As a beginner in the industry, no doubt you’ve experienced a time where you felt unsure of yourself, uncertain of your talent and capabilities in the salon—what if I’m not good enough? What if I mess up? What if they leave unhappy?

The truth is, every successful stylist has experienced the fear, the uncertainty and the anxiety. Even the most successful stylists had challenges in cosmetology school, felt the anxiety of servicing their first client, and felt the fear when applying for their first salon job. But they persevered through the challenges.

The expression: ‘Success is a journey, not a destination’—this expression holds true as we talk to some the industry’s finest about their challenges, their successes and their first salon jobs.

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it—so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”

—Thomas J. Watson, President of IBM, who oversaw the company's growth from 1914 to 1956.

Kimberly Kimble
Celebrity hairdresser, product manufacturer, salon owner

Kimble as a child.

Kimberly Kimble, celebrity hairdresser.

Kimble in cosmetology school.

As a third generation hair stylist, Kimberly Kimble’s initial dream was to be a fashion designer.

“I went to beauty school with the intention of doing hair to work my way through fashion school,” she says. “But as I began to learn more about the industry and go to hair shows and see hair artists, I really fell in love with hair. Seeing how I could give my clients more confidence and really change their state of mind with a new hair style was really inspiring and made me love the industry even more.”

The first salon Kimble worked in was as a shampoo girl, rinsing manes at her mother’s Trina’s Beauty Supply and Salon, in midtown Los Angeles. As she grew older, she started cutting and styling at Black Hair and More, and Radiantly Raw Barber and Hair Salon, both in Los Angeles.

Since then, Kimble has appeared as a guest judge on Bravo’s Shear Genius and Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, as well as appearances on Oprah and has educated at the Bronner Brothers Show, America’s Beauty Show and more. Kimble’s list of clientele boasts some of entertainment’s and Hollywood’s most notable names, including Beyoncé Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Vanessa Williams, Kerry Washington and Shakira.

Her biggest challenge? “Trying to fit everything in and schedule my life, clients and business,” she says. “There’s just not enough hours in the day, so squeezing it all in is definitely a challenge.”

But time management wasn’t always her biggest challenge. In fact, she had many challenges while in beauty school at Dudley Cosmetology University in North Carolina.

“That’s why I continued my education even after graduating—I went to every class I could because there were still a lot of things I didn’t feel comfortable doing: Fingerwaves were a big challenge, and even cutting was a big challenge at that time. It wasn’t until I went to Vidal Sassoon that I really felt comfortable cutting. I could roller set, I could blow dry, and I could do wet sets—which really came in handy later when I did the hair for Dream Girls, because they all had coifs from the ’60s.”

In addition to developing a product line—Kimble Hair Care Systems—and educating in the classroom, Kimble built a full-service salon, Kimble Hair Studio, located in West Hollywood, California. Her product line stands as her greatest achievement.

Kimble attributes a large part of her success to her willingness to learn how to style all hair textures. “I went to two different beauty colleges because I wanted to learn about different hair textures. I didn’t want to be limited in what I did. Don’t be afraid to learn—especially when you’re in school. That’s when you can experiment and get away with it—this is where you need to have your guts! Get out there and really go for it. Get as much education as you can. Don’t be afraid of trying to learn about hair that’s not like yours. Do what you love to do and follow your dream and passion, not the money. The money will come.”



Check out more industry icons talking about their first salon jobs:
Beth Minardi: My First Chair
Faatemah Ampey: My First Chair
Michael Shaun Corby: My First Chair
Sherri Jessee: My First Chair
Kimberly Kimble: My First Chair
Patrick Mathes: My First Chair