Check Out Terra Braden’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Terra Braden.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I knew where my passion was by the time I was 8 years old. I was obsessed with hair and the artistic freedom it gave me as a healthy outlet and I couldn’t picture myself as being anything other than a hair artist.
I set out to graduate high school at 16 years old and went straight into Cosmetology school that same year and I graduated then at 17 years old and landed my first job apprenticing and working full time at a local salon. That was 22 years ago. Continuing education is my constant goal… simply because hair is my obsession!
I almost quit my career two years ago because I lacked extreme boundaries and suffered from burn out. I knew I needed to correct that and learn how to run the business side of my career with ease so I invested heavily to hire beauty consultants (Slice Strand Consultants to be exact) and they blew my business out of the water in the BEST way. It changed the trajectory of my entire life, financially, physically and emotionally. I will never regret that.
I had a unique dream. I wanted to create a safe space for people. I not only wanted to achieve their dream hair and help them feel beautiful on the outside but I genuinely want them to feel a level of safety with me that makes them feel valued, heard and appreciated no matter where they stand in life. Whether that looks like a silent appointment, hair-apist appointment, extra massage for that scalp therapy, crying sesh or a good laugh, I want to be that safe place for everyone with zero judgement and all the love for humanity that I carry.
If you have naturally curly hair, I’m your girl. Do you have that baby fine hair? I can help with that too. Do you want to get your roots done with a blow dry style in 45 minutes but we can tell your significant other it takes 3 hours? That’s me!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A lot of artistic, career minded individuals have an enormous amount of empathy, so I had to learn to say no: No, I do not have room in my schedule for an extra client that day. No, I do not offer a discount if you come with your entire family. No, I do not work on my days off. No, you cannot come to my home on my day off for me to fix your DIY highlights.
Also, I may have learned to slay hair all day but I learned nothing about the financial/business aspect of being self employed. I had extreme financial struggles (from lack of boundaries) a few years back that landed me into only having two paths left- Fail and become homeless OR take the huge risk in changing literally everything in my business in hiring these consultants.
I took the risk and tripled my income, working less days/hours and building boundaries. Slice Squad Consultants gave me my freedom back to be the best version of myself and raise my three beautiful children.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love to work with all hair types and hair colors because the variety is inspiring to me. I strive to continue my education in that form with classes, hair shows and social media artists.
I have natural curl/waves, my middle son has curly hair, my oldest son has fine, straight hair and my daughter has thick, tight, pencil curls. I can only hope that is what sets me apart. I don’t just specialize in one thing. Though I can highlight like the fast foiling, millennial hair stylist I am, haha!
I do love to create hair transformations for my busy, working clients to be able to get them in and out the salon quickly. I use a 10 minute, Italian color line full of Kera-veg 18 so it heals your hair as it processes in that short amount of time as well.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
When you begin your career, I strongly advise to hire beauty consultants or spend time exploring the business side to understand from a successful hair stylist because I cannot stress enough how quickly and high that your chance of failing is, sadly. They do not teach that in Cosmetology school, especially the depth of that side. It’s more than just money, its how to successfully build your clientele and maintain. Keep pushing through, find your support system and do the uncomfortable part of reaching out to obtain clientele- make that connection, create those videos, begin that conversation, match their energy above all!

Pricing:

• Curly Cut Service: $105
• Partial Foil/Custom Color: $160
• Full Foil/Custom Color: $200
• Mini Foil/Custom Color: $120
• All Over Color: $105

Contact Info:

• Website: https://terrabraden.glossgenius.com
• Instagram: @hairbyterrab
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terra.braden5