Episode 136

From Prison Guard to Mobile Styling & E-Commerce Biz | Leones Trinity | Stylist + Founder | Trinity Place Designs

Tune in to hear how Leones built her mobile styling and e-commerce business for hair care products while working as a Corrections Officer on Rikers Island!

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Key Takeaways:

-- Rebelled as a child for personal expression via hair

-- Licensed Cosmetologist in 2015 and then became a Corrections Officer at Rikers Island

-- Hair was a fallback plan which turned into building an e-commerce site and her own product line

-- Starting out doing hair is very hard financially because it takes time to build your book.

-- Supplemental income via random jobs was necessary to pay the bills.

-- There are a lot more layers to being a successful hairdresser than being good at hair, such as communication and business.

-- Business can be built on word of mouth only by giving customers an amazing experience and making sure they are always right.

-- Get Ready because Life is full of challenges; make a goal sheet with all of your goals, constantly apply yourself as a learner, keep your focus on your goals, and network.

-- Be okay with failure; learn from it. Be okay with “no” because it is only “no” for now!

-- FIND A MENTOR

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Follow Leones on IG, Check out her Website, and All of her Personal Recommendations on her episode page by clicking here!


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The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.


The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.

About the Podcast

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The Hairdresser Strong Show
Supporting Rising & Transforming Stylists

About your host

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Robert Hughes

“I THINK HAIRSTYLISTS ARE THE COOLEST, NICEST, AND MOST FUN GROUP OF PEOPLE ON THE PLANET! I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT USHERING IN AN EMPOWERED-STYLIST FUTURE, AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GETTING STYLISTS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE TOGETHER IN A NON-COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE CAN LEARN, LAUGH, AND GROW TOGETHER.”
-Said by ME!
Robert started his hair journey as a kid in rural America offering haircuts on the street to kids in the neighborhood, not realizing, one day, he would find himself working the front desk at a hair salon while in high school. From there, his experience from salon-to-salon has included the front of the house, back of the house, stylist, educator, and consultant. It was during this movement through various salons he developed a passion to empower stylists and educate owners on how to raise the industry standard of excellence, mutual respect, and professionalism amongst stylists, managers, owners, and clients. Robert currently is the General Manager and a Master Stylist at Violet Salon in Georgetown, DC.