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My professional journey through the industry. Transitioning from a hobby stylist who didn't take their job very seriously, to a 6+ figure stylist working just 3 days a week.
You're tuned into Reviving the Stylist, a business podcast for hairstylists looking to build a dream career that creates financial freedom and flexibility. I'm your host, Kristen Lumiere and as a stylist I've had my share of successes. Building a successful six plus figure business working only three days a week while being able to prioritize my family, travel and buy my dream home. I know it doesn't sound easy, but if you put in the work, I guarantee you'll see results. No matter what your goals are. I'm super stoked that you're here so I can help you crush them. Let's start today's episode.
Kristen Lumiere 0:03
You're tuned into Reviving the Stylist, a business podcast for hair stylists looking to build a dream career that creates financial freedom and flexibility. I'm your host, Kristen lumir. And as a stylist, I've had my share of successes. Building a successful six plus figure business working only three days a week, while being able to prioritize my family, travel and buy my dream home. I know it doesn't sound easy, but if you put in the work, I guarantee you'll see results. No matter what your goals are, I'm super stoked that you're here so I can help you crush them. Let's start today's episode.
Kristen Lumiere 0:41
Well, hello, and welcome back to Reviving the Stylist. Before we get started, I do just want to give a little bit of a warning, this is going to be a almost complete recap of my journey from a hobby hairstylist to a six plus figure stylist and I will be speaking about previous abuse that I did have to go through in a relationship that I had in the very beginning, I'm not going to go into super gory details or anything like that. But I do just want to give you a little warning that if you know hearing about abuse is something that triggers you then you may want to skip this episode at least. Or if you want to listen to part two, then you can definitely do that. But I do just want to give you a forewarning about that I'm not going to like I said go into any gory details. But I am going to recount you know some things that I felt along that time because transparency for me is really important. And being someone who has been in a physically abusive relationship with a man is is not something that I am particularly afraid of talking about, I am not a victim, I don't view myself like that at all. And I will say that I gave that person hell. So no one I'm like, no one's gonna physically hurt me. And I'm not going to do anything about it. That's the type of person I am. I'm a really strong, you know, woman and a really strong personality. And I just refuse to bow down to basically anyone. But I, you know, I am going to talk about it in this episode. And I'm not going to talk about it first, because that's not how my story started out. My story started out a little bit differently. And when I decided to go to beauty school, I was still with my ex at this time, but things weren't crazy at that point. So I'll start from the very, very beginning. Before I went to beauty school, I actually was super obsessed with doing makeup like makeup was something that I would go on YouTube, I would learn all the stuff, I would watch all those like really crazy YouTubers, and I would reenact it I went to makeup school and got certified and all different types of stuff. And I went to my cousin because my cousin does hair also, we actually have two cousins who do hair. And she used to do my hair. She used to cut it and color it and all kinds of stuff. And at that time, my mom also had a hair salon, and my cousin was helping her with running it. It was just a venture that my mom decided she was going to try and she didn't end up loving it. So she sold it. And I would say maybe like two years or so after. But I talked to my cousin I was just like, I really love doing makeup. I want to be an Aesthetician because I also really love like waxing, and I love eyebrows. And that is just kind of like for me like makeup and all the esthetician stuff just kind of came hand in hand. So I talked to her about it. And she was like, you know, Kristen, there's a really great opportunity to be an aesthetician and you know, all that kind of stuff. But at the same time, like you'll have a lot more flexibility if you go and just get your cosmetology license. So if you go and you get your cosmetology license, you'll be able to still do everything an Aesthetician can, but you'll be licensed in nails and hair and you'll be able to also do you know that if that is something you decide to do in the future, because at that time as a makeup artist, it was really, really difficult to make great money. So she was just like, you know, this could be something that could be difficult to make as a career little does anyone know that being a hair stylist or makeup artist or esthetician can be equally as difficult because you're having to build your clientele either way, and you're having to prove that you are valuable. So let's get back to the story. Once I listened to her and her opinions and reasons and all that I decided I was going to enroll in cosmetology school. And I was super excited because I was going to make sure I focus on makeup and really, really dove into that because that's what I loved. And yada yada yada. Now let's fast forward just a little bit when I was maybe, let's see, I think it was maybe eight weeks into cosmetology school. And I was in what was called the freshmen room at Palomar Institute of Cosmetology in San Marcos, California. That's where I graduated from Beauty School. And I realized that there was actually no makeup ever that was being done at the school, like no one ever did makeup, there was no classes about makeup, it was very strictly like, let's get you ready for state board, you're going to graduate. And then we're going to have, you know, great passing rates, because we're going to really focus on our state board exams. And a lot of beauty schools really focus on that, for me, that's the primary thing that beauty schools are here for is to make sure that you're not going to be dangerous with your tools, or with the chemicals that you have, you know how to use them, and you understand how to read an MSDS. And you are able to pass your state board and get licensed so that way you can work and you can then get the education that you need to become the stylist that you always want to be. So Beauty School is just that very small stepping stone to get you started in your career. And then it's up to you to really expand upon it and make your career what you want it to be. So of course, after eight weeks and not doing any makeup and noticing that no one really did makeup, I was really, really upset about it for a short period of time. But then I don't know what happened. There was part of me that just decided that hair was really, really fun. I really love doing it. I went into cosmetology school not knowing how to braid hair at all. And when I left cosmetology school, I could do cornrows. I could do like box braids, I could do waterfall braids, I could do any kind of braid, and I could make like all crazy combinations. And it was something that I was just like, Man, I love just getting my fingers in hair and doing it. I love doing color. I loved hair cutting the geometry in haircutting was just something that really clicked with me, it was something that I was able to really connect with. And I went to a bunch of education. When I was in cosmetology school, I went to haircutting classes outside, I went to a lot of, you know, smaller like you for classes, I went to hair salons because some hair salons would have assistant programs and they would incentivize students to come and jump into some of their educational classes as a kind of preview of what working for them would be like so I would go there. I would do competitions at schools so I could win classes and all different kinds of stuff I would do so much to further my knowledge as a colorist as a hairstylist, a hair cutter. And that was where I really just decided that hair was where I wanted to be. Now fast forward a little bit more to when I graduated. I was 19 When I graduated from Beauty School. I am 30 Now which when I say that that sounds just absolutely crazy to me that it's been 11 years since I graduated beauty school. Oh my goodness, but dirty 30 is doing me right right now your girl's butt is still fat, and she's still feeling fine. So whatever.
