We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaela Dorsey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaela, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
My most Important lesson that my career has taught me is to set boundaries. If I do not have boundaries set with myself, I tend to burn out.
If I don’t set boundaries with my clients, it can lead to an unhealthy client to stylist relationship.

Over the years I have added more and more boundaries to my list to ensure that I am preforming the best I can and making sure that I still love my job. Some of these boundaries that I have set for myself include not over promising, saying no and setting a schedule that ensures a balanced work to life ration. In the first couple of years of my career I was doing none of these things. In this industry it is super important to know where you preform the strongest in and I was saying yes to every type of service. Quickly, I learned that I was unhappy with the clientele I had and felt as if I had gone down in the wrong direction of hair that I originally wanted.

When it came to setting boundaries with clients, requiring a card on file, setting expectations in the consultation process, having a 15 minute grace period of being late and referring particular clients to other stylists if what they wanted did not fit in my specialties has made a huge impact in my business. When you require a card on file and set that 15 minute grace period, clients always show up to their appointments. If they no show they understand that their card will be charged for the amount of the service that they booked for. Furthermore, if a client is wanting a major change or wants something different than what their previously dyed hair consists of, I always do a test strand and show them said test strand. I then breakdown the possibilities of how we can reach their end goal and how long it will take to reach there. Most of the time they are understanding. However, if it’s something they want right away within a certain budget, I refer them to someone else. This ensures that I am not over promising something and having a client leave unhappy. In conclusion, I’d rather say no then to have two people being unhappy, that being both me and the client.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In a creative career comes lots of criticism. Not everyone is going to agree with your looks, your personality or how you preform your work. I had started my career in a very wealthy area that generally had a different way of life than I did. I am over coming this more and more every day by finding a client base that has more in common with me. I realized that I may not be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay! There is a hairstylist for everyone! Ever since I have started my own business, people who have very similar interests such as getting tattoos, music, hobbies, etc. have been finding me through the way I share my work and my life on social media. It’s so awesome. I am a free spirited person who loves anyone and everyone. It is super important that I created my suite a as a safe space for all types of people to feel free of judgment. I want all of my clients to feel that i’m not just their stylist, but a friend. A lot of times stylists are afraid of being vulnerable to their clients. However, I believe that being vulnerable with a client shows that i am a human being as well and I have notice that I have gained more trust from my clients than I ever have. People don’t just come back to you just because you are good a what you do, People come back when they feel comfortable in you environment and trust you. Making people feel beautiful and making them feel heard and understood is something I take pride in.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Every-time I get the chance to take someone out, I take them to Hawkers is Deep Ellum. It is hands down one of the best asian fusion restaurants in Texas. Hawkers is a restaurant based on asian street food, it is the perfect place to take a group of friends. how you are supposed to order is each person orders a different dish or two and everyone is supposed to share the food. Some of my favorites would be the Roti Bread, Soup Dumplings, Pad Thai, Pan Fried dumpling and the orange chicken wings. If you are feeling bold enough, it’s also a big even to take a sakee bomb. Hawkers will get the whole restaurant to cheer for you.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

here is one person that I have learned so much from, and that would be my first mentor Margot Barringer. Margot is a Wella color professional with 30+ years of experience behind the chair.
My first experience with Margot was when I had to take my first hair model for color. When I did my consult with my model, Margot was quick to point out what key points I was missing in my consultation. From that first moment I was so intimidated, my first critique in the real world. She never sugar coated anything and made sure I learned the correct way. Margot used to find pictures in a magazine, one picture would be a “before” photo and another would be an “after”. From there she would ask me what I would do to the model in the before to get to the after model, then write it down. Of Course, freshly out of cosmetology school, I only knew the basics. Margot would then point out the areas I could improve on , educating me on what I should do in the real world. After days, maybe even weeks, of doing magazine color theory, Margot wanted to put me to the test.
Every week I brought in a real model, we would do a consultation together, then she would set a timer and I would start the service. Having to do a whole service in a timely matter was so intense. Especially when you know someone is going to review or possibly revise your work at the end. However, with that thought in the back in my mind I always succeeded. Having someone always reviewing your work is always nerve-racking, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Margot definitely taught me to take criticism and look at it as a way of improving instead of taking it in a negative way and letting it break me down.
It is very common in apprenticeships that a mentor takes advantage of having an assistant, making the assistant do all the dirty work without an equal trade of education. Margot never made me feel that way. Over the months of us working together we truly had an amazing bond. The pandemic had begun and eventually when the lockdown had lifted, Margot had not 100% been comfortable with coming back to work. With being so unaware of how safe life would be working back in the salon, I didn’t blame her. She gave me the call that I would have never expected, she would not be returning to the salon and that I was going to be taking the regular clients she had gained working at this salon for 5 years. I had absolutely no experience being on my own on the floor in the salon. Never had I been so honored to know that Margot trusted me with her own clients. May I remind you, she had been doing hair for 30 years! From then on my career started.

Margot now owns her own salon business and I followed right in her foot steps.

Website: Kaeladorsey.GlossGenius.com

Instagram: Kaeladorseyhair

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