Zania Parker

I would definitely say becoming an instructor is what I'm most proud of. It wasn't planned - it was more so the community around me telling me, you know, hey, you can do so much more than just being behind this chair, and that I was growing beyond that. It has its challenges, but it's definitely rewarding. It's not just that I give feedback to my students - they give me feedback too. They don't just learn from me, I learn from them as well. That reciprocal relationship and the support from my community pushing me to see my potential beyond just being behind the chair is what has driven my success.

Don't underestimate your power - your personal power. Don't underestimate, don't compare yourself to other people. You are enough, and you are purposeful. That is something to always remember when you're hit with life's challenges, when you're hit with adversity, when you have the naysayers that don't see your vision or can't see your vision for whatever reason. Follow your heart and your intuition. This is easier said than done, but it is something that is so crucial in this industry. It's what sets us apart as artists - following our inner guide and not the outer guide, not being distracted by other people and what they say, and not being discouraged by life's challenges. It's through really staying true to yourself. I would definitely say, stay true to yourself.

The biggest challenges in this industry right now are cost management - both for the stylist and for the client. The prices are increasing with many different things, and the cost of living is continuing to rise. It's not fixed right now, so that can be a challenge. Another thing that's starting to become more on the back burner is collaboration - collaboration between salons, collaboration between stylists. Everybody's going the individual route. Since COVID, we're seeing people coming from the salon family-type environment to the more individual salon suite environment. I hear the talk of some clients saying that we're kind of losing touch with salon culture. It's not necessarily us as a salon doing that, it's just the preference being prepared for if anything like COVID happens again - we don't have to worry about shutting down an entire salon, we can still work in a salon suite while maintaining distance and proper sanitation. People that were working at salons with 5 or 6 stylists would have to schedule clients on different days and work around each other, which definitely would pose a challenge for job security.

Self-care is most important to me - not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If you're not balanced as a person, you're kind of compromised when it comes to handling life's challenges, and life challenges are always going to come. Taking care of self is a most important value, especially for us as hairstylists, barbers, and makeup artists who take care of others. It's very important that we take care of ourselves physically and mentally because people depend on us. It helps us to put our best foot forward and not brush our personal lives under the rug. You deal with those things before you step behind the chair and take care of people, because energy transfers. If you're not having the best day and you're not able to contain that energy, it does rub off on people, and that can make or break your clientele, your passion, and your confidence. Also, making sure to take care of your priorities - your bills and anything going on there - before we start splurging and having fun with our money. With social media being around nowadays, everybody's in the rush to go out there and have fun, and nothing's wrong with that, but make sure you're balanced and in check first so that you're not putting yourself further behind. Self-care and making sure that you're taking care of your priorities in life means you can live your best life.