Kristen Lumiere 8:26
30 ain't got nothing on me. I'm gonna make 30 look real good. Plus 29 was just a really weird like, age, like you're not in your you, you are technically in your 20s but you're like not like you feel like you're not and you're also not in your 30s So you're in this like weird like limbo state. So it kind of drove me nuts. Anyway, back to my story. There was a charity event for cerebral palsy that I decided to go and help out with. They needed hairstylist and makeup artists and I had a big makeup kit. And I decided to go and help out with this charity event. It was like a charity fashion show. I was going in thinking I was going to do hair and makeup. So I would do a model's hair and I would do their makeup. And that's what I thought until I got there. And basically whoever ran the show was like you're going to be doing makeup. All of these people are going to be doing hair. And I looked at the way people were doing hair. And I thought to myself, I could do a really great job at doing hair. And I could maybe even do better. And I really want to be doing hair right now not makeup. And at that time. It was when I had like an epiphany and I was like I'm not meant to do makeup anymore. And I literally quit cold turkey. And I focus fully on doing hair. And for the first like I would say three years of my career. I focused on doing everything. I mean I did men's hair cuts, I did perms, I did keratin treatments. I did color I did hair cutting. I did long hair pixies I did everything and became really well versed in it all. And I also did wedding hair, prom hair. I mean, I did everything, I did special events, I would go to people's houses, I would just do whatever I had Groupons also, so more people would come to me, I would charge $69 for a Groupon, and they would get a full highlight, they would get a haircut, and they would also get a conditioning treatment. And that was all for $69. And that service alone took me three plus hours to do. And this was kind of the time where I was in this really bad spot. I was moving from where I currently lived in Vista. And my ex at that time was in the military, and he got stationed in Kansas. So we moved to Kansas, and he had a horrible tragedy happened when we moved. He was never the same really after that. And he was really abusive beforehand. But it was mostly emotional abuse, not necessarily physical. But when that happened. And this is like, not necessarily something that is difficult for me to talk about. But just recounting these memories, is something that does make me feel a little bit sick to my stomach at times. But it's just part of my journey. And it's something that I went through. And it's something that I survived and I came out so much better. And those mental scars and physical scars that I have, I was able to work past them and I was able to overcome them. So if I can do it, anyone can do it. And if you're in a situation like that, or if you've been in a situation like that, then you know what I'm talking about. So when I moved to Kansas, I didn't really know what to do. As far as my career went, I wasn't really taking it seriously, I was kind of bouncing around from this salon to that salon, this lawn to that salon, I didn't really know where I fit in where my mold was, I had no idea. And at the same time, I was dealing with a crazy person in my house who made me feel like I was trash. So I really didn't have any energy for my career, or to even act like my career was my career. I just kind of, I just kind of shut down and I decided like, you know what, screw it, this isn't serious. I'm just going to, you know, stop that pursuit of, you know, some semblance of a career. And I'm just going to do like, whatever. So I stopped doing hair while I was in Kansas after a specific period of time. And I actually started working at a car audio shop. Now, funny thing, my husband, Tyler, he actually was one of the car audio technicians. So he would do all the installs. And I actually met him there. Now this was a period of time where I decided that I was going to divorce my axe because I was I just couldn't take it anymore. And I left him and Tyler and I we actually became really great friends. And we started building a relationship at that time. Now fast forward a little bit more, we decided we were going to move back to California because my family was there. He didn't really have any strings attaching him to where he was at. So we just picked up and we moved. And that was the time where things really started to shift in my career, I was actually able to start doing hair again, I went and I started booth renting and I just knew that I was able to fully control my destiny, I knew that I was able to finally be as ambitious as I've always wanted to be. And I was able to fully put myself in a place where I could thrive in my career. Now this was a time where I was working as hard as possible, I would do 50 plus hour work weeks, I would be on Instagram when I wasn't working behind the chair, I would throw myself into my career and because I really, really made sure that I put that hard work and that effort in I created a name for myself. And I was able to build my clientele. And slowly but surely I started to niche down into more of that lived in color and that Bali ash actually went and I did vivid colors and lived in color. That was kind of my two things I really love doing so I would do Bolyard and I would do like Legend color on top of that. So that way it would still have kind of that really cool vivid effect, but it wouldn't be as high maintenance for my clients. And typically they would fade really pretty. So that was the point where I just knew that I wanted more. I didn't really know what more was at that point. But when I decided that I was going to really be like, as ambitious as I wanted to be and really focus on making great money, I transitioned from being a hobby hairstylist who didn't really take herself seriously had to deal with