We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tia Coles a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tia , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My mom loved to tell the story of the Christmas letter. She kept the letter right up until she passed away.
When I was 5 years old I wrote a letter to my parents asking them for nail salon for Christmas. I don’t remember the exact name of the toy that I asked for, and I’m not sure that I knew it was a nail salon but I did know that the word Salon was involved, and that’s exactly what I wanted to own one day. In the letter I said that when I grow up I’m going to have my own hair salon.
I guess you can call this my origin story because the desire to own a salon and be a hairstylist never left me.
Like many people, I had kitchen beauticians in my family. My mom was one of them, and it was amazing watching her create these transformations for me, herself, and other, family members.
I was a small kid with big curly hair that was a lot to deal with. As really ambitious 8 year old I decided to shampoo my own hair for the very first time. It was a tangled mess, but I could not have been more proud, and that’s when my confidence really started to grow.
When I was 11 years old my camp counselor taught me how to braid hair, and anyone who would let me braid their hair got to “sit in my chair. ” That was in the ’90s when cornrows were really big and I got to practice making designs on people’s hair. I spent countless hours braiding my dad’s hair, my friend’s hair, and my hair.
During the summers in high school I worked at Ventnor Beauty Supply which was a large Beauty Supply Store chain back home. I worked in the wig department, and I met cancer patients who were undergoing chemo or who were in remission that had lost their hair. I got to hear their stories and see the impact of hair replacement and beauty services in real time. Even though I was a teenager and didn’t really know what I was doing I knew this work was important.
Even when I went off to college the idea of being a hairstylist never left me. It was a nagging idea– so much so that I decided to try to find a cosmetology program that I could attend while pursuing an undergraduate degree full time. That didn’t work out but I did end up attending the Aveda Institute in 2011 after I graduated from college and that’s where my career started.
Today, I own Studio Indigo where I specialize in hair extensions and hair replacement solutions for men and women.
I found my purpose by listening to the voice that was guiding me. Listening to my inner voice and going for what I know I want is a skill that had to be developed– especially when other people I cared about and respected didn’t understand or support my vision. It hasn’t always been easy, or fun, but it has definitely been worth it.
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?
I own Studio Indigo, and I am a hair replacement and hair extension specialist. I offer hair extension and hair replacement services for men and women who are experiencing hair loss and thinning hair.
This work is very special to me because it’s extremely transformative. The way that we see ourselves in the mirror has a huge impact on how we feel throughout the day and how we behave in our daily life.
The services I provide help to restore people’s confidence, and I get to see them light up instantaneously in my chair.
Whether it’s a men’s hair system, hair extensions, invisible bead extensions, nano extensions, crown pieces, toppers, or another hair loss solution, I’m so happy to offer them at my salon.
Mesh integration is the newest addition to my service menu this year and it’s a game changer for people who can’t receive traditional hair extensions. It provides a solution for women who are experiencing up to 70% hair loss. As technology continues to advance and there are new innovations in the hair replacement field I am excited to be able to continue my training and add more services to my service menu.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Discipline, curiosity, hunger.
These three qualities were instrumental in getting me to where I am today and will be equally as important as I continue to grow.
Having discipline meant that I set goals and stuck with it until I achieved them. I stayed focused.
Curiosity kept me in the realm of education. I always wanted to know more and improve on what I learned.
This also lends to the characteristic of hunger. In addition to wanting to know more I also wanted to do more. I wanted to be more. I had my eyes on the next level and what was possible beyond my current experience.
These qualities helped me grow. They helped me to establish relationships with people who saw my value, and they also helped me to maintain a sense of pride in what I was doing even when it was difficult or it didn’t feel good or easy.
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?
The most impactful thing my parents have done for me was believe in and support my dream to be a hairstylist.
They never doubted me. They never laughed at my dream. They never said it was too big. They never said it was silly.
They always supported me even if they didn’t understand exactly what I was doing or how I was going to achieve it. They just knew and believed that I would do it. And some days that belief was all that I had to hold on to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.studioindigosalon.com
- Instagram: studioindigo.hair
- Facebook: studioindigo.hair
Image Credits
Sonny Moua
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