June 2, 2025 • 40 mins
Fashion color artist & educator @kissysbombshellbeauties shares her experience moving from commission salon to independent. We discuss the process, including building a clientele and balancing professional & personal life.
This Week's Topics:
• Career Journey and Early Experiences
• Transitioning to Independent Work
• Balancing Work and Family Life
• Brand Collaborations and Social Media Presence
• The Rise of Bond Builders
• Client Trends and Preferences in Hair Services
• Difficult Conversations Behind the Chair
• Fostering Support Over Competition in the Industry
• Hair Horror Stories and Lessons Learned
• Advice for Aspiring Hairdressers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
hi Cassandra, how are you?
(00:01):
Good.
So for those listeners who don't know Cassandra Taylor, she is an Idaho Falls hairdresser.
Idaho Falls in Idaho.
I actually looked it up, of course it's in Idaho, but when I saw that you're in IdahoFalls, I had to Google search it, and of course it's in Idaho, but we're in Idaho, and I
(00:22):
looked it up and I spent,
15 minutes looking around Idaho Falls, Idaho because I'm not that familiar with it.
And so it's kind of fascinating.
You're just south of Yellowstone National Park.
You're not far at all from uh places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
(00:43):
uh You're close to Big Sky, Montana.
I mean, you're kind of located in one of the most beautiful areas of the country and
I've been wanting to kind of go up there for a long time.
I got invited to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, but that's seven, almost eight hours away, I justlearned.
(01:04):
Yeah, so it's a fascinating place, but I don't want to derail myself here and starttalking about Idaho Falls yet, but that's where you are, and you're a hairdresser who
focuses on creative color, you're an educator, you're
You're a platform artist, K18 Collective.
You're sponsored by JRL Clippers and Oligo.
(01:27):
And you're a part of Hairslayers.
And we've had lots of Hairslayers on the podcast over the last six or seven years.
know, Neil M, Mikey T's, Shrunken Heads, Harry Godmother.
We've had a lot.
Yes, I don't know if I've interviewed Paul Mack.
(01:47):
anyway, I've interviewed a lot of hair slayers, so welcome, and you're in good companyhere.
Why don't we start with where you're from originally and how you got into this business?
So I grew up in Oregon but on the Idaho border So you legit just drove across the bridgeand you were in Idaho.
So I'm pretty much an Idahoan but I went to school in 2007 2008 And my creativenessstarted then I would like practice on wigs and my
(02:27):
my roommates and just anyone that would let me play with their hair.
My hair too, I do my own, do it all crazy.
But I always tend to go back blonde because it's easy to like throw a color on there butI'll sometimes have some vivid color too but this is just easier.
(02:48):
uh Yeah.
I've seen some wigs, you've been on Instagram with all sorts of different looks, which isalways fun.
But, what, what, okay, so before we move on in my questioning, so did you, you went tohigh school and then beauty school or a trade school?
(03:10):
Oh, so I just went to beauty school um in actually Rexburg.
I don't know if you looked at the area, but Idaho Falls in Rexburg are about 30 minutesaway, but that's where BYU Idaho is, you know?
So um I went over there.
I didn't do any hair like in high school.
(03:31):
I just strictly did it um at the trade school, I guess.
Yeah.
very good.
And were you good at it right out of the gate?
not right at the get-go, no.
Like, I definitely, I needed, I don't know, more confidence, I guess.
And I think my confidence came after school.
(03:53):
Like, you know, because you, you learn your basics in school, but then afterwards, I wouldcontinue my education.
Every year, I'd go and take a class and learn something from someone else, you know?
So, yeah, it was definitely something I needed to learn and get better.
And I'm still, like, I still learn from people, like, all the time.
(04:15):
Yes, the teacher also learns, right?
Not just those sitting in the audience.
Okay, so when did you move to Idaho Falls?
I'm...
let's see.
about right after school.
(04:35):
It was about 2009.
So I was commuting actually because I lived in Rexburg.
And so I commuted and I came to uh work over here.
So I commuted for a while and then finally moved.
Yeah.
then how did you build your clientele there?
Because that's a decent distance, right?
(04:58):
my goodness.
um I had a few people follow me from like hair school, but a lot of them didn't want tomake the drive.
I know that's not very far, but for here, everyone's like, oh, this is eight minutes away.
This is five.
You know what I mean?
So there's so many people in Rexburg that they don't need to come to Idaho Falls.
So, uh well, when I did hair, social media wasn't really a thing.
(05:23):
So I definitely did the cards on people's cars, you know, and handing them out at the malland word of mouth.
I did a lot of em like referral programs.
And then I did a lot of incentives like, em I started at Dollar Cuts.
(05:45):
That's the salon I worked at.
Okay, that was the first salon.
It was called Dollar Cuts.
Yes, which does not inspire confidence.
Yeah, no.
didn't care about the name.
I just wanted to get my name out there, you know, and I would I would do a lot of freehair just to get people in the door, you know.
(06:08):
Um, yeah, and I mean, they were $8 haircuts.
They weren't like dollar cuts, but it was cheap.
But it was full service.
Like it was color.
It was a tanning salon.
I so I did like spray tans.
I did lashes.
did
(06:28):
I did all of it, but I started to specialize and figure out what I like doing and it wasthe creative hair color and that's what people came to me for and a lot of my clients, I
still have those clients today, my clients came with me when I went on my own and I'vebeen on my own since.
(06:53):
2014, I wanna say.
And that was cause my husband's like, I can help you.
Like you can do this.
And we were only dating at the time, but he was uh very supportive of me and my dreams.
I was scared to leave a commission based salon.
I also managed it for five years.
(07:16):
So yeah.
behind the chair in your managing dollar cuts for five years.
And I'm sure you got your hands in a lot of hair there and you got a lot of repetitionsand you got a lot of practice.
And I've heard this quite a bit actually recently and just really coincidental that a lotof my guests have started at kind of a value uh level of salon and uh
(07:45):
rose up, mean, you know, became good, you know, were good in the beginning or became goodafter a bunch of repetitions and had a great personality and were really great at what
they're doing and clients loved you and they followed you to the next level and the nextlevel or wherever you decided to go.
And that sounds like that's similar to your story.
(08:06):
And so you went from there to your own studio, your husband believed in you, which isamazing.
I was terrified because I was so used to getting like
a kind of a steady paycheck, even though it was commission.
I just knew I'd always like, you know, have that and leaving.
(08:29):
I was like, okay, I have to buy all my own stuff.
I have to pay rent.
And I was so scared like to have people like, I don't know.
I wasn't sure if people were going to follow me.
And also, I don't know if I can say this.
can um, dollar cut.
told me I couldn't take my clients with me, but I never signed like anything.
