November 8, 2022
What Our Friends in the Beauty & Barbering Space are Saying
We recently had an amazing opportunity to cruz with a couple of our graduates from Austin Kade Academy. We loved hearing their stories and why they are passionate about the beauty industry! Read on to see what our friends in the beauty and barbering space are saying.
Amelia Guerrero | Lyle Amado Barbershop
Amelia started off as a cosmetologist and decided she wanted her barber’s license. She originally went to school for physical therapy but decided she wanted to be more creative so she went into hair. She’s from Shelley, Idaho, and is still currently living and working there. She’s working as a barber at Lyle Amado Barbershop and her favorite services to provide are shaves. “Everyone needs to take time to pamper themselves”, and we couldn’t agree more!
Her biggest piece of advice for someone entering the beauty space is, “to keep trying. Some days are going to be hard, but if you keep pushing through, then one day you’ll be really busy [with clients]”. The process is slow, but keep your passion and one day you’ll get to where you want to be. In regards to making the decision to start this path, she says “listen to your heart. Take some time to think about it before you make hard decisions”. In the beauty industry, you have to “be more open and more willing to do things. Even if you fail, it’s good to try”. Chances are that when you’re first starting out, you’ll have self-doubt and fear. Remind yourself that you’re good at what you do, just believe and keep working towards your goals.
Cruz’n with Amelia Guerrero in the ‘67 bug.
Mike Canales | Cutthroat Barbershop
Mike is a self-made man and owns Cutthroat Barbershop. He lives in Salt Lake City and made his way up to Idaho to cruz with us in the 67 bug! He started cutting his own hair which led him to cutting friends’ and families’ hair, which is what got him into barbering. Mike was going from job to job and never really found a passion for a job until barbering.
Cutthroat Barbershop has a pretty cool culture where they hire new kids straight out of school. “I think the younger generation gets overlooked and gets labeled as millennials and lazy. But I think with these younger guys, they’re hungry. You get a lot of veteran barbers and stylists that come with a lot of bad habits and it’s hard to train an old dog to do new tricks. I like the younger generation. You can mold them, they’re hungry, they’re excited, they have energy, and you can really implement the culture of your barbershop into them”. Mike is a great leader and boss and it truly shows in the business he runs.
His advice for someone wanting to enter the beauty space is to “really ask yourself the tough questions. People see the money in the industry, but you have to understand that it’s a blue-collar labor job where you are standing on your feet for 10-12 hours a day. You’re doing something that requires a lot of attention day-in and day-out and there’s so much that goes into it. Are you getting into this because you love hair or because you’re chasing the money?”
Mike is still working behind the chair, but his plan is to step back and work on the business instead of in the business. We love what he’s created and enjoy watching him succeed as he goes through life!
Cruz’n with Mike Canales in the 67 bug.
Sara Cervantes | Urban Nook
Sara is the owner of Urban Nook and has always loved doing hair. She was perming her mom’s hair when she was 11 years old and she’s always wanted to be fluid with her schedule. Being a mom always came first to her, so having a schedule she can control has been super important to her.
Her favorite part of owning is “how proud I am of my fellow women. They’re so amazing and amazing stylists and leaders. I am just proud of my stylists in general so that is my favorite. We have a family atmosphere. Everybody knows each other’s children, husbands, and boyfriends. I’m all about family in my private life so it helps that I get to be about family in my professional life.”
She came to our school and we’re so proud of her. She worked really hard for Urban Nook and it’s an amazing space she created!
Tiffany Prchal
Tiffany is an amazing esthetician. She came from the corporate world and went into the beauty industry. What frustrated her was that in the corporate world, the harder you worked you got the same paycheck. “When I started researching a trade, I thought I could put forth my time and effort and the better I do, the more money I make”.
Her advice for someone entering the beauty industry is, “to go with your gut. The sky’s the limit when you finally put your mind to it. Don’t let anyone else talk you out of your dream. If you have a little bit of that dream, you will make it huge”
She loves being a mentor and helping people. “Seeing them come out of their shell and how you can boost their business and self-esteem. It’s just giving back!” She is one of our bigger success stories and we are so proud of her and all she’s accomplished!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZfZ1yIwOwA
Collin Martin | Hanzo
Collin has been in the industry professionally for 10 years, but he’s been passionate about barbering since the ‘80s. He works as an artist and educator and came to Austin Kade when he was 32. We always say it’s never too late to take action and follow your dreams.
He loves being in this industry! “I love making other people feel great about themselves. When I’m focusing on other people, I can’t be upstairs in my head. About half of my problems get solved daily by me doing hair”.
Advice he would give someone who wants to enter the space is, “never give up. Let discouragement be some of your lesson and never compete with anyone but yourself. Creativity and fear can’t exist in the same space.”
Collin loves watching things grow which is why he loves to educate. Getting into a space where you’re not focused on yourself for the majority of the day is one of his favorite things. He inspires our students and we appreciate what he’s doing in the beauty industry!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxhsUpcW0Zs
Mia Cutz Garcia
Mia got her start in the beauty industry at 12 years old, cutting hair. She wasn’t as good as she now is. In fact, she remembers a time when she was cutting her brother’s hair, dropped the clippers, didn’t realize the guard fell off, and ended up shaving off one of his sideburns!
After Mia graduated from high school, she didn’t know what she wanted to do and went from job to job. After attending Austin Kade Academy, she found work at a barbershop. If Mia has any advice for someone wanting to pursue the beauty industry, it would be “If you’re already thinking about it, it’s a definite yes.”
Mia has been an inspiration to us at Austin Kade and we can’t wait to see where the rest of her journey takes her.
Follow in their footsteps
If you want to learn how to create a future for yourself through beauty, contact us! We can help you achieve your goals. We have programs in cosmetology, esthetics, nail technology, and barbering.We can’t wait to hear from you!