Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Gustafson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lindsey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always known I wanted to do hair. Growing up, I cared more about my social life than my grades. My parents were always pushing me to study more, finish my homework, just try. When I did try, I did really well, but I didn’t love school, it was never for me. So, when I came to them with the idea that I wanted to go to beauty school after graduation, they weren’t excited. They wanted to be supportive of my creative nature but felt like I was giving up, not reaching my full potential. I think partially they were right. I wanted to do hair and I didn’t want to go to school, but I was fortunate enough to have parents that wanted to pay for me to go to college. I took advantage of that. I went to school, graduated with a marketing and merchandising degree, gave it a good effort and decided it wasn’t for me. I was constantly drawn back to the idea of doing hair and working in a salon. I would cut all my friend’s hair (having no idea what I was doing) and they would get compliments making me feel like that was something I should be doing. After college graduation, it took me four years of working, traveling, then going back to school to try out nursing all to realize I just wanted to do hair. I finally put myself through beauty school part time while working full time so I could still support myself and afford to live at the beach.
After finishing school, I immediately got a job assisting a stylist at a salon in Costa Mesa. It didn’t feel right, the people were nice but I just never felt like I fit. I really struggled internally. This was something I knew I wanted since I was 14, here I was doing it and I didn’t love it. I stuck it out for a little over a year trying to make it work feeling like I had stopped learning already. I even went as far as looking for jobs in marketing again thinking maybe I was wrong about this passion. A girl I went to beauty school with randomly reached out to me one day and told me I should try and work at her salon, which is called Madison Salon. She would always talk about how much she loved it because of the family-like atmosphere and education. I was so excited to hear they were hiring, I walked in for my interview and immediately felt like this was my new home away from home.
After two years of assisting, I was lucky enough to be invited by my boss to work backstage at New York Fashion Week. That changed the way I looked at the industry. The opportunity that is out there is so much more than I ever could have imagined. I love working behind the chair but I also love being able to step away from the chair and style for fashion shows and assist for education ateliers. It opened my eyes to this big world of hairdressing. I am currently in charge of training all new assistants coming into our salon. I make a plan for their education and also help put together classes for all-salon education. The owners send me to education events where I get outside education and then come back and teach what I’ve learned. I feel so blessed to be able to say that that is work for me. The phrase, “I have to go to work”, for me, means I get to play with hair, I get to hear about the day to day lives of my clients and coworkers, I get to learn some really cool stuff from some really experienced stylists, then teach people what I’ve learned and occasionally get to go to some pretty cool places for some really fun hair shows. How many people get to say that?
Looking back now on my path to get where I am today, I wouldn’t change a thing. Timing is everything, looking back at my 18-year-old self, I wasn’t ready for what it was going to take to be a successful hairstylist. I needed time and maturity and I needed to know that after exhausting all other options, hair was actually what I wanted to do all day, every day. I would also like to add that both of my parents are now fully supportive of my career choice and I often hear stories of them bragging about me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My journey at Madison wasn’t easy, I worked long hours at the salon for very little money, then had to go to my serving job at night to actually be able to pay my bills, but it all felt worth it. I was learning, I had mentors, I was excited about doing hair again. I remember thinking, “This is why I struggled, so I can work here and become a part of this family”. I can’t express enough how important it is to find the right environment to work in. You have to be around people that believe in you and want to help you grow. It is rare in this industry to find people who want to build you up and not compete against you but want to help you shine. I think the biggest advice I can give to someone just getting out of beauty school is to find a salon you believe in and be willing to put the work in. I didn’t establish a clientele for the first three years, it doesn’t happen overnight. For me, it was about perfecting my craft and being able to do work I believe in and could stand behind. I continued to work my serving job for the first two years I worked at Madison Salon using it as a networking opportunity. I think for anyone starting any journey it’s important to remember that a little struggle is good for you. It makes you stronger and helps you appreciate where you are when you can look back and remember what it took to get there.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Madison Salon – what should we know?
90% of my work is done behind the chair. I cut, I color, I style. I love all of it. I often get the question, “What do you like doing better, cut or color?” My answer to that is that I love doing both. I would get bored with just doing one or the other. I love that I can create and complete a whole look without having to rely on someone else to start or finish it for me.
I think the thing that sets me apart from other stylists is that I have a really good memory. I think that makes people feel special. I remember a lot of crazy details about people’s lives, even something as small as the last detox cleanses they were on or the first time they took their new dog to the park. I think people appreciate that I actually listen, not just about their hair but about other things in their life that are important to them. I am also very punctual and I think my clients appreciate the fact that I respect their time.
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
It is so important to find a mentor. Someone to look at and hear about their journey and see where it got them. At Madison Salon, we strongly believe in working together as a team and helping each other, so in a way, we all kind of mentor each other, keeping each other challenged. I think it is important to have someone that I look up to and want to do well for. Those people for me are the owners of my salon, Jeanine and Louis. Jeanine handles the business side of the salon and because of my respect for her I’m always trying to impress her with my service and retail sales, or at the very least, not let her down. It’s amazing to me what you can do when you care about what someone thinks of you.
Louis works behind the chair (among a lot of other things) and I assisted him for a long time. We’ve always worked really well together and seeing how hard he works has always inspired me to do more, not wanting to let him down. These two people have made it so I want to work harder, grow more and do great work. I think it is one of the most important things in any industry to find someone that makes you want to be better.
Contact Info:
- Address: Madison Salon 445 E 17th St Ste B Costa Mesa, CA
- Phone: (949) 270-6240
- Email: HairbyLindseyd@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @LindseyGus
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