In this five‑minute "Momentum" episode, the host argues that personal presentation—specifically wearing makeup and maintaining a groomed appearance—can boost perceived competence, likability, and trustworthiness, which in turn can raise earning potential by roughly 20%. The narrative begins with a reference to Cody Sanchez’s interview on the "Diary of a CEO" podcast, prompting the host to investigate scientific studies. Two key papers are cited: a 2011 Journal of Psychological Science study showing that women wearing moderate makeup are judged as more competent, likable, and trustworthy; and a 2016 sociological study by Jacqueline Wong and Andrew Penner linking attractiveness (including grooming) to a 20% earnings premium. The host connects these findings to the business‑owner and social‑media creator audience, emphasizing that first‑impression judgments affect client trust and high‑ticket sales. Practical advice follows, urging listeners to audit their own online presence, learn makeup and hair techniques via YouTube, TikTok, and other tutorials, and align their presentation with the expectations of their ideal clients. The episode acknowledges that some audiences may prefer a more natural look, but frames that as a matter of client‑fit rather than a universal rule. The tone is motivational yet data‑driven, concluding with a call to action to improve grooming as a lever for increased revenue.
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Welcome to five minutes of Momentum. These episodes are a short five minute burst of inspiration, motivation, and massive action. If you need that little kick up the butt to get things moving and to inspire you to take massive action, then every single Thursday, I'll be sending you through a five minute episode to download, digest and implement to finish your week off strong. Are you ready to get started? Let's go. Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the podcast. Today I want to talk to you about one thing that you can do which will impact your earning potential by 20%. So a little while ago, I saw a video with an interview with Cody Sanchez and it was on the Diary of a CEO podcast and she spoke about the question was around, like, if you wanted to make more sales, what's one thing that you could do that could impact your sales potential? And she shared a study that I then had to go and look up because I was like, I need to know about this study because this is something that I feel like I notice in other people showing up online. And it kind of like doesn't sit well with me. And I think it is because I come from the hair and beauty industry and we were very much trained to care about the way that we present ourselves. Right. And understand the perception of what that has. So, you know, you've heard the whole concept of like, like first impressions matter, right? And how quickly people make judgments based on our first impressions. And then years ago, we had this kind of, like, trend that went around where it was like, show up as your authentic self online and no filter kind of element. And everyone started going down this avenue of like, showing themselves with no makeup, no hair, like in their pajamas, like, showing up really authentically and in the real and rawness of it. Right. And I feel like this has kind of gone so far one other way and I want to talk about it because I absolutely believe in what Cody Sanchez was sharing. She said that if you want to make more money, you need to wear makeup. And I was like, yes, oh, my God. Absolutely agree with you. So I've always been trained as part of the hair and beauty industry. You put on your hair and makeup, you show up for work. I get dressed for work. Even though I work from home, I show up to my office in work clothes. I present myself professionally. I would never, ever show up to a Zoom call without my hair and makeup done. Just would not do it. And it's not because I'm worried about people judging me or anything like that. It's actually because I respect the relationship that I have with My clients and the professional people that I work with. Right. I work with business owners. And so if I showed up to a zoom call and did not have hair and makeup on and look like I, you know, had made no effort, what would the judgment be? Right. And it's not even just the judgment. It's the respect of the relationship. I'm showing up to help support the growth of their business and I haven't made any effort. And subconsciously that then creates a perception like, well, if there's zero effort there, what else, where else is she showing no effort? Right. And so it's the same thing with social media. If we show up and show up that we have not put any effort into the way that we look, how are we building trust with our potential clients that are watching us to be like, oh, I trust that person to help me grow my business. I trust that person to put in effort to do a good job. Right. And I think that there is depending on the ideal client that you serve. Right. I work with business owners, so that's what I feel is really important. And I'm going to cite these studies that I found about this that helped prove this was scientific evidence. And there obviously is going to be some ideal clients that would prefer it to be the opposite. Right. That they want to feel seen and heard in the fact that they don't have the time or energy in order to put their effort into their, their appearance. And that's okay. That's, that's not my ideal client and that's fine. So it's also doesn't feel right for me. It doesn't feel authentic for me to show up with not putting any effort into my hair and makeup. So let's talk about the studies and what they found. So there was a paper published in 2011 in the Journal of Psychological Science and it was, it was called Facial Attractiveness, Cosmetics and Desirability. What's the psychology behind the pretty and what they found? Right. The key findings were that women who wear makeup are perceived as more competent, likable and trustworthy. Really super interesting. So this is not about judging someone whether they wear hair, whether they do their hair and makeup. Right. This is actually just understanding the perception we're creating. And if we use social media as our business front. Right, right. It's the way that we attract our clients, the way that we show and develop trust, then we want to be conscious of the perception that we're creating. These perceptions can lead to real world advantages in hiring, promotion and earning potential. The study involved participants Rating women's faces with and without makeup under different conditions, the results consistently showed that moderate makeup increased perceived professional competency. Isn't that crazy, Right? Like, just a simple little thing like that, that makeup can show that you have a level of competency, right? Like, it doesn't. It doesn't make sense, but it's actually what the perception is. So then there was Another study in 2016 by sociologists Jacqueline Wong and Andrew Penner, who, published in research in Social stratification and Mobility, found that attractive individuals earn about 20% more on average than their peers. And grooming, including makeup, played a significant role in women's earnings. Isn't that insane? Like, isn't that crazy? But if you think about it, who you've invested in or who you look to online and trust, I want you just to go and do a little audit. Do they wear makeup and do they make some type of effort with their hair? And I guarantee you there is elements of that that will be true. So there'll be a high percentage of people that you would look to that you trust that I guarantee you put that. Put effort into their presentation. So I'm sharing this with you because I want you to consider how you perceive how you are perceived, and you want you to consider how you're presenting yourself online, because it does make a difference. And we don't have the excuses anymore of, like, well, I don't know how to do my makeup. I was never taught. There is so much. There are so many online tutorials that it is insane. And even, like, as I'm getting older, I'm starting to change my makeup style. And you know how I'm learning it? YouTube. TikTok. That's what I'm doing. Like, I'm looking for it and I'm following tutorials, and it is absolutely so good. Like, I wish we had this ability back in my 20s and back in my. Even my teenage years. And I look at my niece and she does her own hair and makeup, and she watches all these tutorials and she just follows them online and she looks amazing. And I'm like, wow, how did you learn how to do that? And it's always TikTok. So rather than hold yourself back, like, do you want to make an extra 20% with your earnings? Like, if you do have a think about how you're presenting yourself online and consider really updating your makeup skills and your hair skills if you need to. Now, I know this may offend people, and whatever I'm going to, it's going to be the Hill, whatever. I am so for it. It makes such a big difference. And if I look to someone, like, even if it's a mentor or someone that I look to, if they don't make any effort in the way that they present them ourselves, I don't know if I'm going to trust them in order to invest. Especially if you sell high ticket, like, high ticket, you cannot expect someone to invest in you if you're not investing time and energy in the way that you present yourself. All right, Take what you will from this. I love you anyway.
