We were lucky to catch up with Grace Mattes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Grace , appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I think to how many creatives and, in this scenario specifically, hairstylists are struggling to make a living in this industry and it tears me apart. It’s no secret that cosmetology is an extremely saturated (dare i even say over saturated) field. It’s a dog eat dog world out here and from what i have been told, the introduction of social media drastically amplified this dynamic. It’s harder than ever to stand out in this field, and how do we get clients and make money? By standing out. I made it my mission to become a 6 figure stylist at maximum speed. I wanted to prove the statistics wrong. If you look up the average salary of a hairstylist in the US it reads at 19K-41K. There’s still stigmas around being a hairstylist especially in places that are not major cities. In Indiana, where i am from, telling someone you’re a stylist is often followed with their assumption that you were not smart enough for college or too lazy to try. In Nashville, where i am currently living, people think you’re the coolest for being a hairstylist. There’s a major difference in respect across all fields regarding hairstylists. I think this discrepancy further facilitates old ideas that hairstylist don’t deserve the same respect/living as other careers. I want it to be known that it is possible to make the life you want for yourself and your family by being a hairstylist. I put it to the test by becoming a 6 figure earner in 1 year as a full time stylist. It take guts, major boundaries, drive, and the upmost respect for yourself as a human being to break through barriers of this field and make it happen for yourself…. But it is possible for YOU.
Grace , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Gray and I am from Indiana. Every since i could remember i was obsessed with all things fashion, beauty, and especially hair. I was 6 years old walking around a city of cornfields wearing snake skin print leggings and pink clip in extensions in my hair (thank god for my diva father who condoned this). My parents even built a little salon in my room completed with 2 of my very own salon chairs and stations. Anytime someone would ask what i wanted to be when i grew up, without hesitation, i would reply “hairstylist.” I’m not even really sure how i knew what it meant to be a hairstylist as no one in my family had ever chosen that career path or anything similar. Most people in my family are business owners, lawyers, and medical professionals. I guess it should have been no surprise that as i got older, chemistry, biology, and the sciences came extremely naturally to me. I became fascinated with the human body and how it works and all the systems it takes to keep the human body functioning. I ended up taking all kinds of AP science classes in high school acing all the exams and being top of my class in these subjects. When it came time to decide what i was going to do after highschool, i was heavily conflicted. I don’t think there is enough conversation about creatives who are equally analytical. I felt like i was being pulled in two different opposite directions. I ended up going to college at a small private school near Chicago. I majored in Biology and minored in chemistry and psychology. I worked my ass off to be top of class with plans of getting into a good med school so i could go on to do surgery. However, through all of this i felt like i wasn’t being true to myself. I felt as though i was completely giving up on the creative aspect of myself. I chose not to do hair originally because i felt like i had something to prove. Doing hair in Indiana is often looked at as something you so because you didn’t want to go to college, weren’t smart enough to get in, or had no idea what you wanted to do other wise. It’s a horrible stigma. I’m the end i decided to go to cosmetology school and i have never felt more like myself persuing this career. I used my knowledge of chemistry and biology to expedite the “learning and building” process of my career and became a 6 figure stylist in 1 year of being a full time hairstylist. I am passionate about helping other believe it is possible for them.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I like to think of myself as having analytical goals in a creative industry. I want to empower other stylists to see things from every angle. Whether it be about maximizing the numbers and income side or maybe expediting and deepening their knowledge through science, it pays to step outside of the free spirited creativity mindset occasionally. I think society often puts creatives in a box and tells them what they can and cannot be. Society tells us we’re great at somethings and not others. Often times were looked at as being bad with numbers, poor at handling finances, unable to stick to policies, and don’t know how to to create a meaningful and fullfiling YET financially prosperous career. . I’m here to say that you can be whatever you want to be. That can and include being a science minded, analytical, and well rounded creative.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist/ creative is the ability to build a life and support me and my family purely off of something that i was born with. I was born with the creative drive that has enabled me to become everything that i am. That ability was and always will be at the deepest parts of who i am as a human being. I think that is beautiful.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Jesse Paul (black and white headshot)