It’s a busy Monday afternoon for sophomore Abi Wright, but that is not abnormal for her.
She brushes product for tape-in extensions on one client and keeps an eye on another’s eyebrows, which she applied bright pink dye to.
Some might be intimidated by the fast-paced professional work environment at local Muncie salon Hot Heads, but Wright is a full-time Ball State student and a part-time stylist. She’s used to balancing a lot of responsibilities at once.
“It’s easier for me because I love school and my job so much that I don’t want to put one on the backburner,” she said. “I love them both — it just helps a little bit with the load.”
Wright styles like a natural in the salon now, but she didn’t always have a passion for the job.
“I actually did not care about hair until my first day of beauty school,” she said.
Wright had never considered becoming a certified beautician until Muncie Area Career Center visited her Southside High School to speak about their dual program.
“I thought, ‘Oh, that’s kind of cool,’ and so I did it, and now I love it,” she said.
Wright enrolled in the program for her junior and senior years of high school. At her 2014 high school graduation, she received a high school diploma and her beauty school certification.
Hot Heads, a salon located on McGalliard Road, hired her soon after. Wright began her freshman year at Ball State in the fall of the same year.
Wright, a public relations major with an entrepreneurial management minor, felt that completing her degree was important, despite the fact that it is not necessary for a career in the hair industry. She said she hopes to combine the skills she learns in school and her current experience to open a salon of her own.
Tena Rees, co-owner of Hot Heads and a graduate of Ball State’s entrepreneurial program herself, said she’s been impressed with Wright since she joined the staff.
“She’s the best stylist — she just has an intuitive sense of people and hair,” Rees said. “Usually, we have to put people right out of high school on an apprenticeship, but after just two months, [Wright] caught on. I’ve been doing this a long time, and most people take a year. She is a hard worker. She just gets it.”
Wright’s position as a stylist has given her substantial opportunities for professional growth and hands-on experience with developing and maintaining customer relationships.
“It was really hard at first to build my clientele, but word of mouth is a big deal,” she said. “People see other people’s hair and they say, ‘Where’d you go?’ It’s a lot about reputation. I like that about it — other people are kind of like my business card.”
Taylor Fabian, a freshman at Ball State, had never gotten her hair dyed professionally before she visited Wright during the fall of her senior year in high school.
“I’ve loved it ever since,” she said.
Wright also advertises and networks through Facebook and other social media.
The valuable asset Wright has found at Hot Heads, beyond professional experience and portfolio building, is a deep connection with her small but tight-knit group of coworkers. She tears up when she talks about them.
“We are a huge family. Every stylist there is my best friend,” she said.
The Hot Heads crew goes out together to hair shows or dinner.
Wright said she also loves that Hot Heads is a small business.
"I get so much inspiration from my two business owners and everybody I work with. We feed off each other and are always growing,” Wright said.
Back to Monday, and Wright has left her customer’s tape-in extensions to set and has started styling her other customer’s newly pink locks.
“I want to put my whole life into a business like this one,” she said.
All this is only the beginning.
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