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

Katherine, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I can genuinely say I am happier as a business owner. Having a regular has not been in my plans for so long, but I’ve had seasons where I had no choice but to get a regular job. I’ve never been happy at the jobs I worked because they were never jobs I was passionate about. Doing hair is my happy place. It allows me to be creative, make my own schedule and I simply enjoy it. I love making others feel better about themselves and seeing my work come to life and just get better each time.

Katherine, 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?

Hello, my name is Katherine (aka Kathy) and I am a 23 year old NYC native. I’ve had a passion for doing hair since I was a little girl. I vividly remember setting up hair appointments for my dolls every week and even doing my peers’ hair in high school. They would wait for me after school and we would sit in the hallways. I was literally parting their hair with A PENCIL ! It’s just so amazing to look back and see how I manifested it into my reality.
I basically do it all. I braid, customize + install wigs, sew in weaves and even style natural hair.
Over time I’ve learned to take constructive criticism and realized that it has helped me the most. I’ve had some experiences with unsatisfied clients and getting scammed. As frustrating as these situations are, I use it as a learning experience and move forward.
I aim to make my clients feel comfortable in expressing any concerns or dislikes, so that they are able to leave my chair feeling like their best selves. This allows them to know that I care about them, my work and I don’t just do it for the money which also strengthens my relationship with them.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2021, I was kicked out of my mom’s house and decided to take a leap of faith and move all the way to Baltimore, MD. I had to get my own apartment, continue school and figure life out at just 20 years old. My business had to be put on pause because I needed to find a job with consistent income in order to pay my bills. Working jobs I wasn’t passionate about + the many obstacles I was facing during the time, took a toll on my mental. During this time I was working at Popeyes and suddenly got the idea to put my business cards in every customer’s bag. This helped my clientele tremendously. Before I knew it, I was able to quit my job and focus back on my business. I had a consistent clientele again and it was paying the bills and then some.

There are many events that have taken place between now and then & I’ve had to relocate a few times, but no matter where I go, I get booked. My life has not gone the way I planned it at all, but I’ve learned to accept that God’s plan is always better than mine. He is intentional with literally everything He does. Everything I’ve gone through was meant to happen. Exactly how it happened. I’ve learned not to be ashamed of my trials and just embrace them. It’s allowed me to appreciate the blessings that much more.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

After high school, I would get clients here and there, but it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I decided to take it seriously and turn it into a business. During covid in 2020 is when my business really began to grow and I decided to finish my college career off campus so that I could continue to focus on building my clientele. At first, doing hair was just a side hustle for me, but when I was forced to move on my own I knew that it had to be more than that and made the decision to make it a full time business.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.kathyshairstudio.as.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathyshairstudio?igsh=MWt4ZW80Z2FqMjd1cA==
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kathyjai?si=hstHOvEAmBW9sjZ_

Image Credits

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