We were lucky to catch up with Karina Lopez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Karina , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I actually had this conversation with a friend not too long ago. I think somedays it’s crossed my mind more than others. What would it be like to have an actual schedule, a routine to follow everyday, see the same people, do the same things, and be in something corporate and etc. I’ve thought of school what if I went to college and got a degree in something and is it too late and all that chaotic adult stuff. I have no college degree, I always maybe wanted to be a biology teacher, maybe study geology. stick to the sciences but it’s been years since I’ve even have had that thought in my brain. I would always say maybe if I ever get bored of doing hair and all of my services, I’ll go back try it out see if it’s for me. The industry, the career I’m working in allows me to have space to grow everyday. I see new people, my long time clients, people coming into the suites wandering around looking for someone to fix them up, it’s a very colorful pallete of things I get to see and do at work and that really keeps me grounded. Being a business owner and being able to do literally whatever I want on my terms, my rules, my boundaries is something I always wanted. I feel so free and inspired to be creative, to discipline myself and motivate myself for the next big things for my business and I. I love my career I love being able to service the public with all their beauty needs. I get to do that freely and my own way and this is all I could ask for the rest us up to me. I always felt like people never saw hairstylists or barbers as a “real” job sometimes and it used to really irk me because there’s endless possibilities to grow and make income in this industry. I’m passionate about this and I enjoy it and the fact that I am able to make a life out of this has just been the best parts of really loving what I do and I think I’m gonna stick with it for a very long time and allow my business to keep flourishing and giving it its chances to grow see where we end up.
Karina , 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?
My name is Karina Lopez as known as Dallas Barber Babe. I’ve been in the beauty industry now 7 years and actually got my cosmetology license in high school I will forever be thankful for that. In 2019 I decided to get my barber license and was officially licensed in 2020. I specialize in both men and women. To blowouts to beard trims, to skin fades to bangs I can almost do it all! I’m slowly turning into an eyebrow shaping wizard, I love lash lifts and recently this has been the year for color and wedding/event hair and I’ve loved it and would love to do more weddings, both bride and groom. I’ve gotten to experiment and be able to pursue growth within my business and the industry. I actually was doing makeup at a retail store until I made a full switch doing hair, where I started from the ground up. No real experience, no technique, I had never even held a pair of clippers before. I was just a teenager trying to figure it out. I don’t know if it was just the places I worked at where I just needed to get out of the toxic park environments or the lack of space to grow that just pushed me to believe in myself to grow and move forward. Sometimes I think it was the constant belief from clients I keep gaining that pushed me to be better not just for me but for them. Provide them and myself a safe and secure and cozy environment and a place to thrive. Without my clientele over the years I would not be in the place I am now. Of course it’s a thing you work hard for you may even get lucky, but my clients who come back to visit every time is the reason for all of this. They basically count on me and I count on them. I have been shown so much love and care I am truly spoiled, but I know they can say the same. They will always be taken care of by me. They need something I show them and I help them I talk them through it make sure they are educated make sure they’re taking care of themselves I’m and out of my suite. I’d like to think there’s a reason why people choose me to service them when there’s a never ending selection of stylists and barbers in the dfw. I’ve gotten to do some special things and people have seen it, they’ve recognized it, and have reached out and inquired to be serviced by me. I’d like to think my personality has a lot to do with it, I’m a huge people person, try my hardest to be a total sweetheart. The hack to literally anything is jut be kind and somedays even on your hardest days is just be nice it sounds so silly and so simple but it’s something is lacking of in many corners. I’m the same online and offline and I really love when people come and see me and they see me for me apart from the skill set and the talent, they love me for me and I am so happy to just be here expressing that and it’s gotten me the opportunities it has and has gotten me as far as it has now. I want people to know that I am very proud of myself am how far I’ve come, I never met my struggles or my hardships be the reason I didn’t reach my goals or try to succeed. I’m just a one woman band basically doing it all alone, but I show up everyday I make sure I give attention to my people and the things needed. I have days where I get stuck too and have a creative block but it never hinders me from getting up the next day and giving it my all. Even on my slowest days, I wanna keep branching out from Dallas Barber Babe I want more for her and from her. I want to continue to see new people and have their heads of hair sit in my chair to help them with all their questions. I want the public to know you guys will definitely be seeing more of me and I can’t wait to keep showing off my work!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I would like to think the overall times at work places where I felt stuck and scared to go after more. I won’t even lie I hated my jobs, I started off loving them and then they just drained me. I felt like I couldn’t go much farther and it made me even question if hair was for me and it wasn’t even that it was my environments. At my first haircutting job it wasn’t the worst and it definitely wasn’t the best, but as time went by, bad management, crappy energies around you. I would just cry to my mom like I want leave I want to quit my job what if I did something else, and I’m so glad I never let that be the reason why I let my fear win. Even if I went through that again in another workplace or another environment, it just put me in a place to remind myself what my goals are, why I’m here, and what I do it for. I never wanna give into my fears again not unless I’m jumping head on into them and overcoming them. Every place or person that told me with the way of doing things the way I did, wouldn’t get me far or wouldn’t be able to do anything with it, was so wrong. I’m so glad I chose myself and bet on myself every time.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It sounds kind of silly but the typical you HAVE to work hard get to where you want. Of course we have to work hard to get the things we want, you know, but the work hard where there’s no stopping, no breaks just get there. Personally, I grew up with immigrant parents and they’re old school, like you’re sick you go to work, you’re depressed you go to work, you’re leg is broken take the day off and tomorrow you’ll go back to work. It sounds crazy but that’s something that I only knew at one point. Now this way of life gave me the best work ethic the best discipline to get up and don’t complain and just do it, but man did I burnout fast. I almost felt so guilty taking time to myself when I wasn’t providing or working. No one talks about the constant things we have to unlearn as we get older to continue to have a healthy and successful lifestyle. You are your own greatest asset, if you are not okay most likely your performance and your reactions and everything in between it’s not at its 100%. Reminding myself that there is a balance to work, life, and self. I deserve to take breaks, I deserve to credit myself even for the little work I’ve done, knowing somedays I couldn’t do a thing. The days you need to just take off you take them, there were days where I couldn’t afford to take them off but I knew if I came in I wouldn’t be who I needed to be for myself and my clients and give them what they needed. The energies we put out are so important especially at work. The shortcuts, the lack of care for yourself, it shows so much harder than we think, and people notice. I noticed the more I focused on work at my old jobs, even my business now, it affected my relationships, the way I took care of myself, like my health and the way I looked and presented myself. Having jobs where they tell you this is the only way to make money where you have to keep taking people until your wrists are on fire 8-9 hours later, and that’s the only way. When in reality there’s no way you can even build a personal connection with these people just running through them. You almost end up getting sick of what you’re doing it becomes so repetitive and this cycle of just working so hard and getting almost nowhere. The hustle culture a lot of people in my age group grew up with is currently unlearning and learning like yes, take that mental health day off. If you’re sick please take the time off. If you want a vacation, book that trip and see you in a week. We deserve these nice things. We deserve to pat yourself on the back for showing up everyday up until this point and being able to finally take it easy. One day off will not deter the goals and the accomplishments yet to be met, if anything you’re only setting yourself up for an even better place to be at to achieve these goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dallas-barber-babe.square.site/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dallasbarberbabe?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@dallasbarberbabe?_t=8bQe4rhp6de&_r=1
Image Credits
Shirley Salinas