We recently connected with Kayla Bacon and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayla, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I chose to open my own private beauty studio just 8 months after becoming a licensed cosmetologist.

I’d spent my young adulthood working in retail management. I was enrolled in cosmetology school right after high school, then shortly found out I was pregnant with my first son. At that time, I knew I had important decisions to make for myself and the unknown future of my family. I chose to focus on becoming a new mother and unenrolled in school. My true passion and interests of the beauty industry were put on hold and I made peace with that decision because I knew it wasn’t permanent. I shifted my personal goals to motherhood goals and I’ll never regret it. I was 19 when I had my first son and 21 when I had my second son. I continued to focus on raising my sons while working an “average” job. My retail career brought many opportunities that allowed me to be creative, inspire, design, network, travel and build a solid foundation for my future. I immersed myself as deep as I could into my retail career. I worked closely with the district and regional managers, buyers, analysts, and was carefully selected to become part of the company’s fashion panel. They trusted me and my knowledge because I was passionate about what I was helping the company create.

In 2012, I moved across the country with my sons and transferred to a new store. I’m incredibly grateful for the company I worked for because I do believe it was an essential part of my journey. I’ve always been a very outgoing, creative person, but working in retail management gave me insight into how to run a successful business. Working with other goal-driven people fueled my hunger for more. However, the reality was that retail wasn’t my forever. I had reached a point in my career that was no longer serving me and became unsatisfied. My sons were getting older, attending grade school and more understanding of time. In 2016, I made the decision to enroll in a cosmetology school in Reno. I was also co-managing a retail store in South Lake Tahoe, CA and raising my sons as a single mother. I explained the details of my future temporary absence to my sons, as I would be sacrificing time away from them to complete school. I had 1,600 hours of school to complete before I could become a licensed cosmetologist. I was doing 10 hours of school a few days a week, with a 3 hour total commute. It was no easy task, but I kept my focus on the end result.

By 2017, I completed my hours, passed all my testing and officially became a licensed professional cosmetologist. My sons and close friends congratulated me as we celebrated my victory! Then, reality sets in. “What’s the next move, where do I work, do I work commission or booth rent, how do I build a clientele?” I tend to be an over thinker and was certainly feeling a bit overwhelmed. I applied for a position at Ulta and the manager at the time asked, “Are you sure you want to work here? You’re really talented.” I honestly wasn’t sure how to answer that. I just wanted a job I was passionate about to support my family. I was ultimately given an opportunity by two female hair artists who owned and operated a local salon in Carson City, NV. They both helped guide through the new territory of being a booth renter in the beauty industry. I didn’t have much of a clientele because I was fresh out of school, so being part of a salon where I could take walk-ins was a good start. However, my background in retail management came into play when it came to marketing and advertising. I created a professional page on Instagram and I used that platform to advertise my work. I booked clients for discounted services to give me the ability to further advertise the type of hair color work I was most interested in doing. As I continued to be consistent, I started to gain momentum.

Within the first 6 months of essentially being self employed, I realized that it didn’t quite feel right. I wasn’t working in my own space, it was someone else’s salon. That may not be an issue for others, but it was for me. I was working off the mountain, so the commute was farther from my sons than I wanted to be. It was just truly not a space that I felt expressed who I am as an artist. So, I had expressed these concerns to my dad, who is a very successful business owner, because I thought he’d have some good insight, as he usually does. He said, “So what are you going to do?” & half jokingly said, “I’m not sure, open my own salon.” He quickly said, “You should do that then.” I was hesitant because I had yet to build a significant clientele. All sorts of doubts were floating around in my head. Then, my dad made a comment that changed the entire course of my life – “Kayla, you’ll never reap the reward if you don’t take the risk.”

