When you are starting in this industry there is a lot of different avenues you can go in depending on how you see your future. For example, you have your commission salon set up, your booth rent salon, your hourly salon, and your independent suite/ at home salon. I would like to start by saying that I find any of these options great options! Rather than looking at anything with a negative light I like to think about things in terms of what fits each person the best.
All through out school I knew finding a salon that was a good fit was going to be difficult. I definitely left the apprenticeship and my previous salon with quite a bit of trauma. I was worried that everywhere would be like that salon. In the beginning of school booth renting was pretty much off the table for me. Most of what I had heard thus far was things like “that’s not something you do right out of school” or “you have to have a full clientele before you start booth renting”. After hearing those things I pretty much had decided that a commission salon was the way I was going to go until I built up my clientele enough to do my own thing. Halfway through school I was offered a position at a commission salon that I accepted even though I had about 4 more months of school left. In the beginning the offer seemed so great but then they kept telling me things that were shooting off red flags in my brain. I was told I would have to go to classes every Monday for 11 weeks and also pay $400 dollars for them. This was a red flag to me because these classes were required in order to take clients on your own and get on the floor. Don’t get me wrong I think advanced education is extremely important but when you have just spent $$$ going to hair school that you come out of licensed it doesn’t make sense to have to pay more for classes to even begin my career. I knew there were other salons that existed that did require advanced education to get on the floor, but all of the classes were free and basically extra training to know you’re ready to be on your own so I couldn’t justify how that would be ok. That’s just one example of things I found concerning. Ultimately you always have to listening to your intuition and gut feelings. You will know what’s right and what’s not specifically for you more than anyone else. After declining the offer from that salon, I found out the salon I had always loved had a chair open up and I knew that’s where I wanted to be. I knew they were booth rent but for some reason that didn’t scare me anymore. I think I had gotten so tired of my future and career being in the hands of other people and I was ready to do whatever it took to make this work. I will say yes, it is a lot of work. You are truly a business owner keeping up with your own books/scheduling, marketing yourself, and doing all inventory. Maybe it depends on your personality type but Im loving it. I love the business side of things and am excited to really dive deep into it. I do think its true what they say you have to find the perfect spot for you. It definitely can make or break your experience as a hairstylist. If you are unhappy somewhere life is too short to stay there. Your job is one of the biggest parts of your life. If you are somewhere that breeds negativity or just makes you feel more negative every day it isn’t worth it. You should be able to enjoy where you work and it not be your whole life or dictate what your mood will be that day. Not to mention, being a hairstylist is a job where you have to be creative. Its very hard to be creative when your mind is cluttered with constant anxiety or negativity. Sometimes you just have to protect your mind and peace and do what’s best for you. Regardless of the risk, regardless of what other people might think. I knew that booth renting right out of school wasn’t the conventional choice and people might think it was the wrong choice, but even being one week in I feel like im truly enjoying life again. Im excited to build this career and my clientele. Im excited to market and meet new people. I truly feel happy and that’s what’s most important. So I guess if you are trying to decide what step to take next and what salon to go to ask yourself a couple questions. Do I feel ready to rely on my own skills and knowledge? Am I willing to work as hard as it takes to make it work ? If the answer is yes to those and you know yourself then trust yourself !! If you sew the seeds they will multiply. So sew seeds of joy, hard work, and love into your life and your career and watch them multiply. That is what I plan to do, and I’m very excited to see where it takes me !