Comments on: Seven Secrets to Being as Happy as a Hairdresser

By: Jamie

Jamie — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:30:04 +0000

Agreed! I love all areas of hairdressing. I thrive on teaching, financing, marketing, referrals and investments. Even if you work for someone, as a hairdresser you are in charge of how big your own business can be. The career is endless in opportunity. Whether you work in a mom and pop salon in a small town or in a metropolitan area; it’s up to you to develop your own brand and desired income.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:15:28 +0000

As far as not making the money of a “Jose Eber”, I think that depends on where you are. In a major metropolitan area a good hairdresser can make well into six figures, or more.

By: Seven Secrets to Being as Happy as a Hairdresser | MarketingProfs … | receptionists

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:10:44 +0000

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By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:43:21 +0000

I just wanted to say that I am on my way to beauty school and all this good energy and talk on this site has really reassured me that this is the right decision. My first job was in a salon as a receptionist and I then got promoted to management! I loved being in that atmosphere and working with so many different types of people. I LOVE to talk and socialize and I love fashion and being creative, so this career is perfect for me. I currently work in accounting at a Medical Spa, and although I LOVE the spa atmosphere, I am not happy in accounting! I guess that is what I get for hating math in high school! Keep up the good work and positive words because you are inspiring a whole new generation on Hairdressers!!!!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:26:49 +0000

hello all. i am a very happy hairdresser!! been doing it for 10 yrs now. own my own business and can honestly say i love my job. its true what someone said about not being able 2 take a weks holiday without the need to do a blowdry or something.. it truely is in ur blood and the passion is always there. i have so much fun with all my staff and clients. there are some days when we just dont stop laughing. it is a great tonic. long live the success of the trade that is HAIR!!! woohoo!!!

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:22:14 +0000

The woman who cuts my hair seems as happy as can be and is very social. She probably knows more about me from her in questions than most. Cheers to the hair dressers.

By: Very Happy Phil

Very Happy Phil — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:22:50 +0000

Nice post Scott!
Having happy clients, as well as happy staff transformed a depressed dentist into a happy dentist (Paddi Lund, author ‘Happiness centred Business’). He got rid of customers he didnt like and kept the happy ones!
Keep happy!
Very Happy Phil
author ‘How to boost your happiness’

By: nani

nani — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:38:01 +0000

I love hairdressing i am a freshmen in a technical school and i fell in love with hairdressing i am looking forward into getting into that shop.

By: Rhonda Spetta

Rhonda Spetta — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:28:11 +0000

I have been a cosmetologist for 14 years and am 33 years old. Talk about passion!!!You have to love your job!I am no longer taking new clients (great business to be in), just raised my prices and still in great demand. I work hard and have longed for this to happen.I live in Green Bay,Wi. Yes,this is soo..possible. The best advice is to be professional(not boring) and gain the clients trust. The money will roll in. Money should not be your first focus. I started doing one haircut a day.(Boring and lots of towels),but now can’t take new clients. What a reward!!! I go to a hair show and clients are putty in hands.Use tecniques that you learned at shows and you make money.

By: Mieke Smythe

Mieke Smythe — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:45:25 +0000

I can’t wait to get to work tomorrow…
There is hair to be done!!!

By: Shelley

Shelley — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:03:26 +0000

After being in the hair industry for 33 years, I have come to realize that I am one of the most fortunate persons on earth. I have the income I dreamed of and it is from my hobby, HAIR! When I was young, I didn’t stop to think if this industry would allow me to grow old. Well it does. There are endless opportunities and I want to live long enough to do them all. I truly believe my clients taught me everything from getting grass stains out of jeans to saying “no” to my grandchildren (go figure, there are alot of years between!!) When my daughters told me they wanted to follow in my footsteps, I was proud. I knew they would be happy and secure. Very few individuals have the luxury waking up and wanting to work. I am one of the fortunate ones. I love what I do.

By: K T Cat

K T Cat — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:01:17 +0000

I linked and tried to throw you a trackback, but it didn’t seem to work.
Great post!

By: Davide Fugazza

Davide Fugazza — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:01:14 +0000

Eight secret maight be: deal with beauty (can you imagine how it feels like making a woman feel beautiful?).
My father is hairdresser. I work in IT. I can’t really compete…

By: Jessica Woods

Jessica Woods — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:38:10 +0000

Funny that this topic was brought up. Me and one of my colleagues were discussing this same thing after a frustrating afternoon of how we should just throw in the towel and go to beauty school. My mother was a hair stylist for 30 years and some of my most memorable and happiest times as a child were sitting in her salon pretending to be an adult and laughing with all of the people coming in. I still remember a lot of her clients and have run into quite a few of them over the years. I must agree that there is something to be said about a career where you can be creative, be your own boss, have great working and personal relationships and make great use of your time. I wish we could all do that.

