Hey everyone, it is Meg Ann Lee! This week, I am sharing 5 things I wish I knew before becoming a beauty professional. Honestly, this is NOT the industry that I thought I would end up in. I thought I would be using my bachelor's degree in psychology that took me 5 years to complete, but JOKES ON ME!
However, I am so happy this is where my decisions took me. Let's look at 5 things to think about before joining the beauty industry.
The real learning starts after cosmetology school
Now I'm not saying you don't learn anything in cosmetology school because you learn SO MUCH. It's truly one of the hardest parts about joining the industry. But, the beauty industry is so vast and detailed that you only learn the basics. Cosmetology school teaches enough to set you up to pass state board tests. That's what schools are for. If you want to become an expert in a specific area, open a business, have employees, or make six figures; you're going to have to do continued education for the rest of your career.
The great thing about our industry is there is education EVERY WHERE!
Here are some of my favorite industry educators who give out free edu all the time:
Beware of the double edge sword that is independence
If you want to clock in and clock out of an 8-4 job and not bring things home with you, this MIGHT not be the career path for you.
You are still expected to generate business for yourself even if you work for someone else. This means networking, marketing, and extra education. This job can consume every waking minute of your life if you let it. I often dream about doing hair and have nightmares about messing up formulas. If you are a workaholic or a people pleaser, you will find yourself working 24/7. However, the freedom this industry can give you is amazing. You can set your own schedule and prices. You can be appointment only or work 80 hours a week.
IT IS ALL UP TO YOU.
Learn to be emotionally resilient
On the surface, yes, we just do hair. But, what we really do is support and create confidence in our clients by providing an experience during a service. Our success is determined by how our clients feel versus our technical skills.
Obviously technical skills are important, but people's feelings are the key to our career. That means that we absorb a lot of emotions throughout our day from client to client. People always joke about hair stylist being therapists, but it's not a joke. You don't think you sign up for that when you decide to be a hair stylist, but it turns into that. So, you must set boundaries with yourself and with your clients or your emotions can take over your business and you will be headed straight for burnout!
This industry is expensive
The cost of running a small salon is crazy. The cost of just our products alone has increased 7.6 percent from 2021-2022 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index).
However, reports also show that haircuts and other personal care services are only up about 4.4 percent more than they were in August 2021( beauty launchpad). So, who is taking the hit? Your service providers and business owners. If you're a stylist and you didn't raise your prices this year, you made a choice to make less profit. Stay on top of your numbers, create a profitable system, take business education, and never stop learning. (Yes, I also need to listen to my own advice)
You can check out some of my salon must haves on my amazon storefront ! As always if you shop on amazon storefronts a small commission is made.
Take care of your physical health or your body will force you to slow down
Standing all day, lifting above your head, doing blow outs, and massaging scalps takes a toll on your body! Keeping up with your strength and flexibility is key to being able to work behind the chair. This is a topic a lot of stylists don't take into consideration when thinking about a future in this career. Millennials and Gen-z's aren't projected to retire until late 60s or 70 years old. If you think you're going to be able to double book balayage's and blow outs into your 70s, you better be taking care of your body.
Make sure you see my at home workout blog post HERE!
If you see cosmetology in your future, I hope you learned a few things from this post to think about before diving in. This industry isn't a hobby industry like many people assume it is. The beauty industry has so many avenues you can go into to build a great career and a beautiful life. Like I said, I wouldn't want to be in any other profession right now <3