"You have two choices. You can be a flight attendant, or you can be a hairdresser."
That's what a priest told Janice Bruce when she was a young woman in Chicago, one of five kids whose parents couldn't afford college. Her response? "Well, I'm afraid to fly." His reply changed everything: "Well then, hairdresser it is."
Forty-one years later, Janice owns her own business in Brentwood, just south of Nashville. One that's allowed her to raise three kids while giving back to her community in ways she never expected. Her journey offers a raw, honest look at what it really means to become a hairstylist - beyond the Instagram highlights and the glossy career guides.
The Unexpected Path to Hair
If you're wondering how to become a hairstylist, Janice's story might surprise you. There was no childhood dream of cutting hair, no artistic calling. Just a practical conversation with a priest who saw two viable paths for a young woman without college prospects in the 80s.
Janice discovered her true calling wasn't in hair itself, but in service. "My passion has always been to help people and to serve people," she reflects. "I think I kind of have the gift of hospitality. And I love that about this career that you can serve and create relationships with people." Even though she didn't start with a burning desire to do hair, she says the career "has given me great joy to what is really passionate in my heart, which is helping people."
That's the thing about asking ‘what do hairstylists do’. The answer goes far deeper than cutting and coloring. "When you're a hairdresser, it goes way deeper than just the logistics of making someone feel good about how they look and how they feel about themselves," Janice explains. "You have an opportunity to really speak into someone's life, to learn about them, to share stories with them."
Clients for Life
Janice has clients she's been seeing for literally four decades. She's watched their kids grow up, been through divorces, celebrations, losses, the full spectrum of human experience played out in her salon chair. "I've got clients that I've done literally for 40 years. I've watched their kids grow, and we've just been through a lot together. So it's an opportunity to take it a step past how you feel on the outside, but also how you feel on the inside."
This relationship-building aspect is what separates successful hairstylists from those who struggle. It's not just technical skill, though that matters. "Building the relationship is more important than just the actual product that you produce at the end, although that's extremely important as well."
The Single Mom Years
The real test came when she was raising three kids as a single mom. That's when business ownership became essential for survival. "I was a single mom for a long time," she recalls, "and the most transformational situation that I came across was the ability in being my own boss to be able to continue to... marry what it was like to have three kids that are playing soccer, that are playing basketball, that are in plays." The flexibility to adjust her schedule meant she could "be there for those things, to work later, to go in earlier."
She's honest about the challenge: "It was a lot. But it was important to me to be successful in my business." The success gave her the ability to support her children and change their circumstances, something that drives many people to pursue entrepreneurship.
What Changed Everything: Social Media
When Janice started, marketing ideas for hairstylists were simple in explanation; but less so in execution.. "When I first started, the only way to build clients was word of mouth. You had to do somebody's hair, come up with a great product for them. Great hairstyle, great color. And then they would tell their friends, and that's how you would get it."
Now? "The most amazing thing is people put everything out on social media, and you have a vast amount of people that you can get your clientele from. It's really quite incredible the way that has changed the industry."
But like many industry veterans, she sees the double-edged sword of this transformation. "Now people can go on social media, they can see other people's work and they can copy it. So, it gives them an opportunity to have a vast expanse of information and knowledge out there. But it's also kind of different. It kind of can create an opportunity for less fellowship among your coworkers."
She misses the mentorship culture: "In the good old days, you went to a mentor or someone who was older than you or more experienced, had more time in the industry, and you were able to kind of learn from them. And that's kind of taken away where now social media and the opportunities to just have information at your fingertips, that's changed the industry a lot."
The Business Owner's Secret Weapon
Twenty years ago, Janice made the leap to owning her own salon. The freedom it gave her goes beyond scheduling flexibility. "Since I'm in charge and it's my studio, I get to charge what I want. I get to do what I want. I have been able numerous times to bless someone else."
She tells of her bond with her clients, supporting them through hard times: job losses, sick children, financial struggles. In those moments, she can say "you know what, this one's on me" without having to check with anyone else. "That has been the most rewarding thing in my career," she says, "to be able to give back to other people, without having to check it with somebody higher up, because I am higher up."
The Real Talk About Self-Care
Janice doesn't sugarcoat the reality of the profession: "It's a very taxing career. It's hard on your body. It's hard on your mind and your spirit. You take on a lot of people's comments and stress and their situations in their life."
The business structure makes self-care even more challenging: "It's hard in this business. If you're not working, you're not getting paid. So it's really easy to just keep going and going and going, because you're not sure that next client's going to be there." Her advice is direct: "You have to make sure, first and foremost, that you take care of yourself."
Advice That Actually Matters
When it comes to practical guidance for new hairstylists, Janice cuts through the fluff:
On networking: "Don't burn a bridge. You've never met anyone that you just don't know who knows who."
On skill building: "All of the technical stuff will come. Your craft will get better the more you do it. But one of the most important things is creating relationships with your clients."
On community: "Create a sense of community around you. Go out, pass out those cards. People love one on one. I think it's important to create more relationships."
On consistency: "Consistency in your work is extremely important. And I think that's something that I can say I can maybe toot my own horn about."
The Business Foundation
For those wondering about the path to salon ownership or entrepreneurship, Janice has a reality check: "Before you become a small business owner, you have to have a good, established clientele, especially in this business. When you first start working and building your clientele, if you come into this small business arena with some clientele at your base, then I think you're set up for more success instead of failure."
It's practical advice born from experience. Don’t just decide to open a salon and hope clients will find you.
Still Learning After Four Decades
Even now, Janice isn't done evolving. She's training to become a Pilates instructor, returning to her love of teaching that she discovered early in her career. "One of the things I loved before I did my own business here, those first 15 years of my career, I taught a lot. I taught a lot of color classes, and I managed a salon, and I had receptionist training. And so training and teaching has always been another passion."
The Definition of Success
So what is a hairstylist, really? Based on Janice's four decades in the industry, it's someone who:
- Combines technical skill with genuine care for people
- Who builds lasting relationships while running a sustainable business, and
- Who finds ways to give back to their community.
The career offers flexibility, creativity, and the satisfaction of making people feel good about themselves. But it also demands physical stamina, emotional resilience, and business acumen. It's changed dramatically with social media and new technology, but the core remains the same: it's about serving people and building connections that last decades.
Whether you're just exploring how to become a hairstylist or you're already in the industry wondering about your next steps, Janice's journey shows that success isn't about having it all figured out from the beginning. Sometimes it starts with a mentor, a fear of flying, and a willingness to learn as you go.
"Even though I didn't have the passion starting out as a hairdresser, this career has given me great joy to what is really passionate in my heart, which is helping people."
Maybe that's the best hairstylist quote of all. Authenticity about the journey, honesty about the challenges, and clarity about what really matters in the end.
Janice Bruce owns a salon in Brentwood, Tennessee, and has been a hairstylist for 41 years. Her insights reflect real-world experience in both traditional beauty industry practices and modern salon business strategies.
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