We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Ruel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kimberly below.

Kimberly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Honestly, I feel like the whole trajectory of my career turned out to be a risk; but I’m so happy where I’ve ended up. I originally went to school for journalism and graduated with honors. I thought for sure I was going to be the next Carrie Bradshaw, but it didn’t really turn out that way. After a few unpaid internships that never even published my articles and some awful job offers wanting me to travel downtown Chicago for 25k a year; I knew making a career out of writing would be more difficult than I had imagined.

The turning point for me was when I had an interview for my dream job. It was an editorial assistant position for behindthechair.com. I had worked in high school as an assistant in a salon for years and thought this was the perfect combination of both my passions; writing and hair. I was so ecstatic. But, I told myself if I didn’t get this job I was done with writing for good. It would be time to find another career that could pay the bills. The interview went amazing and I even went to the same college as my interviewer. We really bonded on that and I thought I was a shoe in for the position. Of course I still received the dreaded phone call explaining that as much as they liked me, they had to go with the candidate who already had experience. I was crushed, but I had to face reality and move on.

So, I decided my next step would be cosmetology school. I can’t say my parents were thrilled about me going into more debt for another chance at a career, but it was the only other path that interested me the slightest. I was the oldest in my class at twenty-five and was a little slower learner than the rest, but ended up graduating first in my class and with honors. I couldn’t fail this time.

After school I assisted at some salons for $9 per hour and waitressed on the side. I wondered when I’d ever get my own chair and make enough to not have to kill myself with two jobs. That’s when I realized I needed a completely new start and decided to uproot my life; moving from the Chicago suburbs to Austin, Texas. I didn’t know what would happen, but figured things could only go up from here.

I got a job as a waitress while waiting for my license to transfer over until I landed my own chair at a new salon in town. I was over the moon that I was finally making moves in my new career. Of course just like all things that seem too good to be true, this salon experience was one of them. The owner was cutting my hours, moving clients off my schedule, removing my online booking button from the website, and just treating me all-around terribly. I just knew being a salon employee wasn’t for me if these were things I had to deal with, and I wanted no part of it anymore. I really didn’t know what else to do though. I only worked at that salon a year and while I was building a solid clientele quickly, I was mortified at the thought of venturing out onto my own or jumping to another salon and possibly be treated the same way I had been before.

But, I knew I had to stick up for myself. So, one day after work I brought in my duffle bags, packed up my things on my terms, and never looked back. It was the most freeing thing I ever did for myself. However, I quickly realized I had to decide, “well, what do I do now?” I was so scared of another bad salon experience that I decided to take the risk and look into my own salon suite. After a quick tour, I signed the dotted line and that was it! I was now a salon owner; one day after quitting my other job.

Of course I had no idea what I was doing, so I rapidly went to work figuring out the steps to successful business ownership. I ended up meeting a boy out one night who turned out to be a godsend. He helped me with everything about running a business (and would years later become my husband)!

I set up shop and texted all my clients, hoping maybe a few would follow me in my new venture. I got a job on the side bartending for an events company so on nights I didn’t have a client I could make the money I needed to. I figured just get through your year contract. If it doesn’t work out, move on from there. But just see this through and see what happens.

Luckily for me, a ton of my clients followed me! I was so surprised. Not only that, they sent me referrals and I got crafty with marketing. I advertised on Nextdoor and new to Austin Facebook groups. Anytime anyone asked about hair I sent my pitch hoping they’d pick me. Well, it worked! Business was booming and I was able to quit bartending. I’ve been in business 4 years now and have been more successful than ever. I get 3-5 new clients a week spending nothing on advertising and maintain a 5 star rating online. I even just got accepted as a Pulp Riot educator and will be starting the journey into education.

So overall, I’d say the path to this career was definitely a risk. But going from the lost girl I was to self-made, successful hairstylist and business owner was definitely worth it in the end.

Kimberly, 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?

Of course! Overall I’m a hairstylist, salon owner, wife, and soon-to-be mom.

I own Live Free Hair Studio in Austin, Texas specializing in blonding, corrections, and vivids.

I love to make my clients feel beautiful and help translate their vision onto their hair.

What sets me apart from other stylists is I really feel like I can relate to all my clients. I love getting to know about their lives and building a real, genuine rapport with them. This isn’t just a business transaction to me. This is my passion and I always want my clients to feel like friends and family when they enter the salon.

I’m very proud of where I started and what I’ve accomplished in my career thus far. I will always provide my clients with the best experience I can, and I’m so grateful to all of them for making my business what it is today.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I consistently take classes and am always trying to better myself for my clients. That’s also why I’m getting into education. It’s important to me to continue to surround myself with other amazing artists to build a community and learn from my peers.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is getting your name out there. Go to networking events and hangouts with friends where you can meet new people. Get referrals from clients and have them write online reviews so other potential clients can find you. Lastly, utilize all the free marketing you can! Use Nextdoor, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, etc. Facebook was especially key to me. I built a business page, joined garage sale groups, Austin entrepreneur groups, and all new to Austin social groups. People new to the area ask for recommendations all the time so it’s an easy and very effective way to promote your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.livefreehairstudio.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kimruelhair
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/livefreehairstudio