We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
The Barber and Beauty industry is an untouched market to main stream Corporate America. If you think about it, the barbershop and salons are where all the topics are talked about more than water cooler conversations. Everything from fashion, music, sports, food, and etc are spoken about in the chair. Corporate America has made a few commercials regarding Barber and Beauty industry. They have yet figure out how to really tap into its potential. The only person that I can think of that unlocked a window to the potential is Ice Cube with his movies Barbershop 1 & 2.
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 am from Wilmington “The Heart of the Harbor” in the Port of Los Angeles, California. My journey started in 2003 when I became a Make Up Artist. I knew makeup wasn’t gonna be it for me so I went back to school for my Cosmetology license and soon after my Barber license. After I finished school I was brought on as the Lead Make Up Artist at the prestigious Spa Gaucin at the St. Regis in Dana Point. It was the only five star resort on the West Coast at the time. While working there, I opened my own salon “Bombshell A Stephanie M Salon” in Long Beach, California. Paul Mitchell The Schools added me to their team of educators as well as did one of the biggest scissor companies in the world . John Mosley (aka @popular_nobody who is world renowned barber and educator) added me to his roster of elite groomers and educators “Team Popular Nobody” . As very well rounded artist, my work can be found in Runway, Brides Magazine, NFL, MotorX, UFC, Music videos, Eyewear, and Swimwear campaigns. Working with renowned photographers has given me a unique abiliity to see what the camera sees before video or photos are taken in all types of lighting. I have had the honor of working on many male celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg to NFL Superbowl Champion Kurt Warner. My ability to work on mens long hair caught the attention of one of UFC’s brightest starts Brian “T-City” Ortega. Right before covid I met the Grammy winning, musical directors, and producers the Avila Brothers. We instantly hit it off like family from day one. They brought the Popular Nobody Team to work the Barbershop Experience for “ Usher:The LasVegas Residency” at Caesars Palace. One of my favorite experiences was working with them was on the set of “A Hard Working Man Music Video featuring Snoop Dogg, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dj Quick, and The Avila Brothers. Just when I thought I had hit my career high… Super Bowl LVIII came along. Bobby and Iz Avila were the first Mexicans in Superbowl history to Produce, Musically Direct, and Perform in the Superbowll. I was honored to take care of them throughout their whole Superbowl journey. I have been blessed to have such an incredible career in the beauty and barber industry.
I believe that continued education has given me the support to have amazing opportunities. I love to give back to our industry by sharing my experiences, knowledge, and skills to others. Most importantly, I still love working day to day behind the chair with my clients. I still have clients that have been with me since beauty and barber school. They have been with me through thick and thin. I am incredibly grateful to every single one my clients.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Social media wasn’t what it is today when I first opened my salon. If I wanted to advertise we had to pay for it. A lot of old school salon and shop owners don’t realize that advertising is actually free through social media. My advice to to secure your name on social media across as many platforms as you desire. The social media name should reflect your business name. When choosing a business name … try to pick something you can create brand off of. I am currently rebranding because of this. Stay away from putting yourself in a box the way I did “@bombshellbarber”. Try not to title yourself. Post pictures and videos of the work you would like to attract. There are so many apps out there now that do all the work for you just by adding your photos and video clips. One of the most helpful things is to hashtag the area your in. For example I’m in Long Beach so I would use the following hashtags.. #longbeachbarber #longbeachstylist #longbeachsalon . My clients often share my social media to potential new clients. However word of mouth always a strong vehicle as well.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
Since I have started rebranding, I am now able to sell my branded merchandise. I do have a very busy schedule… so I don’t have time to meet with manufactures or vendors in person. I have found that print on demand services have been easier for me to use. I create artwork in what little downtime I have, then upload it to my service, and the internet does the rest. The idea is to create passive income.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bombshellandco.com
- Instagram: @bombshellbarber , @bombshell_and_co
- Facebook: Stephanie Martinez
- Linkedin: Stephanie (Bombshellbarber) Martinez
Image Credits
“A Hard Working Man’ featuring Snoop, Billy Ray Cyrus, DJ Quit, The Avila Brothers _ courtesy of Avila Brothers Music Brian Ortega_ UFC embedded
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