We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nina-Simone Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nina-Simone, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I started working for myself summer of 2017 and around this time I was just wrapping up my first semester in college. I would say after my first year that’s when I really decided that I wanted to start selling hair and selling wigs to clients but the thing is I didn’t know how to. While I was in school, whatever I learned I would just implement that into my business. At the time I would say I was probably around 18 or 19 years old and my biggest issue was not that I didn’t have the to drive to do it, but it’s the fact that I just didn’t know how to do it. Working in a salon especially in my area it’s not a lot of mentors, so for me a lot of things I really did I had to learn on my own. From being in the shop by myself and navigating that environment, to knowing how I want my client to respect me, to how I want my business run, to how to run a business. Keep in mind this was before social media told us everything. If I would’ve had the proper mentorship I definitely would have started sooner because I applied myself and congratulate myself on the things that I’ve done now but you know every now and then I’ll look back and think “I could’ve done this sooner and I would’ve been farther ahead than I am now definitely.”

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?

Well I became a licensed cosmetologist December 2016, and I started working in a salon January 2017. I specialize in hair extensions and silk presses. Prior to that I did used to specialize in everything like I did braids I did short hair I did color natural hair you name it I did it but I chose hair extensions and wigs and silk pressing as my specialty. Now I currently have my own suite, and what I do I provide services outside of my suite, I cutter offer one product and that’s my Lace Melt Bands, and I teach 1-on-1 classes for people who want to learn wig making because I’m also a wig maker as well. What I think makes me different is that I’ve started off working in a more old school hair salon so a lot of the fundamentals that I learned was it gives like that old school vibe. Now I do incorporate you know modern ideas such as a booking systems and deposits, but all my clients get their hair shampooed, they’re spoiled because they get whatever they want I want to, my clients satisfaction are always my number one priority, and I want coming to me to be an experience. I’m not one of those new stylist who are so strict about everything and everything is about money. I’m passionate about what I do and I put 100% into anything I put my name on.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oldest I would say when I decided to change shops. The salon that I was at it was really slow to the point where it’s just like nobody was coming in unless you actually had clients and at the time I was still building my clientele so the people that I had coming in they they help me make enough money so I can pay my booth rent but not necessarily bills and stuff. You know I would tell the owner at the shop needs a new look the owner never really cared to do anything about it it would just kind of go on one and out the other is she had this stubbornness with her. So there was this new shop that was opening up down the block and I decided to move there. And with this shot I decided I was going to just start brand new and the way I knew I was starting over that I would lose clients in the process. Before I stated how when I first started doing hair I did everything and a lot of my clients I did braids for but I didn’t want to do braids I didn’t wanna specialize in braids because by this time I realized that I wanted to specialize in hair extensions and I wanted to make wigs and I was good at it and that’s where I really wanted to build my clientele. When I decided to move to this new shop, I stopped accepting new clients for braids, only my clients who were still coming to me I would take them and I let them know at that new salon don’t send me clients for braids the only clients that I’m taking are for hair extensions and blowouts only. to be honest that was the best decision I ever made, because even though I lost clients in the process they gave me the opportunity to build the clients out in the audience that I have now. A lot of old school hairstylist will tell you in order to be successful you gotta know how to do everything, and to an extent that is true but you can know all the techniques for every hairstyle and still choose to have a specialty. If I would not have done that I probably would still be somewhere doing braids still trying to figure out how to build a customer base in one niche and just overwhelming myself trying to be the hairstylist for everybody.

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

You got a let people see you. Whether it’s me showing behind the scenes of me doing my clients hair, me making wigs, or sometimes even me doing my own hair and a lot of people who watch my page on Instagram or watch my videos on TikTok I get a lot of recognition when doing my own hair. Let people see what you do, and that’s actually going to help you branch off into other things because sometimes the best products are the products that people ask you for. I originally wasn’t offering weight classes it wasn’t until people that I worked with saw me working on a sewing machine that now they’re asking me to teach them so that’s how I started off teaching classes. When I would have clients in my chair they would see me pull out an elastic band to help melt their lace and that’s how I ended up coming out with my velcro Melt Bands. The best marketing strategy ever will always be putting yourself out there even when you think no one‘s watching people are watching. I thought it would’ve been months before I had somebody book me for a weight class, the moment I posted it I had someone book me. Keep in mind I don’t have the most followers on Instagram I don’t get the most likes on videos and pictures yet people will still see my contacts they’re making a note of it on their own time and they still book me for whatever service they’re booking me for so don’t get caught up in social media hype.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hairgoesnina.com
• Instagram: hairgoesnina
• Other: TikTok : @hairgoesnina