Tune in as Coko shares her journey to success, the value of mentorship, and how to live your purpose in the beauty industry.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

🔅The Journey to Success: - Coko shares her inspiring path from working in different industries to becoming the Regional Education Manager at OLAPLEX, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and adaptability.

🔅The Power of Mentorship - Mentorship played a significant role in Coko’s career. She highlights the value of learning from others, building relationships, and seeking guidance to grow professionally and personally.

🔅Living Your Purpose - Coko discusses the importance of understanding and staying true to your "why," reflecting on how purpose can drive decisions and sustain motivation through challenges.

🔅Skill-Building and Continuous Learning - Coko stresses the need for stylists to embrace continuous education, improve technical skills, and adapt to industry trends to stay competitive and successful.

🔅Authenticity in the Beauty Industry - By being her authentic self, Coko connects with others and creates meaningful impact, showing how genuine connections and relatability can build a strong community.

👉Connect with Coko on Instagram

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

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The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.

Nicole Coco Taft is a stylist, texture expert, educator, pro influencer, and regional education manager of Olaplex.

Today we're going to hear her story, how she got to where she is.

She is.

And what her plans are for her future.

Welcome back to the Hairdresser Strong Show.

My name is Robert Hughes and I am your host.

And today I'm with Nicole Coco Taft.

How you doing today, Coco?

I am good.

Feeling great.

How are you?

I'm so good.

Thank you so much for coming on to the show.

It's a pleasure to have you.

Same.

Thank you for having me.

I'm excited.

Absolutely.

So when for all the viewers and listeners, we actually, my wife and I met Coco at Olaplex event, I guess.

I don't know.

What was that called?

A certification event.

We got PK certification.

And that was here in DC actually.

Yeah.

And.

And then we saw each other again at Beauty Gives Back.

And.

And I heard you.

I heard your speech and I heard your story and I loved it and I thought it would be inspirational and motivational for our viewers and listeners.

So thank you so much for agreeing to come on and share.

Yes.

Thank you for having me again.

I'm really excited.

Yeah.

I remember now seeing you at the PK class.

I'm like, this is not the first.

Time we've met, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, that was cool.

That doesn't happen.

I mean, that kind of stuff where I see someone in our area doing like a smaller class and then I see them on stage in front of like, what, five, four or 500 people, whatever it was.

So.

Okay, cool.

Let's get started.

Let's talk.

Talk to me about.

So let's talk about, like, your story.

Like, I'm going to let you get it started and I'll ask questions along the way and if I.

If I have any, and for clarity.

So I know your story starts with before hair, so I'll let you take it from there.

Yeah.

So my story is really an organic one.

I think it's a story that resonate with a lot of people in the industry.

I got my hair start very late in the game, but I have always loved hair, loved to be creative.

Since an age of young.

Age of 14, I have been doing hair in my mother's kitchen, inviting all my family, my friends.

Really had a passion for, you know, cutting hair, doing hair, just learning about, just taking care of healthy hair.

But at the time, my mother was very adamant about me going to college, so.

And I definitely want to give her her dreams of me going to school.

So when I graduated from high school, I did get into the one school that I don't remember applying for, but I ended up getting in, and I did four years of criminal justice.

And it's funny, because my path wasn't always to just be, you know, a cop.

I actually thought I wanted to be a mortician.

I thought that I wanted to do, be a homicide detective.

But I realized I had to be a cop.

And I'm, you know, very small.

Realized that I'm not going to be arresting anyone.

So I transitioned into actually wanting to.

Work with people on death row, so people who are wrongfully accused.

I'm originally from Boston, Massachusetts, so that's the chapter that I wanted to go ahead and work for.

But life got really hectic when I graduated from college.

I realized that that chapter was actually closed, so I had to go into, like, work mode.

My first job was actually in as a security officer at a elderly independent home.

So I have a question.

Sorry, two questions.

First question is, were there.

Were there size requirements to being a copy?

No.

But I know that I'm not being 5:2, and I'm like, I feel like if someone got pulled over by me and they just started to run, I.

Would let them because, like, maybe a bad day, right?

Like, maybe you just had a bad day.

I'm a bit of an empath, so I would have, like, all right, look.

You know, and this is the time they didn't have body camera, so I think I would have been all right, but.

But for me, I'm just like, everyone's bigger than me.

So who am I arresting?

Like, gotcha.

Yeah.

No, absolutely not.

And then you said that chapter was closed.

What do you mean by that?

So there was a.

There is different chapters when it comes to the work that I want to do with the Innocence Project, which is basically work that you're doing to exonerate people who have been or served a.

