So I’ve been in a slump over the past 3 months trying to figure things out…well not really trying to figure things out but just doing some thinking…then the holidays rolled in which really isn’t an atmosphere that’s conducive to doing any real work, so now as we enter week two into the new year I’m back and fully focused!
After a few months of trial and error and kind of realizing or more like accepting the fact that being a full time apprentice does not fit with my lifestyle, I have decided to try my hand at booth renting.
I’ve decided to go this route because it gives me the flexibility I need because face it working in the salon industry is no 9-5 gig and right now my 3 year old is the boss of me lol!
So until I get a night time nanny on the payroll I need to have complete control over when I come and go.
In an effort to get out of planning mode (Sidebar – I’ve vowed to now focus on what I want and let God and the Universe figure out the how) my outlook is to booth rent on Saturdays strictly taking models to continue to build my confidence, skill level and client base. You know, kind of like when I was a student and take advanced classes to get the additional education I need.
Of course that means I would have to work to pay for these classes and my booth rent so I’m back in the cubicle but hey I will suck it up until I can officially break free of the 9-5! Just writing that felt good! Can’t wait until it’s a reality!
On another note Tabatha is coming on tonight! I’m excited! And question is it really necessary to pay $200 bucks for a flat iron? What do you guys think?
Previously on The Adventures of The Undiscovered Diva…after only 3 months of working in an “upscale” (note the quotes) boutique salon in Brooklyn Terrie decided enough was enough and resigned a month later.
During that time she interviewed with four REAL high end salons and realized she had been selling herself short of advanced education, industry professionalism and overall exposure to people who loved their craft and broader opportunities!
Ok let me stop writing in third person and get to the point lol!
Long story short my days as a “salon manager” are over! Again note the quotes they symbolize my sarcastic and facetious tone…overall it just wasn’t a good fit for me…well thats not exactly true because I loved the position and I certainly learned a lot but it just wasn’t the right environment for me.
I guess the good thing is that during my short time there I’ve learned alot, made great connections and identified exactly what direction I want to take my career but more about that in later posts.
Anywho….since we last spoke I interviewed with four high end salons on the infamous and prestigious 5th Ave and look forward to sharing with you my trial day experiences!
We all joined this industry because of the creative outlet it provides, freedom to make our own schedules and just the opportunity to be you and break free from the suit/business casual wearing world. But most of all one of our greatest reasons for embarking on a career in the beauty industry was the potential to make lots and lots of MONEY!
I don’t know about ya’ll but the way I see it if I’m entering an industry that grosses billions of dollars yearly it would be utterly preposterous! absurd! just ridiculous! if I didn’t make a few million I mean seriously that’s not too much to ask right??? Who doesn’t want to be rich?
But the real question is are you prepared mentally to handle those riches?? Contrary to popular belief it takes more than just hard work to obtain monetary wealth and it begins with having a wealth mentality……..hmmm something to think about huh? What is a wealth mentality you ask?
According to Author and Finance Expert Ash Cash in his book Mind Right Money Right he explains, “having a wealth mentality is about changing your relationship with money. Those who are poor or even people that are rich have a mentality of relying on their physical labor, while those who are wealthy understand that they must make their money work for them by concentrating on passive income.”
WOW! that certainly puts things into prospective for me especially because I certainly do not plan to work for the rest of my life! With a goal of retiring in the next 15 years I will definitely need to have a plan in place to continue to make money without having to put in the physical labor. I can see it already laying back in my beach chair, wearing all white, sipping Mojitos and watching the sun set all the while deposits are being made into my bank account AHHHHH! now that’s what I call the life!!!! I digress…. getting back to the book Mind Right Money Right contains great information and proves to be a great guide on how to make wise decisions with all of the money we are going to make.
Working in the beauty industry is certainly a cash business buts whats the point of making the money if you are not able to make it work for you? Pick up your copy today and begin to create your road map to wealth building and financial freedom.
Available on Amazon and Bookstores near you! Also for more information about Ash Cash check him out at www.iamashcash.com
Here is the post you all have been waiting for! Ok maybe not but it just sounded like a good opening lol!
