Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Cope
Haley, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well, how I started most definitely leaving all my Barbie and Bratz dolls with no hair. Some were lucky enough to have hair for a couple days but most only had hair for a few hours. To say my mother was happy about that would be a little far fetched. I constantly heard “their hair is not going to grow back,Haley!” and I would continue to just cut away!! My official journey started at Paul Mitchell the School St.Louis, December 2012. I was Core 50(class number),student number 710. I surprisingly graduated with 100% attendance! I had the time of my life in school. The opportunities Paul Mitchell brings is one of a kind, from the education, to the clubs, which a few I was apart of the product knowledge club, BNOE club (Be Nice Or Else) we got to go and serve at our local women’s shelters and even got to a girl scout camp and do a LOT of little girls hair, makeup and nails..(Think braids and glitter galore!) , Pet club which allowed us to host pet washes for our biggest fundraiser of the year using the pet line and who doesn’t love to snuggle random dogs?! We actual raised $81,029 which was the 3rd best out of all PM schools! I graduated in October 2013. I did hair in my small town for 2.5 years as booth rental before I actually left the salon environment and became a manager at Quiktrip because of hearing about the pay. Im really good at spending money, so I have to be really good at making it and I’m not afraid to work! I still did hair on the side, just go ol’ kitchen hair style. I always knew I wanted to go back to doing hair because it is truly my passion but it just wasn’t my time, financially or with my lack of patience for building up a clientele. Then I got thrown a curve ball and was blessed with a beautiful baby boy and unfortunately the scheduling at Qt just wasn’t realistic anymore, especially doing it as a single mama. So what better time to come back then right then. I started at a salon in Maplewood as hourly/commission for 6 months and then switched to booth rental for a 6 months lease because that salon owner unfortunately told me I wasn’t ready and expected me to fail and after my 6 months was up she would then in her words “consider” taking me back as commission. Well after my lease was up there, I told her I was leaving and to say it ended very immaturely would be most accurate. That’s when the excitement began in my opinion! I opened my own loft in Creve Coeur at Salon Lofts! Boy, has it been an absolute ride! I have met some of the most genuine stylist at my location. Even though we are all independent business owners, we have a bond! If one of us runs out of gloves, no one has a problem sparing some knowing that if it was them in a pickle, they are covered right back and that’s just such a great feeling! I’ve even learned things since being here by watching others, and they LOVE teaching what they know versus just wanting to keep that to themselves. If anyone is stuck on a placement or had a “oh crap, what do I do now?” moment because the hair didn’t react the way you planned, everyone is so generous to lend a hand to watch everyone of us to succeed, finding none of us as a competition against one another, which isn’t heard of much in most salon atmospheres!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! If I even tried to tell you yes, my face wouldn’t match my words. With the economy the way it is, the pricing continuing to increase on everything in the world, my color line and retail being one of them, notified me that in September 1st,2024 my back bar(color,lightener,developer etc) was going to increase 7% and all my retail products was going up 4%, which to most those percentages aren’t huge but to us stylist, that’s HUGE! Coming back to hair and trying to rebuild a clientele after COVID where so many people went through the times when the salons were closed and they were unable to get their hair done as frequently as normal, they’ve become more comfortable with their roots, or (the worst) watching YouTube and tiktok, thinking they now know how to do hair and yes, sometimes it does turn out cute but I can promise you that isn’t always the outcome by the amount of color corrections I’ve been able to have in my chair! Building a clientele is a journey and it isn’t all rainbows and unicorns like I’d prefer it to be!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It’s so hard for me to pick just one category of what I specialize in. I absolutely LOVE to cut strictly because it is instant gratification. The simple but drastic change you can get from a cut is crazy. Just from a wash, cut, and style, you can leave feeling and looking like a whole new person within 30 minutes time. But with that being said, I truly love to transform with color. Whether I’m taking you brighter, or I’m turning you vivid, the creativity that goes into each and every single color client is unique to just them. Hardly ever do you use the exact formula for another client. Formulations are unique to each individual and even if you are using the same shades you most likely aren’t starting with the same base level.
What makes me most proud of myself/sets me apart is when I hear my clients say “they were right, you really do listen and are so thorough” or “you don’t rush your services and double book”. To HEAR feedback from referral clients from my repeat clients or even from the client directly. Reviews and referrals are the biggest clientele builder and I cannot tell you how many people have said they’ve picked me strictly from my reviews and they absolutely agree with those. That’s humbling!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Finding a mentor I wouldn’t say has been the easiest thing. My best advice is to reach out, follow them online, say hello if you see them in person, don’t be afraid to ask questions, continue to look throughout Instagram and look up things you are interested in and start following that, be open to learning no matter how many years you’ve been licensed.
With networking, it’s the consistency. I’m still trying to remind myself to post pictures of my work. I usually remember to take before or afters but hardly ever both. It’s amazing to see things side by side so I always kick myself when the hair turns out even better than we both imagined. When I know we are going for a total new look, I get so excited I just start grabbing everything I need, mixing up color and start sectioning and go at it! One day I’ll get better at remembering, right?
Pricing:
- Women’s Cut $65
- Mens Cut $30/ Kids Cut $25
- Partial Foil & Cut $180 & UP/ Full Foil & Cut $215& UP
- All over color & Cut $147 & UP
- Balayage & Cut $235 & UP/ Vivid Color & Cut $250 & UP
Contact Info:
- Website: https://salonlofts.com/haley_cope
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Haley.cope.stylist
