Today we’d like to introduce you to Dejaune (rocko) Jones.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dejaune. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was younger I was so used to seeing all the women in my family keep themselves up. You know hair, makeup, fashion and everything else, so growing up I became interested in all things beauty. With me having a twin sister, it was perfect training just to become an infatuated with hair and what it could do, so obviously she became my little guinea pig, and she was okay with that. She begin always getting compliments on her hair and questions about who did it, but I still wasn’t sure about my gift or that I wanted people to know that I was doing hair, so I kept it a secret and always told her to lie about who did it lol. Fast forward to 2010 my mom was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and a lot begin to change for my family as far as the financial side of things, so to save money I begin doing my moms her and a few of her friends for a few extra dollars around the house but still, I wouldn’t allow people to post pictures or tag me if they did. I was still unsure about my talent, but I needed a coin. 2013 comes and I graduate from high school in dreams of becoming an orthodontist, so I begin college, After a year I just knew this wasn’t for me, so I found a retail clothing job, and I became a manager after a year. 2015 comes, and I became a little more comfortable doing hair, but I only had a handful of clients which were the ones I had from day one and maybe a couple more, just the ones i was comfortable with. Back during this time you didn’t see to many men doing hair or in the beauty industry and if you did they were flamboyant or just super feminine which was fine of course it just wasn’t me or what i wanted to portray. 2017 comes and I told myself somethings gotta give I was always looking to touch the hair on someone’s head. I was always finding new ways to try things or always asking my sister for her head to practice on.so I told myself maybe I can start a hair company. So of course me and my cousin came up with a name found a vendor and had a photoshoot with five models and paid for everything ourself so about $1,200 later we had a hair company called Meraki Hair Company, the day of the photoshoot I had to style all five girls hair and had no choice but to do it at the venue or lose out on money and time so BOOM here I am doing hair in front of about 15 people who didn’t know I even did hair and that was nerve racking. Still, my cousin told me “you got this, we’ve been waiting for this moment go do you” and I was a little more confident .we sold raw virgin hair and the business was super successful. We made a good amount of money together, a week later I decided to post a few photos of my work on Facebook and see what the response would be, after 2 minutes I took the post down because I was still scared, three days later I posted it again. They all blew up, and my DM’s were going crazy, and I wasn’t expecting that. Client by client, I begin to get more comfortable and accepting of my talent. The more I start posting the more clients begin coming. While still working my 9-5 job I did hair, sometimes until 2 am lol May 25, 2019 I quit my job of seven years to take on being a full time hairstylist and its been a blessing ever since.so sometimes we stand in our way of what god has for us. We sometimes think we are ready for what he has for us but are we ?
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth? That definitely would have been to easy for me. I’m black and a male. I had to work extremely hard to prove myself to others. I was 24 walking out on a job that offered me complete ownership of a successful business because they were ready to be done, but I left that knowing that God had something so much more rewarding for me for the gift he blessed me with. Sometimes I was afraid i wasn’t going to meet ends meet, and I always surprised myself. I was always so used to being over about 5/10 employees, and to now be my own boss feels amazing. I work on my craft every chance I get because I know in this business it’s easy to get replaced. Some nights missing parties, events, clubs and friends inviting me places just to do hair, and that led to so many lost friendships and closed business ventures. It honestly sent me into a small depression knowing that something I hid for so long from so many people is the same thing that lost me friends, in more ways than one. But I had to accept that God has something in store for me that I may have needed to separate myself to get there. Most stylist aren’t able to become full stylist within their first full year so to be where i am is a blessing. I’m at such a fantastic place in my life right now. its 2020 so seeing people like cliffvmir and arrogant Tae and tokyostylez bring men and doing what they love daily and striving to be the best definitely makes me aim just a little higher. I’m also getting ready to launch my first product of 3 this year and I’m super excited about what’s to come.
Please tell us about your business.
I am a natural hair and weave specialist. Which means I specialize in natural hair and everything lace (wigs, frontals, and closures). I’m known for making all installs look as natural as possible. In 2020, everyone wears wigs, frontals, and lace fronts, but that doesn’t mean it has to look like one. Everyone wants that Beyoncé or Nicki Minaj look and I practiced my butt off until I could give my clients just that and I’m still practicing to become one of the best. My clients love coming and leaving knowing that’ they got THEROCKOEXPERIENCE. They know that they will leave feeling like they just won a grammy because I’m a perfectionist. When they get up and dance or sing or sometimes even cry, it confirms that I’m exactly where God wanted me to be. My mom always wanted to be happy in whatever it was that I did, and I knew that when things begin to smooth out, it was because she is watching over me daily, so I grind hard for her.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My entire family deserves credit for everything they rode with me through it all. With my mom leaving my life so early my aunts and sisters step up to make sure i was always happy and could be who i wanted to and do exactly what makes me happy. They knew mom had her hands on me, especially deciding to leave an amazing offer on a table to own a successful pre-owned business. They accepted that I wanted to do hair and knew that it was going to be a success. Amber Davis (anointed hands salon) she has encouraged me to do hair since I was 15. She always let me know that this was meant for me, and if I ever needed her, she was there, she has always held my hand through everything because she wants me to be the best and most hairstylists are so jealous and envious you dont get love and support like that a lot, so im forever grateful for her. My clients also boost me every time they sit down because most of them are amazingly loyal to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: styleseat.com/therockoexperience
- Phone: 2566609049
- Email: therockoexperience@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/therockoexperience
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dejaunej
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