We recently connected with Chelsea “Cha Cha” Cantrell Counts and have shared our conversation below.

Chelsea “Cha Cha” , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue my creative path professionally was in my sophomore year of college. I’ve always enjoyed mixing & piecing my clothes together; trying things other people wouldn’t dare wear & making sure my hairstyles and my outfits were on point, and while in college I was able to tap into it even more.

I attended college for 2 years before withdrawing and truly loved every piece of my College experience.. The University, my Professors, Classes, the beautiful people, genuine relationships & memories I made were priceless!

I began doing hair for extra money while in school for the ladies on my dorm floor, as well as people on & off campus. I loved doing hair so much that I wouldn’t want to go to class at times. I would do their hair and then immediately ask, “what are you going to wear to the party, to the probate, to dinner. etc.. now that your hair is done?”
And then I began not only doing their hair but also style them for whatever function or occasion it was. It was pure enjoyment and so effortless, I could have done it all day.

I had never told anyone (outside of myself), that I was considering withdrawing from College to do something in the Beauty Industry until I came home on Fall Break and hesitantly shared my thoughts with my Mom.

When I heard myself say it out loud I was nervous to mention it because I didn’t want to let my Mom or myself down, however it was a huge sigh of relief to just say it.
My Mom was 100% supportive, always has been and to this day is my biggest cheerleader of me doing ANYTHING that makes me happy & brings me peace.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Since a baby I have been in & around the Film & Music industry with both my parents & close relatives working in the business. I’ve had a firsthand look and front row seat at watching people I love, have a thought and bring it to life for themselves and the entire world to enjoy.

My journey of getting into the Beauty Industry started similarly to my relatives and so many others,I had a thought with myself and began with being courageous enough to say it out loud and follow it through for Chelsea.

Once I made my decision to leave college and start Beauty School, I mapped out my initial steps with my Mom. I made a list of Beauty Schools I was interested in, toured the school(s), spoke with an Admissions Representative, chose the best school for me and began class immediately.

I made a decision to be ready to learn from Masters of the Industry, take classes, ask questions, participate in opportunities even if I was afraid just go for it Cha, & most importantly learn the various areas of business in the beauty industry because there are endless opportunities.

I made sure I represented myself by looking the part, practiced, studied & stayed in tune with the ongoing changes and connected with other Beauty Professionals.

My thoughts are that when you show up & say yes to you, God & the Universe will show up for you too, with the right people & opportunities waiting just for you and when it comes be ready to say YES to you.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As a Licensed Master Cosmetologist, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is seeing a vision come to life and someone else feel and look beautiful. I also enjoy giving others the TLC their hair or scalp may need that sometimes they aren’t able to give to themselves. As a Brand Manager & Product Developer the most rewarding aspect is seeing another version of a vision come to life for consumers. I want the products to be functional, timeless, rewarding and look beautiful.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

In my view, I think that what society use to say about artist/creatives is slowly but surely changing for the better. I’m a Millennial, I’m a creative and I’m not a starving artist or creative, I am a prospering, Beauty Professional that dropped out of college to enroll into my self-happiness and self-fulfillment that has placed in ongoing positions to prosper in many realms.
As a whole, what creatives, corporate businesswomen & men could do is assist one another in their business structure because for me it’s all about BALANCE! Corporate settings can be so serious and strenuous & creatives tend to have a very free-spirited view of things and that is necessary at times because sometimes people take their titles and positions too seriously.

I believe what society can do to best support artists/creatives is respect artist/creatives as business professionals because the arts are valued, necessary and appreciated. And as artist we must respect our business & the industry and be professional. It goes both ways.

For a thriving creative ecosystem, I think it would be great for there to be business structures in place for organization, longevity of the business in order for it to continuously flourish for generations to come.