Conversations with the Inspiring Claudia Scharnikow

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claudia Scharnikow.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
So months after I got my driver’s license at 16, I realized that my social life was causing me to burn through gas tanks (literally lol). To get some extra gas cash, I decided to look for jobs. I was pumped when I started a job as an assistant at a salon, washing hair and folding up towels. This quickly turned into something I became passionate about and my assistant position quickly became an apprenticeship opportunity. I did hair color and cuts for about six months before I started dabbling with bridal hair and makeup per the request of loyal color clients who were getting married. I juggled cuts, colors, extension application/ maintenance AND weddings for about five years when it hit me that the bridal industry was where I wanted to dedicate all of my time to. I learned that hiring a hair/ makeup artist wasn’t just a show up on one day to do hair kind of thing, but much more. It meant sitting down with the person who entrusted you to make them feel and look beautiful and confident on the biggest day of their life, and that was a lot more work and dedication than I could continue to juggle if I wanted to do my best for my brides. Now, nearly 11 years later, Some Claudia Girl continues to specialize exclusively on bridal hair, makeup and extensions.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Leaving the security blanket of the salon that did all of the back work for me like booking, hiring my assistants, providing a workspace and handling all of the administrative work was scary. After all, I had someone else writing me a check weekly, not me trying to figure out how to write me a check lol.

Navigating how to become a small business, juggling that plus clients all on my own was tricky at first, but totally worth it! It’s not easy, especially now that I have a baby but my advice is, if you want it bad enough just work hard towards it, you are more capable of figuring it out than what you probably think!

What should we know about Some Claudia Girl Hair & Makeup Artistry? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
So one of the things that a lot of my clients tell me when they talk about how happy they are that they found me is that my work is natural. A few of my clients who did trials prior to hiring me find that it’s hard to find artists who specialize in natural looking makeup. I believe that there is a time for glamour and drama like your bachelorette party, girls night out or date night. I want for my clients to look back years later to their wedding photos and remember who they were and what they looked like. To look like a naturally elevated version of themselves. It’s hard to find the balance between natural and something that photographs beautifully as well, and I think once I figured it out- it was my specialty. Likewise with hair, my clients come to me for more natural, romantic and effortless/ soft looks.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
If we circle back to how this all started, I didn’t have gas money and the simple idea of me wanting to work to be able to have that privilege is what landed me here in the first place. It plays out through the rest of my life, if you want things bad enough, you gotta work for them. Thanks mom and dad for not just handing things to me and teaching me the value of hard work!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.someclaudiagirl.com
• Email: hello@someclaudiagirl.com
• Instagram: @someclaudiagirl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/someclaudiagirl/

Image Credit:
Adonye Jaja – adonyejaja.com

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