We recently connected with Alyssa Dotson and have shared our conversation below.

Alyssa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I have been a licensed cosmetologist since 2013. I felt like cosmetology school did not teach as much as was needed to feel fully confident taking any client, so I set out on a mission to learn as much as I could, training under top stylists, online with cutting systems such as Paul Mitchell and vidal sassoon as well as countless hands on classes, advanced academies and shows! I was always the type to go all in with anything I was called to! Whether it be giving the BEST customer service I can making everyone I meet feel special and beautiful and also when it came to the type of services I wanted to provide, I have always been passionate to give the best quality of service and keep up with the latest trends and even starting my own!

I now teach haircutting, styling and makeup classes, as well as work full time at a cute little studio and travel on location for weddings and photoshoots!

From a young age I read lots of business books each year. I always knew I wanted to be a creative entrepreneur and help others.

At this point I’ve read hundreds of business books, tuned into countless podcasts, invested in numerous classes, courses and workshops within my industry.

I’ve been wanting to create my own course and be officially known as a mentor to other stylists and makeup artists for SO many years now.

I started in 2011 with cosmetology school, interning with top stylists, getting licensed in 2013, building a clientele from scratch, many setbacks, but starting a successful freelance bridal team in 2016, getting to work with many models, photographers, and even have my work featured in magazines and commercials!

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 always loved all things artistic, creative and beautiful!! I KNEW I wanted to be in the beauty industry or fashion industry in some way!! I thought up until my senior year of high school, it would be just a part time thing and I would go to college for a “real job”, but I discovered how much I loved being in this industry and I was determined to.make it a living doing what I love!

I just couldn’t see my born creative entrepreneur, people loving self hiding in a cubicle 9-5.

From as young as I can remember I loved styling hair! I would do different styles on my hair every day for school and as I got into middle school was really when I started doing makeup. I would do different makeup looks every day, watch different YouTube videos and just learn as much as I could. So when I got the opportunity to go to cosmetology school I had just turned 16 and I was very excited to join cosmetology school and to learn more about the beauty industry.

From there I met a celebrity makeup artist who had been working for many years in New York City and traveling all over, working with different movies and magazines and working in television. I started to assist her, clean her brushes, ask her questions, watch and learn from her and then I started taking my own clients. I started to work in salons doing hair and make up as well as taking classes all over the US and online. I signed up for all the different workshops and education classes I could to really grow my skills.

I started my bridal business in 2016 and I started taking weddings all over northeast Ohio. I now manage a thriving and growing team of beauty professionals who travel on location with me as well as work in salon during the week!

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

There is so much I am learning and unlearning… like

Not everyone is your client, and that’s okay!
You have such a unique and special opportunity to really be a light to everyone you encounter!!
Do it scared!!
Stop procrastinating
Don’t waste time scrolling over posting, or consuming over creating
Don’t be afraid to really put yourself out there and be visible
Build relationships with people
Rest! Say no! Take time off! Set boundaries
Take care of your body!! Because being a hairstylist unfortunately comes with so much chronic pain, at least for me it has!!
Remember your loved ones should be your priority, don’t be so busy making a living you neglect to live your life!!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

It’s been a fun ride in this industry and I’ve been so busy working with my clients, team, and in my business, that I procrastinated on my heart’s desire to teach and mentor! I had to let go of insecurity, and comparison.

I often compared myself to stylists who had 100s of thousands of followers on Instagram and some of them upon joining of their sought after courses I was greatly disappointed!

I wanted to really pour my knowledge, expertise, and experience into this course in a way that wouldn’t be just basic information found on Google!

I wanted to really support other artists in this industry. I wanted to understand what struggles they had and learn how to really help them. I also listened to many customers and discovered why they chose certain artists over others. I listened to the issues they had previously.

For years I have helped both stylists on Facebook forums as well as brides in wedding forums. I saw the need our industry had. I saw the stylists who were exactly where I was at one point, burned out at times working so many hours just to make a decent income. I heard many ask for help on how to grow your team, create contracts, how to price your services, how to market yourself, how to improve your hair or makeup skills, how to improve your photography skills, how to provide luxury services, how to attract luxury brides, how to stay consistently BOOKED, what to do during slow season, how to duplicate the pinterest inspo pics your clients show, working with extensions and padding, dealing with client inquiries, handling payments, have success at bridal shows, network with wedding vendors, best products and tools to use and so so much more!!! So I created a course that will be launching very soon where I will be teaching everything you need to know to build, scale, grow, renew your passion and overcome burnout in your beauty career!!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.hairandmakeupcleveland.com
• Instagram: @hairandmakeupbyalyssa