We recently connected with Kira and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kira, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I actually started my first business, Parla Hair, in a way that felt pretty natural for where I was in my career at the time.

I was already a licensed hairstylist, but I realized pretty quickly that the traditional salon environment didn’t feel like the right fit for me. I loved styling hair, but the idea of working full time behind the chair in a salon just didn’t align with the kind of work I wanted to do or the lifestyle I envisioned.

Around 2018, mobile bridal services were really starting to gain traction. Brides were looking for hairstylists who could come to them on the wedding morning, and since I didn’t have a salon space of my own anyway, moving into bridal felt like a very natural direction to explore.

So I decided to go for it.

Like most people starting a business, I began with the basics: Coming up with a business name, printing business cards, building a simple website, and creating social media accounts.

At the same time, I was doing a lot of late-night Googling. I was literally searching things like “how to start a business in Ontario, Canada.” I was trying to understand business structures, registrations, taxes, and all of the behind-the-scenes logistics.

To be honest, it felt overwhelming at times. I constantly wondered if I was doing everything in the right order, and I had this irrational fear that some government officer was going to show up and tell me I had done everything wrong. Of course… that never happened.

In the beginning, a lot of my growth came from simply telling people what I was doing. I told coworkers and friends that I had started doing wedding hair and asked them to pass my name along if they knew anyone getting married.

I also focused heavily on Instagram. I didn’t have a big portfolio yet, so my roommate at the time became my very willing hair model. I would style her hair, photograph it, and post as much content as I could. It was really about showing people what I could do and slowly building credibility.

As bookings started to increase, I realized pretty quickly that I needed systems to stay organized. Wedding bookings involve contracts, timelines, invoices, communication with brides — there are a lot of moving pieces. That’s when I discovered Dubsado, which is a CRM designed for creative businesses. Implementing that system was honestly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my business. It allowed me to automate workflows, stay organized, and create a professional client experience.

Years later, the idea for my second business, The Bridal Hair Club, came directly from everything I experienced while building Parla Hair.

When I started my bridal business, I was figuring everything out on my own — pricing, contracts, systems, client communication, marketing. There wasn’t really a centralized place where bridal hairstylists could go to learn both the technical skills and the business side of the industry.

So I started wondering: What if there was an online community that had everything someone needed when they were starting or growing a bridal beauty business?

Transparency, honesty, and integrity are really important to me, so I knew I wanted it to be an all-in-one membership. No constant upsells, no hidden fees as content grew. Just a place where stylists could access education, resources, and support.

Community was also a huge priority. I wanted members to be able to interact with each other, ask questions, share experiences, and build relationships — because entrepreneurship can feel very isolating.

So once again, I went back to Google and started researching platforms that could host something like that.

Like most entrepreneurial journeys, it involved some trial and error. I initially launched the community on a platform that seemed to offer everything I needed at a lower price point. But I quickly learned a lesson many entrepreneurs eventually learn: sometimes cheaper isn’t better.

Eventually I moved everything over to Kajabi, which is the platform I use now, and that shift made a huge difference in terms of functionality and scalability.

Looking back, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that a lot of people get excited about an idea, but then get stuck in the planning stage. The planning can quietly turn into procrastination because launching something feels intimidating.

But the truth is, you don’t have to have everything figured out before you start.

Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

Your vision will evolve. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll adjust along the way. And the reality is — no one ever has it completely figured out.

The most important step is simply deciding to begin.

Kira, 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?

Hi, I’m Kira! I’m a bridal hairstylist and educator based in Ottawa, Canada, and the founder of Parla Hair and The Bridal Hair Club. My work sits at the intersection of artistry and business — I style hair for brides and also educate hairstylists on how to build profitable, sustainable bridal businesses.

I originally got into hairstyling because I’ve always loved the creative side of beauty. But once I became licensed and started working in the traditional salon environment, I realized fairly quickly that the typical behind-the-chair schedule wasn’t the direction I wanted to go long term. What I really loved was the transformation and energy around special events — especially weddings.

Around 2018, mobile bridal services were really starting to grow in demand. Brides were increasingly looking for artists who could come directly to them on the wedding morning, and that flexibility really appealed to me. I didn’t have a salon space of my own at the time, so building a mobile bridal hairstyling business felt like a natural path forward. That’s how Parla Hair was born.

Today, Parla Hair focuses on modern, effortless bridal hairstyling. My goal is always to create styles that photograph beautifully, last all day, and still feel comfortable and natural for the bride wearing them. Wedding mornings can be emotional and sometimes chaotic, so I also see my role as helping create a calm, organized environment for the bridal party. The hair is important, of course, but the overall experience matters just as much.

Over the years, as my bridal business grew, I realized there was another piece of the industry that needed more support — the business side for hairstylists and makeup artists. When I started, I was figuring everything out on my own: pricing, contracts, booking systems, boundaries with clients, and how to actually run a profitable service-based business. There wasn’t really a centralized place where bridal artists could learn both the technical styling skills and the business strategies needed to succeed.

That realization led me to create The Bridal Hair Club, which is an online education platform and community designed specifically for bridal hairstylists and makeup artists. Inside the membership, I share tutorials, business templates, pricing tools, and systems that help artists streamline their bookings and grow their income. It’s also a community space where members can ask questions, share wins, and support each other — which is incredibly valuable in an industry where many people work independently.

In addition to the online membership, I also teach in-person and virtual masterclasses, where I focus on modern bridal styling techniques, product knowledge, and creating long-lasting styles that hold up through an entire wedding day.

