We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Satoya Pollard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Satoya below.
Hi Satoya, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the most unexpected challenges that I’ve experienced as a hairstylist is having what’s called, a slow season. My slow season is typically during the summer months because a lot of natural clients are wearing braids due to the summer heat.
One thing that I did was create different packages that would be beneficial to my regular clients. This advice was given to me by a salon owner and it truly helped. I already have packages curated for clients who needed a little extra TLC. The newer packages focused on treatments that will be beneficial for clientele who are coming out of summer protective styling.
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 began working in the beauty industry as a licensed cosmetologist in 2016. I graduated from Paul Mitchell The School in Jacksonville Florida. Once I became self employed, I noticed my clientele picking up rather quickly. One thing that sets me apart from other stylists is my personality. I’ve been told that I have a natural way of making people feel comfortable. By the end of their appointment, new clients always tell me that they have found their new stylist.
Another thing that sets me apart is my niche. I work primarily with natural hair. My services include hair color, smoothing treatments, haircuts and silk press. Most recently, I’ve added microlinks and tape in extensions to my service list.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I love social media and quickly learned that it can be extremely beneficial to building your business. I found myself watching a lot of hair transformation videos and said to myself, “I can do that!”.
I started off with a ring light and attaching my phone to it to record my client’s entire service. Once I started uploading videos and using hashtags, I saw my audience grow. I even had other stylists reaching out to me asking how I did this and did that.
My advice to anyone starting out is to record your process and post it! Don’t overthink it, just go for it. You can also look for different courses and ebooks on building your social media presence. It’s all worth it!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Something that I had unlearn in business is that everyone doesn’t have the same heart as you. Some business owners and/or stylists can be extremely cut throat and make things hard for you simply because you’re “new”. When I began working with hair color, I asked another stylist for help with color formulation and she purposefully gave me the wrong formula. I was able to fix the client’s hair because I was good with color theory but if I didn’t have the will to continue with my career, I could’ve given up. Giving up has never been an option for me. Always treat others how you’d want to be treated because everything you put out returns back to you. I would much rather receive good karma.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://satoyanicolebeauty.as.me/
- Instagram: SatoyaNicoleBeauty
- Facebook: SatoyaNicoleBeauty
Image Credits
Professional photos of stylist: Wes Rakim of Rakimism Photography LLC Client photos taken at Haute Societe Studio by Satoya Pollard