Today I’m going to answer the question that almost everyone who knows me asks “How is is going at the salon?” In all fairness I wanted to wait at least three months before giving a complete review just to really get to know the staff and get accustomed to the environment however at this point I am pretty much clear as to how I feel about the role, the environment and what my next move will be.
Now as you remember from my first post about the trialweek at the salon I was very excited and pleased with the teamand my duties. That has not changed (well maybe a little but I will leave out the negative and focus on the positive) however after spending about 6 weeks in the position I have come to realize that the Salon Manager role is just not for me…at least not at this moment.
My job pretty much consists of managing the flow of the salon meaning making sure the clients feel welcome, managing the stylists books, addressing client concerns, managing the assistants time, handling marketing and promotions, ensuring that the cash and credit card transactions are accurate at the end of the day and the list goes on and on. Working in the salon has made me realize that there is more to owning and running a salon than just having a bunch of great stylists and collecting money.
I have a front row view of how lots of money can walk through the door and the same amount can actually walk out when you add up the cost of rent, inventory, salaries, maintenance, etc. You also have to deal with employee issues, unhappy clients, technical issues…..being a business owner is ALOT of work! It’s not impossible though and to all of my readers with aspirations of opening their own staffed full service salon this should not discourage you but know that in order to be successful being organized, dedicated to the business and having a great team of employees is absolutely neccessary.
Granted this is great experience and proves to be an excellent opportunity to see what really goes on behind the scenes of the store front salon world but me personally I’m ready to be a stylist! I want to put my hands in some hair and educate my clients on how to maintain their styles and have healthy hair! I want the freedom of creating my own schedule and the challenge of building my book and relationships with future clients. What I really would like to do is perfect my craft and learn from the absolute best so that I can build up the confidence to do more freelance work and eventually operate my own boutique.
If you recall from my earlier posts my initial goal after completing Cosmo school was to further my education by joining an apprenticeship program at a reputable salon but this opportunity presented itself so I decided to go for it and while I don’t regret taking the position I should have been more patient and continued to seek out what I really desired. The moral of the story is this patience is a virtue but don’t pass up on opportunities. Valuable lessons can be learned in everything you do if you maintain an open mind and seek out the positive even if its not what you originally set out to pursue.
With that said I’m still at the salon but I’m actively searching for my “Golden” opportunity time to get off this blog and hit the web and the pavement!
I know I’ve been MIA for at least 4 weeks and I apologize but so much has been going on and hey managing a salon is no walk in the park!
Between clients coming in and going out, the phone ringing, appointments to schedule and cancel, stylists wanting to know where their clients are, charging customers for no shows, marketing promoters …….need I say more! But I didn’t write this particular post to discuss my salon experience just yet.
Tonight I want to discuss the website behindthechair.com! If you have not heard of this site I can only wonder what rock have you been living under? Seriously? In one word it’s just TOTALLY AMAZING! well that’s two but who’s counting….anyway I’ve been a member for more than two years now and have always enjoyed the information about the industry and cool tips on cut and color techniques but yesterday I attended one of the webinars and it was absolutely FAB! (Note the words in all caps please read as excitement and enthusiasm lol!). So every now and then (not sure of the frequency) they have a renowned professional call in and do a PowerPoint webinar where you either dial in via telephone or listen in using your computer speakers and they give a presentation on a variety of topics. GENIUS!
Yesterday’s webinar was hosted by Judiffier Pearson discussing the “Top Five Booth Rental Strategies” and it was amazing. She provided so much great information which was really helpful since I’m considering booth renting (will discuss in future post). The past webinars can be found on the website and are sold for 19.95 however if you’re able to sign up for the upcoming webinars they are absolutely FREE! yess you read right they are FREE and you receive an official E-Ploma the very next day along with the audio playback just in case you missed any info and want to take notes again AMAZING!
Check them out, sign up and be sure to listen in on the webinars its certainly worth the hour!
Thankfully the world didn’t come to and end and we’re all still alive and well(insert BBM rolling eyes icon) I tell you people do anything for attention these days…but anyway I had to tell you guys about my trial week as the Salon Manager at Evolution.
Ok, first let me give you a quick readers digest version of what happened since the last post. I finished the cos program about 3 weeks ago and since then I’ve been asking myself what do I want to do with my life? Which direction I wanted to go with this brand new career? For the most part I was just trying to soak it all in and create a plan for success at the same time. Mind you this major planning is taking place during after work happy hours and karaoke nights lol! Hey what can I say had to make up for lost time.
