Life & Work with Eileen Kantor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eileen Kantor

Hi Eileen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I was a teenager I was a punk. I had no interest in being conventional. My dream was to grow up and become an artist.

In my childhood home my mom had a small hairstyling studio. It was quite popular with the locals. People were always coming and going. That was my house growing up. My mom made it so her schedule worked around me and my brothers school schedule/activities. She was an excellent colorist and was an incredible bridal stylist.

If you asked 16 year old me if I would be a hairstylist, I would have said no.

After high school I went to interior design school. I loved and excelled at color theory, drawing and art history. I HATED the actual interior design. Then, I tried my had at studying to be a kindergarten teacher. I was uninspired. I was in debt. I was looking for what my calling was. So, I called my mom for advice. She said, you love art and you are good with people. You should consider going to cosmetology school. She went on to say that being a hairstylist would be the kind of career that I could always use. Weather I solely did that or used the skill as a means to pay for the rest of college. So I decided to go.

When I finished school and got my license I went into work for a chain salon and signed back up for college again. While studying for an exam and struggling to stay focused I learned that I actually loved my day to day work. What needed to change was working at a chain salon. I didn’t actually want to continue on the college path. So I dropped out of college and started to focus on my hairstyling continuing education. I looked for an independent salon to break me out of the corporate hairstyling world. From there I consumed a ton of continued education in the field of hairstyling. As my skills deepened I looked for a high end hair salon to take me to the next level in my career. Then I took even more education. I took so much continuing education that I helped to develop the assistant training program for the first high end salon I worked for. The next high end salon I worked for also wanted me on their education team. This propelled me to think that I wanted to be in the education side of this career in a deeper way. It was then I started to develop a curriculum for my own hairstyling school.

In 2017, I opened my hair salon- Kantor & Company. In 2021 I opened my private Apprenticeship style hairstyling academy.

I’m on my 3rd round of students and feeling proud of myself!

Alright, 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?
Absolutely not.

When I first started the curriculum for the hairstyling school I was working for a high end salon. The owners and I had talked about the hairstyling school being a part of their salon. I worked diligently with my then business partner to get the salon owners a business plan for the hairstyling school. We were getting close to finalizing the plans and I presented them with a legal agreement. They didn’t want to involve lawyers in our project. I knew that moving forward without an official legal agreement would not protect me or all the hours of work I put into developing the curriculum. So, I decided I wasn’t going to have the school within their salon. Shortly afterwards my business partner quit. She couldn’t deal with all the stress related to the project anymore. So I was back to the beginning with no backing and no partner.

So i had a talk with myself. What did I really want? It was time to take the fork in the road. In my heart I knew that having my own salon/school was something I would regret if I didn’t try. So I took the big leap and opened my salon.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Either I am doing hair or teaching how to do hair. My specialties include; blondes, color correction, growing out grey in a natural way, grey blending over grey coverage, working with skin tone to brighten a clients features, matching haircutting and styling to lifestyle, body type and personality. I am a precision haircutter. I am known for being a skilled colorist and curly hair specialist.

One of my proudest moments, keeping my business alive during COVID. Me and my team sold color kits to our clients and taught them how to do their own root retouch. We were on zoom calls teaching people how to cut their kids or their partners hair. My husband delivered products and/or color kits to the salon clients. He helped me with every financial resources that were offered to small businesses. In 2021, when COVID was still a major concern, so many brick and mortar businesses were left vacant. Fortunately we were able to move into our current location in downtown Boulder, Co. The area where I had previously worked for 2 other high end salons.

What sets me apart from others? My intuition. Over the years I have honed a skill for being a master decoder. When a client says X it means Y. People routinely come to me and say, “so many of my friends have recommended you- just do what you think is best”. It is music to my ears every time.

What matters most to you? Why?
Overall, my family. First, my husband, Adam. Adam and I have been together for 24 years and have been married for 19. On top of being a father to my kids he is my best friend. He is a deep thinker. He is a partner at his architecture firm in Denver, Kephart. Adam and I have two amazing kids. Levi, 14 and Seth,12. Levi is a district champion wrestler and hurdler. Seth is also involved and quite skilled in track but his deeper talents are present on stage. He is an incredible singer and performer. These guys are the reason I hit it hard everyday in my life and in my work. I want them to have it easier than I did growing up and I would say that Adam and I did it. Yay!

Second to that, the future of education in my industry. When I opened my academy I was not sure if I wanted to go the traditional route or the route through the Registered Apprenticeship program. Over the first year of my Academy being open it became clear that I was dedicated to apprenticeship style learning. Many people do not know that Hairstylists are categorized the same as a plumber, electrician or HVAC person. My joke is, we just have better outfits. Nevertheless, we are tradespeople. The best way to learn this job is to do this job with a mentor overseeing. While a person learns in this method they are employed by a salon and are paid based on the hours they have put into their education. The more hours they accrue, the more they are paid. The student being able to work while they are in school for the same field builds competency in a way that traditional education cannot compete with. We need people being trained to actually do this job from the minute they begin.

Pricing:

• Haircuts at my salon range from $40-$130 depending on the stylists level of experience
• Color at my salon starts at $90- $350+. It all depends on the project and the stylists’ level of experience.
• I am always happy to help a more junior stylist with a consultation to make sure the client is working within their budget and is happy.
• We offer perms and smoothing treatments starting at $250
• Happy to help with special occasion styling and weddings. We have make-up artists on staff as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kantorandcompany.com
• Instagram: @kantorandcompany
• Facebook: @kantorandcompany
• Other: @leen13 – this is my personal page @kantorandcompanyacademy – this is the Academy page. I have a podcast that you can listen about my business philosophy @smallbizhappyhour