Long sentence on death row.

And basically, most of these people, you know, were found guilty at a time where there weren't a lot of forensic evidence and things like that.

So over time, they are being exonerated.

But at that time, it would have been the Boston chapter that I would have wanted to work for, chapters in, like, different states and cities, but that would have been the chapter that I've worked for.

Gotcha.

Okay, cool.

All right.

Okay.

So you're you then.

Then you go into doing work in security at a retirement home.

Yeah.

So definitely not arresting anyone still.

Yeah, but it was very rewarding.

You Know, just, you know, getting able.

To, like, meet everyone.

And they were super nice all the time.

You know, they were like cookies on, like, their ledges outside of their, like, apartments and stuff.

And then I realized, like, over some time, like, I could not pay for my degree.

And, you know, I was work.

I was still living at home, working, you know, eight hours a day.

And I was like, okay, something has to change.

So I applied to work at a very predominantly, like, known insurance company, and I got the job the same day.

Let me tell you guys, I was late for the job that same day.

I didn't know where I was going.

I got in.

The room was empty.

I remember this office being empty, and I'm walking in and I'm like, well, that wasn't a red flag for me at all.

I'm like, oh, okay.

Like, it's empty.

I sat with the lady.

I went back to the room, and they were like, okay, when can you start?

And, you know, at the time, like, what I was making versus, like, this new job, I would have a stable income.

I could be able to pay for.

This degree that I had begged to, like, basically have.

Um, and then, you know, I started that career in insurance as an injury adjuster.

Um, and after two years, I, you know, was.

It was a good job, but I.

Definitely realized, like, I needed a change of scenery.

So I thought if I moved, I would fall in love with my job again.

Well, I moved to Georgia with my job, and after a year time or eight months, I was like, okay, I'm still not happy.

And I realized in that office that I kept having these conversations about hair.

Um, right now my hair is pulled back, but typically it's big and curly.

Um, and I kept getting these questions about how do you grow your hair?

How do you take care of it?

And at the time, my hair was down my back, very long, straight.

And if you would have told me 10 years ago that I would have worn my hair curly, I would have said, you're a liar and the truth's not in you, and I don't know what you're talking about.

Yeah.

The conversation kept coming to hair.

I remember going downtown with some of my friends, and we're driving past Aveda, and I look and I say, you know, I'm gonna go to that school one day.

And one of my friends from the front seat, she.

I still remember this very vividly.

And I like to share it because, you know, people can tell you anything, but it's like, regardless of what they tell you, if something's for you.

It will be for you.

So we go past the school, I say I want to go there.

She turns around from the front seat and she's like, you're going to be right here with us basically at this insurance job, working a 9 to 5.

Everybody's angry, everybody's upset by the end of the day.

And I, you know, I laughed with her because I'm like thinking like, yeah, this is going to be my life.

Um, so I called Aveda the first time and I got a lady on the phone, she's like, you know, we don't do part time classes.

Cuz that's all I was looking for.

I wasn't looking to quit my job.

Um, so I was like, okay, well.

You don't have part time classes.

Like this isn't for me.

I hung up, right?

And then a couple months go by.

And I'm so unhappy with my job still.

And so I called back a few months later.

Weirdly enough, I get the same lady.

She's like, well, you're calling me again.

So you must be ready this time.

Like, I don't know what I'm ready for.

But yes, I'll set up a day to like come tour the school before the school.

I fall in love.

If you know, you've ever been in a Veda alumni, you know, the smell of a Veda, it like pulls you in.

It's very earthy, very inviting.

And I remember her saying, you know, you have a four year degree.

I don't know financially what we can possibly do for you.

And I was just like, okay, like maybe this isn't it.

I don't really know.

At the time, my best friend was in the room with me and she's like, I don't know how you're gonna make this work, but you have to make this work.

Like you're supposed to be here.

I can see you doing this.

And I'm like, okay.

So I go home.

I remember walking maybe like a couple months later, I remember walking into work.

And I'm like, okay, sit down at my desk and I open up my computer and I have all these activities.

I have just piled up nine pages worth of activities.

I haven't seen some of them in months.

And I sat there, I wrote my resignation.

I didn't know.

Yeah, I didn't know what I was.

Doing, but I was doing it scared.

So if you ever want to do something, do it.

You will be afraid, but do it.

And I sent my resignation to my manager and I asked for a meeting to Talk.

So he comes by, he's like, what are you doing?

Like, I see you're quitting.

Like, what are you going to be doing?

I'm like, I'm going to hair school.