(08:52):
So I got all their information and contacted them and they actually asked me to come backand they would hire or pay me more to manage and stuff.
But I'm like, I'm sorry.
It's not worth it.
you know, but ah
stand that.
When it reminds me of the one time I was a customer of a newspaper, LA Times or whatever,and I had been paying, I'm gonna make up the number, $100 a year, it was probably more
(09:21):
than that, and I called them one day and I'm like, okay, I wanna cancel, and they're like.
They're like, well, don't leave, you know, we'll give you a special rate for only $10 ayear.
And it's like, well, but wait a second, I've been paying $100 a year all these years andall I had to do is call you and you're going to drop the price to $10.
(09:41):
So it's a similar kind of thing.
You were there for five years and then you leave and all of a sudden they want to pay youmore money, right?
It's just, yeah, it feels bad.
All right.
six years, but five of it I managed.
But yeah.
All right, so your clients followed you largely.
And I assume I assume that you increase your prices.
(10:06):
Did you increase your prices when you left?
that was the hardest thing too, because I went from like a low budget, you know, salon tosomething where it's like, you guys, have to pay for this all out of pocket.
So I really only did a $10 increase to like each of my services and I was still below whatother people were charging, but the new clients, I had a higher price, you know,
(10:34):
Yep.
And slowly every year I would increase like by another $10, $15 and I kept a lot of them,but some people left, but I'm not like my clients are my clients, you know, I will find
you a budget stylist or I will find you something that's cheaper.
(10:54):
Like you can do a partial instead of a full like, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
You just get those relationships with them.
You're like, I know I'm sorry I'm out of your budget, but what is your budget?
And let's work with that, you know, and if not, I will send you to someone that'sreputable that is within your budget.
So yeah.
(11:16):
very good.
And so you kind of found your ideal clients over time and they found you and it soundslike it's been a pretty good situation you've got.
Yeah, yeah, it's great.
I don't, I only take on new uh clients for vivid hair, because I have all my regulars.
(11:40):
I have my old ladies that I do my, you know, great touch ups every five to six weeks.
And I still have men clients like, it's crazy.
I've been cutting some of them since they were two, you know, it's
like how long have you been coming to me and they're like how old's your son 14 yeah 14years I'm like holy cow yeah
(12:03):
that's amazing.
That's amazing.
Okay, so you've got a full clientele and you're also educating and you have certainresponsibilities to the brands that you've aligned with.
so tell us how you split your time.
I mean, how much time behind the chair and how much time educating do they make youtravel?
(12:25):
How does that work?
Yeah, so it's a little bit here and there.
I'm behind the chair four days a week.
So I'm usually off on the weekends and on Monday and on my Friday, I only work until aboutthree.
So it's really nice because I'm like nine to five.
(12:46):
So but I mean, my clients, you know, are used to that and make it work.
So
On Thursday I do work till 6 and I do 10 to 6 on Thursday.
Cause I have a few that need after 5.
So that's my one late day.
But I also juggle my kids and their sports.
(13:09):
Okay so Tucker is 14 and Jackson is 11.
So yep.
It's a lot but uh huh.
But I...
Yeah, social media and brand stuff.
um I try to do that on my Mondays because that is like a day during the week um that I canget stuff done and I have the weekends for my family and everything.
(13:40):
um I try to in the evening engage and post, but it's late at night, but I think people areused to me posting nine or 10 o'clock at night, you know, but.
and I do post on my stories and stay uh active that way.
But uh it is like another full-time job doing that.
(14:05):
And with my brand deals and stuff, they usually give me a good two to three weeks or so tolike get the content and make it and then post.
So usually, usually it's not too bad.
And I do that on my Mondays.
Sometimes I have to do it on Sunday, but it just depends.
(14:26):
It's hard to juggle.
And I bet it is.
So for the curiosity of the listeners who are like, you know, if I had a sponsor, youknow, Oligo or JRL or K-18 or whoever, like, what would they make me do?
Like, what's the requirement?
Is it once a month?
You said every three weeks.
yeah, it's different with each brand.
(14:53):
so I used to work for Guy Tang.
I was part of Guy Tang My Identity.
And with them, it was uh once a month that we would teach a class.
And because I got hired during COVID, it was all through Zoom.
So we would do that.
um And it was usually just an hour.
(15:13):
and we would have like a model already prepped and usually it was a mannequin headsometimes I got like a live model um and then oh I was like add hand effects
You went dark on me.
Okay, there you go.
It said add hand effect.
(15:34):
So it's probably because I'm talking with my hand.
Sometimes when I go like this.
Oh, boom, look at that.
thumbs up one too?
something or maybe it's a peace sign.
No, I don't know.
Yeah, you got a storm going.
(15:55):
And then there's like a dark cloud.
So for the listeners who are like, what the hell are they talking about?
They were talking about Guy Tang and my identity and then now all of a sudden they'retalking about hand gestures.
So the software we're using to record this has interesting.
(16:16):
things.
So when Cassandra and I are moving, it's got some weird AI thing in there.
So if you do a thumbs up, you get kind of this uh weird thumbs up image on the screen.
Yeah.
All right.
it did that.
I was like hand gestures.
Yeah, yeah, Cassandra's screen went dark, I think, because it was doing something abouthand gestures.
(16:39):
It's weird.
I didn't read the instructions of this app, so you know, we don't know what's happening.
it does that with iPhones and like FaceTime, because I was FaceTiming my mom and I thinkshe thumbs it up and she was like, why did it just do that?
So anyway, but it must, it might be an Apple thing.
(17:00):
I don't know.
Anyway.
All right.
So, um, so my identity during COVID, you're doing virtual classes and yeah.
I'm trying to remember, I think it was tag them in two videos a month.
I think that's what the requirements are or were.
(17:22):
um And then with Kate team, the brand deals were separate.
Like I was required to post like a 30 second video or something, and then they would payme just for that video.
But the collective,
They send me X amount of products every month and I just tag them in two videos So it'sreally not a lot required.
(17:48):
You're already making the content, you know, so you just tag the brand and then I don'teven know if I have What's it called requirements for JRL they hired me hair slayers found
me I won a competition and
they found me and they're like, we'd like to sponsor you.
(18:09):
was like, what does that mean?
And they're like, we'll send you free stuff.
Just tag us in your videos.
And I'm like, cool.
And yeah, COVID is really what helped me grow is because I was posting, I was teaching,people were finding me.
So I'm kind of thankful for COVID since I was locked down like two months, you know?
(18:33):
But.
staying active and doing all right things during COVID, which is great.
Yeah.
