We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Nields a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.
I’ve had 2 amazing bosses in my entire career. The first, Barbie, took me in to the salon, knowing I was new and wanted to help me learn and grow. Previous bosses didn’t seem like they wanted to help me online they were interested in helping me grow my client base. Barbie took a huge leap of faith and hired me when I was a year out of hair school. I had so much to learn still and did everything I could to grow my client base and my education. She stood by me and helped me grow my client base. She allowed me to run specials to new clients and promoted me like crazy! She showed me compassion when I messed up and helped me look into education to refine my skills. She listened to my frustrations, as she was once a new and growing stylist. She did anything she could to help me both professionally and in my personal life.
In May of 2024, Barbie sold the salon to Silvia, who is very similar in her leadership. She continues to push me to be a better stylist. She encourages me to learn more and go out of my comfort zone. She shows faith in me as a stylist, which helps me believe in myself when I’m not feeling so confident.
Both of these women have been vital in my career and I wouldn’t be where I am professionally without their help.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a hairstylist in the Philadelphia suburbs. I focus in color and blondes. I’ve been behind the chair professionally for 5 years and have found my salon home at Maxima Hair at 555 in Berwyn, PA. I love what I do and want to make anyone who sits in my chair look and feel their best. I strive to give guests the best service I can and make sure everyone leaves my chair happy! I’m most proud of where I’m at in my career. It’s hard to juggle social media, work, and my personal life but I do my best!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I learned fairly quickly that social media is A LOT of work! I would most every day at one point and it burnt me out! I have come to a healthy balance of finding what works for me and sticking to it! Keeping up with trends can be hard, but it’s well worth the trouble! As long as you’re posting and being consistent you should be able to grow! Don’t get defeated!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
I’ve grown my book a lot with social media and word of mouth! I gave 3 business cards to every client in my chair and told them if they send 3 people in (family, friends, neighbors, etc) I’d give them a free haircut for their next visit. I also joined A LOT of community pages on Facebook. Any community page in or around my area, I joined. I post on there monthly and comment whenever I see someone asking for a new hairstylist. I refer people to my Instagram account to check out my work and keep that constantly updated!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/hairxjessnields
Image Credits
Hallie Anna Photography