Meet Buckhead Hairstylist, Makeup Artist, Educator, & Product Developer: Alicia Igess

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Igess.

Alicia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to the city of Atlanta, Georgia to start my career as a hairstylist, and I became homeless in the process. No seriously, I lost all I had in a fire. No clients, no comb; I had nothing but my car. I did not come to the city with a built-in clientele. Instead, I had to build a business and a home at the same time…from scratch. With God’s divine guidance, grace, and provision afforded me more success than I could have asked for or imagined. He can and is willing to do the same for you.

It is almost unbelievable to reflect on how I went from being a 22-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee, with nothing, to owning a thriving hair salon in Buckhead (Atlanta, Georgia). I now see celebrity clients in several states and countries, and still find time to freelance on photo shoots for Ms. World International, RHOA Porsha Stewart and Gospel Today founder, Teresa Hairston, to name a few.

I love the beauty industry, and there are far too many talented stylists struggling to build a lucrative business. I literally get questions every day by stylists, salon owners, aspiring stylists and students on how I did it. How did I make this business work for me? If I can encourage one person to stay on track and follow her passion, I will have done my part, so do not give up.

I was born in the projects of Memphis, Tennessee. My mom was on public assistance my entire life. For some reason, God gave me the talent of doing hair. From the time I was three years old, I was playing in hair (my dolls, your dolls, my head, your head, whoever would allow me to practice). At the time, of course, I did not know I was practicing. I could sit around a salon all day long.

I literally started doing hair when I was 11 years old. I was finger waving for five dollars, and if you wanted it dried and lifted, I charged seven. Even at this point, I did not know I was practicing. All throughout junior high and high school, I had the opportunity to make money by doing hair. I meet people all the time that say, “I bet you knew the whole time you would do hair.” I did not. It just so happens that I never stopped doing it.

I went on to college after high school, and I did hair in college. After I graduated from college, I finally decided to go to cosmetology school. That was the hardest thing in my life. I had a hard time because I thought I knew everything. But many of us know that God’s Word is true when it states that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:18 (NIV). Once I changed my mindset, I was able to learn more of what was offered. I am so glad I listened.

Wow, amazing story.  Any advice or wisdom for others?

If I could share anything with you I would share these three principles:

1. Get focused.

You cannot succeed if you are not focused. What is it that you want to do or be? You do not have to know everything, just the one thing you are going to focus on right now. Habakkuk 2:2 (NIV) states “Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” It may sound silly but actually WRITE OUT your vision. Create a vision board and take steps everyday toward those goals. I’m a living witness that it works! God’s ways and directions lead to success!!

2. Get serious.

Stop playing with your future, and commit to being the best at what you do. Take classes, get a mentor, and get training.

Hebrews 12:11 NIV states that “no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful; later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” It is so important to be disciplined fiscally and functionally. I’ve learned that another reason so many stylists struggle is due to a lack of work ethic, innovation, and commitment. How many times do you walk into a salon and the stylist’s hair is disheveled? Or the salon is dirty? Or, even worse, they look like they just woke up? If you do not take yourself seriously, how do you expect clients and potential clients to take you seriously? How you show up is vitally important to your success.

As a stylist in today’s highly competitive market, it is important that you be more than a good stylist. Deuteronomy 8:18 states “But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today”. For me, it was imperative that I not only recognize where my talents came from, but that I also continuously work to maintain, enhance and be a good steward of those talents.

There is a stylist on every corner, and YouTube is putting up tons of how-to videos daily. With the economy fluctuation, job security is not found in how good you do hair or the convenience of your salon location…God helped me to learn that it is about how you position your business. He guided me to the resources, education and industry knowledge that kept me from being in the position of having to chase clients for the rest of my life.

My ability to grow this business from nothing to greatness is certainly not solely due to my own efforts or actions. God certainly enabled me to have divine insight and divine innovation that shaped my business into what it is today. Romans 12:2 NIV clearly states “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This is a commandment for innovation – never be a carbon copy of someone else. Never rest on your last level of success. It is imperative to renew yourself by committing to lifelong learning and continuous endeavors for improvement.

3. Get started.

Once you have a clear and focused vision, start taking yourself seriously, get started. Do not talk about it, do it.

No one has to say it for me. I know I am one hard-working sister, who believes absolutely anything is possible in life. This world is simply a playground where, as a small business owner, God allows me to create freedom, joy, and prosperity for myself, and those who come in contact with me. I have been blessed enough to experience how far determination and abilities can take you. I have been places that I could never have imagined, and so can you.

