We were lucky to catch up with Olivia Anton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Olivia, appreciate you joining us today. So, folks often look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight – but that often obscures all the nitty, gritty details of everything that went into the growth phase of your business. We’d love to hear about your scaling story and how you scaled up?

Oh, Wow , where do I even begin!? I often think about my journey to where and and how I got to be in my career now all the way from where I started. There is simply not enough time to give my full heart and thoughts but here is a little glimpse of what we stylists do!

To give a little back story, I had always wanted to do hair since I was little. Tried community college stayed for a year then went to hair school to where I was to flourish in my God given talent. But I didn’t expect anything else except to do hair . That’s it . Past that, I didn’t know what that was going to look like.

I went to cosmo school at a Paul Mitchell school ( loved it ) where they didn’t only teach me to do hair but that I literally could go above and beyond in the hair industry. I had a goal of working in Fort Worth Texas to start my career when I graduated and eventually led me to Aledo Texas where I am now. But that’s when the hard part began…
To start having a job in the hair world, I wanted more than just doing hair at a chain hair cut place. So, after seeing multiple salons come to the school to tell us about their salons I found where my journey would start, and that’s how I ended up in Fort Worth. Even before I was finished with school I was applying for assistant positions and stylist positions before I graduated that way when I passed my tests I was ahead of the curve.

We, stylists, go to school in Texas for 1500 hours, about a year going 5 days week and longer if you’re in night school. Then after we have completed our time we go to take 2 tests to get our license. It a multiple choice also known as the written, and then we do a practical test which is where we do hands on and are graded. THE MOST NERVE WRACKING THING a stylist can do.
So, As I set out to do my tests where I got to spend one of those tests with my mom driving me and also supporting me ,as my mom and dad did the entire time. When I got that paper that said I passed, I was one step closer to starting my career.

When I got my license I was back at the salon I really wanted to work at in Fort Worth and applied for the job. I had to work really hard to pull my own weight and I was ready to work hard for my place in the industry’. After my interview, I volunteered at the salon for a month ,while working another job in Arlington,Texas, then to move on to being an assistant to the owner and a stylist at the salon and participating in education . I had finally made it! But hard work was still at hand.

Most stylists coming out of school don’t normally go in to booth/suite rental which means you pay for your chair/room weekly and all your own color supplies etc. You normally work hourly or commission to be able to build your clientele.
I started out working for someone doing hourly and commission to help build my clientele . There were countless days I sat with no clients coming in while others had clients. I did continuing education to learn more than what I learned at school. Going out to stores and meet ups to do networking, And while I’m not fooling anyone I did bad haircuts and bad colors because C’mon whose good when they’re right out of school. There was crying, feeling like I couldn’t make the person happy, or would they like their hair? Would that person pay for that? Why did I think I could do this job am I crazy?? Did I respond to that email? I could have done better. Ugh! Should I rebrand? I hope this works out. Did I eat today?
All the thoughts that we stylists all too often think and dwell on even after years in the business. I have to have boundaries to not always be working or thinking of work.
I knew at this point it was going to be years until I got to the amount of clients I wanted to be doing hair on. After a year of working at that salon I was loosing my passion for doing hair and I knew that wasn’t right after only being in the industry a year. I couldn’t give up now. It was at this moment in my career I believe is when I started who I was going to become in the hair industry. I prayed to God, YAHWEH, to guide me and to not be stupid or unwise in going into booth rental a year out of school BUT to not act and be driven by fear in my career. I took a leap of faith and put my two weeks notice in not knowing where I would be working and it was then I was offered a chair at a brand new salon with all of my friends and you better believe I took that!
This was a whole new journey. But what I did know was that God would never steer me into something that wouldn’t be beneficial for me and He would never leave me.
Here I was a stylist a year out of school about to rent her own chair weekly, with only a hand full of clients. For those who aren’t familiar with the different options of working at a salon Booth Rental Is where you rent your chair weekly for anywhere from $200 plus a week depending on where you are. That is not including your supplies or tools needed. Most salons will supply you with shampoo and conditioner unless there is something special you want to use on your clients. Is where, The salons most of the time will supply you with towels, and capes as well.

So, to sum up what I was about to get into is this:
– Being in charge of my own taxes and finding a CPA to help ( since we are sole proprietors and not W-2s anymore )
-Buying my own color, supplies, tools etc
-Renting and paying my for my chair weekly
-In charge of my own schedule
-Feast or Famine
-Owning my own business – being a Sole Proprietor
-Marketing
-Business Management
-Self Control

Sounds like a lot , right ? Well, your right! It is. BUT what you may not know is that it is so rewarding and worth it. If it weren’t for God providing me with parents teaching me how to be wise with my money and disciplined with money management and my CPA guiding me on how to do certain things It would of been a lot rockier than It was starting out.All the things above take a ton of time to do behind the scenes while balancing a life outside the salon. The mechanics of owning a business is what makes it run. Doing hair is the cherry on top. When I took that job booth renting I now was a business owner.
I had to be ready to learn at all times, be ready to help at all times, assisting my friends to earn money while I had no clients. Learning along the way. And be willing to mess up . Cleaning and more cleaning and more cleaning. Arriving at work hoping that a “walk-in” would come in . Take walk ins not knowing what they would want and just jump in and start.
In any small business of any type most of the time is takes about 5 years for you to profit consistently in your business. Prior to that you are giving in a lot . Time and money.