And then that day, I called Aveda and I'm like, look, I don't know what my options are, but, like, I'll put the paperwork in.

And she tells me again, like, I don't think you're gonna have anything.

And I figure this out.

I call my mom that same, like, day, and I'm like, hey, I just quit my job.

I don't know what I'm doing.

She was like, oh, my God, what are you doing?

Like, are you having a quarter life crisis at this time?

I Probably am turning 26 again late in life.

I don't really know what I'm doing.

But I know I'm being pushed to do this.

Um, and so I remember getting a call three days before I was going to leave my job, and the financial lady was like, hey, you have $18,000 and 2 cents left in your FAFSA.

Like, come in and sign the papers.

And I'm looking around and I'm like.

Is this a joke?

Like, this is serious.

Like, just enough to cover tuition.

I feel like at that moment, I knew what I was supposed to be doing because everything was aligning.

And so those three days, I was like, hey, who wants this calculator?

Who wants this planner?

Like, who wants this chair at my desk?

Like, you guys take everything.

I'm so ready to go.

Like, I was so ready to start my path.

And let me tell you, this is crazy.

I didn't share this on stage, but.

This is another thing, too.

That's really crazy.

I was looking for a job as a assistant when I did quit my job.

And I remember getting an interview at the very hair salon that I learned about Olaplex.

And when I walked in, the lady had looked at my resume, the owner of the salon.

And she's like, hey, I realized that you worked at Liberty Mutual.

Like, what did you do?

And I was like, oh, I was a bodily injury adjuster.

Like, she was like, I used to work in that same building for our sister company.

I quit my job to start this salon.

I'm like, okay.

She's like, when can you start?

She's like, because I know your work ethic.

Like, working there, you know, you have to be organized.

I'm like, it's amazing.

There's no way.

Like, yeah, hey.

So I'm looking at her and then the days that I need it.

If you're, you know, if, you know, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays in the salon are typically a little bit slower.

The days that I needed to actually be able to be in the salon so I can go to school Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

And so she didn't even have a problem with that.

Those are the days that she actually needed somebody in.

Wow.

I'm just like.

Even now, like, if there is a.

Will, there's a way.

I love my mother for, like, putting that in my head as a little kid.

Like, if you have the will to do, it is for you.

If your intention is there, there will be a way for you to get to whatever path that you see or you see.

Um, so even now, the times that.

I have a little bit of doubt.

I'm like, no, like, this is gonna happen.

It is my will.

Therefore, there will be a way.

Do you think in the moment you could recognize that or did.

Do you think that it's hindsight?

No, I think it's hindsight.

Looking back, you know, a lot of things that we do in life, it's like, how am I gonna get through this?

How am I gonna do this?

It's like, don't worry about the how.

Don't even worry about the when.

Just do.

And your why.

Remember your why always.

So even, like, back looking like, you know, I left Boston to come to Atlanta with no family, no friends, I had to start an entirely new life.

I'm glad that I got my start.

Here in Georgia, then actually settling my roots in Boston, because I wonder the type of person that I would have been, you know?

Totally.

Yeah.

Even that move from.

Away from your family, your support system is big.

And I'm.

I've been here seven years, and I.

This is my home.

And now, actually, my family is trying to come here.

So it's time, you know, like, everything.

Happens for a reason.

So can we talk about that for just a quick second?

What if there's, you know, to any of the people listening or watching that are.

Are maybe in the midst of a change or, you know, I'm specifically thinking of students getting out of school and going in, going into, like, looking for, you know, somewhere that's going to help them grow into the stylist or beautypreneur or whatever that they want to be, what would you say to them when they're.

They're having this angst.

Their concern.

Like, some of the concerns of these young stylists are, I don't want to end up in a salon.

Like, I hear all the Scary stories on social media or.

I don't know if, like, I really want to work for somebody else.

And, like, I don't know if I.

If, like, I like their brand because I have my own brand.

And it's like.

It's like they don't.

It seems like.

And maybe you have a different perspective, which I'd also be interested in hearing.

It seems like they want to.

It's like they want to accomplish things, they want to accomplish their goals, but they don't.

They don't necessarily want to submit to someone else's vision or brand or.

And so, like, that's kind of causing a lot of challenges.

I mean, there's probably other things that I might not even be aware of, but that's one of the things causing challenges for people to, you know, they're fearful of, like, losing themselves or losing their own identity or.

Yeah, anyway.

Sorry, go ahead.

Yeah.

Do you have anything on that?

Oh, and I can even say, you know, that is a very.