I had lived in Atlanta, Georgia for less than three years when this “little ole country girl” from Memphis, Tennessee decided to open a hair salon. After a year of frustration with that property owner, I moved the business to Buckhead – a space we were in for nine years. During my time there, I trained more than 30 assistants, who are currently successful hair stylists in this beloved cosmetology industry. To follow up the success of the last nine years, my team and I are expanding our services to educate and train hair stylists at home as well as abroad. My dreams are becoming a reality, and yours can too.

How did I succeed? The reason is that I never stopped and I never let fear control me. Fear is the enemy of all entrepreneurs. Mark 5:36(NIV) says“Overhearing what they said, Jesus told them, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” There may come a time when you are the only one that believes in what God has shown you – never give up on the vision – never!

I never stopped believing I could do it and took the correct steps to make it happen. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13 NKJV.With God’s help, I never stopped looking for solutions and I gathered an arsenal of advisors that could help me accomplish my dreams. “Without the guidance of good leaders a nation falls. But many good advisers can save it.” Proverbs 11:14 NIRV. With prayer and grace, I found the strength to never give up on the dream of having freedom and job security and once that was achieved I never lost sight of my visions or goals, or what my purpose on Earth really is.

II Timothy 1:7 (NIV) states that “For the Spirit, God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” Don’t allow fear to creep in and make you turn away from what you are called to do. I did not turn away from my God-given talents. God helped me to accept everything that was happening, to look to Him, and to find the strength to keep going. Allow yourself to do that, my friends. The strength and peace that God provides will take you to some amazing places. All you have to do is look to Him. Let Him bring you to your “Promised Land.”

I challenge you to look to God’s Word and find the same strength, the same power that He has placed within all of us. This power is divinely created, and when you tap into it, please believe me when I say, “There are no boundaries to what it can do.”

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Some of the proudest moments of my career so far have been receiving “Best of Atlanta” for hair extensions in 2014 from Jezebel Magazine, recognized for that in 2015 in The Atlantan and my salon, Urban Tangles being recognized as one of the best salons in the city in 2015 in the Atlanta Tribune Magazine. I must admit to you all that I am proud each time I service a bride because my track record has been great enough that they keep referring others to me. I am also proud because I have proven I can service all ethnicities.

Tell us more about the struggles you’ve faced along the way.
I was in the 550 Building on Pharr Road for nine years. The building foreclosed and I was not prepared to move my business. However, I had to move. I had to make a decision to either go work in someone else’s salon or keep my doors open. I decided to raise some of the money to keep my doors open. It was a struggle to do this. I don’t like to ask for help. However, a closed mouth will never get fed. Once I moved, I had to change my business model. This was a struggle because I had to get rid of anyone who didn’t buy into the changes that were made. I struggled with that because the hairstylists I worked with at this point were truly my friends but I made a business decision. The struggle has been real on so many levels professionally and personally. The wind was knocked out of me when my mother passed away all of a sudden in March 2014 and in April 2015, I delivered a baby girl that lived for two weeks. It was a struggle to not have a baby that I gave birth to and my body had to heal from that and not to mention my mother wasn’t there to console me. I did one of the hardest things in life….walk away from Atlanta where my clientele was built and steady to go home to Memphis, Tennessee so I could heal literally…..physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

I have several moments when I had to struggle! I look back over my career and realize all of the decisions I made to share what I knew only to train what most people would say is my competition. I know when flowers bloom, they don’t wait on the one next to them to do it, they just do it! My struggles have become moments of encouragement for me and I am grateful to have had the opportunities to share what I know with people. Despite anything I have dealt with that has been a struggle, I am clear that weeping only endures for a night. Joy truly comes in the morning.

What’s your outlook for the industry in our city?
Our city is an excellent place for me careerwise and someone starting out would benefit from being here as well. There could be a hairstylist and makeup artist on every corner and that still would not be enough of us to service the general public. We can only do so many in one day. This city has an abundance of people who are concerned about their appearance. What better place to do what I do?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aliciaigess.com | www.urbantangles.com
• Phone: 404-869-6050
• Email: alicia@aliciaigess.com
• Instagram: aliciaigess | urbantanglesproducts
• Facebook: Alicia Igess | Urban Tangles Products

Credits:
Photographers: Corey Reese, Jeffrey Amezqua, Snap Happy Photography, Chelsea Patricia, Sonya Yim Photography; some responses also appear in Beauty for Ashes by Juanita Ingram, Esq.