Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raya Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Raya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

In the hair industry, there are multiple options for employment. You can work for a company as a commissioned employee, you can work for a company as an hourly employee, or you can be your own business and rent a chair or space. I, like most of us, started out as a commission employee. Everything was provided for me-color, product, towels, booking site, marketing, taxes pulled for me.
I had been an employee of someone else for those first 6 years of my career, with no idea how to run my own business. I didn’t choose to transition to being my own business, I was forced into (unwillingly). Honestly, it was the best thing that could have happened to me and my career. Luckily, I had an amazing group of senior stylists around me to coach me through the process and help me figure it all out.
My advice for newer stylists looking to move into the realm of “self employment” is this…..find seasoned stylists you trust and pick their brain. Take all the advice you can get and don’t be afraid to just take the leap.

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?

I’m a hairstylist, men’s specialist, curl/texture specialist, color specialist with 15+ years in the industry. I truly care about every person who sits in my chair and the journey we get to take together every service.
I will say my true passion behind the chair is curly hair. For so many years, curly and textured hair has been under taught and a lot of misinformation spread around. So many curly heads have had awful cuts and services, which in turn has deterred them from keep up with professional care. My goal is to change that mindset and make sure my clients love their hair again.

I’m also heavily involved in the fashion and film world, working on photo shoots, fashion weeks and shows, and tv and movies.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Don’t let yourself get defeated early. It’s is 100% OKAY if it takes you longer to a highlight than your friends. It is okay if something doesn’t make sense and you have to ask a lot of questions until it does. It’s okay to ask other stylists for help or bounce ideas off each other. It’s ok to tell a client you’re not sure you feel comfortable doing a service- whether from lack of knowledge or the health of the hair. It’s ok to recommend them to someone else. It’s ok to ask to shadow a more experienced stylist and watch their techniques and ask questions. None of us know everything. There’s no single right way to approach services. Find out what makes sense to you and do it that way.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I absolutely would choose this again. I only wish I had put more effort into learning color and curls earlier in my career. I was honestly scared and felt like color and curls were “too hard to learn” and stopped putting in any effort to learn or understand them at all.

Ironically, they are now my two favorite services to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hair-by-raya-j.square.site/
• Instagram: @raya_lyn

Image Credits

EJ Carr
Corey Myers
Paul Abulu
Roy B
Jonny Edward
Leslie Van Stelten
Captain Kid Syd