We recently connected with Natasha Taylor and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I don’t necessarily wish I would have started sooner; I wish I would have been more intentional and put the business first in my Hair Business. When I started my hair business I was still living in Baltimore,MD which is where I am from. I was working in corporate and hated it, I started selling hair because I was already doing hair on the side (mainly extensions) so it made sense. At the time I didn’t think I was going to end up doing hair professionally, so I was focused on my hair business, but I still wasn’t doing that “right”.

Being more intentional earlier about my business and taking it more seriously would have allowed me to become more successful in my business and career as a hairstylist sooner. I should have taken the time to be more business oriented & do the beginner work first! I was focused on an outcome that I didn’t put the work into receive. If I could go back, I would have put Business First!

Natasha, 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?

My name is Natasha Taylor & I am from Baltimore, MD. Born & raised! I attended Delaware State University and graduated in 2009. In 2014 I moved from Baltimore to NYC to pursue my career as a Hairstylist (professionally). I quit my job, packed up my car, & moved here with $626. A dollar & a dream…literally. I enrolled in Aveda Institute full time to obtain my Cosmetology Certificate and then became licensed as a NYS Licensed Cosmetologist.

I got into hair because I have been doing it all my life, I have 4 sisters and growing up my mother taught me how to do hair, all the basics! From there I did hair, but I didn’t take it serious until I moved to NYC in 2014. I started my hair business in 2011 and I provide top tier quality hair for the fly & motivated boss babes! I help women exude their confidence, starting with their crown. What sets my hair business apart from all others hair companies is my customer service & the quality of hair I provide. Over the years I have made that a priority because I noticed the hair industry was lacking that. I have figured out a way to balance my career as a Session Hairstylist & Beauty Business Owner. As a Session Hairstylist my niche is Beauty, Textured Hair, & Hair Extensions, I like to get Creative w/ Hair Looks also! When I am on set my goal is to make the models feel beautiful & execute the desired look! I love that in this industry I can do different things but the same thing all at once!

I started my Beauty Business Coaching program after being in this industry and realizing that a lot of talented Beauty Pro’s only rely on being hired by someone else to make money, in this industry a lot of us work job to job. Because I had a hair business, I understood that one stream of income is too close to none so I wanted to teach others how to start a profitable beauty brand, and that is how I developed my 8 week coaching program, Beauty, Start Your Business!

My proudest moments have been relocating and making my dreams a reality, I thank God every day that I get to do what I love. Other proud moments consist of me being Key Hairstylist for a show that is on Disney+ and just being blessed to work on other tv projects for networks like MTV & VH1 and major brands such as NARS, Sheseido, Chanel, Bobbi Brown, YSL, Zara, Bombas, etc.! I am proud of how I was able to grow my clientele in NYC being from another state, proud that I always choose faith over fear, I am proud that I can be an example to the kids in my family and show them that anything is possible and that there are NO limits when you have Faith & work hard!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes! What I have learned is that Mindset is EVERYTHING! In 2010-2011 I read this book called The Magic which literally changed my life and my thought process! I also read Caught Between a Dream and A Job which led me to really want to pursue entrepreneurship. Til’ this day I still read and I listen to business and self development podcast, I also watch business gurus on Youtube. Below is the list of books I read in the beginning of my journey, this is also the book list I give to clients who come through my coaching program.

Personal & Self
Development

·Caught Between a Dream and A Job by Delatorro
McNeal II
·The Magic by Rhonda Byrne
·I Declare by Joel Osteen
·The Four Agreements a Toltec Wisdom Book by
Multiple Authors
·The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Professional Development

·The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
·Secrets of Six Figure Women by Barbara Stanny
·The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
·Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso
·From Mopping Floors to Making Millions by Ronne
Brown
·Entrepreneur Revolution by Daniel Priestly

Financial Development

·Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
·Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
·Creating Money by Sanaya Roman
·The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
·You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

After graduating college in 2009, I worked in corporate and doing hair and selling hair was my side hustle. I turned this into my career because I hated my job, and that was enough motivation for me to do something about it. I am an action taker, I don’t sit around and wait for things to happen, I make them happen. So in 2012 I decided that in 2014 I was going to quit my job and move to New York City to pursue my career as a hairstylist & that’s exactly what I did. Was it easy? Absolutely not but so worth it, I realized early in my adult years that I couldn’t do anything, especially long term that made me unhappy. Making this decision has allowed me to have a career as a Session Hairstylist working on set, growing my hair business and branding myself as a sewin weave expert, and launching my Beauty Business Coaching Program. All because I decided then did the work to change my situation.

Key milestones would be:
-Quitting my corporate job in 2014 & relocating to New York
-Graduating cosmetology school & becoming licensed 2015
-Getting my first job at a high-end salon in NYC 2015
-Leaving the salon to pursue my freelance career in 2017
-Working on tv/film, movie. commercials, eCommerce, fashion sets, nyfw, getting my work published, & growing my hair business 2017-now
-Launching my Beauty Business Coaching Program 2023

Contact Info:

• Website: www.natashataylorhair.com, www.hairtobedifferent.net
• Instagram: @1natashataylor @hairtobedifferent @htbduniversity
• Twitter: @hairtobediff

Image Credits
Image Credits: @camchampszn @champstudios.co Logo Design: @nineiseven