I do not have a business of my own just yet but I’d like to start one someday.
I started cutting hair sometime in 2018. I’ve worked in many different haircutting locations and I’m still trying to figure out where I belong. And I’ve recently started a new journey that involves barber school.
The challenges I’ve faced had to do mostly with the fact that I have autism. And not only do I have to deal with that, but I also have a physical disability called Hereditary Angio edema. It’s a disorder that causes my hands (and other body parts) to swell which can be a hindrance to my work.
Jorga Greenwell from The Purple Rose Salon in Elizabethtown has been a mentor of mine for awhile. Without her, I wouldn’t know who to turn to if I had any questions about how to handle certain situations in the beauty industry. I’d also like to thank James Gray at The Gray Comb Barber ship in Elizabethtown. He has been giving me a ton of advice on how to handle certain situations as a barber.
And I also have Debra Brooks to thank for inspiring me to get into barber school. She’s a cosmetologist AND a barber. She was that one voice who said “go for it” when so many other people said “why would you want to go to barber school when you’re already a cosmetologist?”
And then of course my mom, dad, sister, and the rest of my huge crazy family
I offer haircuts, a listening ear, and a shoulder to cry on. And once I’ve become a barber, I’d like to start offering shaves, facials, a hot towel treatment, and a moment of safety and peace for my clients.
The advice I’d like to give to anybody who’s trying to become an entrepreneur is this;
Always remain teachable
If you ain’t learning, you ain’t living
Never tell yourself “I can’t”
Always stay surrounded by people who encourage you to do your best
Learn the difference between resting and quitting
And above all, you’re not there to make friends.....but it doesn’t hurt. (The whole “im not here to make friends” attitude is, in my personal opinion, strongly overrated)
If a girl who is on the autism spectrum can do it, you can too. Go out there, find out what your good at, look for ways to perfect your craft and GET OUT THERE, KID