That's honestly where I grew the most and now I'm just kind of coasting and growing alittle bit.
Because I don't post like every day.
I do on my stories, but like I don't post videos every day.
I'm like once a week I try.
(18:55):
It is hard to do.
It is, yeah, it is hard to do.
I've become very bad at it.
I just haven't been able to allocate the time.
So Donovan has given me the word back to the question, have I interviewed Paul Mack?
He said no.
And I'm glad that I was correct because I didn't remember it.
And I would have scared myself if I didn't remember it and I had interviewed him.
(19:20):
That would be really embarrassing.
I wouldn't admit that on live here on the show.
But
But I can now with confidence say that I correctly remembered that I had never interviewedhim.
So this is the official invite to Paul Mack.
Paul has to come on the show.
We will reach out to him.
Okay.
So let's talk about bond builders.
(19:41):
Bond builders is a very interesting topic.
Pretty much started with Olaplex around 2014-15 and this guy named Dean in Santa Barbaracreated this product, whole new category.
and kind of lit the, you know, the chemical processing part of the industry on fire.
You could do this all of a sudden, you could do that all of a sudden.
(20:03):
And, you know, there was kind of uh an upward trajectory and now there's a little bit of adownward trajectory on Olaplex's numbers and some other things.
It's a public company, you can look on their numbers and see.
uh They're selling like half the product they were just a couple of years ago.
So then K18 came out.
(20:23):
And it seems like a lot of people consider it the only real competitor to Olaplex.
So are you, you rely on it?
em Or is it just, and some of your services, some of your color services, you use it?
How do you use it?
Yes, I do on most of my blonding clients.
(20:44):
but I don't use every step.
You know, I just think like the molecular hair repair mask and the the chetlator spray.
Am I saying that right?
I don't think so, but I don't know how to say it.
I don't know how to say it any differently.
(21:06):
yes, I know exactly the word that you're thinking about and I don't know how to say itright.
Yes, of course.
Yeah.
I don't, not even gonna try.
I don't know.
You're the educator.
I'm just the consumer.
(21:26):
So.
I always say that wrong.
I have to look it up before I say it but um none of these brands I am exclusive to Whichis nice because I can post about other ones.
So only G is a new uh product that I'm sponsoring Not is it because he's a new brand onlyG club
(21:54):
holy, hold on Donovan, hold on.
We're gonna get to the bottom of this one, because I looked it up and I saw the name and Ithought, holy gee, boy that's a whole lot like oligo.
Okay, you're right.
It's O-L-E-G.
O-L-I space G.
(22:16):
Okay, what kind of product is this?
So it's just like K18 and Olaplex.
It's another peptide bond.
Yeah.
it.
Okay.
Interesting.
All right.
they're all really similar.
They all do the same thing.
That's just me.
(22:40):
I haven't noticed one work better than the other.
I think a lot of people switch from Olaplex though, because I don't feel like with Olaplexyou notice it immediately, like you do K-18.
You know what I mean?
And I like Olaplex too.
So I don't know.
I use a bond builder in every chemical blonding service and it's whatever I have, whateverI wanna use.
(23:11):
What are you seeing behind the chair these days?
Client behavior, any changes?
Are they asking for different sort of, you know, trends or are they coming in more orless?
I'm doing way more mullets.
Like that is a big thing right now.
Like the wolf cut the mullets.
Yeah!
(23:31):
Yeah, I got a little bit of a mullet.
I'll show the camera here.
so it's kind of, although my top has gotten kind of long too, which kind of diminishes thenature of the mullet, right?
Like it's a little mullety.
Yeah, this part is so poofy, you know, the back.
(23:54):
like above the mullet part that it kind of takes away from the mullet.
But, alright, so you're getting mullet glance.
That's good.
Yeah, lots of them.
My vivid clients have been doing more solid colors because of inflation, but they stillwant to do the fun colors, but they want something less maintenance, if you know what I
(24:19):
mean.
Yes.
Okay, so solid colors because the gradient's kind of expensive or like the blending takesyou longer and you have to charge more.
charge by hour.
Okay, that was my next question.
So you're charging by the hour.
So they're like, you know, what can you do in four hours?
(24:41):
Yeah, yeah.
And you're like, I can do a solid color or let's say, what can you do in two hours?
And you're like, I could do one solid color.
And they're like, you can't get some yellow and purple in there.
You're like, well, that's four hours.
And they're like, I don't wanna spend four hours worth.
(25:02):
Yeah.
and a lot more are doing kind of like a balayage.
Like they don't mind when their roots grow out.
It's more of a lived in, but like vivids.
So a lot of the times my vivids, like they'll come and do the blonding session and thenwe'll do their vivid.
And the next time we just do the vivid, they don't care about like the grow out.
(25:24):
And usually they'll do that twice and then we'll just uh blonde it again and do the vivid.
So.
That saves them money because blonding takes a long time.
Because I have to usually platinum card and everything.
And what's your favorite thing to do?
What's your favorite service?
Like ideal client rolls into your studio.
(25:45):
What's that?
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
yeah and color melting.
I love doing silvers with like a pop of color.
It's really fun.
Are you on TikTok?
huh, yes, same name, Kissy's Bomb Show Beauties.
and how much time do you spend on TikTok versus Instagram?
(26:08):
You know what?
I spend more time on Instagram than I do TikTok.
And I don't know why that is.
Maybe my algorithm's better on Instagram.
I don't know.
But, um...
Maybe you started earlier on Instagram and you just have bigger community.
when I went off on my own is when I started posting on my Instagram.
(26:34):
I don't think I posted at all when I was at Dollar Cuts, but that was also, you know,2009, 10, when I don't know when Instagram started.
2011, think it officially was started.
I don't think it really began to get popular until 2012.
(26:57):
I think Facebook bought it maybe around then, 2012 maybe, 2013?
It might be off a year, but sometime around then.
then within our industry,
You know, really 2015, it really started changing things for our industry.
The first couple of years, know, was kids posting pictures, you know, like sepia tone andlike heavy filters and things like that.
(27:24):
Remember the frames?
You could put a frame around your uh image and it was a bunch of that.
And then around 2014, 15 is when it started really catching on, I think.
Yes.
for me, the guy with the name Eric Taylor, he's been squatting on his account since like2012.
(27:49):
So he's been taking it from me.
Yeah, so that's really annoying.
I wish I could, I've actually tried to submit some kind of complaint.
So maybe...
There should be a thing where if you don't post for, I don't know, three years orwhatever, then you automatically lose your account.
(28:12):
I don't know, that could be unfair maybe, but I would like that so maybe I could get theaccount.
Yeah.
What's the most difficult conversation you've ever had with a client in your chair?
