I started my career as a hairstylist. I loved the work, I loved my clients and I knew I wanted to build a successful future in beauty. What I did not understand yet was how much of that future would depend on things that had nothing to do with my technical ability.
Nobody really taught me how to build a brand, understand my numbers, create new opportunities or think like a business owner. Most of those lessons came later, through experience, mistakes, setbacks and plenty of trial and error. That journey is a big part of why From Chair to Boss means so much to me today.
From Chair to Boss was created around three pillars: education, community and events. Each one serves a different purpose, but together they are designed to give beauty professionals something I wish I had early in my career—a clearer path forward, people to grow alongside and access to real experiences that can expand the way they see their future.
This year, we decided we did not want to wait for beauty professionals to find us. We wanted to bring the message directly to them. That decision became the foundation of our 2026 Beauty School Tour.
Taking the Message Into the Schools
The school tour is about helping people see just how much opportunity exists within this industry. When we walk into a school, we are not there to simply talk about success. We are there to talk about what it takes to build it. We share real stories about entrepreneurship, money, branding, fear, relationships, opportunity and the mistakes many of us made before we figured things out. More than anything, we want people to leave those rooms thinking differently about what their future in beauty could look like.
While there is an incredible amount of talent entering this industry every year, talent alone does not teach you how to price your services, manage money, market yourself, build a loyal clientele or create a business that can last.
I always say, “Talent can open the door, but what you learn after that is what helps you build a career that lasts.
That idea has become one of the central messages behind From Chair to Boss. The education side of From Chair to Boss focuses on the business knowledge that becomes so important once technical training ends. It covers areas such as finances, branding, business setup, client growth, mindset and the everyday decisions that come with building an independent career.
But I have also learned that education by itself is not enough.
The Power of Community
One of the biggest lessons from my own career is that growth becomes much harder when you try to figure everything out alone. That is why community is such an important part of From Chair to Boss. Beauty professionals need places where they can ask questions, exchange ideas and learn from people who understand the challenges they are facing. Sometimes you need business advice. Sometimes you need an introduction. Sometimes you need to hear how someone else handled the same problem you are facing. And sometimes you simply need to know that you are not the only one still trying to figure things out.
The goal is to build a community that continues well beyond a class or a single event—a place where people can keep learning from one another as their careers evolve. Through the school tour and the work of the Pink Pewter Foundation, we have now inspired more than 6,200 beauty students. But I never want that number to become just another statistic. Every person behind that number has a different goal and a different vision for their future. Some may choose to build their career in a commission salon. Others may want their own salon or suite. Some may become educators. Others may work for major beauty brands, create products, move into corporate leadership, build a large company or create an opportunity that does not even exist yet.
That is one of the most exciting things about the beauty industry. There is no single path to success. And I think we need to do a better job of showing people all of those possibilities.
Bringing Everyone Together
The third pillar is events, because there is something special about bringing people together face-to-face.
On September 28, 2026, the message we have been carrying into schools will come together at From Chair to Boss LIVE at the Hilton Oak Brook Hills in Oak Brook, Illinois. The purpose of the event is simple: help beauty professionals build stronger, longer and more successful careers.
I never wanted From Chair to Boss LIVE to become another event where successful people stand onstage and only talk about what they have accomplished. I think there is far more value in hearing what happened before the success.
I want people to hear about the wrong decisions, the fear, the financial mistakes, the setbacks and the moments when someone had to rethink everything. I want them to hear what worked, what did not and what someone would do differently if they had the chance to start again. Those are the conversations that have taught me the most throughout my own career.
From Chair to Boss LIVE will bring together entrepreneurs, hairstylists, educators, executives, brand leaders, mentors and changemakers from across the beauty industry. Each person brings a different perspective, because success in beauty can take many different forms.
Someone building a career inside a major beauty company may take a completely different path from someone running a commission salon, opening a suite or creating a brand. But there are valuable lessons in every journey. Leadership, relationships, financial awareness, confidence, resilience and the willingness to take a chance matter no matter which direction someone chooses.
The bigger conversation is about what happens beyond technical talent. Talent may help someone begin a career, but learning how to build around that talent is what can turn a job into a future.
The Story Behind Pink Pewter
I built Pink Pewter from my own journey behind the chair. There were no shortcuts. There were years of trying things, failing at things, traveling, learning, losing money, making money, hearing no and sometimes questioning whether I was completely crazy for continuing.
But I continued anyway.
Over time, I began to realize that the value of those experiences was not only in what they taught me. The value was also in what they could teach someone else. That changed the way I looked at my own success. I do not want to simply tell people what I accomplished. I want to share what happened along the way, especially the things I wish someone had told me when I was just getting started.
That is why mentorship and connection are so important to this mission. Some of the most valuable lessons in my career have come from a conversation with someone who had already been where I was trying to go. A five-minute conversation can change the way someone thinks about their business, their career or even what they believe is possible for themselves. Those moments matter.
