5 Tips for Elevating Your Career Behind the Chair

The work of a hairstylist is multi-faceted. Of course, you have your responsibilities behind the chair taking clients, but you also may want to take your career a step further through education, partnering with a brand, developing your own brand and more. Nobody knows this better than John Mosley (@popular_nobody). Besides being a barber, he is NAHA 2022 Educator of the Year, a Global Educator with Andis, a partner with Vagaro and the face behind his own brand Popular Nobody. Here, he shares his advice for helping to elevate your career behind the chair, based on his own experiences in the industry.

"In our industry we love the fact that we can be independent, but when you look into the corporate side of things, why not partner with bigger brands and learn? Looking at the times right now you have to get your own things going but also have an eye open to what is missing in the industry and solve that problem." John Mosley reps his Popular Nobody brand.Courtesy of John Mosley

Mosley didn't always have this perspective, though, stumbling into the industry by accident. 

"I was playing college football and was over it and school. As I sat in the classroom, I realized that school was not for me. So, I decided to one day after practice to clean my locker and made it look nice and neat and never returned to college," Mosley shares. "My family has a background in the beauty profession, leading with my mother Doris F. Mosley, sisters Lillie and Ann and so many other family members. I had the bright idea to lie and say I wanted to be in the industry, thinking it would buy me time to really find out what I want to do. My mother enrolled me in school and said this would be the last thing she would be financially responsible for, since I tried so many other things and wasted time and money. Now, I am thankful and full of joy that I’m in this industry!" 

Working behind the chair wasn't enough for Mosley. He soon hungered for more, as he watched the ventures his family explored.

"Growing up I watched my mother in the industry educate and put on shows and so much more. Then, I had a chance to see my sister Lillie travel the world working on tours and movie sets and just enjoying the life that she was living," Mosley says. "As I was working in the barbershop, I wanted to do more and see more, so I started offering education classes at the local community colleges that had a cosmetology programs, understanding they wanted the information. I felt I could be the one to deliver it." 

After becoming comfortable with teaching, Mosley wanted to take the next step to work on set and start offering services to celebrities. John Mosley educates on stage with ANDIS.Courtesy of John Mosley

"Having the guidance, leadership, knowledge and blueprint right in front of me from my mother and sister, I took my chance at it. I started speaking to my clients about the goals I had, and they were the ones that helped and push me," Mosley recalls. "I wanted to scale, I looked at the two lanes that were open for me and I jumped in them and haven’t looked back yet."

He continues, "We can stand behind a chair, have a great clientele and build relationships, but I knew there was more for me, and I went exploring. At the same time I was operating in three lanes: behind the chair, an educator and a celebrity barber." 

Mosley believes he can't build his successes on his own. As he grew, he built a strong team around him, including his photographer and videographer Justin Kyle Owens (@j.kylephotography). He also continued to build upon the avenues he created. 

When asked about some of the benefits about expanding his work behind the chair, Mosley shares, "I can say more doors open that may not be in our industry. I have been able to do work with Hairdotcom, SalonCentric, Vagaro and more, which I never thought was available to me as a barber." 

His rise and growth was not without mistakes. Mosley shares that he wishes he had done his own homework and research on the information that was shared with him as he grew in his career. 

"It’s important to gather information, but it is also just as important to get your own prospective on that information," Mosley explains. "I have also spent a lot of time saying yes to opportunities that was not beneficial to me or the brand."

Mosley is grateful, though, to have learned all those lessons and grow from them. John Mosley wearing Popular Nobody merchandise.Courtesy of John Mosley

"If you are reading this you should be as well," he reflects. "We get a chance to learn from those mistakes and also grow from them. Within those lessons, I learned how to stay patient and trust MY process and MY vision, and YOU should too." 

Mosley has walked away from his experience with plenty of advice, sharing five tips: 

• You have to build your personal brand. The more you build your brand, the more you become an asset, and that’s important. 
• Make sure to do the work spend some time in learning information about the space that you want to lean into.
• Never wait until an idea or thought feels perfect. You have to start somewhere, and just get going. You can build if you have something to build off of.
• You must have solid foundation, meaning a team around you — people that you value their input and trust with your ideas. I would also advise you to start a LinkedIn account and network there, It’s so many opportunities there that we are missing.
• The last step is the hardest one: believing in yourself even when you feel no one else does.

"As barbers and stylists we have so many talents, so don’t be hesitant to expand in other areas," Mosley advises. "This is industry is big, and companies are always looking for help and new ideas to grow. That can be your spot."