We recently connected with Julie Ramos and have shared our conversation below.
Julie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
I went to beauty school in 2010 and graduated in 2012. I was so scared to get my cosmetology license, I didn’t feel prepared so I waited. I waited a long time. I got licensed in 2020 after the restrictions in Nevada were lifted. I cried before and after I took my tests and I passed first time! I worked in corporate salons for almost 2 years and I knew it was not for me. I was terrified to step out on my own but something inside me wasn’t happy working for someone else. I never got the holidays off I never could take time off I was missing out on things with my son and that was enough to push me to go to booth rent. I was doing booth rent for 2 years. I got my business license and just recently moved to a salon suite and I could not be more happy and proud of myself that I did everything I was so afraid of doing. I’m still growing, I’m still learning, and I will have my own building in the future where I’m renting to other stylists. I built my clientele from the ground up and I am so grateful for every person that has trusted me to work on them throughout the years. I was so scared to take the risk and step out on my own but being my own boss changed my life in such a positive way. I wish I would have had the confidence to start building in 2012 but I’m beyond grateful for everything I learned along the way.
Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Julie Ramos I’m 34 years old. I’ve been doing hair for 5 years and I’ve been independent for about 4 years. I specialize in men’s cuts and perms. I do women’s cuts and kids cuts. I also do hair donations for Wigs for Kids to give kids with illnesses that cause hairloss a wig. I love my job because I’m always doing something different. I thing my favorite services to do are perms, Wigs for Kids donations, and kids cuts. Perms and Wigs for Kids are big transformations and I also feel good that I can help people by sending the hair donations in. Kids cuts are fun because the kids are so funny and I get to see them grow up and it reminds me of my own son.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
For my industry the most effective strategy for growing my clientele is word of mouth and Booksy. I get alot of family’s and it’s a mom or dad recommending me to their friends, family or co-workers. I am so grateful I have really awesome people in my clientele that always shout me out. Booksy for a booking app is also really helpful. I can message all the clients, collect deposits, manage my schedule,clients can see my portfolio and business details and do promotions.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I funded my business when I was working in corporate salons. I spent about a year buying products and tools when I got paid to prepare to go into booth rental. Once I started booth renting paid for my licenses and I saved enough money to buy my barber chair. I started saving and buying one piece of furniture at a time until I could have everything I needed to go to a salon suite. I also found a whole saler and started having retail hair products available. It took a couple years but I always had something to work towards and it kept me motivated to keep growing.
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Image Credits
I took all the pictures