I took the risk. It demanded hard work, several different licenses, and my sons helping me paint the walls haha. But, two months later, I officially opened my own private beauty studio, Salon 978, in 2018. This year, I will celebrate 7 years of successful business! My studio space has transformed over the years, as I myself have transformed over the years. Learning, growing, expanding, retracting, but always elevating because the career I chose for myself is incredibly fulfilling. I’ve built my clientele all through social media and referrals. I don’t have a website, I have a specific way of being contacted for services. Consultation is key and I consider my space the speakeasy salon of Tahoe. I attract what I put out and my first instructor in school told me that’s how I’d be able to do the work I want to do. At the time, I thought it was impossible, but it’s true. If you build it, they will come. I get to create art on hair, build long term relationships, and make my clients feel good from the inside out. My clients are all inspiring, motivating, supportive people and I’m grateful we’re all in this together.

It’s been a journey, an evolution, and I’m happy I took the risk instead of the what if.

Kayla, 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?

I’m a vibrant hair artist in South Lake Tahoe. I own a private beauty studio, Salon 978, in Zephyr Cove, NV. You can find me on Instagram @betchstyle. My studio is across Hwy 50 from beautiful Nevada Beach. It’s a colorful, cozy space filled with lots of handmade art from local artists & tattoo artists, plants, unicorns and coffee. The essentials haha.

I’ve been a licensed professional for over 8 years & I specialize in custom hair art. Vivid hair color is my specialty. I love bright, fun colors. I find inspiration for my color creations in pretty much anything and everything. An oil spill on the pavement, I’ll replicate it on your hair. Feeling like a rainbow, I’ll transform your hair into a Lisa Frank poster. Really anything color-related, I’m down! Razor cuts, freestyle trimmer designs, blonding and “spicy basic” transformations are few of my other favorites. I dry cut majority of my clients, so I can see the true texture and movement of the hair. I’m also eco-conscious and have recently shifted to non-toxic brands to provide a toxin-free environment for my clients and myself. I create and deliver a custom experience for each of my clients because each client and their hair is unique.

A lot of people ask what the ‘978’ stands for, it’s my Massachusetts area code. I was born and raised in central Mass. My parents eventually allowed me get pink highlights in high school and my first tattoo when I turned 18. Ever since, I’ve been decorating myself as a form of personal expression. They weren’t very thrilled with me tattooing my face, but my tattoo artist, Natisse Thomas, created a custom piece that makes me feel beautiful. I’m heavily tattooed at this point. Owning my own business has allowed me to be who I truly am, day after day. No restrictions or judgement on my hair color, tattoos, or style. I turned my passion of art into a career and never looked back.

I’m a mom of three rad sons, they’re all involved in my business. Whether it’s telling me my Instagram reel is “fire”, offering to sweep hair, or requesting a haircut, it’s all love and support from them. I should honestly hire them as content creators because they seem to know more than me on the internet. I appreciate their honesty and realness, wouldn’t have it any other way. They’ve also learned a lot of life lessons in my process of going to school and building a business. I’ve always hoped to inspire my sons to go after whatever it is that brings them joy.

I’m a sober artist. I’ve been sober for over 4 years now and it’s been life changing. It’s given me a lot of clarity. I don’t talk about my sobriety as much as I should, which I’ve recently started sharing more of on my professional IG page @betchstyle. It’s completely elevated me to a higher level of success because I’m more focused, motivated, creative, and just overall a better version of myself. It wasn’t easy by any means, but it’s allowed me to really fall back in love with myself. The clients I’ve had throughout my entire journey often tell me how proud they are and it’s a beautiful thing when others want truly want to see you win as much as you want them to win.

I’m by appointment only. I don’t currently allow clients to online book with me. I have a new client form link in my Instagram bio that all new clients must thoroughly fill out to be reviewed before an appointment is booked. It may seem “inconvenient”, but not all hair was created equal. I pride myself on my consultations because consultations are an important key to a successful experience. The hair industry is much more technical than it used to be. Once the form is submitted and reviewed, I contact the potential client personally. From there, if there’s any additional questions for the client or for me, we discuss. Hair services are a luxury service and they should be treated as such. I don’t double book my clients, as they are paying for my undivided attention to their luxury service appointment. Unless, it’s a family or friends. Then, it’s a party. But, it’s always a good time at Salon 978.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Staying true to who I am as a person, an artist. I realize that I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s fine, because I’m a spicy chai latte. Most of us artists are having to brand ourselves and I’d rather play a fake persona. What you see is what you get and we also attract what we put out. If something doesn’t align with my values or interests, I don’t do it. I’ve set boundaries for myself with my business because my dad once told me, “no business is better than bad business.” If it does not bring me joy or it compromises my goals, it’s not for me. I started with creating the work I enjoy doing, the work I’m passionate about, whether it was a free/discounted hair services or creating social media content on a doll head. Start small, think big.