Oh.
I have to think about that.
I've had so many conversations and tons of like relationship advice.
(28:38):
I probably domestic violence.
I had a client come in that was like pretty bruised up and stuff.
Yeah.
And um I did make an anonymous phone call afterwards, but she was aware of it and she wentto the doctors and everything.
(29:00):
And she said that they won't do anything unless she, like the victim says something, youknow?
Yeah.
him she fell down the stairs.
And I was like, you can't keep doing this, you know?
And I did make an anonymous call.
She doesn't know that I did that.
But um yeah, she got some help and she's doing good now.
(29:22):
But yeah.
No.
Yeah.
So that was probably one of the most difficult ones.
um A lot of them lost too.
I've had clients
crying to me in their chair.
Especially when I've been doing their hair that long.
You know everything about them.
(29:43):
um Their dogs, like family members.
um Losing your own clients too.
I lost one during COVID and that was really hard.
um I don't know.
Just so many different conversations.
(30:03):
Yeah.
If you could wave a wand and change anything about the industry at all right now, whatwould it be?
Hmm...
I'm...
think there needs to be less competition and more like support.
(30:25):
You know, I feel like there's a lot of competition in the hair industry.
Like there's so many of us and your clients find you because of your personality and uhyour skill.
You can't like replicate me.
You know what I mean?
So like there shouldn't be a competition against other stylists.
(30:45):
There shouldn't.
I don't know.
I just am, I'm all about stylus supporting stylus.
So I wish that everyone was like that.
Yeah, of course, of course.
m Do you have any hair horror stories?
And it could be things that you messed up or something that a hairstylist next to you mustmessed up, whatever.
(31:07):
Any hair horror stories taking place in this salon?
I need to figure out which one.
yeah, I'll give you minute to consider the best one.
Okay.
Mmm.
(31:29):
I'm also thinking about which one isn't going to offend people.
How about this?
Don't worry about offending anybody.
You can give us a story.
If you don't like it, we'll take it out.
you probably, it's probably not that offensive, but try us.
(31:50):
Okay, so I I worked at another salon uh Master cuts for just a little while and kind ofthe same as dollar cuts and um Anyways, I remember this lady.
I I had just barely been doing hair and she Came in and she didn't speak very um
(32:21):
good English.
She's from Germany.
And she came in and she was like, this is the haircut I want.
And she had a picture of it.
And it's uh pretty much a bowl cut, like really short and then bangs.
I was like, okay.
has got her hand turned horizontally across her eyebrows, and then she's around the top ofher ears for the listeners.
(32:49):
Yes.
Yeah.
was like, okay.
And her hair was like kind of long like mine.
And so I'm like, okay, yeah, if that's what you want.
And I'm cutting it and she doesn't say much, you know, but she barely speaks English andI'm cutting it.
And she was like, no one ever gets this right.
(33:12):
Nobody in America knows how to cut hair.
So I'm just like so nervous and I'm cutting it.
and we get to the bangs and I've always been taught to cut them longer because they'llshrink when they dry.
I have PTSD from this lady.
So I cut them like just right below her eyebrow because I knew when I dried them they weregoing to shrink up.
(33:38):
So I cut them and she was like shorter and I was like I'll cut them shorter when we dry itand she's like no I know they need to be shorter.
And you're like dry versus wet.
And I don't and this is probably why no one has gotten her hair, right?
(33:59):
but
keeps giving them the wrong direction.
Yes.
Okay, so you cut them?
Yeah.
And then they were like at her eyebrow and she told me even shorter and she said when theydried, she wanted them to be above her eyebrow, you know?
(34:19):
But anyway, this is just how I remember it.
It probably wasn't that dramatic, but this is how I remember it.
So then I cut them shorter.
And then when I went to dry them,
They were in the middle of her forehead.
And she turns and looks at me and she calls me a stupid American and says, I don't knowhow to cut hair.
(34:40):
And I started crying and I asked my manager, I'm like, I don't know what to do.
And she said, I'll come over and I'll help you.
And uh she was like, tell her she doesn't have to pay for her hair.
And I was like, I'm sorry, you don't have to pay for your hair.
And she's like, you stupid American and just yelling at me.
(35:03):
And she's like, I wasn't planning on paying for it anyway.
And I was like, oh, okay.
So I don't know if she just was like trying to get a free haircut, but also, also it wasbad.
She had like baby bangs.
You know, I mean, what a thief.
Like I hear a story like that.
(35:25):
like, this person is just trying to rob others of their money.
They're trying to get free things from others.
What a leech on society.
I know, that was one of the scariest ones.
Yeah, I bet.
And now I'm terrified to cut people's bangs too short, that I always dry cut them afterthe initial cut, you know, like, anyway.
(35:49):
well, you live and you learn and that's why we ask hair horror stories because, you know,we have young hairdressers, we have aspiring hairdressers, we have hairdressers in beauty
school listening to this podcast.
And I think they get a lot from these hair horror stories.
And of course it's funny and entertaining at the same time.
Any last words for the community?
(36:13):
I'm hoping that my generation, millennials and stuff, inspire like the newer ones and thatthey want to come and learn from us.
um I tell everyone to start at a commission salon.
That's my biggest advice.
(36:35):
Don't go off on your own the very get-go.
Even if you have clients in beauty school, you're not gonna make enough.
off on your own and um with the commission one they'll bring you the clients you buildthem up and then you leave and take them with you.
Don't work out a one that makes you sign a waiver saying you can't take your clientsthough.
(36:57):
yeah, no NDAs, no non-competes.
I think it's non-compete.
And so we've been seeing that a little bit on the East Coast.
You don't see it at all on the West Coast.
The laws actually treat that differently.
The laws in California, yeah, the laws in California make it very hard for a company toenforce a, well, enact and enforce a non-compete.
(37:25):
In New York, uh it's a little bit different, although some of the teeth have been takenout of these non-competes.
uh yeah, totally.
We've only talked about non-competes a couple times on the show, but uh absolutely a badidea.
Yeah, because then, and if you do sign that, then I guess they do have say if you takeyour clients.
(37:51):
luckily I never signed anything.
So I was able to take my clients with me.
But that's my biggest advice is to start at like a commission salon.
It doesn't have to be dollar cuts or great clips because some, some people create acommission based salons and uh it might fit their vibe better too, you know, so.
(38:12):
Find somewhere you feel like you fit in, build your clients.
I'd stay a year or two and then you can go off on your own and then even build more onceyou're on your own.
But that and continuing your education, always take classes at least once a year.
So, yeah.
You're Cassandra Taylor, not my sister, by the way, if anybody wondered, not my sister.
