Zeliam Santiago Cruz started with YouTube tutorials at thirteen. She practiced on her friends, her sister, at school events. She loved it, but never imagined it would become her career. Years later, with a professional certification, seven years creating content, and a loyal client base, she shared in a webinar what nobody told her when she started: the difference between operating from emotion and operating from structure.
Here's what she learned.
Hobby mindset vs. business mindset
Picture this: a client texts you at 11pm asking for a service tomorrow. Urgent. No price question, no details.
If you're in hobby mindset, your first reaction is excitement: "I have a client tomorrow!" You cancel whatever you had, rearrange your day, say yes before you even know if you can.
If you're in business mindset, you pause. You check availability. You send pricing. You explain the process. If you have space, you take the booking. If not, you don't. And that's okay.
Zeliam was clear: the problem isn't starting from a hobby, most great businesses do. The problem is not realizing you're still operating that way when you want to scale. Awareness is where every transformation begins.
The foundation: service, style, and ideal client
Before pricing or systems, Zeliam lays out three essential definitions.
1. Your main service. You might be able to do bridal, editorial, drag, body paint, but to scale, you need focus. Pick one. Master it. Let it define you.
2. Your style. Natural, glam, alternative. What you dominate and what makes you different. Your style is what turns your work into a brand.
3. Your ideal client, and this is where most people fail. It's not "everyone." Zeliam gives a concrete example: her ideal client lives in Dorado, Puerto Rico. She's a woman entrepreneur who attends corporate events constantly. She barely has time. She values punctuality, convenience, and personalized high-quality service.
That specificity isn't arbitrary, it's strategy. When you know exactly who your ideal client is, you know exactly what problems to solve. And those problems justify your price.
"That entrepreneur woman barely has time. Me going to her, at her location, solves the time problem. That's what I'm charging for."
The real cost of a makeup service
This is where most makeup artists get lost. They think the price is: time applying makeup + products. But the real cost includes much more.
Zeliam breaks down the true costs of one at-home service:
- Time: prep, setup, prior communication, application, breakdown and cleanup. Example: 3 hours × $20/hr = $60
- Hidden costs: continuing education, tools, digital platforms, physical and mental energy. Per client: $20
- Materials: foundation, concealer, blush, contour, powder, shadows, disposables, all of it. Per person: $15
- Travel: gas, tolls, parking, vehicle wear, travel time. Example: $100
Zeliam was direct: her makeup service costs $115 without travel. Makeup and hair together, $190. Travel is added on top, from $60 to $200 depending on the destination. And her clients pay without negotiating, because they understand the value of what they're receiving.
Price perception changes everything
A price doesn't just live in a spreadsheet. It lives in the client's mind. And according to Zeliam, there are three levels:
Cheap price: the client sees it as "the budget option." Not an experience. Not a professional. You could do flawless work, but if the price says $60, perception places you at a flea market, no matter how good you are.
Fair price: you're generating profit and the client sees you as a professional. They respect your time because they sense value behind the service. You can reinvest in education, products, and systems.
Premium price: it's no longer just a service. It's an experience. Peace of mind, punctuality, at-home setup, high-quality results. The client isn't paying for makeup, they're paying for everything you built around it.
"The client who finds you based on price will leave based on price. The one who finds you for your structure, your punctuality, your art, that one stays, even when you raise your rates."
On raising prices: Zeliam does it every year. "Your prices should go up when your experience grows, when your investment grows, and when your physical and mental output grows. The problem isn't charging more. The problem is having nothing to back it up."
Systems that transform a hobby into a business
Once you have clarity on ideal client, service, and price, the next question is: how do you operate? Zeliam describes the natural evolution: from physical notebooks to digital systems that work for you.
The systems that make the difference:
- Digital calendar: block your time without exposing your personal schedule. Clients see real availability and book without back and forth.
- Message templates: how many times do you send the same quote, the same confirmation, the same instructions? Consolidate them. One tap and done.
- Organized contracts and quotes: for bridal, for social events, for at-home, ready to send without digging through your phone.
- Clear policies: deposits, cancellations, late arrivals. Without these, you depend on goodwill. With these, there's structure.
- Booking platform: clients can check your availability and book themselves, no endless coordination required.
How Zeliam uses Puny to automate her business
Zeliam mentions Puny directly as her tool for organization and repeatable processes. In her own words:
"Puny helps me with bookings, clients can see my availability and book their own appointment. It helps me show my portfolio, photo gallery, links, everything I want to direct my clients to. And the most important thing: it helps me with repeatable processes."
Repeatable processes are the key. If you have to type the same message ten times to different clients, that time adds up, and it's time you're not charging for. Puny centralizes the portfolio, forms, booking links, and service information in one place clients can visit on their own.
Zeliam also points out that platforms like Puny are part of your real operating cost, which is why they belong in your pricing. It's not an extra expense: it's the infrastructure that justifies charging like a professional.
The phrase Zeliam kept coming back to throughout the webinar says it all: "Talent opens the door, but structure is what keeps you inside."
You might be the most talented makeup artist in the room. But if you don't have a deposit policy, if you don't know your real cost per service, if you rely on memory to follow up with clients, you're still running a hobby. And a hobby doesn't pay the bills.
The good news: none of this requires being tech-savvy or having a business degree. It just requires deciding you want a business, and starting to build it like one.
Ready to give your business some structure? Start free on Puny and organize your bookings, portfolio, and processes in one place.