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

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Drive and the ability to see failure as an opportunity instead of a negative. I believe the most successful people are the ones that continually grow, adapt, and learn. When someone tells them they can’t, they say, ‘watch me.” I’ve grown a successful business out of grit and determination. When the owner of the salon I was at retired and sold the salon, I took that opportunity to open my own suite. I was terrified to take the gamble on myself, but I knew it was the only option for me at the time. I love the saying, ‘visualize your highest self then start showing up as her.’ So I did, and here I am, constantly evolving into my highest self.

Emily, 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 the owner of Art & Chemistry Hair Salon. It’s my own little suite in the La Cantera area. I’ve been a practicing artist since high school and have always known that creativity was a need I had to feed. I was an art major for my time in college, then left college and went to cosmetology school. It appealed to me as a career that would nourish my creative side and my passion for education as there is always something new to learn in this industry. I’ve had my license since 2010 and always did hair on the side but have only been behind the chair since 2020. I got to do a lot of other incredible things from teaching beer around the country to having a pet service company in Austin but behind the chair is where I was meant to be. It’s my happy place. I get to create art every day and truly love what I do. I do complete custom colors and cuts, even calling each by the guest’s name– the Melanie, the Stacie, the Abby, etc. No two colors or cuts are the same. It’s completely yours. I love texture cuts and enjoy giving my guests easy styles that work for their lives.

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

I have two top things for finding new clients: social media and word of mouth. I have a social media company that really helps me take my presence to a new level and into areas that bring me actual clients, not just number of followers. I love having someone do this for me so I can focus on the business, my art, and most of all my guests! It allows me to have a constantly evolving portfolio, and a potential client can easily see if my artistic style is something that would be a fit for them. Finding a social media person that really gets you and your vision is key. Then word of mouth. I do some very precise cuts and very custom color. My guests are walking advertisements for me!

Have you ever had to pivot?

When we lived in Austin, I owned and operated a pet service company (dog walking, pet sitting, etc.) and when my husband’s company brought us to San Antonio, I closed it down and was facing an unknown career path. I didn’t want to open up the business again here, I knew I wanted to follow a new direction. I love animals and was hoping to continue to help them in some way. I landed a gig as the adoption coordinator for a local dog rescue! It was a big decision to go from my own boss to being an employee again and in a completely different aspect of animal careers, but both of those work experiences eventually set me up for being a successful business owner again. Often, we don’t know what lessons we are learning or taking from a curve ball, but they are always there. Along my journey to being full time behind the chair, I did a lot of different things and every time I changed paths, I had to pivot and adapt and grow again. I’ve learned from each experience, and it’s made me who I am today. I can look back and say, ‘I tried everything I wanted to try, and landed exactly where I should.” Starting over can be very intimidating, but it shows you how resilient you are. It shows you that the only limitations are the ones we put on ourselves. Life is too short to be unhappy or unfulfilled. Make the change, do the thing, decided what to be and go be it.

Contact Info:

• Website: artandchemistry,glossgenius.com
• Instagram: @artandchemistrybyemily

Image Credits

@seventeenth_social