I built my Instagram to reflect who I am as an artist and what I love creating because that is my portfolio. Anyone can view it and get a pretty darn good idea of who I am and what I do.

The ultimate effective strategy for growing my clientele is my amazing clientele. They are my walking advertisements. But, it’s so much deeper than doing hair. I’ve built true relationships and friendships with the beautiful souls that sit in my chair. Treat your clients good, provide a unique experience, keep it real, and they will tell everyone they know.

I have a 70 year old female client that probably would’ve never approached me in public, but she worked nearby my salon and stopped in one day. I’ve been doing her hair for years now, including transitioning her to her natural salt and pepper hair. On one of our appointment days, we were having a great conversation and she stopped and said, “There’s the person I’m looking at, then there’s inside you.” She has since told me that she uses me as an example when telling others to not judge a book by it’s cover. It brought tears to my eyes, she’s a lovely woman. We talk often, she brings me fresh herbs from her garden, quilted me a gift for my birthday, shares pictures of her grandchildren with me, and all of those thoughtful things we share is because we keep it real with each other.

Believe in yourself, be yourself, and others will be drawn to you.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This isn’t an easy one to talk about for me, but it’s part of my journey.

The Covid-19 pandemic occurred just a year and half after I opened my business. I had to close my business for months, didn’t receive any PPE loans, didn’t receive unemployment for over 9 months (until I contacted the Capitol of Nevada), it was a very challenging time for me financially. It was a challenging time for most of us. I was paying for an overhead with no income coming in. Nevada State Board of Cosmetology implemented many new regulations and guidelines once businesses were able to reopen.

I allowed the frustration to consume me and decided to move to Florida once I found out I was having my third son. I continued to keep my business open, while I had two booth renters occupying chairs at my salon. I informed my long time clients that I’d be traveling back every few months to do their hair, but once I had my son, I wouldn’t be returning as often. I transferred my Nevada cosmetology license and received a new one in Florida several months later.

By then, I was 8 months pregnant and took one last business trip to NV to work at my salon. It was a nightmare for me. The AC in the entire shopping complex wasn’t working, it was extremely hot. I was so irritated that I verbally made comments to my friends that I was over it, I wanted to close my business. I didn’t want to “deal” with it. I was too far in my pregnancy to close a business randomly on a work trip. I needed time to process my frustrations and travel home and prepare for the birth of my son.

My third baby boy was born in fall of 2021. The day after we returned home as a family, his father left us. All of the joy I should have been feeling was ripped away in a moment. My friends were in Tahoe, my family was in Massachusetts, I felt helpless and heartbroken. I’d relocated my entire life to Florida, with the exception of my salon.

Long story short, three months later, my friends and family helped me get through that difficult time and I returned to South Lake Tahoe. I returned with very little belongings and started all over. But, I did have something, something I almost contemplated closing. I had my business, my salon, my safe space. I’ll never forget the first time I stepped inside my salon after returning. The yummy smell, the art on the walls, the feeling of the sun shining on me through the high windows. I started crying and I was so thankful in that moment. I was home and I had an entire village of friends and clients waiting with open arms.

There is a lot out of our control in life, especially the actions of others. But we are always in control of ourselves. Choose to be resilient in hard times.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betchstyle/
• Other: Beacons link: https://beacons.ai/betchstyle

Image Credits

1. Amanda Renner
2. Amanda Renner
3. Kayla Bacon
4. Kayla Bacon
5. Kayla Bacon
6. Kayla Bacon
7. Amanda Renner
8.Amanda Renner