Her Story
About Myshell
My journey as an entrepreneur started early - at 16, I began doing hair for friends who would pay me, which led my mom to set boundaries and my stepdad, an Army veteran who went to barber school, to support me by giving me his old cosmetology kit and teaching me what he remembered. I would drive around with my basket of hair tools, going to friends' houses to do their hair, eventually doing their parents' hair too, all without formal training initially. I worked as a shampoo assistant and apprentice to gain my hours, then continued doing hair in my dorm to support myself financially through college. When I returned after freshman year and my mom couldn't afford the private college anymore, I got student loans and called a salon owner who charged me just $25 a week for a chair until my clientele built back up. Those clients from my first year found me and stayed with me throughout college. I eventually co-owned that salon space when the owner was closing it. I went to school at night to get the theories and science part while attending Hampton University, where I originally pursued chemistry because I wanted my own hair product, but switched to finance, graduating in 1998. That chemistry background for about 2 years, mixed with my finance degree, kept me close to the science I've always loved. I became a master cosmetologist my junior year of college and I'm still licensed to this day, now transferring my license from New York to Arizona. I've also earned my ACC coaching certification through the International Federation of Coaching, had insurance licenses, and recently launched my podcast called We Add Range. Throughout my career, I've learned that curiosity is essential - asking questions has opened doors I didn't even know were available and led me to collaborate with others in ways that expanded my opportunities beyond just the discipline of work to the people around me.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Myshell
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say be curious. I know it feels very broad, but the more you ask questions, the more you are curious about things, the deeper you will learn the information you need. I went for a long time where maybe sometimes I would work a little harder than I needed to, and I could have asked questions. I think sometimes people don't want to admit when they don't know something, and that can really slow you down and hinder you in a way of not collaborating with others, not meeting other people. Asking questions actually has led me to open doors that I didn't even know were available because I was curious about what other people were doing, I was curious about knowing the process, I was curious about what a job entailed, I was curious about other people. So curiosity expands not just from the discipline of the work, but the people around you. It just opens up so much more for you.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is probably one of the top things that is super important. Without that, you don't yield trust with others. It precedes your reputation because people will speak about you in a way that's quite positive. I would also say the power of community. These all relate to business - business used to be, before we had social media and advanced marketing ability, the community was the way you did business. If I had someone that was my hairstylist, that person generally was a hairstylist for the community, and it was kind of this word-of-mouth thing. So really, again, probably going back to be the person you say you're gonna be, and showing up, being accountable, and community, that community aspect, collaboration - those are just some core values, and it lends to business, but it also lends to how I show up in the world for people around me.
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