(38:38):
No, no, no, no, no, my last name is Taylor.
Yes.
Not, you're not.
Yeah, that would be funny.
You are not my sister though, but you know, maybe sister from another mother, as they say.
You're Kissy Bombshell Beauties on Instagram.
It was awesome getting to know you.
(39:00):
Thank you, you too.
hi Cassandra, how are you?
(00:01):
Good.
So for those listeners who don't know Cassandra Taylor, she is an Idaho Falls hairdresser.
Idaho Falls in Idaho.
I actually looked it up, of course it's in Idaho, but when I saw that you're in IdahoFalls, I had to Google search it, and of course it's in Idaho, but we're in Idaho, and I
(00:22):
looked it up and I spent,
15 minutes looking around Idaho Falls, Idaho because I'm not that familiar with it.
And so it's kind of fascinating.
You're just south of Yellowstone National Park.
You're not far at all from uh places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
(00:43):
uh You're close to Big Sky, Montana.
I mean, you're kind of located in one of the most beautiful areas of the country and
I've been wanting to kind of go up there for a long time.
I got invited to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, but that's seven, almost eight hours away, I justlearned.
(01:04):
Yeah, so it's a fascinating place, but I don't want to derail myself here and starttalking about Idaho Falls yet, but that's where you are, and you're a hairdresser who
focuses on creative color, you're an educator, you're
You're a platform artist, K18 Collective.
You're sponsored by JRL Clippers and Oligo.
(01:27):
And you're a part of Hairslayers.
And we've had lots of Hairslayers on the podcast over the last six or seven years.
know, Neil M, Mikey T's, Shrunken Heads, Harry Godmother.
We've had a lot.
Yes, I don't know if I've interviewed Paul Mack.
(01:47):
anyway, I've interviewed a lot of hair slayers, so welcome, and you're in good companyhere.
Why don't we start with where you're from originally and how you got into this business?
So I grew up in Oregon but on the Idaho border So you legit just drove across the bridgeand you were in Idaho.
So I'm pretty much an Idahoan but I went to school in 2007 2008 And my creativenessstarted then I would like practice on wigs and my
(02:27):
my roommates and just anyone that would let me play with their hair.
My hair too, I do my own, do it all crazy.
But I always tend to go back blonde because it's easy to like throw a color on there butI'll sometimes have some vivid color too but this is just easier.
(02:48):
uh Yeah.
I've seen some wigs, you've been on Instagram with all sorts of different looks, which isalways fun.
But, what, what, okay, so before we move on in my questioning, so did you, you went tohigh school and then beauty school or a trade school?
(03:10):
Oh, so I just went to beauty school um in actually Rexburg.
I don't know if you looked at the area, but Idaho Falls in Rexburg are about 30 minutesaway, but that's where BYU Idaho is, you know?
So um I went over there.
I didn't do any hair like in high school.
(03:31):
I just strictly did it um at the trade school, I guess.
Yeah.
very good.
And were you good at it right out of the gate?
not right at the get-go, no.
Like, I definitely, I needed, I don't know, more confidence, I guess.
And I think my confidence came after school.
(03:53):
Like, you know, because you, you learn your basics in school, but then afterwards, I wouldcontinue my education.
Every year, I'd go and take a class and learn something from someone else, you know?
So, yeah, it was definitely something I needed to learn and get better.
And I'm still, like, I still learn from people, like, all the time.
(04:15):
Yes, the teacher also learns, right?
Not just those sitting in the audience.
Okay, so when did you move to Idaho Falls?
I'm...
let's see.
about right after school.
(04:35):
It was about 2009.
So I was commuting actually because I lived in Rexburg.
And so I commuted and I came to uh work over here.
So I commuted for a while and then finally moved.
Yeah.
then how did you build your clientele there?
Because that's a decent distance, right?
(04:58):
my goodness.
um I had a few people follow me from like hair school, but a lot of them didn't want tomake the drive.
I know that's not very far, but for here, everyone's like, oh, this is eight minutes away.
This is five.
You know what I mean?
So there's so many people in Rexburg that they don't need to come to Idaho Falls.
So, uh well, when I did hair, social media wasn't really a thing.
(05:23):
So I definitely did the cards on people's cars, you know, and handing them out at the malland word of mouth.
I did a lot of em like referral programs.
And then I did a lot of incentives like, em I started at Dollar Cuts.
(05:45):
That's the salon I worked at.
Okay, that was the first salon.
It was called Dollar Cuts.
Yes, which does not inspire confidence.
Yeah, no.
didn't care about the name.
I just wanted to get my name out there, you know, and I would I would do a lot of freehair just to get people in the door, you know.
(06:08):
Um, yeah, and I mean, they were $8 haircuts.
They weren't like dollar cuts, but it was cheap.
But it was full service.
Like it was color.
It was a tanning salon.
I so I did like spray tans.
I did lashes.
did
(06:28):
I did all of it, but I started to specialize and figure out what I like doing and it wasthe creative hair color and that's what people came to me for and a lot of my clients, I
still have those clients today, my clients came with me when I went on my own and I'vebeen on my own since.
(06:53):
2014, I wanna say.
And that was cause my husband's like, I can help you.
Like you can do this.
And we were only dating at the time, but he was uh very supportive of me and my dreams.
I was scared to leave a commission based salon.
I also managed it for five years.
(07:16):
So yeah.
behind the chair in your managing dollar cuts for five years.
And I'm sure you got your hands in a lot of hair there and you got a lot of repetitionsand you got a lot of practice.
And I've heard this quite a bit actually recently and just really coincidental that a lotof my guests have started at kind of a value uh level of salon and uh
(07:45):
rose up, mean, you know, became good, you know, were good in the beginning or became goodafter a bunch of repetitions and had a great personality and were really great at what
they're doing and clients loved you and they followed you to the next level and the nextlevel or wherever you decided to go.
And that sounds like that's similar to your story.
(08:06):
And so you went from there to your own studio, your husband believed in you, which isamazing.
I was terrified because I was so used to getting like
a kind of a steady paycheck, even though it was commission.
I just knew I'd always like, you know, have that and leaving.
(08:29):
I was like, okay, I have to buy all my own stuff.
I have to pay rent.
And I was so scared like to have people like, I don't know.
I wasn't sure if people were going to follow me.
And also, I don't know if I can say this.
can um, dollar cut.
told me I couldn't take my clients with me, but I never signed like anything.
(08:52):
So I got all their information and contacted them and they actually asked me to come backand they would hire or pay me more to manage and stuff.
But I'm like, I'm sorry.
It's not worth it.
you know, but ah
stand that.