One of the things that sets my work apart is my focus on transparency and practicality. I’m very open about the realities of running a bridal business — the good parts, the challenges, and the lessons learned along the way. I try to teach in a way that feels realistic and approachable, because many artists are incredibly talented but struggle with the business side of things.

What I’m most proud of is the community that has grown around The Bridal Hair Club. Seeing hairstylists gain confidence, raise their prices, book more weddings, and support each other has been incredibly rewarding. Entrepreneurship can be isolating, especially in the beauty industry, and creating a space where artists feel supported and empowered has become a huge part of my mission.

At the end of the day, everything I do — whether I’m styling a bride on her wedding morning or teaching a room full of stylists — comes back to the same goal: helping people feel confident in their craft and in their business.

And if there’s one thing I want people to know about my brand, it’s that authenticity and integrity matter to me a lot. I only teach and recommend the things that I’ve personally tested and genuinely believe in. My goal isn’t just to create beautiful hairstyles — it’s to help build a stronger, more confident community within the bridal beauty industry.

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

Yes — it absolutely started as a side hustle.

When I first launched my bridal hairstyling business, Parla Hair, in early 2018, I was working a full-time office job during the week and taking on weddings whenever I could on the weekends. At the time, I honestly wasn’t convinced it could ever become a full-time career.

Living in Ottawa, our wedding season is fairly short — really only about half the year — so in my mind it felt unrealistic to think I could support myself with bridal work alone. My original plan was simply to keep my stable job and do weddings on the side for extra income.

But the more weddings I did, the more I fell in love with the work.

Bridal hairstyling is such a unique experience — you’re part of someone’s wedding morning, surrounded by excitement and emotion, helping someone feel confident on a really meaningful day. I started to realize how much creative energy it gave me compared to sitting at a desk all week.

Eventually my office job began to feel like a bit of a slog, and I started asking myself a different question: What would it actually take to make this my full-time job?

By the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, I started seriously thinking about making the leap. And then… the pandemic hit.

Almost every wedding I had booked for 2020 was suddenly being cancelled or postponed. At that point, there was absolutely no way I could leave the security of my full-time job, so I had to put that plan on hold and wait it out.

By the start of 2021, there was finally a bit of optimism that weddings and celebrations might begin happening again in some capacity. That’s when I made a decision: I was going to treat that year as my opportunity to test whether this could truly work.

Up until then I had only accepted weekend weddings because of my office job. But in 2021 I decided I would accept every booking that came my way — weekdays included — and try to fill my calendar to the point where my office job simply didn’t fit anymore.

And that’s exactly what happened.

By June of 2021, my wedding calendar had grown to the point where I knew I had enough projected income to make the leap. I handed in my notice at work, and by July 10, 2021, I was officially running Parla Hair full-time.

I remember feeling nervous — but it was the kind of nervous that comes with excitement. I had built enough momentum and bookings to feel confident that the transition was sustainable.

Since then, my business has continued to grow in ways I never originally imagined. Not only has Parla Hair become my full-time career, but it also led to the creation of The Bridal Hair Club, where I now educate other hairstylists on how to build and grow their own bridal businesses.

Looking back, some of the key milestones for me were:

2018: Launching Parla Hair as a weekend side hustle

2019: Realizing my passion for bridal hairstyling and beginning to explore turning it into a full-time career

2020: Navigating the uncertainty of the pandemic and learning to adapt

2021: Filling my calendar with weddings and officially leaving my office job to work for myself full-time

Today: Running both my bridal hairstyling business and an education platform for stylists

The biggest lesson from that journey is that growth often happens gradually. What started as something I did on weekends slowly built momentum over time.

And sometimes the side hustle you start just to explore an idea ends up becoming the career you never expected — but wouldn’t trade for anything.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One resource that had a really significant impact on my mindset as an entrepreneur was the book Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo.

I read it in January of 2022, not long after I had taken the leap into working for myself full-time, and it genuinely changed the way I approached both my business and the inevitable challenges that come with entrepreneurship.

When you run your own business — especially in the early years — you’re constantly encountering things you’ve never done before. You’re figuring out pricing, contracts, marketing, systems, taxes, leadership, and growth… often all at once. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or to think you’re somehow behind.

The core message of the book — that everything really is figureoutable — sounds simple, but it completely shifted how I think about problems. Instead of seeing something as a roadblock, I started seeing it as something I simply hadn’t solved yet.

That mindset has been incredibly helpful as I’ve grown both Parla Hair and The Bridal Hair Club, because entrepreneurship is essentially a constant series of new problems to solve. Whether it’s learning a new platform, building better systems, launching education programs, or managing growth, there’s always something new to figure out.

The book also reinforced something that I now share often with other entrepreneurs: you don’t need to have everything perfectly mapped out before you start. In fact, most people who run businesses are learning as they go.

What matters most is the belief that you can figure things out — and the willingness to take one small, actionable step forward. Over time, those small steps compound, and suddenly the thing that once felt overwhelming becomes something you’ve built, solved, and grown from.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.parlahair.ca and www.thebridalhairclub.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parla.hair/ and https://www.instagram.com/thebridalhairclub/
• Other: I have a podcast called The Bridal Hair Club Podcast hosted on Spotify! Here is the link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4GZ8hQljRASqbHC0QLs9Zr?si=e3ae10efcfa34d64

Image Credits

Amarah Creative Productions