StyleSeat Success Stories highlights StyleSeat Pros who are soaring in their careers. Each month, we feature top beauty, grooming, and wellness professionals and share what inspires them to grow their businesses and their secrets to success while using StyleSeat.

Ashley Mecham is a hair colorist in Maple Valley, WA. She was practically born into the cosmetology industry, as her mother was a professional hairstylist. “My mom did hair, and she always told me never to grow up to be a hairstylist,” says Ashley. She explained that while her mother was navigating her own path as a stylist, she faced challenges with making money.

Ashley graduated high school a year early to attend fashion design school. “I had to take interior design classes… I learned everything about color theory and that fascinated me. I’m super inspired by color chemistry. So that kind of maneuvered my career into doing hair,” she says. “I can fully understand chemistry and equations when it has to do with color pigments, so it just works.” 

When she first opened her salon, Ashley tried out traditional software. However, it was not user-friendly and did not provide opportunities to build clientele and support her business. She later heard about StyleSeat on social media and joined in 2011. Ashley is now a successful hair colorist and international hair educator with over 19 years of industry experience.

When the coronavirus started spreading in the U.S., it caused restrictions, including the number of clients allowed in her salon. Ashley explains that StyleSeat assists with day-to-day operations responsibilities, especially during this time. “I haven’t had a front desk person in three years, so thank goodness I have this app because that took over that position for me,” she says.

“It takes a lot of that like tedious stuff out of the way where you can focus your time and energy on the client.”

Ashley Mecham

She also loves the “Book Now” button on Instagram that allows clients to view her availability and book appointments without having to call or text. Plus, her clients can’t get enough of the contactless payment feature, which provides ease and convenience at the end of their service. 

As a StyleSeat Pro, we’ve helped Ashley earn 20 percent more on nine appointments within 30 days. And in 2021, she earned six times the average hairstylist salary.

Ashley highly recommends that StyleSeat Pros embrace Smart Pricing as a stepping stone to charge what you’re worth. This feature uses data science to identify the most popular time slots and raise the prices to match their true value. “I know stylists have the hardest time raising their prices. It’s like this emotional attachment, right? Because they have an emotional connection and develop these relationships where they feel guilty raising their prices,” says Ashley. “So I do think that is a great element to have that helps people actually charge what they’re worth.”

Looking for ways to have a long and successful career like Ashley? Consistency is key. “If you’re consistent with setting tasks of doing your email marketing, posting your photos, uploading them to StyleSeat, tagging them in your social media. You just have to set it like a weekly task and commit to doing it. Then you’re set up for success,” she explains.

Ashley plans to achieve her goal of transitioning from behind the chair. She will continue providing hair education and working with brands. With a passion for helping people build their businesses, she wants to create a program to support beauty professionals with their careers. “I just see where there are so many cracks that these stylists fall through when they have so much potential to be amazing artists and have this amazing career… they just don’t have any guidance. I would love to create a program that helps.”

Book an appointment with Ashley for your next hair makeover. Follow Ashley on Instagram to keep up with her latest looks.

Level up your business with StyleSeat and earn the revenue you always wanted.