Jennifer Cortez
Jen is the owner of The Hive Salon in Minneapolis, MN and has been doing hair since she was 17 years old. Her ah-ha moment came early in high school while doing a friends hair (like so many of us) and she knew there was a natural talent. Fast forward many years, she is now re-falling in love with cutting after a long career of incredible color work after picking up a razor that sparked that love alive. When not in the salon being a total #hairnerd, she enjoys spending time with her mini-me, husband and fur-babies.
What 5 words best describe Jen?
1- Loud
2- Squeaking
3- Mouse
4- Loves
5- Coffee
Tell us the moment you knew that one day you would be a hair stylist?
I think it was back in the 10th grade when I gave my friend Jaime a micro bob with a pair of beat up clippers, and when I dropped her off at home her older sister couldn’t believe I was the one who had actually done it. I remember that kind of starting the idea that hair was something I could do as a job, but in the moment it just helped push me to cut more hair in the kitchen!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years I want to spend a good portion of my life traveling, educating, and doing passion project hair. I want to have a hands-off relationship with the day-to-day operations of the salon- in five years I will have been behind the chair for 22 years (crazy, right?), so I feel like I will need/want to shift gears. I will forever be behind the chair taking clients in some capacity, but I want to build my staff and my business so that the ship can sail flawlessly without me, and leave me open for new possibilities both personally, and for The Hive.
A product you would pay (gasp) retail for…
Organic Chemistry Products Argan Smoothing Cream, and Olaplex. I’m a double process and those two items are worth every penny.
What would Jen today tell little Jen on the first day of Beauty School?
Sorry kiddo, there’s still gonna be math involved, although that might have sent me running in the opposite direction.
Salon ownership… tell us the good, bad and ugly.
The Good– The Good is everything I opened the salon for- I got to set the mission, vibe, decor, products, people, etc. I love the people I get to spend my days with. One of the best things about owning a salon is that you are in control of your environment and what you grow in it-literally and figuratively. Like a lot of people, when I opened my salon it was out of frustration with my options and wanting a sense of control, so I created something containing exactly what I wanted. How wouldn’t that be good?
The Bad– I want to rename this The Hard Stuff. I don’t particularly like calling things “bad”. Some of the things I find “bad” lead to very good things. The hard stuff is everything between The Good, and The Ugly. It’s everything you didn’t open a salon for, but have to figure out how to do. I didn’t open a salon to learn Quickbooks. I didn’t open a salon because I wanted to be told things about myself that are hard to hear. I didn’t open a salon because I was passionate about crunching numbers, and creating spreadsheets. I didn’t open a salon because I wanted to be someones boss. But, I had to learn how to do all of these things, plus more, via trial and error and mounds of frustration. As hard as it all is, the satisfaction of meeting a challenge or learning from mistake is huge. This is what makes me grow, and when I grow I can make even more room for other things to flourish within the space.
The Ugly– The Ugly is the stuff that you don’t anticipate happening, but it does, like having your business partner leave the company unexpectedly. I went from being 50% partner to 100% essentially overnight, and went from working 40 hours a week to over 60. It was definitely not the most fun I’ve ever had as a business owner, but I got through it (s/o to my best friend Adam, and my salon manager Michelle for cheering me on) and now I feel like I can tackle most anything (maybe not fire. please no fires).
What do you think the biggest struggle stylists are experiencing in the industry today?
Theodore Roosevelt said “comparison is the thief of joy.” and he didn’t even have Instagram!
I feel like I see and hear so many people expressing feelings of inadequacy because they don’t think they stack up to something someone else is doing or experiencing. It’s hard to feel content, or even present for your own growth when you change the bar you set every day based on what you see- especially when we don’t recognize that some of we see is unrealistic. I am just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to letting the self negativity win, but now when I find myself reacting to something I pause and I ask myself “Is this realistic? Is this valid? What can I take from these feelings that is productive?”
I’ll keep this second one short- stylists need to be compensated better! This goes two ways: salons need to start raising their minimum prices and stop worrying about what their neighbor charges, make sure that their commission payout is livable for their stylists- and offer a base wage to keep them paid even when they aren’t taking clients. The idea that the cost of living and the cost of Cosmetology school can keep increasing, but the cost of services can’t is just crazy to me!
Something most people don’t know about you.
I’m kind of the reigning champ of TMI, so I’m not sure what’s left to be learned! If thinking of the Instagram/social media world and how I present myself, I have to assume y’all don’t know I’m actually a very serious person! Also, If you didn’t somehow know- I scare VERY easily and am too jumpy to watch horror movies.
What traumatic hairstyle have you been guilty of rocking?
Sadly, most of my best (worst) DIY work was too traumatic for others to even want to photograph (pre cell phone selfie era), so I’ve enclosed my fancy mullet circa 2005. Some might call it traumatic; others might call it a masterpiece.
Best advice you’ve ever been given.
This one is hard! I feel like I get good advice from folks all the time. Something that I find to be a handy reminder as a business owner is that my business does not define me. Its success does not define me. It’s failures do not define me- they define The Hive. Keeping my personal emotions removed from the salon helps me make the best decisions for the salon, which in return is good for everyone including me.
I knew I was a Hair Nerd when…
I knew I was a Hair Nerd when I got my first ‘real’ salon job. I was exposed to so many new ways to approach cutting and coloring, and I just dove in head first.
Want to stalk Jen… you can at all these places!
@jendoesyourhair
@thehivesalon
When not at work I’m pretty much hanging with my kid and my partner, but I’ve been known to be spotted getting coffee at Five Watt, ordering endless amounts of avocado sandwiches at East Side Co-op, and any restaurant with the word Vegan on their menu.