Her Story
About Melissa
Melissa Marino has been in the beauty industry for over 10 years. She currently works as a hairstylist, hair loss specialist, and permanent makeup artist, operating two small studio spaces. Her services include mesh integration for women who cannot wear traditional hair extensions, as well as permanent makeup for brows, lips, and faux freckling, with a primary focus on clients dealing with alopecia and scarring from traumatic injuries. She attended cosmetology school in New Jersey at an Aveda school and has pursued extensive continuing education in hair color, cutting, extensions, mesh integration, and barbering. Licensed in multiple states, she lives in Florida for most of the year while preparing to expand her business to Colorado. Previously, she worked for a startup cold brew coffee company out west, an experience that informed her understanding of business principles. She is also planning a non-profit partnership with Coming Home to purchase a coffee farm in Nicaragua aimed at training and employing others in a trade.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Melissa
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I have ever gotten is that your net worth is your network. It is really good to meet people, to get to know people, to put yourself out there because you just never know who is going to be your next client or your next business opportunities or who you might be able to help or collaborate with. I have restarted my business a few times in different states and part of the reason it does not make me nervous is because I always seem to meet people wherever I go.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Learn as much as you can and do not wait for somebody to tell you that you are good enough. The beauty industry can be very dog-eat-dog and nobody is ever going to tell you that you are good enough or ready to do something so you just have to go do it.
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