Meet Carissa Mendoza | Hairdresser

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

Hi Carissa, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Work life balance is something that needs to be revisited frequently. How I seek out that balance now is very different than my approach 5 years ago and it will be different in the next 5 years. I think “balancing” and being “in balance” are also different approaches to the question. At present I am balancing being a business owner, co-worker, mentor, wife, mom, and friend just to name a few roles I find myself in. It is not so much a balancing act of keep the scale level but more like a pie or circle where the size of each piece is changing to accommodate the others and keep everything moving forward. Each area requires different skill sets of mine and individual amounts of attention. I used to have the thought that in order to have a perfect work life balance I needed to be able to give work 110% when at work at my personal or family life 110% when not at work. This however never seems to end with me feeling any bit of balance. Quite the opposite actually, I usually end up overwhelmed and feeling as though I have let others and myself down. When I treat all my roles as pieces working in harmony I am way happier and far more productive. I have to let my personal life into my work and my work into my personal life. This is what makes sense to me because I feel like I get to share all the best parts of me. What I can offer as a mom and wife such as compassion and being a committed partner adds value to who I am behind the chair. Becoming a mom helped me learn how to be kinder to myself and connect with a whole new demographic of clients. It also motivated me to show other women that if you do want to own a business and be financially independent in this industry it is 100% achievable. The beauty industry especially the hair world is made up of majority women; however, men dominate the platforms. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that many women are also trying to balance a life with kids and up until recently this meant part of their career had to take a backseat. Now as booth rent salons and suites are becoming part of the norm; stylists are being given a chance to take control and work for themselves. Now women can create the work life balance that works for them. The drive and goal oriented side of me that propels me in my career as a business owner and stylist behind the chair are attributes that add value to my personal life as well. I get asked this question about work life balance a lot whether in an interview, by friends, or by a hairdresser who green and entering into the industry. It seems like people are seeking out the holy grail answer that will lead them to balance themselves. The best thing is there is no holy grail! There is no perfect scale that you have to manipulate to have the perfect balance. There is no balance really. I may be considered a creative because I do hair but I am actually a numbers/mathematical person at heart. Things make the most sense to me if I can look at the numbers or the chart of information. I think work life balance is more like a wheel or a pie chart like you had to fill out during grade school. You only have so much to give; this is the perimeter. It leaves you with a surface area that you can fit pieces into. If you only had one thing to focus on (I know; show me someone who only has 1 thing to focus on) then they could fill in whole circle with one color and call it good. However, the rest of use have different focuses or roles in life that need attention to have a true work life balance. if you lay all these out they start to take shape and you can begin to figure out the amount of attention or at what ratio each thing needs to fit. If it were me my pie would have: mom, wife, mentor, business owner, business partner, coworker, friend. Each takes a piece of the pie but depending on the day their sliver may be bigger or smaller. When one piece needs more attention another piece will receive less (this may even look like small bits taken from multiple pieces to share in the the loss). If you are able to look at work life balance this way then you can put more weight in your decisions and have more piece about giving more or less of yourself in that area. Before I could look at it this way I would have major quilt over where I was focussing my time and energy. I felt as though I was letting down every area; when in realty I just wasn’t taking ownership and control of my decisions. Not only is work life balance a relationship between work and life but our relationship with that relationship is important to have control over as well.
What should our readers know about your business?
I am an independent hairdresser; in other words I rent space and run my business in a studio filled with other creatives/hairdressers. It has been 3 years since I stepped out of my apprenticeship and started seeing clients and running my business 100% on my own. I entered this field 6 years ago when I attended hair school after being a school teacher for 4 years. That decision to start over was the hardest and easiest decision I had ever made, at that point in my life. It was absolutely the best choice and seems now like the easiest; I often forget how hard it was following through with the decision. I knew it was what I wanted, what I had always wanted, but it took me awhile to get past the: what will other people say/think, what if I am not good at it, how will I support myself going back to school… and all the other excuses I could come up with in my head. I quit teaching June 2013 and it took me 8 months to follow through with attending cosmetology school. Honestly I was scared and let those thoughts take over; I didn’t even visit a school till 6 months after leaving my teaching career, Instead I dove into working in the service industry between managing and bartending. When I finally visited a school I knew I was more than ready because I did not want to leave once the tour had finished. I started a few weeks later. I am very goal oriented so I wanted to know the quickest someone had completed the program which was just over nine months; then I set that as my goal. Nine months later I graduated and was chosen even chose to speak at graduation as valedictorian. My first apprenticeship out of school turned out to be very disappointing; however, it lead me to meet Beau who ended up parting with the salon and taking me with him. Together we created an apprenticeship and partnership that developed me into the stylist and business owner I am today. I spent several years training with Beau on cutting and business skills, and on my own I trained and developed my color skills. What made me want to take a chance on helping Beau go out on his own, even though I did not know what it would mean for me long term, was that he had a strong desire to develop himself as well as the hair community. I wanted to be a part of that and saw growth potential for me from a technical side as well as the enterpreneurial side. I love the technical side of hair but I also really love the business side as well. I have always wanted to run a business. Owning a business sounds glamorous and lots of people think they want to run their own business until the work begins. Owning a business means you have to obtain knowledge in and understand finance, management, law, people skills, technology, and so many other areas. It is possible to have and run a business and lack knowledge in these areas; however, with out understanding all the inner workings of a business you will never really be able to be fully independent. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with having people who work in these areas for you ( for example; I have an accountant who does my taxes and I consult with lawyers when I am dealing with certain things)there is value in hiring people to help you either because your knowledge is limited or because you want to allocate your time to something else. However, it is still important to understand all areas of your business so you still have that freedom and independence. Owning a business is incredibly hard and rewarding but not for everyone. If you do decide to head towards owning a business be prepared for hard decisions and lots of reflection and redirection. I love my business and where it is in this moment and while I hope I am still saying that years down the road I hope my business looks nothing like to does today. If it does, then I have not grown or evolved. That is what I think is so important about my story; I want it to always be adapting and evolving.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Jacob Mendoza, my husband, for helping me find my way and encouraging my through every twist and turn. My parents for cheering me on every step no matter how many times I’ve changed paths. Beau Bollinger for taking a chance on me and giving me my first real opportunity in the hair world.

Website: hairstorydallas.com

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