We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cynthia Valdez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cynthia below.

Hi Cynthia , thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

The beauty industry has been filled with unattainable standards that affect everyone. The beauty industry is an industry that often gets overlooked as non essential and shallow but truth is that everyone is impacted by beauty and most often than not is in a negative way.

As a latina i understand humans come in all colors, shapes and sizes so to me beauty is multicolored. How i see beauty and approach beauty in my business is not the standard and it should be. Beauty is and should be inclusive. What does that mean? It means not having to apologize for your hair texture or approach hair and other beauty services with fear based on the opinion of the person offering a service.

What we do is different because none of our services are made with the hopes to achieve a standard of beauty. Our goal is to create services that make you feel comfortable in your own skin. Beauty is not something we strive to reach , it is something we are when we feel beautiful and perfect in our own body.

Our approach is very human and intuitive at times, meaning the goal is feeling fulfilled, confident and strong with your hair rather than just trying to attain a standard of beauty based on a photo of someone that looks nothing like us or a lifestyle like ours.

The goal is to find your own beauty standard and create an image around what you love about yourself, that is representing of the lifestyle you lead and the way you want to show up in the world.

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?

I grew up in a hair salon my mother was a hairdresser of Many years so I grew up surrounded by passionate stylists. I grew up with a deep understanding of beauty and what it meant to everyone around me and what the beauty standard was. I Pursued a career in beauty because i knew that there was artistry that was very real and dynamic.

My love for up styling which was the first craft I ever learned from my mother pushed me to pursue editorial styling- creating collections that landed me finalist spots in the North American Hairstyling awards for the categories of New comer stylist of the year in 2015 and Hairstylist of the Year in 2016. An honor itself to be considered in such an important platform for the hair industry. This opportunity lead me to opportunities working with brands as guest artist , platform artist and brand ambassador.

Spending the beginning of my career growing my skill and focusing on polishing my craft helped me not just get to know myself as an artist but also understand the need my industry has and where my skills fit best to serve this gap.

Staying true to my values and the commitment i have to not just focus on beauty but the well being of the clients we serve at little thrills & co. Has been the mission behind every service we provide.
At the salon we hope we can create a look that feels good outside and inside as well.
The one on one connections we focus on behind the chair are the pillars of our work and the relationship with our clients that appreciate our approach to Beauty is what sets us apart.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We all want to find the clients of our dreams and it can be intimidating to connect with the right audience, In the beginning stages of my business in 2015 it wasn’t just the business that was new but also me as a new business owner and stylist. While i had a lot of fancy titles i struggled with self worth and that always comes across in your marketing. I have learned that you have to believe in what you sell and be very sure of who your audience is going to be to be able to take on the task of building a clientele.

Not everyone is the right fit and your business will certainly not be the fit for everyone out there, narrowing that out took a lot of patience , practice but above everything what i learned was self worth and value of my skills.

Once i realized my skill set was solid and i understood what my expertise was, it was when my clientele started to find me. I say find me because social media has been a huge help to be able to connect with people that i never would have met otherwise.

Having a clear vision of what client you want to serve sharing your work becomes easier and more uniform. It has been a great success for me to focus on the things i am great at and share those with my clients. Being transparent about what we offer and setting clear expectations has helped with the return rate as well.

Focusing on sharing your talent with people that align with your values is something that i found a lot of success with. My mission statement is all over my social media content as well as our website. I do not mean literally , i mean who we are as a brand is the first thing potential clients see and that is the best way to attract the people that align with you.

I no longer feel intimated by rejection because i am very confident in my skills, what i offer and what i am able to provide for a potential client. Rejection is a beautiful tool for re direction which helps you focus on the clientele that needs you without having to compromise who you are.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience is a word that i was very unfamiliar to me until i became an owner and founder. I had no idea what determination looked like until you have all your hopes and dreams riding on this one thing you love and believe in. I have had many opportunities for re direction, more than i ever expected. As a business owner you wear many hats and at times you have to wear them all at once or back to back. It is easy to forget that behind a business that has customer service, marketing strategies, etc there is also a person with a whole life that is often doing a balancing act to make it work. Specially for small business.

I have had to restart and edit so many times in efforts of not quitting that i have lost count. They say that once you have lost everything you also lose fear and i believe that is the main reason i continue to grow and thrive. Fear of failure never really leaves as your business grows you just stop letting it take control of the wheel. You learn to drive the car with fear on the backseat knowing that is there but you cannot let it stop you.

When you throw in a pandemic in the mix of running a close contact business things get very interesting. I never knew what resilience was until we opened a brand new location and spend all this money setting it up only to close it indefinitely as march 2020 unfolded. I remember during those times i knew the only thing that would keep my business and every business for that matter afloat was going to be creative thinking.

My mom used to always tell me “ think young” and i never knew what she meant until i had to think fearlessly, playful and creatively. Learning how to manage a business in the face of adversity was so crucial to the way i continue to run my business because the challenges have been great but not impossible to tackle. The creative muscle grew and when it comes to driving clientele to our business, taking care of customer and perfecting my skills being a creative thinker has been the best tool to overcome every challenge i have faced in the past years in business.

There is always a solution and a way to keep moving forward if you get your creative thinking hat on.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.littlethrills.co
• Instagram: @littlethrillssalon
• Facebook: Facebook.com/littlethrillssalon
• Other: @culturedmane on TikTok