Today we’d like to introduce you to Torie Kent.
Hi Torie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started working when I was 14 years old, and I think that’s where a lot of my work ethic and independence were born. I became a licensed cosmetologist in 2001, and at just 21 years old, I opened my first salon in a small Texas community — long before social media, online marketing, or “going viral” existed. Back then, businesses were built the old-fashioned way: through relationships, reputation, consistency, and showing up for people day after day. I didn’t come from money or have a big business roadmap. I just had a vision, a willingness to work hard, and maybe a little fearless optimism.
Over the years, I’ve owned multiple businesses, worked my way through every level of the beauty industry, managed salon teams, become an educator, and eventually built Rockin Hair Body & Soul into an award-winning business that means so much more to me than hair and beauty. Today, my work has expanded into wellness, mentorship, fitness, leadership, and community involvement. I currently serve on several nonprofit boards and as President of the Mineral Wells Noon Lions Club because service has become one of the biggest parts of my purpose. I truly believe success means very little if you’re not using it to help strengthen the people and communities around you.
My path definitely hasn’t been perfect or linear. Like many women, especially working mothers, I’ve experienced seasons of rebuilding — divorce, single motherhood, business struggles during COVID, starting over more than once, and trying to balance entrepreneurship with the guilt and sacrifice society often places on women who dare to chase big dreams. But I think those experiences shaped me into a stronger and more compassionate leader. They taught me resilience, adaptability, and the importance of continuing to bet on yourself even when life feels uncertain.
One thing I’ve learned is that authenticity matters. I’ve never been very good at fitting into a box or becoming what people thought I “should” be. I’m ambitious, creative, a little stubborn, a little sassy, deeply community-driven, and probably too fearless at times. But I’ve learned there’s power in living out loud and building a life that actually reflects who you are instead of who others expect you to be.
At the end of the day, I’m proud that I’ve built my career through grit, relationships, reinvention, and heart. And if there’s one thing I hope people take from my story, it’s that starting over is not failure. Sometimes it’s the very thing that leads you to the life you were meant to build.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not — but honestly, I think the struggles are what shaped both my business and who I am as a leader.
I started young, and when you open your first business at 21 years old, especially in a small town and before social media existed, you learn very quickly that passion alone isn’t enough. I had to learn everything through experience — leadership, finances, hiring, marketing, boundaries, and how to keep going even when things felt uncertain. There were moments where I succeeded, moments where I failed, and moments where I had to completely reinvent myself and start over.
Like many entrepreneurs, I’ve faced personal and professional hardships at the same time. I’ve navigated divorce, single motherhood, financial pressure, and the emotional weight that comes with trying to build a business while also wanting to be fully present for your children. I think women especially carry a unique kind of guilt — the pressure to somehow do everything perfectly while making it look effortless. For a long time, I struggled with the sacrifices entrepreneurship requires: the long hours, the stress, THE FEAR OF LETTING PEOPLE DOWN, and the constant balancing act between ambition and motherhood.
Then COVID hit, and like so many small business owners, I watched years of hard work suddenly become uncertain overnight. The beauty industry was deeply impacted, and there were moments that tested me mentally, emotionally, and financially. But those seasons also taught me resilience and adaptability in ways success never could. I learned how to pivot, rebuild, and keep moving forward even when the future felt unclear.
Another challenge was learning to stay authentic while growing professionally. I’ve never really fit the mold of who people expected me to be. I’m outspoken, creative, passionate, a little stubborn, and definitely not afraid to take risks. In small communities, there can sometimes be pressure to shrink yourself, play small, or fit into a certain image. There is also an idea of how people think beauty businesses operate. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that success becomes a lot more fulfilling when you stop trying to be what everyone else expects and start fully owning who you are. Choosing to break the mold in the beauty industry by not allowing the gossipy, competitive nature infiltrate my businesses was sometimes accepted well by the public and my associates and sometimes not.
At the end of the day, every setback taught me something valuable. The struggles gave me empathy, grit, perspective, and a deeper appreciation for community and service. They also taught me that starting over is not something to be ashamed of. Some of the best things in my life were built after the moments I thought had broken me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve spent most of my life in the beauty industry, but if you would’ve told the younger version of me where this journey would eventually lead, I probably never would’ve believed you.
I started doing hair at a young age and opened my first salon at 21 years old in a small Texas town, long before social media existed. Back then, you built a business face-to-face. You built it through relationships, reputation, hard work, and people believing in you enough to come back and send their friends. Over the years, the salon became so much more than hair to me. It became a place where people came to feel better, vent, laugh, cry, rebuild confidence, and reconnect with themselves. I think that’s when I realized this work was never really just about beauty.
