We were lucky to catch up with Katie Wiggins recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
When I moved to LA in 2010, I was fortunate enough to be able to transfer my position from my previous corporate salon employer in Detroit. Moving across the country to start a new life no doubt includes major risk in itself. I was comforted by the fact I was going to stay at a company I knew and (for the most part) loved to ease the transition. After 6 years of growing a quite successful business, I knew I had the support of some very loyal clients, and started to wonder what my growth as a stylist and young woman looked like. In 2016, I got married, moved into my first home with my now husband, and took the leap to start my own business, all within the span of 4 months. (What can I say, I thrive in chaos!) Telling my existing clients that I was going to start my own private studio and hoping they would follow me on this complete leap of faith (and risk new traffic patterns in our lovely LA) was ultimately one of the biggest risks I have taken professionally, but I knew it was the right move for me. Katelyn P Style was born of a deeper sense of freedom, artistically and personally, that my higher self knew needed to be explored. The freedom to create in the environment that best serves my wonderfully loyal clients, full creative freedom of the way I execute my craft, in a setting where authenticity is the vibe was undeniably the best way for my to reach success. It still is. I’m into year 7 of being my own boss, with close to full retention of my clientele through moves to two new studios, a pandemic that none of us expected to last as long as it did, and becoming a Mommy to the most perfect little boy. That risky leap of faith I took in 2016 was one of great reward. I’ve never looked back.
Katie , 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?
I have always found that I do best with busy hands. Whether I am playing piano, cooking, or coloring/cutting hair, my hands are occupied and working. I initially got into the industry in the hopes of becoming a successful stylist behind the chair, and I loved the idea of playing with tools, but to be honest, I didn’t know for sure that would happen at the age of 19. Frankly, I didn’t know much of anything! I went into the salon with an open mind and a keen eye to detail, hoping that I would learn as I go, and I sure did! Spoiler alert: this is how we all learn. Becoming an expert at your craft, in any wheelhouse, but in this case hair, requires getting your hands busy and dirty. Learning different approaches to cut/coloring (as they are ever changing) while having an invisible minor degree in psychology is a skill that is perfected with experience over time. Over the years, I have found that authenticity is the way for me to be most successful, and for my client’s to be happiest. In my chair we discuss realistic goals to give you elevated version of yourself, with low maintenance “lived in” cuts and coloring techniques to keep you fresh, healthy, and pretty until you see me next. We communicate directly, and you can always trust that I’ll be honest with the achievability of your hair goals. The integrity/health of your hair is always first, no matter what we want it to look like. Your hair is your crown!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I’ve always said doing hair is SO much more than doing hair. What we are really doing is using a medium to connect with clients to make them feel/look their best. Communication, trust and often times inspo pics are the tools we stylist get to get our clients to their best selves. The rest is up to us. Sometimes you are in the chair for hours, and stories unfold! The most rewarding part of hairstyling as a creative outlet, at least for me, is watching your clients confidence and self love perk up, or sometimes even come alive right in front of you. People are physically attached to their stories, and our stories make us who we are. Being able to do my craft while we laugh and tell stories is what keeps me coming back everyday. To me, doing your hair is just me keeping hands busy!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I graduated from cosmetology in 2006 ready to work. I was eager and hungry to learn as a new stylist, had the physical capacity to work long hours, and was (and still am) money motivated. In 2007, just two years into my brand new budding career, my dad died from a very short battle with cancer. I was a month shy of my 21st birthday. To say this experience turned me upside down in an understatement. Grief takes you down winding roads that don’t always have a destination. Occasionally, it leads to you destinations you wish you never knew. While I can romanticize an idea that in spite of pain I persevered, the truth is, I just kept starting my days and finishing them, putting one foot in from of the other. Some days weren’t so bad. Some were horrible, and sometimes still are, but the space between is one filled with a resilience I never knew I possessed. Now that 17 years have years passed since his passing, I look back on what I was accomplishing while navigating a tremendous loss, and my success came from keeping true to myself and keeping my hands busy. My dad was an artist. He made car paint samples and was a color matching expert. He was an incredible musician. He is the person who gave me the ability to make a fulfilling career using my hands. Creatives create. That’s what we do, no matter what curveballs life throws us.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @hairbykwigz