a lot of abuse didn't really have the energy to put into her career and would take people for $69. And where I would only be able to pocket because Groupon would take like 50% of that. So if it was $69, and then they took 50%, I would only make $34.50. And then if you divide that by three, it's it's less than $12 an hour. And that's not even counting all of that product that I spent, because the product that I spent alone probably was worth about $30. So at the end of the day for working in that three hour period, I was only able to pocket probably $4.50. Like that is pretty crazy. And at that time, thankfully, my boyfriend who is now my husband had a good job. And he was able to take care of specific things and kind of help out more so because I was really just doing it to do it, and doing it to get experience doing it to see what would happen if I did this or see what happened. If I did that I messed up hair, I fried hair, not on purpose, of course. But I was like starting out. And I was like starting over. This was probably I don't know, maybe three years after Beauty School. And for three years of my career, I did nothing with it. And then when that three years was finished, I had to completely re do everything I had to start from square one were my friends who went to beauty school, they were already stylist behind the chair, super confident in their skills, and I had to learn everything from the ground up, and I had to mess up some hair to figure out how to fix it. And I do not feel bad about saying that at one time, like not one time, because someone who goes to someone for a full highlight haircut and a deep conditioning treatment for $69, they should know that you're not going to get an incredible results. So I just want to say that, and I don't feel bad about it at all, because it was an incredible learning experience for me. And I will not apologize for it. I will not I refuse. Now, of course I don't like try purposefully to mess up hair. Now I actually have like 1000s and 1000s of heads of hair that I have done in the past, I would say 11 Well, minus three years off about 11. So what is that that's like eight years, I have done so many heads of hair that if for some reason I mess something up. I know how to fix it and make it look incredible. So I will say that experience really, really helped me. So when I started rebuilding my clientele really started investing in my education, and really started to take my career seriously, this is where things kind of changed. And I knew that I needed and I wanted more, I started to become really great at Living Color. Balaji was something that I used to do with a paintbrush. And this is when Periscope like was a thing. I don't know if you know what Periscope was. But it was the very first like live streaming app where you could stream live videos where we have Instagram Live. And we have like Facebook Live and YouTube Live and everything is live. Now. Periscope was like the very, very first one to start. And when I started getting on there, I started testing the waters for being an educator. And I had so many, like so many people viewing my periscopes I was pregnant at the time with my son. And that was where I decided that I wanted to kind of dip my toe in and see what it was going to be like to teach. And I actually found that I really, really loved it. And the education side just kind of boomed for me. And I wanted to jump in a little bit more. So I started my very first tour. I went all around the US and I taught classes everywhere. And it was just something that I really thrived at and I just really love doing now I was still a stylist behind the chair. And I was still living in California. But California started getting like really expensive. And my husband and I we just like looked at each other one day and we were like you want I don't think California is like it for us. Let's see what it is like in other areas. And I'm a really spontaneous person. I love changes of scenery. I love going and doing different things and moving to me as something that I'm like, You know what I could pick up and I could leave I'm not attached to anything like I could do it easily. And we went and we toured kind of Texas a little bit and went to Austin and I just loved the vibe. Like first of all, like 70s hippie and that kind of like boho vibe is totally like, it's my vibe like that is me. And when I went to Austin, I was like, You know what, this is where I'm supposed to be like the people here the vibe like everything. This is where I'm supposed to stay. And this is like, this is our next step as a family. Now I'm gonna stop part one off here. But I'm going to continue the story in part two. Next week, I'm going to go over my journey from being a stylist that was making a decent amount of money to now being the head of the household and being the sole income and sole provider of my family. I'm going to go over that transition, how my husband and I made it work, what happened to actually make that decision come into effect and all different types of stuff. So I will see you on the next episode. I hope you enjoyed this one and a little peek into my life.
Kristen Lumiere 21:02
Thank you so much for joining me today on Reviving the Stylist. If something really resonated with you during this episode, take a screenshot share it to your Instagram story and let me know what you love most don't forget to also send it to a friend so that way they can reap the incredible things from this episode too and leave me a rating and review. I'd also absolutely just love to connect with you outside of the show too. So you can find me on Instagram at Kristin dot Lumiere that's L u m ay er E or my website, Kristin lumiere.com. And before I go, I just want to leave you with one reminder. It isn't about living to work. It's about working to live. And that is my goal for you, friend, because you deserve it. I'll see you on the next one.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai