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

Hi Jaela, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I wish I would’ve started sooner. Since I went to a magnet school, I didn’t have the opportunity to graduate high school with a cosmetology license, but I knew how to do hair. It is seen as a tradition in my family, so I had plenty of people and examples around. What encouraged me the most, was wanting to help around the house. In grade school, I wanted to make my mom’s life a little bit easier by doing my sibling’s hair and my own. My father was an active duty Navalman for a good portion of my upbringing, therefore he was gone a lot while my mom, younger siblings, and I stayed in Houston, Texas. This led to me stepping up more since I was the eldest in the house. I decided to take my talent more seriously and made it a business, while in college. I was a sophomore in college at the time and I needed the extra money to create the lifestyle I wanted. If I could go back, I would’ve taken more time going to cosmetology school, instead of going straight into college. This would’ve given me much-needed first-hand information, things that would’ve been taught to me sooner rather than later on. Such as sanitary precautions, tips to speed up service time, and business knowledge. I’ve never been afraid of hard work, especially when it comes to things I am most passionate about. I just know having that information sooner would’ve made pursuing this profession a little bit easier. At the end of it all, I know the pace I’m going is the pace meant for me. Regardless of when I started, I’m doing it. That’s all that matters. I’ve made some great connections along the way and I plan to continue expanding and learning more throughout my journey.

Jaela, 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?

Hey guys! My name is Jaela Amos, and I am a traveling protective hairstylist from Houston, Texas, now based in San Antonio, Texas. Doing hair started as a hobby for a long time. In grade school, I did it to help out with my sibling’s morning routines. Once I got to college, I became more interested in other styles and techniques, such as locs and crocheting. After practicing with peers for about a year, in 2019 I decided to take it more seriously. I started charging clients and creating my own schedule. It was rocky at first, but eventually, I found my rhythm. In 2020 I decided to take advantage of my time and get to know more about the beauty industry. I applied and got a job as a receptionist at JCPenny’s salons by InStyle, which became one of my favorite places to have ever worked. I learned so much and made so many strong connections. Everyone I worked with became a part of my family and has been a mentor to my current success. By viewing, I picked up on new techniques, learned the importance of networking, algorithms on social media, word of mouth, and how to be professional and build connections with clients. I took all of these things into consideration and that grew my business 40% more than it used to be. The most challenging thing has been to balance a college career and a small business. Sometimes I consider taking a step back from the beauty industry. I even become anxious with thoughts of not being good enough, but one way or another I am reminded of why I love what I do and why I have to keep going. Making people feel good about what they see while looking in the mirror is what drives me to be great and what sets me apart from most people in my field.
My clients come to me for my travel convenience, when they need a break from doing their hair, getting ready for a vacation, or simply wanting to grow their hair without constant manipulation. I’m proud of the relationship I have with my clients and I’m most proud of myself for believing in myself and having the courage to keep going even when I don’t feel like it. Joanna Gaines, an entrepreneur, once said, “The dream was for me to love what I was doing and get to interact with customers in a way that meant that I would learn from them and maybe they would learn from me too.” I want people to look at me hear my story and leave with the feeling that they can do it too, for them to know that I have a lot of integrity, and recognize me for my professionalism, always.

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

Patience. Sometimes it’s okay to just be still and I had to allow things to fall into place for me rather than forcing myself into things God hadn’t prepared me for yet. There was a time where I had no idea where I was going, what I was doing, and what I really wanted out of life. It took me just sitting and trusting God and my intuition while also focusing on what it was that I wanted to accomplish to get to where I am now.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Networking, word of mouth, and building a social media presence has helped me build my reputation. Pursuing this business has really pushed me to learn how to market myself. Lately, word of mouth has been the greatest help to me. The saying, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”, is very true. Some of the greatest opportunities I’ve recently had has been from word of mouth. I recently touched base with one of my line sisters and through my relationship with her I got the chance to be a hairstylist on the set of an awesome food brand commercial. What also has helped me further myself in my business is just being genuine while also respecting myself and what I have to offer. However, you don’t want to let being overly confident stub your growth. Meaning there is always someone that can teach you something and learning from others is something that I really value and appreciate.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://voyagehouston.com/interview/community-highlights-meet-jaela-amos-of-jaelasbeauty/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jamos1000?r=nametag
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaelasbeauty
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamos100?_t=8VkXNiJ1Jzq&_r=1

Image Credits
Katie & Castle