When it reminds me of the one time I was a customer of a newspaper, LA Times or whatever,and I had been paying, I'm gonna make up the number, $100 a year, it was probably more
(09:21):
than that, and I called them one day and I'm like, okay, I wanna cancel, and they're like.
They're like, well, don't leave, you know, we'll give you a special rate for only $10 ayear.
And it's like, well, but wait a second, I've been paying $100 a year all these years andall I had to do is call you and you're going to drop the price to $10.
(09:41):
So it's a similar kind of thing.
You were there for five years and then you leave and all of a sudden they want to pay youmore money, right?
It's just, yeah, it feels bad.
All right.
six years, but five of it I managed.
But yeah.
All right, so your clients followed you largely.
And I assume I assume that you increase your prices.
(10:06):
Did you increase your prices when you left?
that was the hardest thing too, because I went from like a low budget, you know, salon tosomething where it's like, you guys, have to pay for this all out of pocket.
So I really only did a $10 increase to like each of my services and I was still below whatother people were charging, but the new clients, I had a higher price, you know,
(10:34):
Yep.
And slowly every year I would increase like by another $10, $15 and I kept a lot of them,but some people left, but I'm not like my clients are my clients, you know, I will find
you a budget stylist or I will find you something that's cheaper.
(10:54):
Like you can do a partial instead of a full like, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
You just get those relationships with them.
You're like, I know I'm sorry I'm out of your budget, but what is your budget?
And let's work with that, you know, and if not, I will send you to someone that'sreputable that is within your budget.
So yeah.
(11:16):
very good.
And so you kind of found your ideal clients over time and they found you and it soundslike it's been a pretty good situation you've got.
Yeah, yeah, it's great.
I don't, I only take on new uh clients for vivid hair, because I have all my regulars.
(11:40):
I have my old ladies that I do my, you know, great touch ups every five to six weeks.
And I still have men clients like, it's crazy.
I've been cutting some of them since they were two, you know, it's
like how long have you been coming to me and they're like how old's your son 14 yeah 14years I'm like holy cow yeah
(12:03):
that's amazing.
That's amazing.
Okay, so you've got a full clientele and you're also educating and you have certainresponsibilities to the brands that you've aligned with.
so tell us how you split your time.
I mean, how much time behind the chair and how much time educating do they make youtravel?
(12:25):
How does that work?
Yeah, so it's a little bit here and there.
I'm behind the chair four days a week.
So I'm usually off on the weekends and on Monday and on my Friday, I only work until aboutthree.
So it's really nice because I'm like nine to five.
(12:46):
So but I mean, my clients, you know, are used to that and make it work.
So
On Thursday I do work till 6 and I do 10 to 6 on Thursday.
Cause I have a few that need after 5.
So that's my one late day.
But I also juggle my kids and their sports.
(13:09):
Okay so Tucker is 14 and Jackson is 11.
So yep.
It's a lot but uh huh.
But I...
Yeah, social media and brand stuff.
um I try to do that on my Mondays because that is like a day during the week um that I canget stuff done and I have the weekends for my family and everything.
(13:40):
um I try to in the evening engage and post, but it's late at night, but I think people areused to me posting nine or 10 o'clock at night, you know, but.
and I do post on my stories and stay uh active that way.
But uh it is like another full-time job doing that.
(14:05):
And with my brand deals and stuff, they usually give me a good two to three weeks or so tolike get the content and make it and then post.
So usually, usually it's not too bad.
And I do that on my Mondays.
Sometimes I have to do it on Sunday, but it just depends.
(14:26):
It's hard to juggle.
And I bet it is.
So for the curiosity of the listeners who are like, you know, if I had a sponsor, youknow, Oligo or JRL or K-18 or whoever, like, what would they make me do?
Like, what's the requirement?
Is it once a month?
You said every three weeks.
yeah, it's different with each brand.
(14:53):
so I used to work for Guy Tang.
I was part of Guy Tang My Identity.
And with them, it was uh once a month that we would teach a class.
And because I got hired during COVID, it was all through Zoom.
So we would do that.
um And it was usually just an hour.
(15:13):
and we would have like a model already prepped and usually it was a mannequin headsometimes I got like a live model um and then oh I was like add hand effects
You went dark on me.
Okay, there you go.
It said add hand effect.
(15:34):
So it's probably because I'm talking with my hand.
Sometimes when I go like this.
Oh, boom, look at that.
thumbs up one too?
something or maybe it's a peace sign.
No, I don't know.
Yeah, you got a storm going.
(15:55):
And then there's like a dark cloud.
So for the listeners who are like, what the hell are they talking about?
They were talking about Guy Tang and my identity and then now all of a sudden they'retalking about hand gestures.
So the software we're using to record this has interesting.
(16:16):
things.
So when Cassandra and I are moving, it's got some weird AI thing in there.
So if you do a thumbs up, you get kind of this uh weird thumbs up image on the screen.
Yeah.
All right.
it did that.
I was like hand gestures.
Yeah, yeah, Cassandra's screen went dark, I think, because it was doing something abouthand gestures.
(16:39):
It's weird.
I didn't read the instructions of this app, so you know, we don't know what's happening.
it does that with iPhones and like FaceTime, because I was FaceTiming my mom and I thinkshe thumbs it up and she was like, why did it just do that?
So anyway, but it must, it might be an Apple thing.
(17:00):
I don't know.
Anyway.
All right.
So, um, so my identity during COVID, you're doing virtual classes and yeah.
I'm trying to remember, I think it was tag them in two videos a month.
I think that's what the requirements are or were.
(17:22):
um And then with Kate team, the brand deals were separate.
Like I was required to post like a 30 second video or something, and then they would payme just for that video.
But the collective,
They send me X amount of products every month and I just tag them in two videos So it'sreally not a lot required.
(17:48):
You're already making the content, you know, so you just tag the brand and then I don'teven know if I have What's it called requirements for JRL they hired me hair slayers found
me I won a competition and
they found me and they're like, we'd like to sponsor you.
(18:09):
was like, what does that mean?
And they're like, we'll send you free stuff.
Just tag us in your videos.
And I'm like, cool.
And yeah, COVID is really what helped me grow is because I was posting, I was teaching,people were finding me.
So I'm kind of thankful for COVID since I was locked down like two months, you know?
(18:33):
But.
staying active and doing all right things during COVID, which is great.
Yeah.
That's honestly where I grew the most and now I'm just kind of coasting and growing alittle bit.
Because I don't post like every day.
I do on my stories, but like I don't post videos every day.
I'm like once a week I try.
(18:55):
It is hard to do.
It is, yeah, it is hard to do.
I've become very bad at it.
I just haven't been able to allocate the time.
