BETH MINARDI

Owner, Minardi Salon, NYC and Minardi Beauty Products

Spokesperson, Joico Vero K-Pak Color

Licensed: Murwood Beauty Academy, 1977

First job: Color consultant to Clairol

Clients per week: 30

Price point: $350 for color

minardinyc.com                                                                  

Major milestones: Developing several lines of hair color; NAHA Lifetime Achievement and  PBA Icon of the Year Award; working with Joico

Big break:  Moving to NYC to work for Clairol’s corporate headquarters

Career advice received: Put your head down. Expect nothing for a long while. Work.

Career advice you’ve given:  The first 20,000 foils are the toughest.

Your mentors: Robert Oppenheim, Hillary Clinton, Estée Lauder, Mary Kay and Queen Elizabeth I.

You mentor: My staff, my color students and my daughter.

Are there benefits to being a woman in beauty? No. I believe there are challenges requiring us to work harder, work smarter and be able to juggle numerous roles simultaneously. We have to continue to alter the perception of women in this industry.

Risk and reward:  I left a corporate environment to open a beauty salon. I learned the real joy involved in artistry and entrepreneurial endeavors. A safe life is not always the most interesting.

What does “work/life” balance mean to you? Periods of intense labor must be punctuated with periods of relaxation, diversion and rejuvenation. Everyone must recharge their batteries. Hairdressers who can only talk about hairdressing are boring to their clients.

To follow in your footsteps, a woman would have to: Make major decisions regarding commitment, dedication and self discipline.

Famous woman you’d like to style: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

The next change to my personal style: Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance

Reading? Outliers and Rules of Civility

Playlist: “All Things Must Pass” and the soundtrack to the film Young Victoria

Important client experience: Renee Russo made a huge impact on my business. She came to me a blond late one night. She was to start filming The Thomas Crown Affair early the next morning. They had made her a purple wig that was hideous. Mark Mileti and I layered the color in her hair bit by bit. Women still come to me for Renee’s red.

Every day, just for you: Coffee in bed!

Working on: Moving into a new life