Is very much a thing to be concerned about.

Right.

Everybody wants to be their individual selves.

I think the best thing you can do for yourself coming out of cosmetology school is to get under somebody, learn the business so that you can, you know, have your own business.

But you're learning communication skills.

You're learning how to deal with conflict, because it's going to happen.

You're learning.

You know, also you get education when you are stepping into salons.

You know, I step into salons every day, all day, as an educator in my region, and I see how much education people are getting when they are under other people and in other salons.

Take advantage of those things.

You know, you can still be your brand, you can still have your own identity, but you're learning in the process.

And I think that is what makes a great hairstylist, is sometimes, like, you have to be, you know, the.

The receptionist.

Sometimes you have to be the shampoo girl.

Sometimes you have to be an apprentice, honestly, to learn how to work with different people, to learn what your brand even consists of.

What do you stand for?

Sometimes when we just go into.

Or I've seen students go straight into suites and things like that to be their own brand.

They find that there's a challenge about budgeting, there's a challenge about, you know, feeling motivated, continue to do it right.

Like, getting a mentor has been the best thing for me when I was in school or getting out of school, having a mentor and really, like, owning in or honing in on that mentorship, because it's so important.

Like, and then understanding, like, what you're doing right now will set you up for later with anything.

So I will definitely say it is a concern, but it shouldn't be your only concern.

Right?

You should definitely want to take advantage of, you know, getting a mentor, getting under somebody in salons, and really, you know, learning everything you can.

You know, what's interesting is, and I don't want to get too far off track because I want to hear your story, the rest of your story.

But, like, what's interesting that I'm thinking about as you're, as you're saying all this stuff is like, I would be more afraid of not having the skills and knowledge I need to be successful running my own business than I would being scared of losing myself by stepping two feet on the bus.

Like someone that we know.

Diana Varvara, the director of the Palmistry School in New York City, she likes to say that a lot.

And, you know, it's like, you don't need to keep one foot off the bus to maintain your identity.

And, and you know, and I think you, you said it already.

Like, you said you know your why and just do, like, you know that those two things don't have to be the same thing.

Your why and what you're doing.

You're doing might be getting you to a point in your why.

And so I don't know that my fear is much more that I will fail than that I will lose a year or two learning under someone and not being able to grow and lay my groundwork for myself.

But also, like, am a big, like, side hustle person.

So I'll be building my own thing on the side while I'm going to classes and building my clientele and learning.

So I think the whole concept of fear, like, I don't know, maybe people can shift their fears.

You know, it's like, if you're afraid of this part, well, what else.

What are you, Are you afraid of these other things?

Like, what is the awareness there anyway?

That's.

I don't know if you have any thing to say on that before we move forward, but I thought that.

Wanted to share.

Yeah.

Feel on purpose.

You're always going to be you, but what is it to be a better you?

Right.

And in this industry, you need connection.

Like, you have to, like, it's the one thing that keeps us going is, like, making sure there's newness, making sure that you have a support system.

Like, making sure, like, you know that you're making sure you're Motivated.

Um, so I.

I agree with you a hundred percent.

Like, definitely want to make sure that those things are in line and do it alone.

Like, you can't.

Yeah.

Do it alone.

Yeah, totally.

Well, so you're.

So you're doing.

You're back to your story where you're doing on your fear.

Like, you're pushing through the fear of.

Of making this move.

And you were happy that you made the move, and that's where we left off.

Yeah.

So I.

Happy that I made the move, went through school, like I said.

I attained this job at a texture.

Salon, which I knew I wanted to do texture.

I had to give up a year of my life hanging with my friends.

I had to give up a year of eating out.

Like, couldn't do that anymore.

Like, I had to give up a year of just, like, locked into what.

I want to do.

I knew I only had a year.

Okay.

I didn't want this to carry out for two years, three years, still not have my license.

So I gave myself a year.

My why was because I wanted to finish.

I wanted to be that person I knew I could be since I was 14.

I wanted to show, you know, myself that I could do it and I could do it.

Scared I could do it.

And I'm not going to fail.

I might have a setback.

I might feel like at the time, you know, I lose my motivation, but I wasn't going to fail on my purpose.

So, um, after I graduated cosmetology school, I was still working at the natural hair salon.

But I will tell you guys, sometimes your fears will get the best of you.

So I did end up going back to a 9 to 5 because I was thinking stability, right?

So while I was at my nine to five, I was still doing hair on the side.

So I didn't give up on hair.

But I just felt like I needed a security blanket, which a lot of us do.

And of course, at this point, I'm like 27 years old.

