Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellie Cation.
Hi Kellie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The start of my career began in an educational salon; the world renown Toni & Guy.
After years of getting education and experience I began teaching educational haircutting classes with the company.
After over a decade with this company I started searching for a salon to transiting into self-employment. Although there weren’t many workable salons or availability, I continued my search and preparation until an opening emerged.
I have now been self-employed nearly two decades and work in a lovely salon living my best career days!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Besides struggling to find the right salon with an available station, obtaining client’s contact information while working out of a commission salon was tricky to collect and risked immediate termination if caught.
And I worked at some of the wrong salons with different challenges too!
Over all with careful planning, becoming an independent stylist can be relatively easy and very rewarding!!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Being a Hair Stylist , in a salon of independent stylists, what sets me apart in the salon is the time I spend customizing and detailing my work.
Additionally, my selling the products that support my work and supplement my income are crucial and often overlooked by many stylists.
Outside the salon, I set myself apart from most stylists by getting involved in collaborations with other creatives to capture pictures of my work.
This is especially fun for me when I work on looks that are mostly creative and not typical salon work. For stylists who are becoming independent stylists, this is a great way to capture professional photos of the work you’ve done.
Network locally with photographers doing collaborations which means donating your work with others for free photos. Also use Kavyar..com
What are your plans for the future?
The next step for me, that I’m really looking forward to, is reducing my work hours to part time and traveling even more of the world.
I love my work so I’m happy to stay engaged in it part time.
But I love traveling even more so I’m grateful that I’m self-employed and can take off anytime I want to travel
Contact Info:
- Instagram: kelliecation.hair






