Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Chang.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a 25-year-old Hmong-American woman who was born and raised in Saint Paul, MN. For most of my life, I lived in a one-parent household. Growing up, the best part of my weekends and school being out, was spending my time in a beauty salon with my mom. No, not for her to get services done, but for her being the service provider. She is a Master Barber/hairdresser. I knew since then I wanted to be a part of the beauty industry. I enjoyed the conversations that were happening in the salon. The laughter, gossip, and how people’s faces would light up when their services were finished. I loved the way clients would feel and looked 100x more confident than they did when they first walked through the door.
Growing up, I always felt my best expressing my emotions and creativity through my artwork. When I was younger, my mom never allowed me to get my nails done in a salon, so instead, she would always buy me new polishes every year to add to my collection and do my own nails. I turned my nails into a canvas to work on whenever I got the chance to. When I reached middle school, the BIG question was brought up, “what/who do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer always stayed the same throughout my high school years, “I want to become a Cosmetologist!”
I attended Beauty school in the Fall of 2015. Was Beauty school everything I ever dreamed of? No. But I was finally happy to be where I was at. After graduating from beauty school (2017), I failed my exams to obtain my license and gave up. During this time, financial issues came up in my family. I neglected myself for years and catered to others until I decided I wanted to work in a beauty studio as a front desk/receptionist in 2019. When I started working as a receptionist in a beauty studio, I just knew I was in the wrong position. I thought just being in a salon setting would help me get the feeling I first had when I was a little girl going to the salon with my mom. It took all of me to see where I was and if I was happy, but I knew I was on the wrong side of the salon. All the years I tried convincing everyone around me how much I wanted to become a cosmetologist, I forgot to convince myself that was what I wanted for myself. After years of being afraid to conquer my passion, I finally decided to take my exams again, studied for months, and passed. Not only did I pass my Cosmetology exams, I also passed the Salon Manager license exam. Today, I am currently a Salon Manager Cosmetologist. I quit my receptionist job and went straight to owning and operating my own beauty business in 2021. I am self-employed, I rent a nail station at a salon, and have my own lash room/suite. I specialize in nail enhancements, lash extensions, and facial waxing. For future endeavors, I am working on becoming an educator in the beauty industry so I can help motivate and encourage students to not give up on their goals and dreams. I want to let students know that no matter what happens if they put their heart into what they do, they can achieve anything.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road at all. Growing up in a one-parent household made it extremely difficult for me. I always felt like most of my childhood. I always had to compete for the spotlight because I was never the kid who won academic awards, joined the school sports teams, or got accepted to Ivy league schools/private colleges. I was always an artist. The one who doodled in notebooks during class. While I was attending Beauty school, I also worked full-time. Most late nights were spent on homework and scrambling for exams. I did not have much freedom as a normal 18-year-old would. During my time in Beauty school, there was a lot of favoritism towards particular students who showed more ability/skills than other students. This made it difficult to be in a program where your own teachers planned to see you fail. Although this discouraged so many students, it only encouraged me to want to become an educator and hope I can show equality and fairness to all students I may encounter in my future. Or just anyone who wants to be a part of the beauty industry. I feel as an educator it is so important to inspire and uplift others so they can feel amazing and confident about the choice they have made in their life, and even if things may not work out the way they have hoped for, they would still feel inspired to fulfill their dreams.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am currently a licensed salon manager cosmetologist. I specialize in nail enhancements, lash extensions, and facial waxing services. The best part of my work is providing services for people and making them feel great about themselves. My main focus on why I do what I do is because I enjoy seeing how amazing my clients feel when they leave my chair. I love how much more confident they look than how they first walked through the door. How content they feel after sharing/venting to me about their thoughts and stories. How great it is to be surrounded with joy and laughter. And for me to see that I have made someone else feel good about themselves. I am proud of how far I have came, and how I have not given up on my dreams. Even though I made it through a lot of obstacles and am continuously still getting through some, I knew from the moment I first walked into a salon when I was a little girl that the joy I felt after seeing others feel good about themselves, I wanted to continue that in my work someday. I love to express my creativity and skills for others to see and recognize. What sets me apart from others is that I am not only in this industry for the money or popularity, I am in this industry because I love making others fall in love with themselves! I love seeing the room light up when someone feels great and how their confidence boost up after they get their services done. I enjoy uplifting others and wanting to spread that wherever I go, whether that be in the salon or at home. I love that once a client is in my chair, they can be who they are, and not have to worry about being judged or criticized. There is a warmth in seeing my clients open up about their hobbies, guilty pleasures, and express their inner thoughts and feelings. I adore how geeky or silly my clients are when they are in my chair. I appreciate how much I can learn from my clients and how every time I meet someone new, I get to hear and learn how they have overcome their obstacles and how I can portray it into my own obstacles. I also want to spread my knowledge to those who may not know what they’re doing next in their life, and what has worked and not worked for me to be where I am today.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice for those who are just starting out is that everyone has their own battles they have to go through, and everyone has their own story to tell, but what makes you, you? Life always has obstacles that are thrown at us unexpectedly, but if you stay true to yourself, and you are really passionate about what you do, then that is all that matters. What I wish I knew when I first started out was that not everyone in your life is rooting for you, but that should not stop you from doing what you love. I wish I knew that I did not have to seek validation from others, before I made a decision about my life/career. In the long run, you start to realize that the choices you make to satisfy others will not make you feel good about yourself later. Another thing about starting out is really looking at yourself in the mirror and asking yourself who you are. For most of my journey, that was the most difficult question I had to answer. I believe that if you truly enjoy what you do, then other people’s opinions about you and your life choices do not matter. Although no one claps for you during the times you wish there was someone to acknowledge your hard work and achievements, it is okay if it is only you who are clapping for yourself. I think that people tend to forget to pat themselves on their back and celebrate their own winnings. There will always be difficult tasks and sacrifices you have to make for yourself, but just make sure the choices you make are the ones you know will make you happy and keep you healthy.
Pricing:
- $70 Basic Full Set of Acrylic
- $95 Desired Design Full Set of Acrylic
- $120 Full Set of Classic Lash Extensions
- $160 Full Set of Volume Lash Extensions
- $15 eyebrow wax
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandycibeauty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MandyCiBeauty