So I'm like, hey, I have bills, I have rent.

I have all these things that I have to take care of myself.

So I went back to a 9 to 5.

But it wasn't until, you know, I feel like a lot of us, we do this and it's like, okay.

I remember the CEO of the company I was working at at the 9 to 5, he said something to me one day, and I just didn't like the way that it was said to me.

And I'm like, I am my own person.

I know that I have something to Give I need to go and get my license.

And I did drag my feet on my license on the second part of my license immediately.

When I graduated cosmetology school, I went to go get my written.

And I passed.

But for some odd reason, my practical scared me.

And so I did drag my feet, and I dragged my feet so long that Covid had hit.

So they weren't accepting a lot of applications to get your practical done and obtain your license.

So I waited some time, and it wasn't until we had that back and forth that I was like, okay, this is serious now.

I really have to give this my all, because I'm not happy here now.

And it's like, no matter what I did to give myself the blanket, it kept coming back to, you know, what you're supposed to be doing.

And so I ended up going to take my license or going to get the second part of my license, passing.

And then that week, I quit.

Quit my night of back.

I was just like, okay, this is it.

I ended up moving into another salon.

Sleep with my mentor.

Shout out to Javini Vega, my mentor, who was like, hey, you know, I want you to come on.

I want to teach you everything I know.

And she knew I was hungry to, like, learn more.

Like I said, I.

I'm.

I'm the type that I love mentorship.

I.

My background, and I come from a place of having a mentor even since high school.

So I know how in the power that they can have when you are trying to elevate, when you are trying to just grow, whether that's professionally, whether that's personally.

So, yeah, I got under her.

And at the time, I did have a relationship with Olaplex because I had seen the power of the technology.

Working at the first salon that I was working at when a woman's hair went from straight to curly.

I continued to build that relationship after I got my license, becoming an advocate for the brand, which is just somebody who likes to spread Olaplex love.

So at the time, I was influencing on social media, providing education as an influencer, as a professional stylist, going on lives, talking more about hair, doing lives with my friends to do, like, hair on the live, to, like, show other people, like different hair types and things that they use, talking about products, talking about ingredients.

Um, and so I did the same thing for Olaplex.

Um, I did some classes as an advocate, and then I moved into being a texture expert, consulted consulting.

So we did that for about six months.

They were really trying to get into texture, curl, which is what I've always wanted to do.

Bridge the gap between curls in the brand and texture in the brand.

Because I had just seen the power of it for curls and that's always been my passion.

So after six months of doing that, and I'll tell you guys, it was a whirlwind when I got there, they threw me in and it was like I was working with different departments, curl curriculums, different platforms, e commerce platforms, talking about curl, how to use the products, speaking to consumers on live, just how to use the products, how to work with textured hair.

And then I did Bronner Brothers and that was my first show that I've ever done.

And facilitation was new for me.

Education was new for me and audience of that size was very new for me.

So like I said, doing it and doing it scared very well.

Still doing that even give us back.

Yeah, yeah.

So I want to, I want to ask a couple questions about some things before we get too far ahead.

You were talking about you left the salon, so you graduated.

When did you leave?

When did you go to the nine to five?

Like, okay, so you're working three days in a salon, you're going to school, I guess three days, have one day off.

And.

And then what did you go to a 9 to 5 before you graduated school or like what was the exact like timeline and order of those events?

So I originally was working my.

Or I was in school while working my part time salon gig.

I graduated, I was still working at the salon.

Okay, days a week and then realized like I have to make an income.

So I was working my 9 to 5 and also working at the salon a couple days out of the week.

Oh yeah, I do that.

Like right after work I will go or I will work on the weekends or when someone called out, I would work.

Okay.

Was like a all in, but not all in.

Okay, so don't want to leave the salon but also need to like make ends meet because I'm here by myself.

So.

Okay, sorry, before you.

I want to.

Okay, so with, with that information, my next question is.

So were you when you were in school, were you being paid as an assistant or apprentice or something like that?

And when you got out of school, did you transition to behind the chair immediately or you stood.

Okay.

And so when you were working these night shifts and random cover shifts, were you still an assistant or were you behind the chair?

I was probably.

If I was behind the chair, it was to an assist a stylist.

Okay, still an assistant.

Very much so.

That was my title.

Yeah.

Okay.

And then so the, what you were getting paid as an assistant wasn't enough to sustain you and so like what was your opportunity to move behind the floor?

Like, what were you weighing?

What decisions were you weighing when you decided to like it sounds.

Because first, before you answer that, correct me if I'm wrong.

