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Chelsea: So, my ultimate goal is to master and be well known for prenatal bellies and henna crowns here in South Georgia.

Ay! I like that goal!

So, what are things I need to know and how- and oh, what are things that I need to know and can do now to prepare myself for this unique service? I have a pregnant mom or two that wouldn't mind me practicing on them right now, but I don't know if I'm ready for the challenge yet.

Okay. So that's the first part of the question. She has a second part as well. But let's address this first part, first, yeah?

So, if you know that you're want- let's take a step back. This is called niching, right? When you're choosing to specialize in one thing, you're choosing to, um, improve in one specific area and you want to be known for that thing as being your specialty. That's called niching down.

Shawna, I love that you're talking about niching down because that is the best way to make money. I cannot, lo- listen! Aside from identifying your ideal client. Niching down, is the next best thing. So I love that you already have an idea of exactly where you're going. And I think that that's really important. So with having that clarity in place, if you already know, listen, this is the niche that I want to really focus on, then now is a great time to start practicing. Especially if you already have bodies who are willing and able to allow you to play. Do it! Like, just get in there and practice now.

You're going to find when you're working on, on bellies, um, the experience is a little bit different. The angles are different. You're going to have to learn how to hold your cone different. Um, you're working on a vertical space and a space that is um, that is uh, oh gosh, why is the word- I want to say 'concave' but that's not right. Um, concave is in! I want the other one! Um, but a rounded space, a rounded space, and so because of that, you're, you're, you're going to have to work on your technique in a different way than you are used to when working on hands or even on feet. So if you can start to play with that shape right now, do it!

Um, some artists will start with, with, um, what do they call it? The bouncy balls, the big bouncy balls or some people will start with a balloon. Um, some people will like, just put the balloon like in a recliner or a ball in a recliner and sit and practice that way. Whatever works. If you feel like you want to practice on skin, by all means practice on skin. If you've got someone who's available and willing to do it, like, have at it!

Um, but just know that there is quite a learning curve, but once you get it, it becomes so much easier for you to work on a vertical surface, and on that rounded surface.

Um, there's also, there's also the, the, the piece of like baby itself, um, moving. So as you start playing with bellies and working on bellies, you're going to find that, um, for me, it tends to be like, as I'm moving around to the side, that baby will start to move. And I think that I, and this is just pure speculation, by the time that we're seeing babies, babies are also normally, around that time able to sense light, right? They, they, they can sense light through, um, through the womb. So I, my, my expectation and my guess would be, my hypothesis, would be that we, um, when we're casting shadows as we're working, that's what's getting baby's attention. So as you feel, like, baby start to move around and so forth, you're going to find that there are going to be unique challenges to working with bellies that perhaps you weren't, you weren't used to working with hands or feet.

Um, but you know what, if- like, if you know that that's the direction you're going, you know that you want to niche down, start working on it now and start to build your skill set now. Why not? Why not? Second question.