Bills Bills Bills

As you start your business, you will find that many people you end up needing to work with operate on something called “billable hours.” Pre-Skimm life we never worked in jobs where this was something we had to deal with. In fact, Skimm A may have freaked out a job interview because she didn’t understand how one bills  for “I’m eating lunch and playing on Gilt.”  

Billable hours are a necessary evil we’ve learned. Lawyers use them. Accountants. Consultants. Designers. Therapists. The concept seems simple enough—pay as you go for the time you are taking. 

Turns out that concept is not so simple, as we have received bills for talking to people about how much we might need to talk.  We have received bills for emailing a very quick question and being charged for a very pricey hour. We have received bills for the time it took to take someone to lunch that we paid for.

New Entrepreneur Lesson of the Day:  ALWAYS ask if and when you are being charged. 

Things we like—PSBTY

New Entrepreneur Lesson of the Day: Find secret weapons.

Since starting theSkimm we have had some very exciting opportunities for photo shoots and to be on camera. Good news: yay/omg. Bad news: Try to cover looking exhausted and try not to spend money while doing so.

In the past, we’ve either gone to department stores hoping for a free-ish makeover, that’s ended with one Skimm’r being told at  9AM “I just really see you as a glitter person.” [No]. Otherwise, we’ve gone straight to makeup stores, that have a minimum purchase requirement and we end up having to spend money that we frankly don’t really have.

Enter PSBTY-- literally the best thing to happen to Skimm HQ since the “Do Not Disturb” alarm on our phones.

What is it? A makeup concierge service whose job it is to help you go through what you already own and find the very few things that you might really need. They try, know, and can get you literally every high end product under the sun. It’s kind of scary.

How does it work? You work with your own stylist over the phone, for free, and they go through who you are/what your needs are/what you own etc.   They make personalized product recommendations based on your needs, lifestyle and preferences.  You can always reach them by email, phone, text for advice  if you’re in a bind, have a case of the Mondays, or  are stuck at a department store counter.

We were lucky enough to meet co-founder Mitra at our favorite coffee shop and she came over to Skimm HQ to give us the full PSBTY experience. She sat with us, going through all of our products (turns out Skimm B is a bit of a hoarder) and helping us purge. She taught us how to work with what we have, change looks, and gave us some great advice on the few products we needed to get.

The results? Our  Refinery29 shoot!

Seriously, start using them.