So Donovan has given me the word back to the question, have I interviewed Paul Mack?
He said no.
And I'm glad that I was correct because I didn't remember it.
And I would have scared myself if I didn't remember it and I had interviewed him.
(19:20):
That would be really embarrassing.
I wouldn't admit that on live here on the show.
But
But I can now with confidence say that I correctly remembered that I had never interviewedhim.
So this is the official invite to Paul Mack.
Paul has to come on the show.
We will reach out to him.
Okay.
So let's talk about bond builders.
(19:41):
Bond builders is a very interesting topic.
Pretty much started with Olaplex around 2014-15 and this guy named Dean in Santa Barbaracreated this product, whole new category.
and kind of lit the, you know, the chemical processing part of the industry on fire.
You could do this all of a sudden, you could do that all of a sudden.
(20:03):
And, you know, there was kind of uh an upward trajectory and now there's a little bit of adownward trajectory on Olaplex's numbers and some other things.
It's a public company, you can look on their numbers and see.
uh They're selling like half the product they were just a couple of years ago.
So then K18 came out.
(20:23):
And it seems like a lot of people consider it the only real competitor to Olaplex.
So are you, you rely on it?
em Or is it just, and some of your services, some of your color services, you use it?
How do you use it?
Yes, I do on most of my blonding clients.
(20:44):
but I don't use every step.
You know, I just think like the molecular hair repair mask and the the chetlator spray.
Am I saying that right?
I don't think so, but I don't know how to say it.
I don't know how to say it any differently.
(21:06):
yes, I know exactly the word that you're thinking about and I don't know how to say itright.
Yes, of course.
Yeah.
I don't, not even gonna try.
I don't know.
You're the educator.
I'm just the consumer.
(21:26):
So.
I always say that wrong.
I have to look it up before I say it but um none of these brands I am exclusive to Whichis nice because I can post about other ones.
So only G is a new uh product that I'm sponsoring Not is it because he's a new brand onlyG club
(21:54):
holy, hold on Donovan, hold on.
We're gonna get to the bottom of this one, because I looked it up and I saw the name and Ithought, holy gee, boy that's a whole lot like oligo.
Okay, you're right.
It's O-L-E-G.
O-L-I space G.
(22:16):
Okay, what kind of product is this?
So it's just like K18 and Olaplex.
It's another peptide bond.
Yeah.
it.
Okay.
Interesting.
All right.
they're all really similar.
They all do the same thing.
That's just me.
(22:40):
I haven't noticed one work better than the other.
I think a lot of people switch from Olaplex though, because I don't feel like with Olaplexyou notice it immediately, like you do K-18.
You know what I mean?
And I like Olaplex too.
So I don't know.
I use a bond builder in every chemical blonding service and it's whatever I have, whateverI wanna use.
(23:11):
What are you seeing behind the chair these days?
Client behavior, any changes?
Are they asking for different sort of, you know, trends or are they coming in more orless?
I'm doing way more mullets.
Like that is a big thing right now.
Like the wolf cut the mullets.
Yeah!
(23:31):
Yeah, I got a little bit of a mullet.
I'll show the camera here.
so it's kind of, although my top has gotten kind of long too, which kind of diminishes thenature of the mullet, right?
Like it's a little mullety.
Yeah, this part is so poofy, you know, the back.
(23:54):
like above the mullet part that it kind of takes away from the mullet.
But, alright, so you're getting mullet glance.
That's good.
Yeah, lots of them.
My vivid clients have been doing more solid colors because of inflation, but they stillwant to do the fun colors, but they want something less maintenance, if you know what I
(24:19):
mean.
Yes.
Okay, so solid colors because the gradient's kind of expensive or like the blending takesyou longer and you have to charge more.
charge by hour.
Okay, that was my next question.
So you're charging by the hour.
So they're like, you know, what can you do in four hours?
(24:41):
Yeah, yeah.
And you're like, I can do a solid color or let's say, what can you do in two hours?
And you're like, I could do one solid color.
And they're like, you can't get some yellow and purple in there.
You're like, well, that's four hours.
And they're like, I don't wanna spend four hours worth.
(25:02):
Yeah.
and a lot more are doing kind of like a balayage.
Like they don't mind when their roots grow out.
It's more of a lived in, but like vivids.
So a lot of the times my vivids, like they'll come and do the blonding session and thenwe'll do their vivid.
And the next time we just do the vivid, they don't care about like the grow out.
(25:24):
And usually they'll do that twice and then we'll just uh blonde it again and do the vivid.
So.
That saves them money because blonding takes a long time.
Because I have to usually platinum card and everything.
And what's your favorite thing to do?
What's your favorite service?
Like ideal client rolls into your studio.
(25:45):
What's that?
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
yeah and color melting.
I love doing silvers with like a pop of color.
It's really fun.
Are you on TikTok?
huh, yes, same name, Kissy's Bomb Show Beauties.
and how much time do you spend on TikTok versus Instagram?
(26:08):
You know what?
I spend more time on Instagram than I do TikTok.
And I don't know why that is.
Maybe my algorithm's better on Instagram.
I don't know.
But, um...
Maybe you started earlier on Instagram and you just have bigger community.
when I went off on my own is when I started posting on my Instagram.
(26:34):
I don't think I posted at all when I was at Dollar Cuts, but that was also, you know,2009, 10, when I don't know when Instagram started.
2011, think it officially was started.
I don't think it really began to get popular until 2012.
(26:57):
I think Facebook bought it maybe around then, 2012 maybe, 2013?
It might be off a year, but sometime around then.
then within our industry,
You know, really 2015, it really started changing things for our industry.
The first couple of years, know, was kids posting pictures, you know, like sepia tone andlike heavy filters and things like that.
(27:24):
Remember the frames?
You could put a frame around your uh image and it was a bunch of that.
And then around 2014, 15 is when it started really catching on, I think.
Yes.
for me, the guy with the name Eric Taylor, he's been squatting on his account since like2012.
(27:49):
So he's been taking it from me.
Yeah, so that's really annoying.
I wish I could, I've actually tried to submit some kind of complaint.
So maybe...
There should be a thing where if you don't post for, I don't know, three years orwhatever, then you automatically lose your account.
(28:12):
I don't know, that could be unfair maybe, but I would like that so maybe I could get theaccount.
Yeah.
What's the most difficult conversation you've ever had with a client in your chair?
Oh.
I have to think about that.
I've had so many conversations and tons of like relationship advice.
(28:38):
I probably domestic violence.
I had a client come in that was like pretty bruised up and stuff.
Yeah.
And um I did make an anonymous phone call afterwards, but she was aware of it and she wentto the doctors and everything.