By: Susan Martin

Susan Martin — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:51:05 +0000

Great observations, thanks!
Tammy: As someone who did a life changing career transition some years ago, we CAN all be hairdressers, and don’t necessarily have to give up dollars to do so…

By: Mark DiMassimo

Mark DiMassimo — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:19:11 +0000

I grew up, sitting on phone books, with my head under a dryer at my grandparent’s hair salon.
My grandfather, now 95, fit the bill of the happy hair dresser perfectly. He relished his job, and his many close friends, which was how he viewed his clients.
My grandmother developed “terminal” cancer thirty years ago, so she and my grandfather retired to spend their remaining months together.
At 91, Gramma is cancer-free and still going strong, and Grampa’s only regret is that he didn’t go right on working, only on a lighter schedule.
“You’ve got to understand, Mark,” he tells me, “These were my friends.”
Chatting, giving pleasure, being creative, putting your hands in someones hair — an easy, chaste intimacy, feeling appreciated, and respected for a certain expertise, and getting paid for it. Five dollars for a haircut, I think it was, at the peak. Yet, one woman traveled from Canada once a month to have her hair done by “Marino.” Another came down from Boston. A family legend has it that my grandfather was exempted from the draft in WW2 because he was deemed, “essential to the morale of women in the State of New Jersey.”
We happily believe it.

By: Dean Wormer

Dean Wormer — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:09:59 +0000

Seems to me that if you work without Passion, you’re doomed. If you can’t use the things that you most believe in at your job, it’s over. Especially true here in the US, where we spend more time at work than most other people. It’s a recent revelation for me, but now that I’ve found it I’m really so much more engaged…

By: dean @ Office Hair

dean @ Office Hair — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 21:41:24 +0000

They say that if a Hairdresser can get past the 8-10 year mark then they will probably keep donig it till they die and after 15 years in the industry I can see why. Each industry attracts certain types of people who have the required personality types needed to do that job.
Hairdressers (usually) are happy people, you have to be if you are dealing with people all day. Are we the happiest? I know I am more happy with my work than anyone else I know, yes, I love my work, how many can say that?
My advantage? I get instant satisfaction from my work and get to make people feel special. I have also formed strong bonds of friendship with many of my clients, but strangely with only a few of my many work collegues. Not so strange when you look at the politics of the work place. Office workers often tell me of the stress of their politics but let me tell you, these are nothing compared to what goes on behind the scenes in most salons! The trick for any work place is trust in yourself and your beliefs, but also be willing to take advice. We often cannot see our own short-commings so when a collegue or boss enlightens you about these, pay attention becuase usually they DO have your best interest in mind.
It is true that you are responsible for your own happiness, but so is the boss. They need to be there to manage you and your career whether you’re a Hairdresser or sit in front of a computer. The support and encouragement of a boss will push anyone to greater achievements and make you feel valued, and therefore, satisfied. While we Hairdressers get compliments on our work from happy clients, we rarely get recognition from the boss (sound familiar people?) But I’m luckier than most because I have an abundance of Sagittarian optimism, I don’t let lack of praise get me down. A strong belief in your own worth can make you happy no matter what your vocation (yes, easier said than done!)
Hairdressers also get to hear all about the lives of their clients, the good AND the bad. You can either let it get you down, or you can learn from it, I chose to learn. I have also found that so many of my clients were more than happy to help/advise/encourage me when I decided to go out on my own. I put this down to A) they want to give something back to me & B) they can see the passion I have for my craft.
Hairdressing gets into your blood, I can’t even go a week on holidays without the need to at least blowdry someone’s hair.
So love what you do and do what you love.
Oh, and marry well if you can!

By: scott baradell

scott baradell — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:05:31 +0000

I think it’s also saying that I’m going to ask my hairdresser for a tip next time, rather than vice versa.

By: Tammy Strnatka

Tammy Strnatka — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:49:50 +0000

I wish we all could be hairdressers.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:54:02 +0000

“Once you start making career decisions based on where the dollars are, rather than where your heart is, you’ve pretty much guaranteed yourself a life of unhappiness at work.”
What’s that saying, I think it’s ‘Good job, Good money, good life….pick two’.