We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cassandra Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cassandra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

As a former teacher there are several things I would change about the education system. Starting with the cafeteria would serve fresh lunch with options, only 20 students in a class across the board. The base salary for teachers would start at 85K. Schools will also have life skills and trade classes available to them starting in middle school. Art programs would be embedded in the curriculum not just seen as an extra curricular activity.. I worked at a school that had low expectations and no standards with a lot of money. The students had yoga, dance, music and art as part of their day everyday. But could not read. On the other hand I worked at a school with high expectations and high standards and they did not have the financial backing as the first school but the students shined. The students were reading 2 grade levels ahead and out performed other schools in standard testing and always did very well when they went on to high school. I always thought if these two schools could come together the outcome for all students would be amazing. Also to be at the forefront making changes in schools you would have to have an educational background with experience and a proven successful track record to lead and make changes for schools.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

People always ask me how long Ive been doing hair then they find out I design clothes as well and the questions just start to flow. I laugh as I tell this story at least once a week. I started doing hair when I was 10. I was my own doll head then I started practicing with my little sister and mom. I later moved on to taking a few clients which were friends who needed their hair braided. Cutting up jeans and recreating jackets, tank tops using safety pins to adorn and add style my clothes was something I did on a regular basis. My grandmother taught me how to sew at a young age and that changed how I saw myself. As a young girl I wanted to be a little bit of everything. I wanted to be an actress, a neonatologist, a dentist and a stripper. I had my son in high school and I thought my dreams of doing anything were over. In my heart I wanted to attend cosmetology school after graduating but my dad was an entrepreneur and knew the ups and downs and didn’t want me to go through them and told me I needed to attend college. After high school I attended a junior college then went on to art school where I received my Bachelors of Arts degree in Fashion Design and Marketing. I wanted to have my own t-shirt line, with ripped jeans and cute dusters. I dreamed of designing for Beyoncé lol. Things weren’t that easy I quickly discovered that I needed money and lots of it. I didn’t know anyone at the time that was in the fashion industry to ask how someone like me could get started so for a short while I sat my dreams on the shelf. I worked to take care of my son and then became the caregiver for my dad. While doing hair on the weekends and after work I only imagined being able to take clients full time and maybe one day owning my own salon. With a dream of owning my Salontique (salon & boutique) still in the back of my mind I ended up going back to school to become a teacher. Although I loved working kids there was no feeling like doing someone’s hair then watching them look in the mirror and smile. Watching someone’s confidence boost in the matter of minutes was an amazing feeling. I am now the current owner of Break of Dawn Salontique where I provide a one stop shop for clients and the community. I provide body products all made with love such as whipped shea butter, body oils, beard oils, beard balm, hair oil, T-shirts, ripped jeans, and amazing dusters. Completing cosmetology school was a desire that I longed to do. And I did it. I did it scared, I did it at 40 but I did it. And now I am living my dreams and using my God given talent to testify of the goodness and faithfulness of God. It’s by his grace, love and power that I am still standing let alone living my dreams and able to take care of myself.

One thing that makes my space different is that the spirit of the Lord rest there. I pray over every client before they come and while I am washing their hair which is why most times I prefer not to talk at the bowl. Break of Dawn Salontique is a place of rest, a space where you can relax and enjoy being serviced. One thing I know that sets me apart from others is I service my clients one on one. It’s very rare that I have more than one client at a time. I also take my time with shampooing and conditioning each client. I don’t rush at the bowl. I also won’t do every style for everybody. If I know your hair can’t handle the style I will offer you another alternative. I realize that this is one vehicle of how Jesus will use me and that alone is different. As I continue to grow and learn, my business changes for the better and that is one thing I am excited about.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

While journeying through life and trying to get to this place of being a business owner I was a teacher. I taught kindergarten and second grade although I loved teaching it wasn’t my passion. I loved talking to the kids and hearing all of their stories, I loved imbedding an art project into every lesson that I could, I loved watching them grow and learn but every-time I told them they could be anything they wanted to be a part of me was empty. I was poring into kids telling them to go after their dreams while I was teaching on the outside but screaming on the inside because I wanted out. I wanted to be free, I wanted my own schedule and to dress and wear my hair however I felt like it. I wanted to create and be creative for a living. 4 months before I opened my first location I had a moment with myself as I was facing turning 40 and I didn’t want to live the next however many years I had screaming on the inside. In my teacher planner I would doodle Break of Dawn Salontique as if I was trying to see what font I liked it in. I started googling different cosmetology schools and their schedules. I even thought about subbing just so I could have a few days off during the week to go to school. I knew I was in my last year of teaching as I couldn’t stomach the educational system any longer and that’s when I knew I needed to pivot. I was enrolled to become a school psychologist as I just wanted out of the classroom. I finished the school year with my kids by God’s grace and a lot of prayer. I ended the school year on a Friday and I had my grand opening to the store on Saturday. While the grand opening was awesome I had finally started to feel that freedom. Now don’t get me wrong it was more work that working my teaching job. I was up early and went to bed late. The store always needed something and there was always something for me to do. I had the freedom that I desperately desired but I learned quickly I needed the discipline. I learned that discipline would be the key to unlock a lot of doors. Discipline with my time, discipline with my money, disciplined with what I had. I learned quickly how at any moment you may need to pivot and do something different.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson that I’ve learned is that it’s not about me. As much as I would love to say I did this or I did that the truth is as a believer in Christ I am a created being a vessel. I can only do what God allows me to do. I don’t wake up because my alarm clock goes off I wake up because God said so. Everyday I am reminded of that and although people who don’t believe or really understand what they believe might have a hard time digesting that. I know it to be my truth. My life has always been about the love God has for me that’s what the journey is about.

I had to unlearn that I don’t lead anything. If I really say I believe Jesus is my Lord and savior then the me dies. The parts of me that desire to be in control or needing to know what’s going to happen next had to die. My life is a story about faith, perseverance and love. When I finally got it I was able to see more and I wanted to learn more and grow more. That’s the biggest lesson I had to unlearn.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Breakofdawnboutique.com
• Instagram: Break_of_dawn_salontique

Image Credits
Dawn owner of Break of Dawn Salontique