(29:00):
And she said that they won't do anything unless she, like the victim says something, youknow?
Yeah.
him she fell down the stairs.
And I was like, you can't keep doing this, you know?
And I did make an anonymous call.
She doesn't know that I did that.
But um yeah, she got some help and she's doing good now.
(29:22):
But yeah.
No.
Yeah.
So that was probably one of the most difficult ones.
um A lot of them lost too.
I've had clients
crying to me in their chair.
Especially when I've been doing their hair that long.
You know everything about them.
(29:43):
um Their dogs, like family members.
um Losing your own clients too.
I lost one during COVID and that was really hard.
um I don't know.
Just so many different conversations.
(30:03):
Yeah.
If you could wave a wand and change anything about the industry at all right now, whatwould it be?
Hmm...
I'm...
think there needs to be less competition and more like support.
(30:25):
You know, I feel like there's a lot of competition in the hair industry.
Like there's so many of us and your clients find you because of your personality and uhyour skill.
You can't like replicate me.
You know what I mean?
So like there shouldn't be a competition against other stylists.
(30:45):
There shouldn't.
I don't know.
I just am, I'm all about stylus supporting stylus.
So I wish that everyone was like that.
Yeah, of course, of course.
m Do you have any hair horror stories?
And it could be things that you messed up or something that a hairstylist next to you mustmessed up, whatever.
(31:07):
Any hair horror stories taking place in this salon?
I need to figure out which one.
yeah, I'll give you minute to consider the best one.
Okay.
Mmm.
(31:29):
I'm also thinking about which one isn't going to offend people.
How about this?
Don't worry about offending anybody.
You can give us a story.
If you don't like it, we'll take it out.
you probably, it's probably not that offensive, but try us.
(31:50):
Okay, so I I worked at another salon uh Master cuts for just a little while and kind ofthe same as dollar cuts and um Anyways, I remember this lady.
I I had just barely been doing hair and she Came in and she didn't speak very um
(32:21):
good English.
She's from Germany.
And she came in and she was like, this is the haircut I want.
And she had a picture of it.
And it's uh pretty much a bowl cut, like really short and then bangs.
I was like, okay.
has got her hand turned horizontally across her eyebrows, and then she's around the top ofher ears for the listeners.
(32:49):
Yes.
Yeah.
was like, okay.
And her hair was like kind of long like mine.
And so I'm like, okay, yeah, if that's what you want.
And I'm cutting it and she doesn't say much, you know, but she barely speaks English andI'm cutting it.
And she was like, no one ever gets this right.
(33:12):
Nobody in America knows how to cut hair.
So I'm just like so nervous and I'm cutting it.
and we get to the bangs and I've always been taught to cut them longer because they'llshrink when they dry.
I have PTSD from this lady.
So I cut them like just right below her eyebrow because I knew when I dried them they weregoing to shrink up.
(33:38):
So I cut them and she was like shorter and I was like I'll cut them shorter when we dry itand she's like no I know they need to be shorter.
And you're like dry versus wet.
And I don't and this is probably why no one has gotten her hair, right?
(33:59):
but
keeps giving them the wrong direction.
Yes.
Okay, so you cut them?
Yeah.
And then they were like at her eyebrow and she told me even shorter and she said when theydried, she wanted them to be above her eyebrow, you know?
(34:19):
But anyway, this is just how I remember it.
It probably wasn't that dramatic, but this is how I remember it.
So then I cut them shorter.
And then when I went to dry them,
They were in the middle of her forehead.
And she turns and looks at me and she calls me a stupid American and says, I don't knowhow to cut hair.
(34:40):
And I started crying and I asked my manager, I'm like, I don't know what to do.
And she said, I'll come over and I'll help you.
And uh she was like, tell her she doesn't have to pay for her hair.
And I was like, I'm sorry, you don't have to pay for your hair.
And she's like, you stupid American and just yelling at me.
(35:03):
And she's like, I wasn't planning on paying for it anyway.
And I was like, oh, okay.
So I don't know if she just was like trying to get a free haircut, but also, also it wasbad.
She had like baby bangs.
You know, I mean, what a thief.
Like I hear a story like that.
(35:25):
like, this person is just trying to rob others of their money.
They're trying to get free things from others.
What a leech on society.
I know, that was one of the scariest ones.
Yeah, I bet.
And now I'm terrified to cut people's bangs too short, that I always dry cut them afterthe initial cut, you know, like, anyway.
(35:49):
well, you live and you learn and that's why we ask hair horror stories because, you know,we have young hairdressers, we have aspiring hairdressers, we have hairdressers in beauty
school listening to this podcast.
And I think they get a lot from these hair horror stories.
And of course it's funny and entertaining at the same time.
Any last words for the community?
(36:13):
I'm hoping that my generation, millennials and stuff, inspire like the newer ones and thatthey want to come and learn from us.
um I tell everyone to start at a commission salon.
That's my biggest advice.
(36:35):
Don't go off on your own the very get-go.
Even if you have clients in beauty school, you're not gonna make enough.
off on your own and um with the commission one they'll bring you the clients you buildthem up and then you leave and take them with you.
Don't work out a one that makes you sign a waiver saying you can't take your clientsthough.
(36:57):
yeah, no NDAs, no non-competes.
I think it's non-compete.
And so we've been seeing that a little bit on the East Coast.
You don't see it at all on the West Coast.
The laws actually treat that differently.
The laws in California, yeah, the laws in California make it very hard for a company toenforce a, well, enact and enforce a non-compete.
(37:25):
In New York, uh it's a little bit different, although some of the teeth have been takenout of these non-competes.
uh yeah, totally.
We've only talked about non-competes a couple times on the show, but uh absolutely a badidea.
Yeah, because then, and if you do sign that, then I guess they do have say if you takeyour clients.
(37:51):
luckily I never signed anything.
So I was able to take my clients with me.
But that's my biggest advice is to start at like a commission salon.
It doesn't have to be dollar cuts or great clips because some, some people create acommission based salons and uh it might fit their vibe better too, you know, so.
(38:12):
Find somewhere you feel like you fit in, build your clients.
I'd stay a year or two and then you can go off on your own and then even build more onceyou're on your own.
But that and continuing your education, always take classes at least once a year.
So, yeah.
You're Cassandra Taylor, not my sister, by the way, if anybody wondered, not my sister.
(38:38):
No, no, no, no, no, my last name is Taylor.
Yes.
Not, you're not.
Yeah, that would be funny.
You are not my sister though, but you know, maybe sister from another mother, as they say.
You're Kissy Bombshell Beauties on Instagram.
It was awesome getting to know you.
(39:00):
Thank you, you too.
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