We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Bungert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero’s would hands down have to be my parents, growing up my parents owned multiple restaurants. At a young age my mom and dad had me working in the service industry which taught me so many life lessons..it taught me everything from communication skills to simply learning the value of a dollar. My parents have always been so humble, so successful, so kind, so giving and most importantly so loving to the people who supported them through all of their endeavors! Growing up like that wasn’t always easy for me to understand at a young age, I had to miss football games, I had to miss parties, I would show up late to events… But now as a business owner myself I look back and I am so beyond grateful that I grew up learning how to hustle! I have taken what my parents have instilled in me and turned it into a beautiful loft that I have been in for almost 2 years now…

Taylor , 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?

I have been in tampa almost 7 years now… i’m a huge family person & enjoy the simple things in life. i genuinely love to love…from family, relationships, hair, music, & everything in between. i always find the positive in life & that’s personally my favorite trait about myself.. building relationships with my guest gives me a certain spark inside that most people don’t get to experience in their everyday job & i feel beyond blessed to experience that on a daily basis.

I realized hair was my passion when i was honestly in middle school, i was always doing my friends hair and makeup for any & everything! I didn’t fully pursue cosmetology until about 9 years ago. i started in wilmington nc & have been licensed in florida for a little over 6 years now! After the pandemic i realized i was ready to leave my commission salon and start my own small business which was one of the scariest jumps i have taken as an adult….especially during a pandemic. But here we are 2 years later and i couldn’t of been blessed with a better outcome! when i am doing hair i truly feel my happiest..being a stylist is one of the most amazing careers…nothing beats making someone feel amazing, confident, beautiful, bold, or even “better” then they did when they walked into the salon.

i specialize in blonding but also offer hand tied extensions, brazilian blowout, color, cutting & everything in between! i believe what sets me apart from most is that i enjoy taking my time in giving my guest not only a great experience but also a formulation that is customized for them individually!

being a small business owner is a surreal feeling at times but it’s also not for everyone.. I believe having self discipline is a major factor in a successful business!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson i had to “unlearn” is that people that are sitting in my chair are not dollar signs, they are actual people with actual feelings.

i worked in a commission salon for almost 5 years, all i knew at that point was in order to be a “successful” stylist you had to be double booked all day everyday. now with that i did learn how to work fast in my craft, how to stay calm in stressful situations and how to multitask which are great traits to learn in this industry i eventually realized that wasn’t who i am as a person. when my guest comes in to get their hair done i want to give them my full undivided attention, i want to have conversations with people who have supported me through my journey! that’s what a “successful” stylist is to me.

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

my most effective strategy for growing my business is being my authentic self. I have been beyond blessed with the clientele i have, building genuine connections is huge and something i look for when i go to get a service done myself. listening to what they want done and asking questions rather then just assuming and doing goes very far in this industry. For me and my business word of mouth is what has continued to make my clientele grow!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vagaro.com/taylorrose
• Instagram: taylorrose.hairloft