SHIRLEY GORDON

Owner/Stylist, Strands Hair Studio, Wheaton, MD

Licensed: Rockville Beauty Academy

First job: Stylist at Kelly Hair-Em

Clients per week: 20

Price point: Cut: $95, Highlights: $240

www.strandsstudios.com

Why did you choose beauty? So I could help others recognize their inner and outer beauty. Having confidence is an important part of who you are. So I figured, the best way to help people embrace their own true beauty is by sharing my talent, my belief, and my true passion.

Milestones: Realizing my potential, believing in myself, and then acting on it; becoming an entrepreneur and owning my own salon; learning to break my own rules

Big break: God blessed me with this amazing gift. Because of this blessing, my career has been flooded with many opportunities.

Career advice you’ve received: Become an advocate for continuing education

Career advice you’ve given: Don’t be afraid to break you own rules!

Your mentors: Vivienne MacKinder, Trevor Sorbie, Robert Lobetta and Vidal Sassoon

You mentor? My stylists, assistants and other aspiring stylists who wish to follow in my footsteps.

Are there benefits to being a woman in beauty? Yes! Women not only represent beauty, they express beauty. Beauty is part of a woman. No matter what a woman’s size, shape or color, there will always be an opportunity for her to relate to another woman, share an experience, and most important, to learn from other women.

Risk and lesson: After working at a salon for eight years as a stylist, I decided to become an entrepreneur and open my own salon. It was a little scary, but I learned that all things are possible when you have a spiritual connection.

To follow in your footsteps, a woman would have to: Work hard, never be afraid to ask questions, be an advocate for continuing professional education and believe in herself.

Famous woman you would like to style. Hummmm! I would have to say Beyonce. I admire her hard work and determination to take whatever she does to the top.

Next change to personal style: My hair! I change it monthly.

Reading? My bible, the Vidal Sassoon book, and Don’t Die In The Winter, Your Season is Coming.

Playlist: “I Was Here” by Beyonce and “Hello Fear” by Kirk Franklin

Important client experience. I had an experience with a client who was suffering with severe hair loss. It was out of her control and she did not know what she could do about it. I had recently added hair replacement to my services, so I was so happy that I was able to give her some options.

Every day, just for you: I exercise and I pray

Working on: What am I not working on (smile)? Preparing for NAHA 2012; seeking a new salon location; developing a product line; debuting a series of “total look” DVDs for women,, and training under my industry icons.