Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Hawkins.
Hi Taylor, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started doing hair at about 13… I would braid my own hair, this was after my mother told me she was no longer doing my hair, that I was old enough to do my own hair. I had asked her to put a relaxer on it for me. So from that point, I was natural. I wasn’t going to put a relaxer on my own hair. I was afraid I would mess it up or lose it. I got really good at braiding my own hair I would put all kinds of designs. My initials, my school initials for pride week. Then people would see my hair and ask if I could braid theirs. This was challenging cuz it was mainly Hispanics. Straight, fine hair was difficult for me to grip. So my mother would assist me cuz she was good at braiding as well. I eventually got it down and would braid their hair at school. I didn’t have a love for hair at the time. So I wasn’t consistent, but I would always braid my own hair I rarely let anyone else do it. That went on for about 10 yrs before I got Locs. I started my Locs in 2010. I enjoyed watching the locticians service their clients while getting my hair serviced. So after watching for about a year, I began to do my own locs. Let me tell you, I was no good at it. In 2015 I decided I wanted to cut hair I was working a retail job that I hated. I needed something I was interested in and braiding never was fun I just knew I was good at it. But I really wanted to cut hair. So I started barber college. While at barber college, it was a lot of guys with Locs. They started asking who did mine and I would tell them, me, and they would ask if I could do theirs. They paid me bout $25 to $40 to do their hair while we were clocking hours for school. It was a plus for me I was getting paid and learning this new skill barbering. It was other people that did Locs at school, but I was stealing everyone’s clients cuz I had learnt a lot during my 5 yrs of doing my own hair. I started feeling like this was something I loved over braiding and cutting. It stuck after completing barber college a year later, most of the students whose hair I serviced continued to get their hair done by me. So I made an Instagram for my business doing barbering, loc maintenance and styles. I promoted on my Facebook page and I started getting more clients. By this time I was now working warehouse jobs. This made my availability for Locs inconsistent. But my business hadn’t quite took off yet. This didn’t happen until after Covid. When Covid came about in 2020, I was working a warehouse job making pretty good money but it was risky. I quit my job and started focusing on my business. Best decision I ever made. It was always a tug-of-war thing with working or focusing on my business. I would always choose security so I preferred a job and guaranteed money. But having faith can really make a difference. I started working solely for myself at the end of 2020 and since then my business has been consistent and growing.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, not at all. I wish but I don’t think it ever is a smooth road to success. Consistency was my biggest struggle. I would always get scared if I had a bad week and soon after I’d go get a job and then that would change my availability which would cause a decline in my clientele. So once that happened I would then doubt myself I would focus less and less on my business and just give up.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a loctician/hairstylist braider. I specialize in healthy locs, loc maintenance and styles. I’m most proud of my growth in this business. It’s a lot of us and I’m up there with the best of them. What’s set me apart is my neatness and styles. I’m a perfectionist and my work reflects that.
How do you think about luck?
Luck, nah, there’s no luck here. I’ve been blessed in hands and always have been. I decided to no longer take it for granted. Then I put a lot of work into learning my craft and into pushing my brand. Had I done it sooner, I would have been here sooner. Hard work, determination, and faith. Trusting yourself will take you a long way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://truthlocs.as.me/
- Instagram: Truth_locs
