We were lucky to catch up with Elena Prohnitchi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elena, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

The first time I got paid to do what I love was one of the best feelings I ever had. I still sometimes sit down on the couch in the evening and think of how grateful I am to be paid to do what I truly love.

I started my hairstyling classes while being in law school which was not the career path I was seeing myself in. Once I finished those classes the salon that was offering the classes saw a potential in me and offer me to be an assistant there. That was going to be an unpaid position, but I was going to be able to practice a lot and learn from my teachers so much. So after school every day and on the weekends I would run to the salon to help with haircuts and blowdrying clients.
The salon was offering free haircuts for the seniors so that I could get more practice. The seniors never had money to afford those haircuts so they were always grateful.

One day we had this lady come in and she wanted a haircut, my teacher said I think you got it and she told me I could do it by myself and if she was able to pay at the end I was going to get the money, but I cannot ask for help and it had to look great at the end. I was nervous, I took my time and she was so patient with me, always supporting me and saying how great I am doing. By the end I was so happy I did it myself and so proud. She took out a little napkin where she had some money and she took out $3 and gave them to me and I could not believe that I am earning from what I got to love so much,

This lady gave me an amazing lesson that we should be grateful for having those customers in our chair and if they turn out to be great teachers or supporters money is definitely not the priority. After I did this haircut, the lady went to my manager to tell her what a good entertainer I was and she didn’t mind she was there for almost 2 hours for a haircut that usually would take 45 min. When summer came and I was able to work full time, my teacher from then on let me work for the salon and I was able to do my own SENIOR clients and get all the tips they were bringing in. I was leaving the day with $30 or $40 in cash and I could not believe I am leaving the best life.

To this day it seems like a dream that I am able to do hair and makeup full time, make a living out of it and be happy with the work I put in, the people I meet and the mentors that I met along the way.

Elena, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I moved to the US in 2017 and I did hair and makeup from the beginning along with having a full time job in customer service. I guess I never believed in myself that I could do it full time.

But I kept learning and providing the best services to all my clients as well as great customer service.
When I had my son in 2020 I realized how important time with my family was so I could no longer have a full time job in customer service and also do what I love so I decided to take a big leap and go into hair and makeup full time.

My business name is ElenaProstyles and I provide hair and makeup services for weddings or special events. I work with other amazing artists and try to empower women and men to love their body/hair/face and get the most confidence boost on their special day. I love being part of peoples most memorable days and providing the services I love.
I love being creative and meeting new people, listening to their stories and telling them my story. I came a long way and this year I started teaching more hair and makeup classes. It is such a reward to see others succeed and get better.

I am proud I can be my best version for my clients and can have the freedom to choose my schedule and spend as much time with my family. My values are definitely to provide good customer service and be in balance with a happy life for myself.

I love what I do and cant wait to glam the next person or teach a new lesson.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think it is hard for people that have a secure job and a certain schedule to understand the struggles we have to go through as artists when it comes to having new ideas and the constant stress of thinking will I be okay this month if I don`t have enough customers.

I am constantly in a battle of trying to explain to my family what it means to be a Self employed, owner of your business. I am truly happy to say I got to a place where I met a lot of artists and having their support helps me a lot because we all go through the same things.

Even if we know that we will make enough money that month in the back of our head their is always doubt and questioning on is this enough? what can I do better? would it be better if I started something else?
It is draining mentally sometimes but having the right people around is awesome and it helps so much.

We all go through mental health problems and depression and when you need to be creative it affects how productive you will be and how much you will be able to do if you are not in the right state of mind.
I learned throughout the year that every season is different and there is times where I need to focus on creativity, or just health or just work. Because when fall/winter comes we all go into a slower mode and are not as creative as spring for example. That might be just me but it totally affect how my business is designed and how I do everything when it comes to my business.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that brides are Bridezillas.

As I started my career I would see a lot of stories about brides being crazy on their wedding day, about how they treated everyone around them and how as a service provider it would be very hard to do this job.

When I started actually doing this business I realized what stressful day it is for most of the brides and we (as hairstylists and makeup artists) are definitely there to support them as well, besides providing our services. It is just part of the career. I always had to tell myself its not because they are Bridezillas, its because everything they want needs to come out perfectly so they can have the most memorable day and I cannot believe we are putting even more pressure on them saying you have to be calm and chill the day of.

When it comes to actual customers that treat you bad, that is usually their personality or a misunderstanding, which proves we are all so different and we react to stressful situations in a different way. I love my brides and I try my best to be there for them and offer a hug if needed or tell someone they might be more helpful steaming if that is what is needed.

I had brides that were scared to tell me there is one little thing they don`t like, just so we don`t think she is a Bridezilla and that I think is very hard, because sometimes it is really about small things that can make that day SPECIAL for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: elenaprostyles.com
• Instagram: Instangram.com/elenaprostyles
• Facebook: facebook.com/elenaprohnitchi
• Youtube: youtube.com/elenaprostyles

Image Credits
Ian Temple Stephanie Michelle Photography Krisnoff Petra Persaud Photography Photos by Gina Orozco