We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Taylor Perry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Taylor below.
Alright, Taylor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
Profitability in the hair industry can definitely be a little tricky. Especially, when a person wants to make being a hairstylist their career or apart of it at least. The biggest interference with this is social media in todays society. It makes people feel as if whatever they are doing has to provide for this overly luxurious life. Even though, wanting a luxury lifestyle should always be the goal, the issue becomes the amount of people in the hair industry that over charge for certain services. With the type of protective style services I provide, most people are charging nothing less than $300 for braids. That’s not a really ridiculous number right? Well that number goes all the way up to people paying $1,000 and more for braid services. I’ve always told myself that I did NOT want to become one of the stylist that are over priced in the industry because I love keeping my clients in mind. And with this being the standard in the hair industry, I’ve been trying to find a happy medium that keeps me making a profit but also keeps my clients happy as well. I have recently gone up on my prices and am now including braiding hair in my services. This keeps me making a better profit, but also providing more for my clients.
It gets tricky with being a braider in the hair industry because we are looked at as bad guys when we go up on prices or having prices that aren’t $150 for small knee length knotless braids. Braids are a service that take 3-8 hours depending on the size and how long they are. So, our time has to be compensated on top of the stress that it is on the body. And most people don’t understand that standing in one spot for hours is a lot on a person’s feet, legs, and back. Not to mention using our fingers for hours as well. So all in all, in this industry a braider has to learn to find a way to compensate time and stress, making a living where it’s comfortable, and also keeping clients happy.
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.
I am a certified braider in nashville, tn but, originally from chicago, IL. I began really taking my craft seriously over the years of being in nashville. I came here to attend fisk university in 2017. Being there, my signature was long braids down to my knees. People would always ask me if I could do there’s based off of seeing mine and I figured why not. I was only doing work study but It wasn’t much. So a side hustle basically became my passion. Being in chicago, I never knew I would love doing hair so much. Even though, I would always do my own from middle school until now. I look back on pictures of styles I’ve done and my growth has been impeccable. 3 years of consistently working on my craft has gotten me to where I am now with finding new techniques and better products. I provide services like knotless braids, box braids, faux locs, and stitch braids. Each of those take such a different technique to master and different products as well.
I am so proud of how i’ve never let anything get in the way of my passion. It doesn’t matter what problem comes up or how many times I may fail with something, God keeps guiding me where he wants me to be and for that I am forever grateful. And until I get the push that I need to be serving elsewhere, I will continue to pursue this passion of mine.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I believe that genuineness is the main thing that’s helped me build my reputation within the hair industry. People can feel and sense a good energy with anyone they encounter. When it comes to me though, I wear my heart on my sleeve and i’m pretty much an open book to my clients. Especially because they usually are to me as well. My genuineness helps me build those lasting relationships with anyone who sits in my chair. A persons character will mean a lot in a service industry.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Ever since I was in college, my mindset until recently, has always been that im gonna become super successful and get there all on my own. I was hyper independent, which is not always a good thing. It was to a point where I wouldn’t even accept help from people because I didn’t want anything being thrown back in my face or want somebody to be able to say they got me to where I would be success wise. And i’m gonna be honest, God had to humble me a bit to show me that I don’t have to be. I have learned to let my gaurd down a bit. It’s okay to have someone help on the journey to success. No one on earth is meant to do it alone. The most successful people have important teams of people behind them to make their goals come to life. The village is needed to get to a certain level in life. And if someone helps along your journey, it’s okay to acknowledge that they were a stepping stone in your life but are not responsible for your overall success and how you manage it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tayloredhairservice.as.me/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/_tayloredhair_?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Other: My personal instagram : https://instagram.com/_baddietaaay?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=