Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hilary Smiley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hilary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I am so happy because I love what I do. Not a lot of people get to wake up and feel passionate about their career. I am my own boss so I have complete creative freedom and control in my job. I can take time off if I want to, no need to submit a request to my boss. I control my schedule and work when I want and make my own prices. Sure there are days where I get stressed and burnt out like anyone else. Clients cancel, running out of the color you need, or those weeks where everything feels like it going wrong and you’re taking hit after hit. Those days I sometimes question if I want to continue doing this for the next 20 years and how nice it would be sometimes to have a regular 9-5 where I sit at a desk and clock in somewhere. Always having nights and weekends free to spend with your friends and family. I love my job too much to ever change careers though. I wake up excited to go to work everyday. I get to be creative and am constantly inspired by things that I’m able to incorporate into my work. Being a hair stylist is what I feel I was meant to do and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
Hilary, 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?
Hi! I’m Hilary Smiley, a licensed hairstylist of 7 years. I’m originally from Missouri and I’ve lived in LA for 10 years now. Growing up I loved getting my hair done and had an interest in anything related to hair, makeup, or fashion. Once I moved to LA in 2014, I wanted to get my license and become a hairstylist so I enrolled in Paul Mitchell the School and did their cosmetology program for 2 years. I got my license in 2017 and worked as an assistant for 2 more years. In 2019 I started working behind the chair at Butterfly Loft Salon in Encino, CA. I specialize in edgy and modern cuts and color. My clientele is very 50/50. I have a lot of creative color clients that love to do funky high contrast color blocking & two-tone hair but I also do naturals like lived-in highlights & dimensional balayages on blondes, brunettes, and redheads. My clients are edgy, cool, independent people that love to change up their looks and want to invest in the best for their hair. I’m the type of stylist that is buying the best products for my clients and keeping up with the latest trends and styles and always trying to elevate my skills.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is having people genuinely value the work I do and I love watching my clients face change to absolute joy when they see their hair finished. Knowing that I’m the reason for their joy when they look in the mirror at themselves and love what they see. It is a feeling that I wish more people could experience.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
The key to building an audience on social media is consistency and knowing who your audience is. To build your audience quickly you want to post frequently, 1-2 times per day everyday. Utilizing viral trends to gain traction and then narrowing down your audience and type of content you want to do. In the beginning I posted multiple times a day everyday. I used geo-tags to help my posts/videos reach people in certain areas and when writing out captions I addressed potential clients looking at my content. My advice for anyone starting out on social media wanting to build an audience is being consistent and authentic. It’s not bad to be inspired by other people but your audience can tell when you aren’t being authentic to yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hilarysmiley.com
- Instagram: @hilarysmileyhair
- Other: Tiktok: @hilarysmileyhair
Image Credits
Photos of me in the salon: by Dan Smiley