Making a Change

Martie Hair, Makeup and Beauty Behind The Chair, Etsy, hairstylist, making a change, new adventures, the beauty industry 9 Comments

This is my last WaVeS oN wEdNeSdAy. Why?  At the end of October, I am making a change, and “retiring” from my 18-year career in the beauty industry.

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Since I was around 10 or 11 years old, my dream was to become a hairstylist.  I expressed this desire to Madre numerous times over the years, and she always told me, “When you graduate from college, you can do whatever you want!” She was adamant that my siblings and I got a college education, no matter what.  I did just that…but in my third and fourth years of college, I worked in a beautiful, upscale salon as a shampoo assistant. It was there that the passion really began to burn, and I learned so much about working behind the chair.  Once I got my Bachelors in Business Management, I moved back to my hometown (I had fallen in love with Coach by then, and it’s his hometown, too) and enrolled in cosmetology school.  Eleven months later, I completed my 1500 hours of instruction and went to work.  The rest is history.  I’ve built an amazing clientele, made some life-long friends, and I had a great run.  I lived my dream, and even succeeded, by working very hard at it and by marketing myself, over and over again.

Things change.  I won’t bore you with my medical history, the ups-and-downs of life, or the reasons for my change of heart, but just tell you that the road I’ve traveled for the past 18 years has been a heck of a roller coaster.  I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve hurt, and I’ve recovered…from lots of things.  This career can be brutal in that every bump in the road or period of time spent away from work can cause you to have to start all over again in the building process.  It can also be extremely rewarding, and I’ve had many moments when I felt like I was improving someone’s quality of life just by doing their hair.

I have the utmost respect for the profession, and those who do it well.  I am in no way saying “Doing hair sucks!  Don’t do it!”  I loved my job for many years, and I still absolutely love my coworkers, the salon, and my loyal clients. I love to see young, fresh faces in the industry, filled with passion for the career I’ve given the majority of my life to.  If I still had the desire to do hair, I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere but here, at A Head of Times.  I’ve had the joy of working with some of the best in the business.  There is so much that I will miss about the job, but the memories will always be there.

I have big plans and big dreams, still to this day.  I have essentially worked two jobs for the past two years, standing behind the chair three days a week and building a home-based business the other four.  I love making things with my hands, and I will always have to work in a position that allows me to feed my creative side to be fulfilled.

I love selling on Etsy and all that I have learned, on my own, about e-commerce, blogging, and marketing.  My business background has helped me with the basic knowledge, and my desire to learn has enabled me to grow my home-based business into my full-time job.  I’ve spent countless hours researching, studying, and promoting my own handmade business for this purpose – to be able to step down from my career in hairdressing before I’m too old and craggy to do anything else.

I am still taking appointments three days a week through October, and if any of you have an appointment with me already on the book, it still stands.  I realize I will have some disappointed clients, and that’s what hurts the most.  I don’t want to let anyone down.  However, I have to do what is best for my family and me.

I invite you to take a last look at my Guest Book/Hair and Makeup Gallery, because I’m not sure I will leave it up.  A Hair In My Biscuit is going in new directions, and over the next few months I hope to incorporate a new look and feel to the blog.  I’m not changing the name, because it still represents me and my life to a “T”….hanging on by a thread, but never giving up.  I hope you’ll all still follow along, visit more often, and let me know you’ve been here.  I have a lot more to share!

To all of my loyal, long-time clients:  Thank you for choosing me, and for sticking with me through it all.  I’m so grateful to you, and I will miss you, terribly.  I’m sure I’ll see many of you around!  If I haven’t had a chance to tell you in person, I apologize, and hope you will come see me soon (some of you are already on my book, so I will see you soon).

To all the ones who have come and gone:  Thank you for giving me a shot…and with sincerity I say this…thanks for moving on instead of staying and making both of our lives miserable (it’s hard to believe how many stay when they are clearly unhappy).

To the ones who have left this earth:  I’m thankful I got to know you,  and I don’t ever stop thinking about you and missing you.  

To the ones who would still be with me if you hadn’t moved away:  I’ve missed you!

 To the few who have left in a huff:  I did the best I could with what I had to work with.  

 

I’m excited about my new adventures, and ready to see where this new road takes me.

X,O,X,O,    Martie