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

Hi Brittany, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
I’ve been doing hair for almost 15 years and about 5 years in I almost wanted to give up. I wasn’t making much money, I wasn’t seeing my clientele grow and things were tough financially. I even worked a second job for a few years at another salon and when that didn’t work I worked retail as a second job. When I saw my paychecks from my retail job I knew I could make more money and enjoy my work if I put my heart into my work again at the salon. I got serious about my career again and started with how I showed up to work. I got too comfortable and stopped dressing up for work and stopped doing my hair and makeup before work. So I started there, I started making myself more presentable for work and how I carried myself. I also started a business account with instagram and started posting my work and learning how to use hashtags and other tricks. I also started spending a little bit more money on product and tools and really invested in my craft and it really paid off! I went from working two jobs to just working at the salon 3 full days a week and now my books are pretty full and I’m in control of how busy I want to be. Once I really started taking my career seriously things really turned around! So if you feel like giving up first analyze what you can fix and what you can control, and watch things get better!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I don’t think I’m any different from anyone else. I just try to be the Salon booth renter that I would want and try to be loyal and honest and in turn I’ve always found salons where the other girls are the exact same so it’s always made for good work environments. A lot of hard work and reassessing myself and my work and technique have been made throughout the years so you should never stop learning! I just want to be a pleasant person to be around and make people feel beautiful when they leave my chair, I couldn’t be any happier than to have accomplished those two things.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love all things San Diego. From the scenic little town I live in in Fallbrook, to the many surrounding beaches you can’t go wrong. Balboa Park is a favorite of mine you can walk around for hours, I love Gaslamp for dinner and drinks and a cool view wherever you look!

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?
I can say that I have had amazing salon owners that I have worked for. Two that stand out are Anthony and Sandra Herrera. They purchased a salon for me and their daughter to run over 10 years ago and we’ve grown into a 4 chair salon. They have never wanted to profit from the business so much as they were always focused on us girls and seeing us be successful so I will always owe them a lot when I first started and up until now. Also Shae Trudel and her husband Joe have been also amazing salon owners. They, again, just want to see their stylist happy and successful and in turn a lot of stylist have been super loyal to them because of the type of people they are! And of course all of the wonderful clients that have turned into friends along the way, I wouldn’t be anywhere without them!

Website: www.instagram.com/brittany.doesmyhair
Instagram: @brittany.doesmyhair

Image Credits
Ali Art & Photography