We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Meg Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Meg below.
Meg, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Becoming a cosmetologist was written in the stars long before I was born. Both of my grandmas were licensed cosmetologists; combined they have over 70 years of experience! While most young kids received a play kitchen, I was given a play salon; shout out to my youngest cousin for being my first guest!
My Grandma Stella had a small town in-home salon; lots of perms and roller sets! When my brother and I would stay with her and grandpa, I would get up early and sit in Stella’s Salon and take it all in. I think I most admired her craft, creating the perfect style for her guest, and the connections she shared with everyone in her chair.
As I grew, so did my desire to join the industry. While in high school, I made a science project using all cosmetics & gave a speech about the history of hair. My first job at 15 was as a salon receptionist. I invested hours of my time there listening & watching. I asked many questions, trying to absorb the cosmetologist’s knowledge. For my high school graduation my Grandma Beverly gifted me her cosmetology textbooks from 1959. I started cosmetology school a month later.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After cosmetology school, I switched my role as a receptionist to cosmetologist, finally! After about 18 months there I decided it was time for me to try my hand at being self employed. I was just 22, but I knew it was the right move for me at the time. It was scary but I had a business plan, supportive family, and a solid work ethic. I loved it and still feel so much pride looking back at the personal and professional growth during that time of my life.
After 8 years of self employment, my husband and I took a huge leap and decided to move across the country from my home town in central Iowa to Columbia, South Carolina. I knew that, at least for a while, I would need to step back into the role of employee again. I researched several salons hoping to find a salon that I could confidently call ‘home’. I found The Velvet Edge in that search and nothing else compared. I have been at TVE for just shy of 2 years and in that time I have been asked to join the leadership team as the Education Coordinator and earned my instructor’s license. I now split up my work days behind the chair, mentoring new hires, and teaching classes.
My specialties behind the chair are working with a wide range of textures and creating beautiful dimensional warm colors….two disciplines that are commonly over looked at most cosmetology schools. I believe these two areas being my focus behind the chair are helpful to those who are in the training program with me because they finally get a chance learn up close and personal.
My guests appreciate my kind and honest input as we map out short and long term goals for their hair through the comprehensive consultation. As the lead of the mentoring, my guests also get a little peek behind the curtain as I explain the how, what, why, and when to my mentee.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
As I mentioned above there are several holes in the curriculum at most cosmetology schools. Once we graduate it is up to us, as professionals, to fill those holes. Two of the best trainings I have ever taken have been from The Dress Code Project (@TheDressCodeProject) and The Beauty Collective (@AllHairAcademy). The Dress Code Project is a global alliance of salons committed to providing positive, gender affirming services to all. The Beauty Collective is cultivating industry leaders by creating inclusive salons where everyone is welcome through DEI(B) work.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
A time that I needed to pivot in my career would absolutely be when we decided to move across the country; leaving all of our friends, family, and the business I had worked hard to build up behind. For most, going from self employment to employee again appears to be a step back in their career. I actively chose to not view it as that. I decided to take on the role of employee with the mind set of gratitude and view it as a clean pallet. Gratitude for finding a salon that had similar values to me and was willing to ‘save me a spot’ until I was moved and settled in. A clean pallet for connecting with guests and learning. When you first start out (or start fresh) you tend to have more open space on your books than you want. I viewed this space as time to work on building connections with my new guests and dive deeper into my craft through technical and business education.
Contact Info:
- Website: MegJonesHair.com
- Instagram: @MegJoCosmo
- Facebook: MegJoCosmo