Today we’d like to introduce you to Clay Daniel
Hi Clay, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story starts when I enrolled in college for Visual Arts in the mid 1990’s with focus on painting and sculpting. Various friend of mine would ask me to cut or color their hair since I was a creative person. I had various types of customer service and retail jobs outside of the arts and was able to maintain my freelance work in my free time working with runway shows, cosmetics brands, hair replacement solutions, and anything I could find in the beauty industry. At one point during my time living in Charlotte NC, I decided to reflect on what types of careers really made me the happiest and why. Artists don’t always have the focused direction they need to deliberately pick one career that meets both their creative and financial needs. I felt that after so many jobs I had taken, I should focus on a “career” instead of “just the next job.” After combining all of my job skills, talents, and considering what made my soul happy, I came to the conclusion that making people feel good about themselves was something I could do every day. I reflected on my skills in hair and makeup and it hit me that I should do work in a salon environment. Why it didn’t hit me sooner than it did is unknown. I then decided to move back to the upstate and find a school that would accommodate an adult who had to work and go to school. I found not only a cosmetology school that would be flexible with my schedule but a great mentor and teacher who happened to run the school that understood me as an artist. I enrolled and completed the 1500 hour requirements as quickly as I could. During my education I realized that I was exactly where I needed to be, and the knowledge was almost second nature to me. Upon completing my graduation and exams, In 2012 I interviewed for a position as an assistant stylist in Downtown Greenville and began growing my clientele very quickly. During my apprenticeship I learned the flow of the salon environment, improved my timing on services, and continued my education through classes, certifications, and online training modules. Everyone knew that I was diligent and had a passion for the salon business. I started working at Hair Bella Salon in October of 2013, and began my career there as a self employed stylist, allowing my career to take a huge leap forward. I continued to grow there, hired my own assistant, and later was asked by the owner if I would be interested in taking ownership of the salon by way of purchase as he was ready to be semi-retired. I accepted his offer, and began to re-decorate, establish protocols, and focus on what I thought was important to stylists so they could be both happy with their environment and have a supportive team. I followed no one regarding the traditional types of salon management systems as I did not agree with the ethics. I built an entire team of very loyal and talented stylists based on a paid apprenticeship program that I designed
The paid apprenticeship program allowed them to learn everything I did as an apprentice and more while building a clientele at their own pace. We communicate and calculate a way for them to progress into a sustainable self employed career when they express that is how they want to proceed. This type of mentoring was both fair to the stylist financially and ethically, thus creating a bond and loyalty that has persisted over the years. I see myself as more of a team leader and problem solver more so than a salon owner because I have curated a group of people that just want to love their careers, and enjoy where they work, just like I do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It wasn’t always a smooth road. Along the way I had to take a medical leave during school, but luckily got right back into it as soon as I was able. Learning the “politics” in the salon is always a challenge because you encounter a lot of different people who may or may not feel intimidated if you grow quicker than they do for any given reason, and that can create a sense of resentment or inadequacy. The best way to handle that I’ve learned is to inspire greatness and be encouraging with everyone. In regards to building a clientele, most stylist would say that’s the hardest part of being a stylist, but because I had an ear for listening, background in service, and a passion for the salon business I had it easier than some, but it was still an uphill battle in the beginning. I was never taught how to run a salon or a business. I had to figure than out as I went. I was never taught how to hire and manage people, that also was something I had to learn as I grew. Figuring out who would fit with the team and who had the necessary skills to take on the role they were being hired for was quite the challenge. Not everyone has the same mind set when it comes to “paying your dues” and starting from the ground level and working your way up. Some assistants want to move up much faster than what they signed up for. I always have encouraged them to be patient as they would learn the discipline it takes to succeed in this business. Those few who have come through our salon and not practiced enough to manage themselves or gained the necessary experience to handle certain situations have ended up leaving and having to learn the hard way, also leaving me in a quandary with my schedule. Any time a customer of the salon has had any issue, we have created a policy to prevent future issues of that nature, and discussed it as a team.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an artist with a background in painting and sculpting, I can say I still do that, but on people. I’m a idealist who sees clients with hair types of all kinds, whether it’s straight, wavy, curly, coily, bulky, thin, fine, dry, oily, short, long, and even balding. I don’t look at hair as just a service to provide, or a means to an end, but a project to conquer.
As far as specializing I can say I have quite a background in color and have a knack for creating hair colors and combos that express a very natural look, and that works for the person that I’m putting it on. I have 30 years of hair replacement knowledge (NSG / Non surgical grafts) that allows me to help those with thinning or balding hair to comfortably transition to having the hair of their dreams through means of toupeé, clip on hair toppers, wigs, extensions, and so on. These solutions are completely undetectable after I make certain adjustments with custom color and cut on them.
I’ve been told that those things are specialities of mine, but I’m mostly told that my scientific mind, passion for making people very comfortable, happy, heard, and understood sets me apart from other stylists.
How do you define success?
Success in my opinion can be very subjective. Like art, it depends on who is viewing it. I feel successful when someone I have taught exceeds my ability. I feel success when a client sheds tears of joy. I feel success when an associate stylist is ready to move from an hourly position to being their own boss. I feel successful when I can lay my head down at night and know that I have done everything in my power to inspire and encourage greatness in others and did not mind if I had to sacrifice a little of myself to help them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.hairbellasalon.com
- Instagram: HTTPS://instagram.com/hair.bella.salon
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/hairbellasalongreenville
- Other: Https://instagram.com/claydaniel77
