We were lucky to catch up with Dana Hayes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dana , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My name is Dana Hayes and I founded the nonprofit organization Junior Cosmetology in 2016. Our family has more than 40 years of experience in providing high-level cosmetology services in Port Allen and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The imprint left through my families’ hard work and dedication has provided opportunities for a vast number of young women and inspired others to continue in this field.

Driven by the inspiration of my late mother, Mrs. Ora Lee Breaux Williams, It was her influences that led me to pursue a career in cosmetology for over thirty years myself. As a child she had me assisting in the salon and she taught me how to properly shampoo and blow dry. She would allow me to put clients under the dryer with deep conditions. She also taught me how to braid, use the Marcel curling iron and so much more. I grew up in the salon. I watched her run her own business, achieve self wealth and enjoy her craft all while uplifting women and young girls.

The mission of Junior Cosmetology is to inform, uplift, and inspire young women to reach their professional goals. It is our goal to positively impact participants to develop transferrable skills that create access to opportunities for long-term success. Just as the opportunity was presented to me, it was necessary to create a platform that enhances internal and external beauty while developing skills that promote long-term future sustainability. Since our conception, we have taught, inspired, and guided over 300 students.

As a non-profit, Junior Cosmetology seeks to serve our youth ages 7-17 by focusing on teaching professional development and cosmetology as a trade skill. Through this positive youth development program,  youth learn the fundamentals of cosmetology such as professional etiquette, professional attire, and the basics to begin styling clients. Junior Cosmetology teaches universal life skills by offering a safe space for girls to interact with peers, build social skills, develop hobbies, and most importantly develop self worth and identity to reach their goals.

STEM & entrepreneurship are learning outcomes for participants of this program. It’s our responsibility and mission to fill the gap for professional vocations, STEM, & entrepreneurship.

Dana , 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?

My name is Dana Hayes. I’m a native of Port Allen, Louisiana. I’m a wife and mother. I have two beautiful daughters named Hanna and Laila. I’m a licensed Cosmetologist and I have over thirty years of experience in the profession. I specialize in healthy hair and human hair extensions. I’m also a Salon owner and educator. I also started the nonprofit organization Junior Cosmetology in 2016.

As a professional cosmetologist I’ve had a successful career. Being a Cosmetologist has great benefits and I love them all! I Love transforming my clients hair into something beautiful and a style they love. I love being a listen ear, of course. I’ve had many clients come in the salon sad or upset with life or whatever and once they have gotten their hair shampooed, conditioned and styled their entire mood changes. My clients leave with a great big smile and ready to take on the world and I love it! I am blessed to have the ability to do something I absolutely love and get paid for it. When I go to work, it never feels like work. And not many people can say that. Im blessed to be a blessing to others. I’m using my gifts, talentes and my passion to inspire other women and young girls.

One of my greatest professional accomplishments was when I founded my nonprofit Junior Cosmetology in 2016.
I was greatly inspired by my mother and older sister who is a stylist as well and have also been styling hair for over thirty years herself. So, I was surround by great hairstylist and business woman and entrepreneurs my entire life. Just like my daughters are experiencing with me. My mom was the perfect example of an entrepreneur and a smart business woman. I assisted and learned under my mom as a junior stylist. She taught me the art of hairstyling at a very early age. And that’s what sparked my interest. In the field of Cosmetology. I finished cosmetology school in 1998 and haven’t looked back since. Being a great hair stylist teaches you many different
skills that I continue to use and carry with me each day. I love and to help and inspire others who are watching.

I can remember when I was in elementary school I would add hair extensions to my ponytails to make them longer. I was in middle school when my mom taught me how to care for my hair correctly and she also taught me the basics of cosmetology. And I loved it! It opened up so many opportunities for me. I knew I wanted to be a hair stylist at an early age. That’s what sparked my idea that other kids would love a chance to be junior stylist and learn the fundamentals cosmetology.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Junior cosmetology is a nonprofit organization that relies heavily on sponsorships and donations in order to be able to provide the cosmetology training along with the necessary tools. Each kid that participate in our Junior cosmetology program receives a Junior Cosmetology practice kit for home. which includes; Mannequin with stand
* Combs
* Brushes
* Gel/ edge control
* Pads for hot tools to lay on
* Braid hair
* Braid stand
* Hair stray
* Color gel
* Junior cosmetology apron
* Junior cosmetology cape
* Junior cosmetology haircare book
* Junior cosmetology product bag
Before Junior Cosmetology was founded in 2016, I had no real clue what running a successful nonprofit entailed. I had never experience asking anyone for money or partnership in order to put on an event or show to that point of solely depending on donations to fund and support my vision to host a successful event. For me the concept alone was scary and intimidating. Calling, emailing and reaching out to strangers for donations and partnerships was crazy… Running my nonprofit has truly humbled me. I realized in order for me to succeed with my vision to inform, uplift, and inspire young women and girls to reach their professional goals with strong foundations of self worth and work ethic I had to develop tough skin and eventually I realized that their was a method to all this madness. First, I would have to get over the fact that eventually I would be told No. I had to learn not to take anything personal. Which was very hard when you need the support. People have great intentions oh helping and supporting, but not always following through. There were many lessons learned throughout this process. Finding potential donors or sponsors who believed in my vision and my story and wanted to support was not easy. The process began with sending out emails which included a sponsorship letter along with donations amounts. I had to follow up with those emails which consumed a lot of time. I also learned how to fundraise. I hosted the first ever Kids only hair show. The kids were the stylist and had a opportunity to showcase their natural talents on stage. They were able to style live clients. All the kids had the support and love of their families. This event was very successful and served as a fundraiser for the organization to raise money. I was able to secure some great sponsorships and donations, I was able to build new business relationships. My courage was building and went full force with my vision. I did a lot of networking to build up my brand and met people who were in positions to help and support my organization. Ive had great opportunities to be featured on the News, radio station and magazines to Share my story. I had the pleasure of speaking on many different panels regarding Junior Cosmetology and how I got started. I was also able to give some advice based on my experience starting and successfully running a nonprofit. I’ve learned that it takes community effort to have a successful organization and be able to provide services your community with positive influence. The saying it takes a village is so true when operating a nonprofit. Community partnerships are the most important.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I created a Junior Cosmetology handbook which also serves as a seven day journal. This book includes fundamental information about cosmetology, makeup and hygiene. WE also included homemade lipgloss and facial recipes as well. I created this book on Canva and once I perfected the book to my liking I was ready to publish it, but I had no clue how due to the fact this would be my first book I’ve written and self published. I did a lot of research and found publishing on Amazon was the easiest for me. It had the simplest instructions. Because the book was already formatted and designed on Canva all I had to do was upload the body of the file of the book onto Amazon Platform. I then had to add the front and back cover. And my next step was proofing the book. Once I approved the book Amazon publishing company also proofed the book and made sure everything is within guileless to have a flawless book without errors. When it was clear to proceed to publish the book, I selected the outlet I wanted to sell on. Which was Amazon, I set the amount I wanted to sell the book for. I connected my bank account in order to be able to accept payments. I had the option of ordering Authors copies to have on hand or to proof. My Junior Cosmetology handbook is sold on Amazon and has been doing really well, This experience was simple and easy. I would definitely recommend publishing and selling on Amazon. This has been a wonderful experience. I decided on Amazon ultimately because of the one million business customers worldwide, International Expansion, Low printing cost, Has the ability to offer business pricing and quantity discounts. Simple and easy dashboard with all of your book information. My experience has been great selling on Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @juniorcosmetology
• Facebook: Junior Cosmetology