intent
Similarly, well-meaning yet simplistic encouragements like, "Just learn Powder Brows or microblading, and your 10k followers will turn into clients!" are often unproductive. Most trainers aren't intentionally misleading their students; they don't understand deeply. They don't analyze accounts on all five levels, and their resources don't allow for such extensive research. As a result, their advice can lead many students to have unrealistic expectations far beyond what's achievable in reality. These trainers mean well, but without a comprehensive understanding, their guidance might inadvertently set students up for disappointment.
