We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandi Guy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandi, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process on starting my own business came from a few things. I’m currently a hairstylist. I’ve been working for myself for over 5 years and I always wanted to grow in my industry further from behind the chair. During the very beginning of the pandemic I was going through a lot of depression because my career wasn’t deemed “essential” so of course I didn’t have any income coming in. So I started thinking of other ways to make income. I’d been making wigs for about 2 years prior and I fell in love with it. I’ve had multiple people in my family and clients that have gone through chemo and I’ve seen the toll losing your hair can do to yourself. We as women deal with so much already internally and sometimes all we have to rely on to brighten our day is that we look good. It’s more than just hair, it’s building a person’s confidence up and helping them to feel secure. Seeing the joy that crosses women’s face when they leave my chair is my way of giving back to the community. So I decided to take it a step further in developing a business plan to launch my own hair collection.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Ive been a licensed cosmetologist for 9 years. I graduated from Paul Mitchell the School-Chicago. I think what Im most proud of about myself is my resilience. Ive been doing hair since I was 11. Stepping into a career that is solely based on if people like your skill set can be very nerve wrecking. I know a lot of stylist who gave up on doing hair because the income wasn’t guaranteed. Ive definitely had my share of times where I was so busy at the salon I didn’t have time to go to the bathroom and I’ve also had times where Ive had no clients for days. This is a hard industry. Some people look at it as we just do hair and thats not the case. I don’t get paid time off, I don’t get sick pay, I have to maintain professional even with the most crass clients, Im a therapist at times, I have to constantly promote myself for potential clientele and Im on my feet all day lol.. Even through all of these things and more I wouldn’t trade it. Whenever I get discouraged I remember how I felt as a kid doing hair or my first day in beauty school or the first time I made $750 in a day and I continue to keep going. I was determined to make something of myself in this industry and I have and Im only going up from here. Im never going to stop.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well first I would tell my friend don’t come here unless its in the summer lol. Chicago’s winters are nothing to play with. We have some of the best, if not the best food. I actually think the first spot I would take them would be to a Harold’s Chicken personally. Its the mild sauce for us. Of course visit downtown and have dinner at some of my favorite restaurants. I think my favorites for drinks are BLVD and Maple and Ash.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow!! I feel like so many people deserve recognition from me. Lol. Honestly the list is so long but, I would like to thank my closest friends/family. D’nia, Deanna, Cori and Justin. They have literally listened to me rant and rave about me starting this business for the longest. They have really been a peace of mind for me through struggles and encouraging me to keep going when I feel like I want to stop because of stress. As well as putting up with my attitude from time to time lol. I would also like to Shoutout my grandmother for always believing in me with whatever I want to do. She has helped me see this vision through.

Website: www.hairbybchassagne.com & www.geminihaircollection.com

Instagram: _.hairbyb._ , geminihaircollection and _.b.unique._

Facebook: hair by B

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