We recently connected with Bianca Gonzales and have shared our conversation below.
Bianca , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?
The most misunderstood career, especially to Corporate America, in my opinion, is hairdressing. To Corporate America it’s “just a haircut” or “a quick color”. It’s so much deeper than “just a haircut”. From my experience, 13 years in this wonderful industry, I’ve encountered such exciting and celebratory milestones for my clients such as first day of school stories, graduations, engagements, weddings, pregnancies, babies being born, and even the purchase of their first homes. I’ve also been in the position where I’ve had to wipe tears because of a close family passing, eviction, cars being repossessed, breakups and divorce. When repeat clients continue to come for “just a haircut” or “a quick color”, there’s so much life that’s being caught up on and shared between the hairdresser and client, the client can sometimes feel like family because of the trust in the relationship that’s being/ has been built. This matters because beyond making my guests feel so much more beautiful on the outside, I’m also able to create a safe space where they feel comfortable to release and share the highs and lows of life, which makes them feel so much better internally.
Bianca , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Bianca Gonzales and I am the founder of Hair We Go Mobile Experience. I’ve been in the hair industry for thirteen years and counting. Upon graduating high school, I had the dream of becoming a nurse. I was doing the commute from Temecula to Cal State San Marcos for a year, until I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter. This is what changed my entire story. Once my first year was completed at Cal State, I was able to find a school not only closer to home, but that would also accommodate my schedule of being a single mom. Two weeks after giving birth to my healthy baby girl, I started my first day of cosmetology school. Initially I would go to school from five to ten in the evening, then once my daughter got a bit older, I felt comfortable enrolling her into daycare, which allowed me to become a full time student, and in turn graduate sooner. I graduated in about fourteen months and actually was offered a job before even graduating. Immediately after graduating, I was able to start working in my first ever salon. Although I was extremely nervous, I took all clients that were given to me with no hesitation, which helped me learn a lot in a short span of time. After working there for about a year, I then went on to have 4 other salon jobs within where I was able to get so much knowledge under my belt. In 2020, covid happened and shut everything down. Once that happened, I became not only a stay at home mom, but also a teacher. I soon realized, I missed working so much, doing hair is not only my career but my passion. My fiance knew my feelings, and was an essential worker at the time, so he couldn’t relate, but understood. He came home from work one day with the photo of a van on his phone, the van was actually a barbers van that was listed for sale. His thought process was, “if a barber can do it, why can’t you?” So we drove from Oceanside to Montclair that night to see the van in person. My initial thought after seeing the van was “no”. There was so much work that had to be put into it, the state it was in, I would not was to get my hair done, let alone pay for the service in this vehicle. My fiance was able to talk some sense into me and help me look past the surface and see the potential of what could be done. So we purchased the van and brought it home! The next step required lots of blood sweat and tears, renovating the van, on our own. Because I invested all of my life savings into the van, money was a bit more tight when it came to renovations. On our own, we were able to install a new shampoo bowl, renew the flooring, and paint the inside, but the state of California required so much more than that. This is when we decided to hire reinforcements. We thankfully were able to find a business that specialized in sprinter van conversions. In the mean time, I was able to get the admin work complete and focus on being a stay at home mommy. Once the van was complete, I was able to reach out to the California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to schedule a date for inspection. The date was set, in the mean time, I had to learn to drive a 23 foot vehicle. Not only did I have to learn to drive, I had to learn how the whole inside of the van functioned. From the light switches, water heater, inverter, generator, toilet, and television. It was very scary and uncomfortable at first, especially because it was so new and beautiful, I didn’t want to break anything. Not only did I get the inside converted, I was able to get the outside a fresh wrap job and this made the van look new not only on the inside, but now the outside! It felt as though everything was falling into place and dreams were becoming reality. Inspection day came, and the van passed with flying colors. The inspector even said “I’ve never seen anything like this”. This made me feel so proud, and eager to get on the road and get clients into the van to be able to experience it in all its glory! Hair We Go was born, and the rest is history. I’ve been in business for 4 years, loving each day I’ve been blessed to be behind the chair. One big lesson I learned in the whole process of building this business from the ground up is nothing is impossible. Impossible is only what you limit you mind to, no dream is too big. I’m so grateful that with my mobile business, I’ve been able to accommodate stay at home moms, work from home moms, and even women who enjoy the privacy of having their service provided in a one on one setting.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When the state board of barbering and cosmetology came to inspect the van, everything passed with flying colors. The inspector was even speechless at how beautiful it turned out stating “I’ve never seen anything like this”. Super proud moment, the last piece she needed to give us the actual “pass” documentation was the actual length of the mobile unit/van. California’s rules and regulations require the mobile unit to be 24 feet in length. Once I found the Carfax, I soon realized, the van was only 23.75 feet long. My heart was shattered and I felt so defeated. I’d already come this far, just for this to feel like the end and definitely made me think “why did I do this, I knew it was too good to be true.” I shed countless tears, called limo companies to inquire if they’d be able to add length to the van, they responded with no. I looked up tow hitches to possibly add that extra required length, my goal was to exhaust all resources because in my head I didn’t come this far, just to come this far. My last option was to e-mail the director of state board, so I did just that. I emailed him the long, detailed explanation of myself, my family, and how “Hair We Go” was born. About two weeks after sending that e-mail, with no response from him, I went to check my mail and my “mobile unit business license” was there! I cried tears of joy. All my energy, money, time and tears had paid off and I’m so very thankful I didn’t just take no as an answer.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
While I worked my previous salon jobs, I was actually blessed to have my parents who owned their home in Temecula, Ca. In this home, they had a formal dining room that was just collecting dust. They recognized my passion and talent when it came to hairdressing and decided to build an in home salon for me to have access to when I was not clocked into my 9-5 salon job. Outside of being a mommy, hair consumed my life and I was able to build a clientele for my in home salon. The money I would make at home was just extra money I saved and wasn’t sure what my goal was with it. I am so very grateful to my parents for this because if it were not for them, I would not have been able to save up the funds necessary to start the business I have now.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/hairwego.mobile
Image Credits
Jesus Salazar
Instagram: @real.jesus_