It sounds like at some point you quit working at the salon and just work 9 to 5.

Is that correct or no?

So I, I was working both, but.

I at salon because I wanted more mentorship.

So I noticed at the salon that I was at, after I obtained my, my license and I was still working the 9 to 5 in the salon, I realized that the salon that I was at, I wasn't going to be able to have a one on one with somebody who really could teach me.

I realized that there wasn't also a lot of education that I would get from the salon that I was working at.

I just wanted more mentorship, I wanted more guidance, I wanted more one on one and I wanted to learn different techniques.

Whereas this salon was very specific to the techniques and stuff that they learned.

And I was craving a little bit more.

And you were craving to broaden or, and, or well, I guess or in terms of a question, broaden or like what I'm trying to understand is the psychology of the person who graduates school, is still an assistant and wants to go from assistant to behind the chair.

And because there's a whole psychology, there's a whole senioritis, especially with like students graduating once they've graduated.

And so I want to know what role that, if any, played in your thinking.

Yeah, yeah.

I definitely knew that I had dragged.

My feet already getting my license, so.

I did not want to drag my.

Feet becoming a stylist and actually getting behind the chair.

Okay.

I would, I would have at this.

First salon been able to hop behind the chair, but it would have been hop in, hands off.

Right.

I was craving someone to be able to like, hey, let me teach you things.

Ah.

In, let me, you know, show you and guide you.

I was looking for that.

Oh, so they, you, you could get on the floor, but you would be, you would go from assistant to on the floor.

Like no support or anything like that.

No, no transit.

Okay, I got it.

So between the money and the, and the, and the, let's call it the, the process of transitioning and maybe, maybe, maybe the training that you were getting, access to all those things kind of played into this, this like need, want, desire to go into this other Space.

And you said it was a salon suite with one other person mentoring you.

Is that what you said it was at the time?

So I would go to my 9 to 5 and then at the time she was still kind of like training me and mentoring me.

So I would go on the weekends.

She would get paid.

Sorry.

Yeah, I would get paid.

Okay, sorry, go ahead.

But I would only get paid by the time I was there and I was still getting paid as an assistant during this training time.

Okay.

So she would invite models in and then she would teach me things.

And the great thing about her clients too, and the clients that we had, they were very open.

So even the atmosphere of the salon was just a little bit different or.

The suite was just a little bit different.

So all these things were just so inviting that I need it for myself.

Gotcha.

Okay.

Transition from a big salon that's well known to like a very small intimate space where I could have that one on one.

Yeah.

That's amazing.

I was talking, I was telling you I was in a conversation earlier before I got on the phone talking about education and like, and I'm reading all this research that this company put together and it was pivot point for anybody wondering and, and shout out to Steve Reese.

He was, he's the person that I was talking to.

But anyway, what I was thinking was that it sounds like if you ask younger folk what they want, it's like if you synthesize some of it in this context, not all the.

There's a.

There's other.

There's so many different things that we could talk about.

That's a big conversation.

But like specifically education and training and craft development, specifically, it sounds like one on one education is really what people want.

And even if they're not saying it, it sounds like when you boil it down or maybe like a group of two or three, I can't imagine, maybe four might be too many, I don't know.

So it sounds like you, you.

That you are getting that.

And what I'm seeing, I think that's really interesting and really great opportunity for somebody.

And I think till too, like as hairdressers, I know I overthink a lot.

So when it's just a smaller intimate, I can ask all the questions I have.

You know, some people are not very like extroverted.

Right.

And then learning in this business, like you, you learn everything at school to pass, but when you get behind the chair, it's totally different.

Like as far as techniques and there's so many different things that you can Grasp.

So having somebody there in that intimate one on one is like, it's needed and it's necessary, you know, I don't know.

I enjoyed it, having that one on one.

Yeah, that sounds amazing.

So, okay, so you're working one on one with somebody as an assistant, they're training you, honing, helping you hone your skills and you're.

And then while you're doing all that, is that when you're also doing the influencing stuff or did that happen later?

Yeah, no.

As I'm in school, I'm influencing.

As I get out, I'm influencing.

That's kind of how I started talking about the brand.

I had picked up Olaplex number three.

And I was just going, as I'm in school, I'm just talking about it to everybody.

Everybody needs this product.

I wasn't even licensed yet, didn't want or didn't use Olaplex for my business.

Or for my brand.

I was really just a straight hair.

Natural is what people typically call it where your hair is, you know, heat compromise because you straighten it so much.

I want it curls.

So to see a product actually transform.

