We were lucky to catch up with Bailee Strickland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bailee, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Over-saturation. While the wedding industry is a very specialized industry and there are a lot of vendors doing the same things as you. I know that there are well over 30 hair stylists alone in the wedding space in and around Myrtle Beach. There are also businesses that have dedicated teams they are able to send out so they can service multiple weddings on a single day. This creates such a unique challenge for independent artists such as myself. I have to find unique ways to differentiate myself from the plethora of other talented artists and teams that are out there, especially the ones that have been in the industry for a long time.

A good example of this is something that actually happened to me recently. I was working in a full service salon when I decided that I really wanted to lean into the wedding side of cosmetology. As I do, I kept things to myself so I don’t count my chickens before they hatch, so to speak (learned that the hard way too many times). This was also a transition period in my life. I had gotten married and we were moving roughly an hour away from that salon. My coworkers would ask me for updates about the new house, which is completely normal and very considerate, but one day, I mentioned the fact that I was going to create a bridal studio in the spare bedroom so I could have a dedicated space for my bridal business. Now would be a good time to mention that the salon owner also does bridal hair and has for ten years. Being a business owner, she had to look out for herself and no one is going to care about your business as much as you do, I was presented with an ultimatum. I could cease all bridal work outside of the salon and only work on clients that the salon brought in, stop doing bridal all together, or I could leave the salon and continue with my own business ventures. I’ll let you guess which option I chose. I am thankful that it was an amicable situation because I know that it could have been far worse than it was and I am thankful for her understanding.

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?

So, I am Bailee Strickland, the owner and lead stylist of Bailee Cribb Hair. I did form by business before I got married, hence the inconsistencies in names. I offer brides the convenience of hairstyling for their wedding. I specialize in boho braids, updos and Hollywood waves, which are my favorite. The process of securing their wedding day hair is super easy and stress free. They simply fill out a questionnaire, if I’m available they will receive a custom proposal and after they out down a retainer they can cross ” find a bridal hairstylist” off their wedding to do list.

I actually started out in the field of education and have my Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education.. Having over a decade of experience working with children, I was definitely on the verge of burnout when I graduated. After graduation, I went on to work in a kindergarten classroom. While I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences that I gained, it was not a viable career for me. I did apply to other schools in different counties but nothing panned out. I found myself hosting in a restaurant for the last third of that school year. We we to distance learning because it was March 2020. I was left with a lot of free time.

After working in the restaurant for a few months, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision that I wanted to go to cosmetology school. I applied as soon as I got home that day. The following January, I started school, again. I felt like a career student at that point having never, technically, left the school setting. I did go into school with more knowledge than many of the students. That gave me a confidence boost that was much needed.

I distinctly remember saying that I would never do any kind of formal styling after I got out of school. It’s funny how life works. After finishing the cosmetology program, I went on to work in a few different salons. Neither of them were great fits for me. I went searching and found a salon that offered more freedom. After speaking with the owner and doing some research on my own, I found myself registering for the local bridal expo, which is essentially a giant event where there are a multitude of different wedding vendors all trying to fill their calendars with the brides that attend.

After a while, that salon no longer supported my business needs and I found myself at my most recent salon where I was eventually given the ultimatum to quit doing bridal hair or leave. So I left.

My background provides an edge to my services. Working with children will make you reliable in stressful situations and extremely patient.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am stubborn and independent to a fault. My parents did too good of a job raising a self-reliant daughter. It has taken me so many years to learn how to ask for help. It took me even longer to learn how to accept said help. It took a serious ego check and a mental health diagnosis, or two, or three, to bring self-awareness to my actions and how to course correct. By no means am I saying that I am perfect but I do credit starting my own business to taking my mental health seriously.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

My dad has played an impactful role in my trajectory as a business owner. He is an industrial electrician and has owned his own business since I was seven. I can distinctly remember seeing him sitting at the dining room table studying for his licensing exam, which I was unaware of at the time. He started in his industry while he was still in high school. and he worked for that company for almost two decades before he took the leap to venture out on his own. He eventually put his previous employer out of business because his own company was doing so well.

When I tell you that this man cannot sit still, he cannot sit still. He is always doing something productive. If he doesn’t have anything to do, he will find something to do. One time, when business was slow, he got himself into the cattle industry (bottle feeding calves is very fun btw). Between his business and his cows, the man always keeps himself busy. I have turned out the same way. When business was slow for me, I created an Etsy shop, which offers all sorts of wedding templates and some cute bridal gear. I even found a part-time job at a blowout salon.

Here’s to hoping to inherit an electrical company and a whole herd of cows someday.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://baileecribbhair.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/baileecribbhair
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/baileecribbhair
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bailee-strickland-667231304/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BaileeCribbHairLLC