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SEARCHSalon professional Jesse Briggs share the reason he chose to be part of the beauty industry.
Jesse Briggs
Owner of Yellow Strawberry Salons (yellowstrawberry.com) and founder of Caribbean Dream Relaxer (caribbeandreamrelaxer.com)
Year I obtained my beauty license: 1968
At age 16 I was a plumbers assistant. I met a beautiful manicurist
named Flo, who was from Cuba. Every time I visited her in the salon I
was impressed by the ambiance, especially when I compared it to my
heavy labor in extreme weather.
Flo and I married, and with my then steady job as a truck driver, we
were able to open our very first "beauty shop." Her salon became
successful and I watched her income surpass my own. Together we
wondered if my rough hands would or could ever master the artist of
hairdressing. So I enrolled in beauty school to give it a test. I was
the only male and voted "most likely not to succeed!" And, I realized
this beauty biz was for me.
From early on it was obvious to me that continuing education was key to
staying on top of your game. Attending hair shows and reading trade
magazines like MODERN was key. I met and befriended my mentors: Vidal
Sassoon, Paul Mitchell and Jamison Shaw.
We opened additional salons and became members of Intercoiffure. We
co-founded HairColor USA and have done photo shoots and fashion shows.
I still find every day exciting and I enjoy meeting and mentoring the
new generation of salon professionals. I am truly grateful to have
chose beauty as my business … and Flo! We've been married now for 50
years.
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