Today we’d like to introduce you to Tasha Davis.
Hi Tasha, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I never considered becoming a hairstylist as a career choice. I majored in elementary education in college and realized while doing my student teaching that I didn’t like children as much as I thought. (Bless the teachers of our children, they are truly everyday heros!) So when college didn’t work out, I was trying to find something that I could finish school relatively quickly and would not put me in a cubicle or behind a computer. I always say that I’m grateful that I didn’t know how much math and science was involved in cosmetology because, as an artist, I would have never purposely put myself thru that but… I didn’t, so…I did. And this industry has given me far more than I could ever give back.
After graduating from Mr. John’s college of Cosmetology in Champaign- Urbana, I worked in several cooperate salons holding positions as a stylist, salon manager, color educator and platform artist. I was enjoying my career choice, and I was beginning to feel an entrepreneurial urge. At some point in the late 90’s, my aunt and I were daydreaming what it would look like to start my own salon. We came up with the name Trimz on a Whim because we felt it perfectly described my niche and where the market was headed. I sketched a logo based on an icon I’d seen on the internet which would later become known as emoji.
Soon after registering my business, my family and I moved to Indianapolis. There I began working at a corporate chain salon, where I was promoted to area manager within a few months. I was working 70+ hour weeks overseeing daily operations for ten salons in central Indiana. I was exhausted, my health was failing, and my family was miserable because I was always working. The last roughly three years that I worked there, I would literally pray that today would be the day I would get fired. I hated my job, but it was clear that I still loved hair… it was the corporate politics and not getting to be my authentic self for me.
One day it hit me like a ton of bricks. If I could effectively run ten stores, certainly I could run one! I went home and dusted off my old business plan, which was a cosmetology school requirement for graduation. I registered in the state of Indiana, filed an LLC. Registered my trademark and started dreaming of entrepreneurship again.
Prior to June 6, 2011, I had never quit a job without notice. But after a particularly rough day, I called my hubby on my drive home and asked him how he felt about me quitting my job that day. By the time I made it back to my side of town, we’d come up with a tentative plan and I dropped my keys, cell phone and laptop off at the salon nearest my home. On June 23rd (yep… 17 days later), the first brick and mortar Trimz on a Whim was born!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Statistically, I’m not supposed to be here. My mother drank from separate water fountains during Jim Crow. I was a single mom for years. I don’t come from money and my credit was terrible when I opened the first location… so yeahhhh there have always been challenges. But I’m resilient and I have the most supportive spouse and family. We always laugh that we ate a lot of ramen noodles and hot dogs in the beginning but we survived. Now that we’ve opened the 2nd location in Atlanta it’s back to ramen and hot dogs actually lol.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Most people are surprised that as a black woman, my clientele is mostly non black. People assume I only do black hair…. listen, if your money is green I can do your hair, but I excel at finer hair textures because that’s what the school I went to specialized in. My first cosmetology job was on campus at the University of Illinois, Champaign- Urbana so my client base has always been very diverse.
I’m a hairstylist who specializes in hair color, specifically lived-in hair color and vivids or what I call “comic book hair.” I love it when clients aren’t sure what they want and just give me boundaries and a budget and trust me to make them look great!
Being a military kid exposed me to so many different cultures and people from all walks of life, so if I’m known for anything, it’s probably my customer service and ability to connect with people. Everyone has a story, and people are just interesting to me. Also, I came up with this quote “what’s said in the chair, stays in the chair,” so my guests know they don’t have to worry about anything we talk about getting out.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is that people feel confident and loved when they leave my chair. The world can be an ugly, harsh place. I make it my business to build up and affirm the people who sit in my chair so that I know they had at least one positive interaction that day.
Pricing:
- Haircuts start at $35
- Haircolor starts at $95
Contact Info:
- Email: Iwantitnow@trimzonawhim.com
- Website: www.trimzonawhim.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thairapyculture/
- Facebook: https://www.favebook.com/trimzonawhim
Image Credits
Juan Guillen Photo.byem
