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

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

In the education system in general, I feel that it should be more departmentalized based on your interests for your career and life path. For example, college should take out some of the core curriculum and replace it with more classes based on your career of choice. Even with vocational schooling, such as a trade school, they should focus more on what their career will look like outside of school. I attended a hairdresser academy over 12 years ago, and while they did focus mainly on hair, we had to learn so much more than hair in order to comply with state board mandates. Had I been able to only focus on hair, I would have come out light years ahead in, not only knowledge of hair, but in the business of the hair industry in general.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a hairdresser by trade, and by passion. My husband and I work side by side in our own salon suite in Allen, at Ashley Danielle Salon. We are departmentalized, so I focus on the details of haircolor and extensions, and he focuses on the art of haircutting and styling. We want to create a peaceful environment for our clients, while also providing several amenities for them to enjoy during their services. Customer care is one of our strong suits, as we strive to build a rapport and relationship with each of our clients that will last a lifetime. I am most proud of my husband and I being able to work alongside each other and be a dynamic duo. Our goal is to always make our client feel pampered and comfortable while in our salon, and confident and exuberant when they leave our salon.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients is word of mouth marketing. Happy clients will refer their friends and family and it will create a snowball effect. Our clients are our walking advertisements, so creating beautiful masterpieces on our beautiful canvases is essential. With social media being what it is today, it has also become a faster and more effective method for marketing and promoting. For Facebook, I joined all of the mom groups in my area; this has become one of the best forms of advertising since I have so many clients in the area on these groups as well. An area mom will ask for recommendations, a client recommends our salon, then I reply a “Thank you (client name)! (Area mom, I would love to have you as a client, please reach out with any inquiries!” message. There are also many other area groups for business that are not parent-based if that does not pertain to you, which are also excellent for networking.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I suffer a lot from anxiety, mostly social anxiety (ironically enough). This comes with several obstacles when you are running a business that is so centered around client relations. There have been many times in my career that I have had to talk myself through a situation where there was potentially an upset client due to one situation or another. I have had to learn to deal with things head on and try and get ahead of any issues that may arise. I could have let my anxiety get the best of me and choose a different career path, but instead I chose to put in the work and learn how to navigate and manage my angst so that I could continue to do what I love and am so passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Website: ashleydaniellesalon.co
• Facebook: Ashley Danielle Salon

Image Credits
@chelseabatsonphotography