So between laughs and shots and without any real concrete plan or offers I went ahead and gave in my two weeks notice at the day job. I know that was a pretty bold move but what the hell right? I mean if I wasn’t sure about anything else I knew I didn’t want to be there behind a desk!!
Now if you remember from my last post I mentioned having an interview with a salon that wanted me to do a trial week for the salon manager role and initially I felt like it wasn’t the best thing for me to do. It went against my plan to graduate, become an apprentice, then stylist but I was just so over my job and ready to move on to something new so I decided to give it a try. Besides I had just shut the door on my job anyway so something would be better than nothing and it would put me in the salon atmosphere.
So I gave four weeks notice and took a vacation last week to do the trial and I must say it was the best decision of my life!!…. Ok wait I have to be honest the first 2 days I was like OH HELLLLL NO! I’m not doing this! It was busy, the phone was ringing, the stylists where asking questions about their schedules, people wanted to check out, make appointments, deliveries arrived, inventory had to be checked in, did I mention the phone was ringing! A complete mad house!
I literally said to myself I have two weeks to find an apprenticeship and began searching for postings every night when I came home! This was a big culture shock for me especially for someone who is used to a quiet office environment and communicating 80% of time via email and blackberry!
But after day 3 and 4 I got the hang of it and it really wasn’t bad at all. I realized its all about proper time management and being able to multi task. Granted it’s super busy EVERY day and the nights are long but I work with a fabulous group of beautiful, confident, skilled and professional women who make it very easy and fun even when it gets a little stressful. To top it off its also a great personality fit for me which is a really big deal for me!
There is nothing worse than being in an environment around people you don’t particularly care for but at Evolution I went from being an only child to gaining 8 sisters! LOL!
I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot! I’ve found a place where I can utilize my skills working in administration and managing, be in the salon environment and have the opportunity to learn and develop my craft all at once.
Obviously I was offered and accepted the position and am now officially the Salon Manager of Evolution Green Room Salon! I start in two weeks (gotta tie up some loose ends at the job) and can’t wait to get back already! I’m very excited (if you can’t already tell by all th exclamation marks!!!!) and looking forward to this being a stepping stone in developing an astounding career in the industry!
Definitely stay tuned I will be sharing details on the development and keeping you posted on how it all goes!
Is it to soon to consider taking a salon manager position?
Lately it seems that every time I meet with a salon owner of a smaller establishment they always want to offer me the opportunity to manage the salon….I don’t get it! It’s happened 3 times so far and I’m wondering if I should change up my resume?
Granted I have my top 10 high end well known salons that I would like to work with but I don’t discriminate besides just because a name is not popular it doesn’t mean that I can’t receive the sort of advanced learning that I need. But when I reach out to the smaller salons and send them my resume which does include some of my professional experience they try to sell me on being the salon manager!
Now I’m not complaining by any means however I was planning to take the apprentice role to develop my skills. At the same time I do feel like taking such an opportunity would be a great way to practice one of my long term goals in real time and on someone else’s dime. But I still feel its going backward of my original plan I know the saying goes “God laughs at your plans” and I think that’s what he’s doing lol!
But I actually like doing hair that’s the best part of the job I mean really I’m trying to get FAR away from administrative work and managing grown children! (If you have ever worked at that capacity you know exactly what I mean lol) I want to have some fun and create!
I don’t know what to do…What do you think about a recent cosmo grad taking a salon manager position? What would you do?
We are having some gorgeous weather here today in NYC! Can’t wait until summer officially arrives!
Just wanted to share with you the experience I had at Ouidad salon. Apparently they made an impromptu decision to have an open call and I received the notification at approx. 10am! Since I was already familiar with the salon and its reputation I decided today (technically yesterday) I would skip actually eating lunch and stop by on my lunch break.
For those of you who are not familiar with the salon Ouidad has been dubbed “the curl experts”. Located on 57th and 5th Ave they specialize in textured hair and me being a curly girl myself I figured I would check them out especially since I love styling and working with textured hair.
Once 12 o clock rolled by I ran out the door, made my way through the drunken St. Patty’s crowd (yesss they were toasted at 12 noon!) I hopped on the train, got off at 57th and spotted the salon across the street.
