Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Hill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?
Yes – I absolutely take vacations! It’s imperative for my mental health and to allow me the opportunity to reset. My vacations can vary from a short road trip, to traveling by plane with friends or family or enjoying a staycation. My profession as a senior cosmetologist demands that I’m often standing, bending, and moving throughout the day as I service my clients. Not to mention the plethora of admin tasks that must be done week to week; it’s always nice when I can step away from the busyness of being an entrepreneur. It’s important for me to have a healthy balance so that I can also enjoy time away from the salon.
If you are an entrepreneur struggling to take the time off, I would recommend starting small and starting where you are. One thing I started to do is to take off one Saturday a month, which is taboo for many stylists, since Saturdays are typically a great money-making day. I’ve seen stylists stepping away from the chair on Saturdays to be with family and I give them kudos for taking that leap of faith.
It’s also important to set yourself up financially to be able to take off without worrying about money. In my profession, I must be at work to make money. It would be great to have another lucrative stream of income while you are away; especially, if your business requires that you be physically present. And save your money! It’s so easy to swipe, swipe, swipe but we must be mindful and disciplined so that we can live the life of which we are dreaming.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Jennifer, owner of Crown of Love. I’m a licensed senior cosmetologist in Maryland and I specialize in natural, healthy haircare. I’ve had an interest in hair for as long as I can remember. I am, what I’d consider, a late bloomer in the industry but every step of the way was well worth it. I attended cosmetology school part-time, while working full-time, at the age of thirty. I was unsure of exactly what I wanted to do in the industry, but I was certain about my love for natural hair. When I say natural hair, I’m referencing hair that does not have any chemical to allow the hair to be in a relaxed or straight state. This is what sets me apart because, at the time I graduated from cosmetology school, many women were just beginning to embrace their natural hair. On the other hand, I had accepted my own for nearly a decade. Honestly, I set up my business on a whim not knowing exactly what I’d be doing but I knew I wanted to have my own. I took the steps to get setup, within my state, and proceeded from there.
Deciding to start a business initiated a new level of discipline for me. The discipline came later though; I’ve endured overthinking and procrastination along the way. One thing that helped with that was having mentorship. I have utilized both group and one-on-one mentorship to help me to move my business forward. It also takes a mindset shift. I had to believe that it could happen. My faith also plays a huge role in my success – I pray daily for my business and for guidance on how to move forward.
I help women to understand and maintain healthy hair, primarily by providing minimal maintenance styles that allow them to spend less time on their hair routine and more time enjoying life. Besides offering services to clients behind the chair, I also offer a digital haircare guide for those that can’t make it to the salon, I offer a class to teach twisting natural hair, and I’ve held events in the past. I look forward to getting back into hosting events for my clientele. The thing that sets me apart is that I love to educate my clients while servicing them. I’ve decided not to gatekeep the products that I use; instead, I share the why and break it down in a way that clients understand. This is one of the primary things that sets us apart from other stylists. There is also a shortage of stylists that provide the type of styles that I specialize in, which is twisting the client’s natural hair. For this reason, I have clients that travel from near and far to be serviced by myself or my team member.
The fact that women trust me with their hair is an honor and brings me joy to know that I’m making such a significant impact on my realm of influence. The smiles when they enter the salon, the conversations that we have and the ah-ha moments that we provide are the icing on the cake for me. I’ve been maintaining a clientele of many (primarily) women and welcome new clients to come to us to be serviced. It’s one of the best feelings in the world to get up everyday and do what I love to do!
Crown of Love is hyper focused on providing an educational experience for our clients that allows them to leave our space feeling more confident and beautiful than when they entered. We want to help people to understand that caring for your natural hair does not have to be hard. It’s important to partner with a stylist that you trust to help with your natural hair journey.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Before I get into the funding, I want to add some context to my answer by sharing a little background. I initiated my business before I knew what I would be doing exactly. I even went as far to set up a business bank account and did not have any money coming in. I wouldn’t recommend this until you are ready because I wasted a lot of money keeping the account open from not maintaining the threshold balance. We live and we learn; I won’t beat myself up about it but that is part of my journey.
I left my full-time career after nearly 8 years at that company and began working for myself and had barely enough income to survive each month. After 6 months of struggling, I decided to join a private salon team and that was one of the best decisions I made. I started there as a commission stylist and stayed in that role for about 2 years until I decided to give working for myself one last try. Being a commission stylist was a great way to learn more about the industry, enhance my skills and build my clientele. However, working as a commission stylist was not as profitable as I’d liked; I had no idea how I would get the funding to buy the necessary products to transition into maintaining my own business. I decided to booth rent, in the same salon, and was nervous about the change, but it was time for a shift.
Primarily I funded the business on my own but the help from family and friends came in handy. When I made the change to renting space in the salon, I needed to buy products and supplies that were pertinent to doing business. Reluctantly, I asked my close friends and family for funding to get started and to my surprise they were more than willing to assist with my next chapter. I was so thankful, and this initial investment helped me to get started.
Personally, I have a challenging time asking for help but let this serve as an example that sometimes all you need to do is ask. You never know who would be willing to support you and your vision. I am grateful that they helped me with that next stepping stone. The rest has been herstory and things are propelling forward.
How did you build your audience on social media?
For anyone looking to build their audience on social media it’s important to be authentic, be consistent and make it fun! Primarily I use Facebook and Instagram, but I spend more time on Instagram. I would suggest using whatever platform with which you are comfortable. I started an Instagram account for business to begin to put my work out there for the world to see. I hoped this would help me to gain a clientele. It took time; but it did work out in the end. The most followers I gained, I believe, was over COVID in 2020. I was unable to work in the salon for 11 weeks, so I was home just like the rest of the world. I used that time to do a ton of posts, videos, live videos and continued no matter how I felt. It became an outlet for me and, of course, a method to connect with others.
Initially I was skeptical about showing my face on social media, but I tried it a few times (prior to COVID) and realized that people enjoyed it because they could really see who I was and I believe it helped them to connect with me and it made me relatable. Since I learned that this type of content did well, I continued to do it.
Authenticity is particularly important. One thing you don’t want to do is be one person online and be an entirely different person in real life. I’ve had several clients say to me ‘you’re exactly how you show up online.’ That’s the biggest compliment because my goal is to be relatable to my followers. People want to know that they can trust you. Often people will follow your account before securing an appointment weeks or months later. The more they see you show up genuinely, the more likely they are to become a client or refer you to someone who needs your services.
Consistency plays a huge role in gaining followers. If you post once today and again two months from now, I guarantee you people have already forgotten the name of your page and have moved on to something else. I recommend creating a simple schedule that works for you. Whether it’s 2-3 days a week for starters – be consistent. During the time when I was truly trying to build, I would often post up to three times a day. I do not follow a schedule so strict now, but I can say that when I am consistent, it is more influential.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.iamcrownoflove.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_crownoflove_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrownofLoveHair
Image Credits
Roy Cox (personal photo)