We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trina Mitchell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trina below.
Hi Trina , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I grew up in a Single Mother household. I know it was not always the easiest for my Mom, but it was inspiring to see my Mom get up everyday to work and make things happen for me and my brothers. ! My Mom would often have 2-3 jobs just to make sure we had everything we needed to be successful. We never went without and because of her drive and work ethics, I am who I am today. In High School I picked up many side hustles to make money which included braiding hair, tutoring, baby sitting and working random events on Abbot Kinney so that I could have my own money. Once I got a taste of the grind, I never stopped.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
During the day I work as a School Social Worker in South Central LA. At night and on the weekends I’m a hair stylist/hair braider. I picked up hair braiding as a hustle in High School because I didn’t like to stress my Mom out about needing money for teenage things (I.e movies, shopping, beauty products and etc.) a good friend of mine taught me how to braid and I started braiding my Mom’s friends hair, people at my church and then eventually friends and people in the community. In undergraduate I continued to braid hair for the 5 years I was in College but once I graduated I took a break from it because I wanted to focus my energy on building a career. I moved to NYC to complete my Master’s Degree in Social Work at Columbia University. I spent 5 amazing years in NYC, but not once did I braid hair. In a city where it would’ve been lucrative, I just didn’t want to focus on that. When I left NYC to move back home to Venice, Ca I needed a break from Social Working and was not ready for a full time Social Work job at the time. A good friend of mine told me that I should start back braiding and helped me brand myself on Instagram so that I could start getting clients again ! I’ve been braiding as a side hustle again ever since. It’s been 9 years and I’ve met some amazing women on this journey. I’ve also had the pleasure of braiding lots of people in the Arts and entertainment industry. Including musicians, actresses, film directors and influencers. Braiding for me feels like a creative outlet and my vibe has attracted my Tribe.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think being resilient, trusting my own process and showing up with integrity has been important to my growth as person, professional and entrepreneur. I’m also a people person and can connect to anyone no matter who they are, where they come from, how much money and etc. I connect to people’s soul’s and that’s my biggest contribution to humanity. I don’t think I’m the best braider in the game but I know people keep coming back because of how I make them feel during the process. I’ve had clients who didn’t necessarily like my work, but I used those moments as learning lessons rather than become defeated. I also am big on transparency and honesty. So with any issues in my life, I tackle them with my whole heart. I am committed to being the best version of myself, which means I must also give myself grace because the society won’t.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I know it’s a Cliche book that most people quote but I truly enjoyed the book The Alchemist and I read in like 2 days haha. The biggest take away was that I have a purpose, I shouldn’t give up even if I fail multiple times and everything I need is already within me, I just need to pursue it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Natural_styles_by_Trina
Image Credits
For Photo with Braids and pink background the photographer is Kym Allen.
