We recently connected with Erika Vaught and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erika, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

The biggest risk I’ve taken so far is moving my career and business from Detroit to Los Angeles. At the time, I’d been behind the chair for about 11 years. I specialize in creative color, which can be a niche offering in some markets. I was doing my best to build a clientele open to what I wanted to create, and was blessed to have a community of people who were into it, but I knew that community would be much larger in a big market- especially Los Angeles. After bugging the amazing people at Hair for over a year, I finally got an opportunity to meet them and join the team and the risk has paid off in a major way. It was terrifying, but it’s incredibly rewarding on the other side of it.

Erika, 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 Erika Vaught. I started cosmetology school immediately after high school, and have been working on my craft for the 13 years since then. I offer the full range of hair services; Cut, color, styling, extensions, color corrections, and balayage, but my favorite is funky cuts/colors.

I think what sets me apart and what I’m most proud of is: I care about your hair as much as you care about your hair. I know how much peoples appearance, and the way they express themselves, means to someone, and it’s an honor to get people’s trust with these things. I care very deeply about doing right by my clients and making sure that they feel amazing when they leave my chair, and I pride myself on never “punching the clock” with my work or my clients.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

My most effective strategy for growing a clientele from scratch has been “availability is the best ability”. The couple times I’ve been new at a Salon or in a Market, I stay at the salon just as much when my books are empty as I do when they’re full. Eventually, walk-ins and one offs are pieced together, and if given the right amount of effort, those people will return. Repeating that process until my books are full has been a winning formula for me.

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

Social media and word of mouth is king these days. Most of my clients find me through friends or through Instagram, and I feel blessed to have a platform that I can share my work on, and re-share my clients excitement after they’ve come in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hairlosangeles.com
• Instagram: Erika.v_hair
• Yelp: hair los angeles