As a hairstylist, Meghan relies on her strong interpersonal skills to build lasting relationships with her clients. “It’s pretty common to carry on a conversation the entire time you are doing their hair.” The moment they enter her salon, Meghan asks herself, “What can I talk about with this particular person? What will we bond with?” A former fashion merchandiser, she can find clues to their personality from what they wear. Her background in fashion helps in other ways too. In merchandising, she learned to create stories with clothing that would make people want to shop at her store. Her knowledge of fabrics and colors helps her think about textures, shapes and colors as she styles hair. She also continues to build her technical skills, traveling to other cities to take classes, visit salons, and stay in touch with styles, trends, tools, and products. Ultimately, though, her success comes back to her people skills. “A lot of times they just can’t wait to get their hair done. It’s more about just hanging out with me than the haircut itself.”

Meghan is a lifelong learner so she sees herself making another career change. “There might be a time when I have to switch my career again and I don’t really know what that would be yet. I’m still trying to figure that out, but I will still probably do hair, even if it’s just a few days a week.”