We were lucky to catch up with Kerry Mitchell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kerry, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

Moving here from New York, I had no network, except my family who started me out referring me their friends and co-workers. Following that, I started in a commission salon who vowed they could NOT feed me any clientele so I was on my own. It was an insanely large salon and super competitive so I had to devise a plan. I knew that if I could get someone in my chair once, chances were I could get them back. So, I put my last $10,000.00 into a salon account and proceeded to do every person I came into contact with’s hair for free. I planned to do that until my money for supplies ran out. I went to stores, restaurants, people wandering on the streets and basically begged them to let me do their hair for free. When they did, I asked them who they could send me and I’d do THEIR hair for free and so on and so on. Within six months of moving, I had almost a full book of clients which during 2008 was no easy task. I have to add, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my salon owner at the time who was also an East Coast native and had undying faith in my ability without which I would never have been able to accomplish what I did in the short time I did it. For that, I am eternally grateful.

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?

My mother was a hairdresser and as in most industries, we were surrounded by her friends growing up who were also all hairdressers. It was part of my every day life and from a young age, we spent most of our free time in someones salon! I always had a natural flair for hair, always doing all my friends prom hair every year and always feeling really at home with it. I tried my hand at the secretarial thing for a bit, but in the back of my mind I burned for something more. I was blessed with an arsenal of successful hairdressers at my finger tips to help me on my path and one of them became my mentor and blessed me with knowledge and technique that I use to this day. Being groomed in this business in NY, I do things a little differently than most (besides the way I talk). We were trained differently, we focused on different areas of the industry such as razor cutting which isn’t as commonly used in Arizona as it was back home. Those slight differences in technique set me slightly apart for the rest, not in talent by any means, but in execution. That, coupled with my sometimes aggressive and direct NY attitude paved a way for me maybe slightly easier than some. Clients either loved who I was, or they didn’t. My approach to life and to hair is to pull no punches and to be real. Although it caused me a bit of a hurdle to climb over at the beginning of my career in Arizona, soon people learned to appreciate the honesty it brought and embraced what they had to work with and how we could work together to get them to THEIR best version. What seemed like it would work against me, actually wound up being my greatest attribute in the industry. When people come to me by referral they almost always say “so and so told me you’d tell me like it is and if it would be possible or not” and for me, that’s my greatest compliment.

Im an avid Loreal Professional user. Ive tried it all but always came back to that. Im proud of the products, the results and the fact that I can provide the same services without the use of ammonia is so bad ass to me. Ive been using Loreal Inoa as my permanent color line since it came to the floor and Ive never been sorry for making that decision. My clients love that there’s no offensive peroxide fumes and that it leaves the hair healthier and shinier than before they colored. The ammonia free lightener gives an amazing lift and shiny result that I can’t seem to get with powder lighteners and I don’t have to worry about jeopardizing the integrity of anyones hair knowing that it barely alters the cuticle. Ive had countless clients seek me out strictly because I use it, so its also aided in building my business to where it is.

Extension work has become one of my favorite parts of my job. So many women struggle with thinning hair. So many. Its heartbreaking. Its unfair and its so stressful for them. A woman’s hair is her crown and glory so not being proud of it, or even a step further, embarrassed of it…..not okay. The fact that we as hairdressers have the ability to take someone from hating their hair to loving it is a gift in and of itself. The joy people feel is immeasurable and every time someone leaves the salon with their head held high, not being able to believe ‘THIS IS ME????”, I feel like crying. Im blessed to be able to do what we do.

I’m so proud of my salon. I felt lost in Arizona. Nothing felt like home at work for me. So when I couldn’t find it, I built it. My small piece of New York. It feels like home to me and to most people that visit it, The clients bond with one another, the music blasts, some nights the cocktails flow, we laugh, we cry and we are allowed to be whatever we are that day. Fortunately for me, I found just the right family to work beside. A family that supports one another, creatively, professionally and personally. Without them the space is just space. They are what Im most proud of in all of this.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele was my existing clientele. When first starting out, ASKING “Is there anyone you can send me???”. People innately want to help each other. Your existing clients WANT to help you succeed. They want to play a role in it. Be vulnerable….drop your ego and ask for what you need.

Fine tune your craft. Nothing grows your business better than someone walking around showcasing your amazing work on their person every single day. Do everything, well. Make others want it. Be so great at what your doing that strangers approach strangers to ask “Where did you get that done?”. If you do, your referral business takes on its own life and all you had to do was be. Be great, not one time, every time.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The best example I think I, like most people, can show their resilience is frankly the past two plus years, maintaining a business through a global pandemic. Bending and swaying with new rules, fears, cancelled appointments, accomodating people for private salon times. The diplomacy you had to dig deep to find to keep everyone and their feelings and opinions relevant and at the forefront of everything you did. The panic, the unknown. Will it bounce back? Will they come back? Will it be the same? My team and I went through the fire together. Losing income, losing clientele, shutting down. It was a dark time for all of us, but for those of us in an intimate service industry the stakes were high. People are scared of people these days and no one can be blamed for feeling that way. Creating a feeling of safety when it was pretty scarce was the biggest professional obstacle Ive ever faced. I made mistakes but less than I could have and Im super grateful for that.

Trying to keep our faith when there seemed no end, trying to make people feel safe while getting a very touchy, intimate service was the challenge of my lifetime, if not all of ours. But here we are. Strong, successful and back on track. We kept it together when sadly, a lot of others just couldn’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: staindscottsdale.com
• Instagram: stand_scottsdale
• Facebook: StainD Salon – Kerry Mitchell

Image Credits
Photographer: Michael Franco _michaelfranco_ [email protected]