One day a friend and I were chatting about starting a nail salon business together. I ended up in a program at a barbering and cosmetology academy, became a cosmologist and opened a hair salon on my own. I was born with a natural gift and talent for working with hair. My California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology license along with an AA in Business Administration was enough to help me transition easily from idea to execution. I was off and running.

Before I began my journey into entrepreneurship in the hair care industry, my first job was at a bank and that is where I started cutting hair in the ladies’ room. Initially, I did not have a clear direction or vision for my future, what I wanted it to look like or what I would be doing. A deeper dive into the hair care industry eventually led to landing entry-level work as a hair stylist in a succession of small local Los Angeles boutique salons.

Once I discovered that entrepreneurship was in my DNA, the hair care industry became a very natural and easy career choice for me. My natural talent for transforming damaged hair miraculously into healthy hair with body, bounce and shine also began to reveal itself. I began to attract a following of clients from friends, family and by referral.

My early mentors noticed my unique gift, skillset, and potential in my work. They began to give me clients which allowed me to imagine a bigger picture and have a bigger vision for my business and my life. Finding clarity and knowing my why for working in my profession has made it pretty much smooth sailing. Any little inconveniences, unexpected problems, or bumps in the road during my professional growth and development have always worked out to be beneficial and positive experiences that kept moving me forward in carving out a career path for myself in the hair care industry.

My reputation started to rise steadily and quickly. I was either very lucky and/or at the right place at the right time when three of my former employers transitioned out of the hair care industry and turned over their long-time clients to me.

I took a giant leap of faith and opened my first startup hair salon, THE HAIR DESIGN, followed by a transition into a new start up, NOUVEAU RICHE. I then transitioned into a joint venture as JOHNSON AND GUESS where services expanded to include an esthetician, manicurists, additional stylists, and I was able to hire my first hair care assistants.

The time came for yet another major shift in my career path along with a reinvention of my brand, services, and products. I closed the Johnson and Guess Salon. I settled into a temporary location that turned out to be just the healing and nurturing space I needed for reflection and renewal to create a new vision for my future. I was in a perfect incubator for new ideas and a newfound freedom to develop more cutting-edge, organic hair care systems and solutions.

I leveled up my education and knowledge of organic hair care with scientific-based research to create more effective natural and chemical-free hair care formulas for my clients. With the change in environment, my creativity went through the roof. The law of attraction kicked in with resources to implement a new brand image for my salon services and products. I began to be known as the “Mad Hair Scientist” and opened THE LOUNGE ON WILSHIRE in the Mid-Wilshire district where I’ve been for the past thirteen years.

Fifteen years ago, I was ahead of my time with an innovative and visionary thought that caused me to take another giant leap of faith. I began the process of transitioning all my clients out of relaxers and chemicals and into 100% organic natural hair care. It was a huge risk with a huge reward and my clients are grateful and thankful to this day.

As my client base continued to increase over the years, so did their needs, demands and expectations. Based on my intuitive ability to solve hair issues that no one else was able to solve for my growing clientele, I knew I had chosen the right career path for myself that was in alignment with my gifts and talents. The more I learn about my craft the more excited I become to advance and evolve the skills and knowledge that have brought me to where I am today. I have developed an amazing product line that is exclusive to my salon. I am more passionate and enthusiastic now about my work than I was when I opened my first salon. I’m looking forward to what the future holds moving forward.

Working in the hair care industry is what I was born to do. I am a problem solver and there are plenty of problems to solve around hair loss and scalp health. I am passionate about continuing to maintain and sustain my reputation of being the solution to those problems. I am entertaining some exciting and innovative ways to expand my business and services via “mobile distribution” to make our hair smoothies and organic products available to my hair care industry colleagues. I’m also excited about a vision to open a scalp treatment center. So many hair issues originate in the scalp, and without a healthy scalp there is no healthy hair growth. I’m on a mission to raise the bar by creating new result oriented organic treatments and products to diminish this issue.