Meet Kortnee VanCleave | Hair Stylist

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

Hi Kortnee, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Self-discipline, organization and knowing your “why”. Self-discipline is obvious though, right? An idea can only go so far if You aren’t intentional with being consistent. There are too many distractions out there to keep You from making your vision become a reality so knowing how to shut it all out is probably the biggest thing.

Then You have organization, without it, everything is just chaos. starting organized and staying organized is KEY to success. It allows You to have white space in your head to come up with even better ideas to elevate whatever it is you’re working on.

Your “why”. THIS to me is the biggest driving factor behind anything You set to do.

My specific why is to not only provide for my family, but to help others feel beautiful, inspire them and help lift their spirits if in need. Use your “why” to push your self-discipline into action and stay organized in the process.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business started from literally nothing. I became a single Mom right after I got my cosmetology license so fear was honestly my main motivation because I had no clients, no bank account, zero dollars and a 1 year old depending on me to mold the childhood he would live. I then became OBSESSED with learning. Any information I could get my hands on I would put all of my extra time into absorbing (which wound up being all hours of the night while my son slept.) Everything from new hair techniques and classes to books about personal growth, organizing your finances, positive mindsets and daily habits and how to enforce them became an everyday thing.

Once I started applying the things that I learned and seeing success, I slowly started falling back in love with the craft, and once that fear of not being able to provide for my son and me started to ease, there were more aspects of the business I unexpectedly discovered and fell in love with. I fell in love with not only making women feel beautiful with their fresh hair, but inspiring, connecting and bonding with my clients with the hours we get together. I fell in love with the business aspect – the behind the scenes stuff. I fell in love with the freedom working for yourself gets. I fell in love with the endless possibilities this industry has to offer. I fell in love with my schedule and how it allows me to be a Mom first and a hair stylist second. The list goes on and on, and 10 years in I am STILL falling in love with new things.

Building a business from the ground up completely by yourself isn’t easy, but it’s is absolutely achievable!

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.
Painted Tree for shopping Electric Game Box for entertainment
Rare books bar for drinks

De Lincoln for a nice dinner

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A few books that really helped me form my mindsets have been Girl, Stop Appologizing

Millionaire Success Habits

Profit First

and The Emotionally Healthy Woman

I personally listen to them on Audible to be more efficient, but books are phenomenal and affordable resources that are overlooked and underrated. The entrepreneur mindset doesn’t just appear by itself overnight, it needs to be fed and nurtured and these 4 books were pivotal for me.

Website: www.topknotstylist.com

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