As I grew personally, my business grew with me. Over the last ten years especially, I went through my own health and wellness transformation, and it completely shifted the direction of my life. Like a lot of women, I spent years pouring into everyone else while putting myself last. Learning to prioritize my own health — mentally, emotionally, and physically — changed not only how I felt, but how I wanted to serve people. That journey inspired me to expand into personal training and wellness, finally bringing the “Body & Soul” part fully into Rockin Hair Body & Soul.
What’s been really beautiful about that evolution is realizing we’re allowed to change. We’re allowed to outgrow old versions of ourselves. I think sometimes people feel trapped by the thing they started with, but I’ve learned your business can evolve as you evolve. It can become an extension of your passions, your experiences, and your purpose. For me, that’s meant combining beauty, wellness, confidence, movement, mindset, and community all together in a way that feels authentic to who I am now.
Along the way, education and mentorship also became a huge part of my life. I’ve had the opportunity to work as an educator in the beauty industry, mentor younger stylists, and help build confidence in other people pursuing their own dreams. That part has become incredibly fulfilling because I know how hard and scary entrepreneurship can feel when you’re figuring it out as you go.
At the same time, community involvement became deeply important to me too. Serving through nonprofit organizations and leading the Mineral Wells Noon Lions Club has reminded me over and over that success means very little if it only benefits you. Some of the moments I’m most proud of have nothing to do with awards or business growth at all — they’re the moments where people came together to help someone, rebuild something, or make life a little better for others.
I think what sets my journey apart is that it’s never been perfectly polished or planned. I’ve reinvented myself more than once. I’ve taken risks before I felt fully ready. I’ve learned lessons the hard way. But through all of it, I’ve tried really hard to stay authentic to myself. I’ve never been great at fitting into boxes or becoming who people expected me to be. I’m a little loud, a little stubborn, very creative, deeply community-driven, and passionate about living life fully and unapologetically.
At the end of the day, I think my story is really just about growth — having the courage to keep evolving, keep creating, and keep building a life and business that genuinely feels aligned with who you are.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think entrepreneurship is really just learning how to make peace with uncertainty. People often see the exciting parts — the growth, the success, the recognition — but behind almost every entrepreneur is a long list of moments where things could have gone completely differently.
One of the hardest seasons of my life was when my business in Stephenville, Texas closed. At the time, I truly thought I might never open another business again. I was exhausted emotionally, financially, and mentally. It felt like grief, honestly. When you build something from nothing, your business becomes deeply personal, so losing it felt like losing a piece of myself and the future I thought I was building.
I remember being on a road trip during that time, really questioning everything, when I heard an episode of the podcast “How I Built This” featuring the founder of Stacy’s Pita Chips. Hearing her talk about setbacks, rebuilding, failure, persistence, and eventually finding success hit me at exactly the right moment. It reminded me that successful people are not people who never struggle — they’re people who keep going anyway. Something about that story shifted my mindset. Instead of viewing that chapter as proof I had failed, I started seeing it as part of the process of becoming who I was meant to be. It was time to pick myself up by my bootsraps.
Not long after that, I was presented with an opportunity to open a salon inside a historic hotel in Mineral Wells. Honestly, I almost turned it down. Fear will do that to you after you’ve been through loss. But something in me said, “Try one more time.” So I doubled down on myself instead of shrinking back.
That decision changed the trajectory of my life.
Since then, I’ve continued to take risks — expanding Rockin Hair Body & Soul, evolving into wellness and personal training, stepping into leadership and community service roles, and most recently purchasing my first brick-and-mortar commercial building. That was another moment where fear could’ve easily talked me out of it. It’s a huge investment and definitely a little scary. But at this point in my life, I trust myself more than I trust fear. I trust my work ethic. I trust my ability to adapt and rebuild if I have to.
I think that’s what risk really means to me now. Not being fearless — because I absolutely feel fear — but being willing to move forward anyway because you believe in the vision strongly enough.
I’ve learned that sometimes the biggest breakthroughs in life happen right after the moments you thought were the end of your story. And if I’ve learned anything through entrepreneurship, it’s that starting over is not failure. Sometimes it’s the beginning of the chapter that finally changes everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rockinhairbs.com
- Instagram: @rockinhairbodyandsoul
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhbscrazywaterplaza
