We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cecilia Winter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cecilia, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I think that in this industry you have to have a solid back bone. The confidence it takes to put yourself and your work out there, especially with social media today, takes a lever of strength and self esteem that isn’t easy for just anyone. I’ve been in this business now for 10 years and I still struggle with my confidence in my work, especially if I make a mistake, or feel like I’m taking steps backwards, but I’ve learned to coach myself through those mistakes and remind myself I’m still human. Just trying to make other humans feel good about themselves, and I can’t do that if I don’t feel good about myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Cecilia Winter, I am a DFW based hairstylist, specializing in Blondes, Vivids, and currently perfecting my knowledge in Hair Extensions. I have been in the industry for 10 years now. I own my own salon suite, and would describe my work space as alternative meets fairy. Both of my personalities twirled into one, and I think it shows in my work. I wanted to create a safe space for todays creative weirdos like me, while catering to different vibes, which honestly helps keeps me excited and motivated to go to work everyday.
I hope to evolve in this New Year and level up in my knowledge and skills, while staying focused and working towards my goals. I plan on rebuilding, rebranding and expanding my business and career this year. I’m very excited to embark on this journey and although I can’t wait to take my current clients along for the ride, I am also very eager to meet new faces and get some more experiences in my chair.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In an area of knowledge, I would say, stay relevant. It’s so important to connect with your clients, and in todays time of social media, anyone can do hair from watching a TikTok, but not everyone can give the experience like you. Stay knowing what your clients talking about and what they want.
Which brings me to a very important quality in this career, which is patience. One thing I’ve always been told, is I have so much patience. I’ve had clients come to me because no one wanted to attempt their goal, because they didn’t want to deal with it. After one experience in my chair, and seeing my patience and understanding, they’ve remained with me for years, and we reached that goal of theirs.
Lastly, it’s so important to to just be yourself. Trust me when I say, your client can tell when you’re not comfortable. They can see when you’re not confident and it shows in the connection you have with them. Always be honest with them. I’ve found that after all these years, when I started finally saying no, or being honest with my clients, some left absolutely, but the ones that stayed, they were the most loyal, and became more than just clients, but friends. It gave me such confidence in myself and made me appreciate my work even more.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Solely my mother impacts me, strongly, to this day. She is so motivated to reach her goals, and watching her achieve those dreams, puts such courage in me. She is still continuing to level up, and I have such respect for that. I am turning thirty years young in 7 months, lol, and I used to psyche myself out about not being where I wanted to be 5-10 years ago, when I created goals for myself. I had visions for my career, and every time I felt like I was at the top and getting closer to my dreams, I would get stuck, or burn myself out, and have to take steps backwards. I found myself having to start over, more than a few times. I would get discouraged and start to feel like maybe this wasn’t for me, like maybe I should just quit. A call to my mom, and next thing I know we’re at a Chinese restaurant having a heart to heart. The confidence and strength this woman puts in me, not only from her own accomplishments and achievements, but what she knows I can also be, can help push my doubts into reality. Then from there I’m pushing myself to try harder, and not give up. I love you mom, thank you for sticking with me, and always reminding me how proud you are of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: achemicalromance.glossgenius.com
- Instagram: @a.chemicalromance
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/a.chemicalromance.salonn
