Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paige Whiffen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Paige, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

We are seeing and have been seeing multiple changes and evolutions within the beauty industry. Everything from the importance of social media marketing and education to guests wanting to be able to go longer between appointments but spending more time with us per appointment. This results in hair trending towards a more “lived in” style. This includes looks that are more rooted, softer transitions from darker at the base to lighter at the ends, looks that are lighter in the front then in the back, and bolder colors the allow them to show off their own individuality! Social media has given stylist as a whole a need to educate and elevate themselves as well as their skills to keep up with the latest looks and techniques. It has also given guests a way to find the stylist that fits the best and can give them the look that they love. The ever-changing trends keep us as stylist growing and striving to better ourselves and our craft which is one of my favorite things about my career!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When I was 12 years old, I decided to color my hair, I grabbed a box of red hair color thinking if I just enhanced my red hair my parents wouldn’t know. They could definitely tell seeing as it came out firetruck red and I loved it! It made me feel empowered to be able to manipulate my appearance. That day I decided that I wanted to help others feel that way and wanted to become a hairstylist. When I was 15, I took steps at dipping my toes into the industry doing some front desk work at the salon my mom was going to and then moved into interning at the local cosmetology school which I later attended and graduated from. I found my salon home straight out of cosmetology school here at Zeba Hair Salon. Sima Abbasi, the founder, and I hit it off. She took me under her wing and started showing me the business side of the industry which I never thought I would be interested in, but it came naturally to me. In 2017, we opened our second location which gave me the opportunity to manage and lead. I had no idea what I was getting myself into at 22 and had so many things to learn and overcome. I am so grateful for the opportunity; it led me to really grow myself and my craft. I had to fail and learn over and over again. I fell in love with leading and helping grow others which gave me a new purpose within the industry. This new purpose lit a fire under me. In August of 2019, I became a partner at Zeba Hair Salon. My love for mentoring and building connections grew with my new position. I recently became an artist with L’Oreal to be able to continue connecting with people inside of the beauty industry on a wider scale. This gives me the opportunity to go to salons around the East Coast to teach them tips and tricks as well as bring back new knowledge and ideas for our salons, team, and of course my incredible clientele! I’m excited to continue to grow within the ever-changing beauty industry and build more connections within the community!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

When I started managing, I had the wrong idea of what management should be. I thought it meant I was in charge, but now I see leadership is to serve those around you. I had to completely switch my mentality– which is still a daily practice. I would be nothing without my team, I learned this through losing those I didn’t serve correctly. I am extremely grateful for this lesson seeing as I could not have dreamed up a better team than I have today. I had to become vulnerable with my team share my story and purpose and hear theirs. I am here to listen to them, learn what motivates them, and what success looks like to them. Everyone has a different vision of their ideal life and the only way I can lead and serve them is to learn what that looks like to them. My love for doing hair came from connections I made with my clients and listening to their story and I realized I had to do the same for my team. Coming to work and being with my team now fills my cup. They are like family to me and I am so grateful for each one of them!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Building clients is definitely the hardest and most important part of the hair industry. I was fortunate enough to grow up in the area that I work in, so of course I had friends and family to start my books off, however that only does so much. When I got into the industry, social media was still not used too much for marketing, so I built most of my clientele the “old fashioned” way by walking up to people and handing them a card and starting a conversation with them. In addition to handing out cards, our salon has a referral program that incentivizes clients to refer a friend. As my career evolved, I had to change marketing strategies, as well I started thinking of my “ideal” client and where they would be. I started to go to the restaurants, gyms, and events “they” would be attending. Now, I can do most of my marketing on social media and through word of mouth. I use the 80/20 rule and post 80% hair content I want to see in my chair along with 20% content about me–that way people get to know me before they come and sit with me for a few hours. This truly gives me the clientele I resonate with the most and love!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zebahairsalon.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paigehairartist/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fgodjp%2Fp%2FBfYbGMXnDbN%2F%3F__coig_login%3D1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZebaHairSalon
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@paigehairartist