We were lucky to catch up with Angelica Montejano recently and have shared our conversation below.
Angelica, 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 began my career in the beauty industry at age 17. I started out as a receptionist at a salon. They helped me a lot with professionalism to help with self-esteem. They used to tell us, you need to be confident as if you were on stage. That really helped younger me break out of my shell. In beauty school at age 19 I felt confident knowing we were all learning at the same pace but I really had no clue what it was going to be like once I started taking my own clientele. Over the years I have delt with every type of personality and attitude as a service provider. That gave me thick skin. It took me years to realize what I am good at. I continued to educate myself to elevate those services specifically. I love my career, I love my clients, and I absolutely feel confident in what I do. I think in the future I would like to educate others to feel confident in this industry as well.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Angelica. I’m 30 years old. My husband and I have a son who is 11 months old. I am a licensed cosmetologist. I focus my career on creativity through hair. I love to color hair. Thats my favorite part of my job. The big projects where someone wants something new and completely changes their look is so fun to me! Returing to work part time after having a baby was the best decision I ever made. I am so blessed to have time for my family and my career. I currently own my own business called Lush Locks by Angelica. I rent out a studio which I love. I have always been the type of person that works better by myself. My clients love having one on one time. I plan on continuing to be a working mom. I recently got married and I feel like everything is falling into place perfectly. I cant wait to see what the future holds!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back at what helped my career would be all of the time and effort that was put into learning the best customer service skills. Practice and patience is very important. Practicing my craft until I was confident in saying “I am really good at this!” Patience, waiting for my schedule to be busy with returning clientele was another thing that happened faster than I thought it would but still took time. Genuinely loving what you do, no matter what it is, makes life so much easier. People will feed off of that energy and love whatever it is that you provide.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed I pray. I give it to god. Personally this has been the best way to get through EVERYTHING. I know life is tough for everyone and we all have our own struggles. Loved ones are helpful too but all day everyday I pray and I recommend that to anyone who has a hard time and feels like no one will understand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lushlocksbyangelica.glossgenius.com/
- Instagram: Lushlocks_angelica