Now here is the funny part; (keep in mind this is not a store front salon its actually located in let’s say a 13 story building) so I rush past the security guard asking her if I need to sign in she shakes her head no and I hop into the elevator…thing is I don’t know what floor to go to LOL! Me being me I was not going back to the lobby so I pressed every button from the 1st to the 5th floor (oh yes I did!) I know the people in the elevator were pissed but hey I was pressed for time! (Sorry ya’ll) Just so happens it was on the 3rd floor whew!
I walked in and immediately fell in love! The staff were amazing everyone was super nice I mean really how could I not love the place when everyone who passed by complimented me on my hair! I met with Ana the Creative Director/Educator and stylist for 16 years at Ouidad she was awesome! We talked about the salon, my experience and what they were looking for in assistants. After all was said and done I was invited to come back for a salon experience day for 2 hours. That was supposed to happen today but with 30 employees down (refer back to Arrojo post) I couldn’t make it but I rescheduled for next week and will let you know how that goes.
I’m going to enjoy this sun while it lasts! Until next time…
I received lots of great reviews about last nights post and would like to thank everyone for their comments and for sharing their experiences on facebook (friend me – Terrie Lauren) and twitter (follow me – IAMTLAUREN).
However the most gratifying compliments I received today were from either Nick Arrojo himself or one of his staff members not sure who, the facebook user wasn’t identifiable and from Jessica Krznaric a staff member at beautyschool.com who had the following to say about Undiscovereddiva.com:
Congratulations! Your blog has been selected as a top beauty blog of 2011 in Beautyschool.com’s Top Beauty Blog Contest!
Your blog will be listed on our Top Beauty Blogs to Watch in 2011 feature article on Beautyschool.com, and our sponsor site, Mysocialbeauty.com.
Words can’t describe how I feel that my work is so well received!
I’m really at a lose for words but I just wanted to share and again say Thank You for everyone’s support and hope that I give you inspiration and encouragement and a laugh here and there as we make our dreams become a reality!
What a day I had today! I don’t think I mentioned this in any of my previous posts, maybe on twitter or facebook but anywho today I had an interview at the Arrojo Studio in soho so I woke up super excited and anxious to see what this experience would be like especially since it was an open house.
I got there at 8:45am for my 9am interview (hint, hint) and was greeted by the staff who were super nice!
I knew it was an open house so I wasn’t surprised to see a group of future stylists standing and sitting around looking just as anxious and nervous as I felt. However I was a little surprised that we had a group interview which was pretty cool. So they rounded us up and we moved to the color dept where we sat waiting for the next step then Nick came out to speak with us about the apprentice program.
He is so inspiring! His dedication, passion and skill set are the major things that attracted me to apply to work with his salon!
We spent about an hour discussing what the program entalis (22 months as an apprentice), the learning structure (a combo of intense classes and shadowing stylists) and his expectation (in one word greatness!).
After all of that was said and done, we each had a 5 min one on one with Nick, the salon manager and the H R rep where he asked a little more about who I was and what I knew about the company. Afterwards we were told that we would be notified in 24 hours if we were to move on to the next stage which would be an actual salon experience where you work with a stylist for 3 hours.
Disclaimer – the italicized section is somewhat irrelevant but keep reading if your interested.
So I get to work and before I had a chance to fully absorb my morning or bite my nails while waiting for an email. I find out that we are laying off 30 employees today! I’ll spare you the details nonetheless today was an interesting day!
After a very long morning and even longer afternoon as I headed to class I got the email that I didn’t make the cut but don’t cry for me Argentina because even though it was slightly disappointing and Arrojo Studio was on my top 10 list I am not the least bit discouraged and rather glad that I had the experience to share with you guys!
With that said just as with Wonderland I believe Arrojo Studio is a great starting place for beginners and even seasoned professionals who don’t mind taking a step back to take 10 forward. If your interested the next open house will be held in about 6-8 weeks. Send your resume to gordon@arrojostudio.com for consideration. Good Luck
but don’t cry for me Argentina because even though it was slightly disappointing and Arrojo Studio was on my top 10 list I am not the least bit discouraged and rather glad that I had the experience to share with you guys!