The structure of the hair, I was blown away.

And I'm like, my hair starts to curl and I'm like, something's in this, I don't know what it is.

But I started talking about it more and that's when they were like, hey, you have something, it's like see a need and kind of fill it.

But you have something that we, you know, want to dive into more, but you have to get your license.

So, you know, after obtaining my license, they kept their end as far as like building that relationship.

And you know, it's great to have support of a brand when you are trying to, you know, build yourself and grow as a hairstylist.

That really does back up the pro.

They've always been very much a brand that you can expect to support the pro.

And I felt super supported all the way through.

Even now, you know, as their advocate, as a texture expert, consultant, as a special project educator, and now our regional education manager.

I really do feel supported by the brand with, you know, initiatives that I want to do or just as a hairstylist, you know.

So yeah, very much kept that relationship with the brand.

As I transitioned behind the chair was doing classes with salon centric, Cosmoprof, again, e commerce platforms.

And then now I've jumped into the field and it's just, it's a little different where it's more of a grassroots kind of approach.

You're going to distributor stores, you're talking to everyday stylists, you're walking into salons, just, you know, talking about the product.

But you're also meeting so many people along the way that you know, want to talk about hair, want to talk about how to be an educator, want to talk about, you know, the day to day, you know, things about what's going on in the salon, what's going on in the industry.

So it has been a journey that I look back on and I'm like, wow.

You know, you say things and make sure you're, you're intentional about the things you say because the power of the tongue is just like so strong.

Like, I look back and I'm like, hey, I said I would be doing these things and now I'm doing them.

And they're so rewarding because I, I always say I don't just touch hair, I touch lives.

And I think it's, that's good.

I like that.

Yeah.

I think in this industry is so important to be relatable.

Even when you are working with brands or you have your own brand and things are going great, like still be relatable, still be able to connect to everyday professionals and just everyday people.

Like, I'm super like humble.

I don't know, I've always been like the girl next door kind of when you know, I'm talking to people.

And I think that is just so important to like remember where you, where you were, remember how you started.

And like I said, like that's really important to me.

Pro advocacy, just trying to share more, just trying to build more relationships is really where I think I want to go in my career next.

Like that is my love is to serve and to be able to give back.

So that's my journey and like, like I said, it's been an awesome one.

It's still going, it's still continuing.

So I'm excited to see what's in store next.

Yeah, me too.

I'm excited to keep, keep on, keep watching you.

So I real quick, how when you went onto the floor, were you in sharing a suite with your mentor?

Did you get your own suite?

Oh, absolutely not.

And I, I'm not someone who thinks I want to have like my own business or like my own.

So no, I was definitely sitting side by side with her within my own.

Chair, working under her.

Yeah.

And were how, what is that structure?

Like, are you sharing rent?

Keep it and are you getting commission?

So I was an employee of hers.

Yeah, it was, I like that.

So I don't hear many stories like this and I think it's because the, a lot of suite owners, I mean, I would, I'd be curious to know how many people in suites have assistance that they're paying as, as an employee.

I mean it's one thing to have people come in and like kind of shadow and train under you and you're not paying them and they're there because it's a mutually beneficial change.

But to have something sustainable you'd have to, I would assume you'd have to pay the person if you want them to keep coming back over and over again.

That's a really interesting.

I would really like to know how many are people are in that position because if that's a space that we could grow, that creates another outlet for students to hone their skills.

So I think that's really interesting.

And so are you still in the suite with your mentor?

Yeah, so I actually do pop ups there and then like if she needs anything like help, like.

I think the biggest thing about why.

I went with her instead of staying at a, you know, big salon was because one, the culture in the salon.

So the salon's name is Culture Studios, it's in Norcross, Georgia.

But also the type of.

Employees that.

She'S cultivated, she has employees now she has three under her same, you know, concept.

And I think like I said, it's the biggest thing is the mentorship that you get, right.

The fact that she's so open to like questions.

I think for a long time in this industry you might have found like back in the day, like people were gatekeeping or scared to like tell you their secrets and things like that.

But I just think that it was that she was so open to like sharing and educating and she really took on that role as being an educator even in her own space.

And it was very inviting.

So I think that like, it's definitely a thing that like I said, get a mentor and I feel like you'll find spaces like that.

And it definitely.

Needs to be talked about more.

Like I don't know if students know where to go when they're looking for jobs and things like that, you know, like, like I know there's fairs and things like that, but I think some of the things that I've learned.

And of course she came from the salon that I originally was at and we all talked about, you know, in the salon, me helping or, you know, we really had a close relationship in that first salon.

