We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emma Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emma , thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve been a Surgical Technologist for the past 13 years. On a daily, I would spend 10 hours being alongside a physician taking care of patients on the surgical side. In my spare time I’ve always been blessed with the skill to create art through hair. It’s been a passion of mine and it always has brought me joy. As I accrued more clientele, they ( my clients) have always encouraged me to do it full -time on a larger scale. It’s funny how others can see things in you that even you may not see or recognize at the time.Fast forward to the beginning of this year; I transitioned as a travel Surgical Tech and my last assignment was due to end in July. So with constant encouragement and the feeling to take a risk, I decide to try out being a hair stylist full time for the month of August. No real plan, just sheer will and determination. We’re now approaching October and I will say that I couldn’t have fully imagined that this was or could be a full time job for me. I think that a large part of that mindset was because of the “safety” of being in a career where my pay and benefits were guaranteed. Dare I say that this has been the most fulfilling and eye opening time in my life( there have been a few challenges of course) and I’m so proud of myself for taking the risk. I miss the surgical environment for sure and at some point I’ll be back, even if it’s in a different capacity, but for now I’m really committed to being present in the moment and working even harder to take my small business to another level.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I learned to braid at around 17 years old. I would braid my friends’ hair and people that I knew. When I became a mom, of course I would create styles for my kids. Once I started working and as I got into my career, it really became an outlet for me,as days in the operating room could be overwhelming. Through word of mouth, I began to gain a little traction. So, if I did my daughter’s hair or a co worker’s hair, people would inquire about how to get in contact with me. It wasn’t until my oldest daughter encouraged me to get an Instagram account that I started realizing that people were actually interested in my services. I began to be consistent with posting my work, created my booking website, and started networking with other stylists to learn and grow my business. I think what sets me apart from other stylists is probably that I don’t necessarily do it for the money. I love what I do so much that I would do it for free if I had to, and my clients can see that through the time I take to curate a style. Also, the time we spend can end up being a therapy session for them or just us sharing funny stories back and forth with one another. I’m invested in the relationships I’ve developed with my clients and they trust me to give them my absolute best at every single appointment.

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

Having an online presence has definitely helped me grow my clientele. Tik tok has been a huge part of me being able to show my roots( my healthcare career) and my future ( my hair business) . Additionally, participating in community events has also helped me with networking and getting my name out to potential clients.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Not everyone is your client, and that’s okay. I used to think that I had to say yes to everyone when I first started out. It was almost like I had this way of thinking that if I said no, then I wasn’t being grateful for the opportunities that were being presented to me. Unlearning this has been pivotal to my personal growth and in my professional growth, curating clientele that I’m genuinely happy to service. It’s important to have people that respect the way you do business, respect your policies and people who value your time. So satisfying everyone is no longer the goal, rather , it’s giving 100% to that group of people that are aligned with where you’re trying to go in terms of the direction of your business

Contact Info:

• Instagram: thebraidhaus_
• Other: Tik tok: braidhaus