Through my almost 6 years at the booth rental salon in Fort WorthI learned a lot. Techniques and business management. I got into a business marketing program called, Thrivers Society strictly for the beauty industry. It has completely changed my business for the good, but boy , its a lot work. Not only do hairstylist need to do great hair we have a business and an image of what we want to offer the world. It was then my brand started.
Marketing anywhere from 1-7 days week on social media, platforms , doing market research on what my clients like and want, how to attract clients, how to see my stats with my business, is growing or is it dying? Every little thing down to what type of drinks you offer your clients . Will it thrive your business, that’s the question. Everything I do works together.

It is humbling to see new stylists coming out of school. But while we know that the sky is the limit, you want to be a 6 figure stylist? You can do it! But it wont happen in one week, it wont happen in a year, it takes time and hard work. Most of the stylist I look up too and see that have made it, have worked so hard, and spent countless hours learning and worrying about things that you may not see and they have been in the business at least 7 plus years. So if your a stylist reading this, my advice to you is, don’t give up, but also know that it wont happen in a week and you have to work hard and take clients that you’re nervous to take. You’ll grow into who you are to be in the industry . Learn from other stylist and heed their wisdom. There is more to life than hair.
If you’re not a stylist and you’re reading this, ask your stylist about their journey! We’ve worked hard to get here . I know I have and wouldn’t be where I am with out YAHWEH. But knowing how things work and knowing how you got that juicy hamburger in front of you or that awesome balayage you just got will give you more appreciation for it and for the people delivering it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Olivia Anton. I live in the great state of Texas y’all! I have grown up in the Dallas Fort Worth area all my life. I now work in Aledo Texas . With my wonderful husband by my side, although not working in the salon himself , he supports me in my business efforts while still being amazing at his job. I have pretty much wanted to be a hair stylist since I was little. I had other things in mind about what Interested me as a career like a missionary, graphic design artist or a history and Biblical History teacher. I love doing all those things, but being a hairstylist has been in my blood. I love that there is no limit to what I can do or think up in this field. That freedom allows me to enjoy hair and enjoy the things outside of work. Not a lot of people can confidently say that. Thanks to YAHWEH I can do that. Can I Get an, AMEN?!

When I’m not working or watching one of our favorite shows like Bar Rescue ,I love to read books, gym rock climb and hang with my husband and our family and friends.
When Clients sit in my chair I want them to feel like themselves. My goal is to give you a look that compliments your lifestyle and your personal style!

So it has been in the last year that I have found a product line that I have fallen in love with and a lot of my clients love it as well! I actively use and sell Leaf and Flower Hair Care . It is a small line that has CBD in it. Not only CBD but 2 other cannabinoids to work along with it. It is made for all types of hair. Thick, thin, coarse, curly, textured, straight. It was made by stylist for stylists. The smell is absolutely amazing and its the first thing that people fall in love with. There is an original line and the a Volume line. SO GREAT. You can purchase it online if you’re not near my salon or you can purchase it through me at Sarah Marie Salon.

One service I really enjoy doing is Balayage, Highlights and Mini Foils. Balayage is lived in color. It provides a more low maintenance hair schedule or high maintenance schedule depending on your desired balayage style.
There is a lot variation that can come with balayage! I have some clients I see 2 times a year and some I see every 6-8 weeks. It really depends on your lifestyle and the look you’re going for.
I offer lightening services like ,highlights and balayage mentioned above Women’s Cuts, All Over Colors, Blow Outs, Treatments.
I’m OG at Sarah Marie Salon and serve women between 30-50 years old and find joy in offering Mini Foils and Balayage and cuts for the woman who wants a big change or just a small change to feel beautiful inside and out!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One resource I wish I had earlier in my career is Thrivers Society by Britt Seva. She is a social media and marketing strategist for hairstylists. Anyone in the beauty industry can benefit from her strategies. She coaches on how to do salon business management, branding, marketing, social media, among a whole lot of other things.
It has helped me create a brand for my business and help me market my business.
If anyone is is the in beauty industry I strongly encourage you to look into joining Thrivers Society.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what helped me build my clientele in my market is that I had the opportunity to start the bulk of my career at brand new salons. The one I previously worked for for almost 6 years and the current salon I work at . Also, during this time that a lot of people are moving across states we are getting a lot of new people in the area.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.oliviaantonhairstylist.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/oliviaantonhairstylist
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/OliviaAntonHairStylist/
• Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/olivia-anton-193b2998

Image Credits
Head shots : XO Yours Truly Photography Camie Bolin (Except the one with the red hair )