So did I think I was going to go with her when she left?

No.

But I think maintaining that relationship really helped me a lot.

So.

Good.

Relationships and community are the name of the game.

So important.

And this industry, you know, is so small.

Like, we've been in this.

In this space twice.

Yeah, the rate.

And it's like, hey, yeah, this is.

Not the first time we've met.

Like, it's so small.

You never know who you're going to meet, but when you meet them, keep those relationships because they're so important.

Like, so important.

Um, but yeah, so good.

Well, thank you so much for sharing your story.

And just to wrap up, is there any pieces of advice?

I'm thinking of two individuals.

One individual is going through this transitional process or thinking about it and.

And then the other is a person at various stages of the career who maybe want to get involved, bet more with influencing or opening up another channel for their brand or revenue or whatever.

So maybe if you have any last pieces of advice for those two groups of people or just pick one up to you.

Yeah, no, for the person that is transitioning, I would definitely say transition with the purpose.

Okay.

I know we talked about one of my favorite books.

It's called who Moved My Cheese?

And it's about being proactive rather than reactive.

Like, don't let life happen to you.

Create the life that you want to live.

If you can see it, it's for you.

Go after it.

You know, forget the naysayers, forget the what, the when, the how.

Just go for it.

It will work itself out.

Like, like I said, I'm pretty sure everybody can visual or have a vision in their mind about a time that they thought, like, how am I going to get there?

How am I going to do this?

And it worked out for, for them.

So just remember your why and keep going.

It's not going to be easy.

There are going to be challenges along the way, but keep going.

No matter what.

I think beauty gives back.

I had two women sit with me in tears who had just basically left everything that they knew behind to start a career in beauty and just start something new.

The best thing is that you start it.

It doesn't matter when you start, you start it and there will be lots of opportunity.

So that would be what I would tell for the person that's transitioned and just keep going.

You are where you want to be, or if you're not, you will get there.

And then for the person that wants.

To influence, that wants to, you know, go after something social, media wise, be yourself, be your authentic self, because people will love that and Be relatable.

So I think a lot of my influence came from understanding that people were looking one for answers to their hair questions that actually worked.

People were looking for hot tips that don't take long.

And then also people were looking for something that was relatable.

So whether I was talking to a.

Consumer or a professional stylist, they were looking for something that they could relate to, whether they want to laugh about it, whether they wanted to complain about it, whether they want to incorporate it in their business or their, you know, daily life.

They were looking for something that they could relate to.

So be your authentic self.

Everything is not going to be great all the time.

So share those lows, too.

Like, it's okay, you know, because I think people.

We're going through transition all the time.

We're going through highs and lows, ebbs and flows all the time.

So definitely share both of them.

You're going to find that somebody's going to resonate with you, and it also.

Helps to build community.

So, yeah, those would be the two things I give to those people.

And regardless of what you cannot feel on purpose.

Don't let that one go over your head.

But you cannot feel on purpose.

So, yes, be purposeful in everything that you do.

That's amazing.

One final question before we sign off.

What do you attribute to your.

You have a very philosophical vibe.

What do you attribute to that?

Just a lot of reading.

Parents.

What?

I'm very curious because I like talking to you and I like talking to people who have these kind of, like, bigger philosophies than what's right in front of me.

Think life has been my greatest teacher, the way that I've grown up.

But really, life and just being reflective.

Of your life, like, I do think and sit down sometimes and just reflect on everything that's going on in my life, past, present, future, self.

But that has been the biggest thing to really reflect on your life.

And I love one of the women that was.

I think it was Olivia that she.

Was talking about at Beauty Gives Back.

Having an audit of your life.

I think my audit is reflective.

But she was saying it, like, really write it out, what you love, what you hate.

But really, like, my.

My audit of my life is to reflect.

But yes, upbringing.

Having an audit and reflecting over my life has been what has driven me.

And just continuing to know my why.

Like, that is that is it.

Like, I think I look back and I talk to my friends too, and they're like, you're literally living in your purpose.

And I feel that every day I feel it doesn't feel like a job, but I do feel it every day that I'm literally living in my purpose, no matter who I'm talking to.

My people are my people.

And, yeah, I love my life because I went after it and I'm able to just really carry out the vision for my life even when it gets hard, like remembering the why and still having a passion for it.

So, yeah, love that.

Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and having this conversation with me.

It was a pleasure.

And I liked all our little, like, side conversations along the way.

So I feel like people are going to really get some sort of education, information, motivation.

So thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you so much for having me, Robert.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Absolutely.

All right, take care.