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.