In the late 1990s, Orlando, FL-based hairstylist Kendall Johnson was a single mother struggling to make ends meet with a dream to become a successful hairdresser.  

 

Flashforward two decades, she goes by the moniker “Kendall the Master Stylist,” and has accrued more than 103,000 Instagram followers. 

 

For Women’s History Month, Happi interviewed Johnson to discuss how she was able to raise her daughter, keep her hairstyling business afloat and leverage social media to grow her clientele. Empowered by her own success, now she’s on a mission to spread hope to other women, encouraging them to “think bigger to create their dream life,” despite the roadblocks they may encounter on their journey. 

As a teenager in her native Arkansas, Johnson wasn’t one to follow her peers who worked their first odd job at the counter of the local fast-food joint. Her calling was styling hair. 

 

“I taught myself how to braid my hair, my siblings’ hair and my cousins’ hair—and word got around I was good at what I did,” she told Happi. 

  

While Johnson aspired to attend a four-year college, an unplanned pregnancy derailed that idea. Thanks to a parenting program that helped her navigate short- and long-term goal-setting, Johnson set her sights on attending cosmetology school and opening a salon.  

  

After graduating from the Southern Texas Careers Academy, a beauty school in Mission, TX, she worked at the Walmart-based SmartStyles in Arkansas.   

  

“Now, it’s very surreal…. I literally took over that city in the realm of the beauty industry and built a popular name for myself,” she said. 

 

Johnson became a very successful stylist, even winning a First Place trophy at the Texas International Hair Show in Dallas.   

  

From ages 21 to 25, Johnson was making a six-figure salary and living a life of grandeur—driving souped up vehicles and a high-fashion wardrobe—all the things, she said, she missed out on as a kid. But those luxuries would be a pitfall. 

“I had no regard to saving money or investing,” she said. 

 

After relocating to Orlando, the cost of living and supporting a child was becoming too much to bear. As her money began to dwindle, she received an eviction notice. In the midst of this hardship, she decided that failure was not an option. She dialed a former client in Texas, and asked her to set up appointments. Every two weeks, for eight months, Johnson hopped on a plane and flew to Virginia and Texas to work with clients.
 

In the midst of getting back into her hairstyling groove, Johnson did what most people experiencing a life change would do: change her hair. She removed her hair extensions and colored her hair magenta—and posted it on her Instagram account. When the post accrued a good amount of engagement, Johnson decided to leverage the social media platform to buoy her business. A marketing firm taught her how to use the platform and hashtags to attract more attention—it worked. 

  

“I kid you not, I started taking photos and videos of hairstyles [using the hashtags] and literally went from zero to a six-figure salary in eight months from posting on Instagram,” she recalled.  

 

The before-and-after shots, videos and hashtags moved her to the top of Google. 

 

Johnson does more than style hair—she also has her own haircare product line, KTMS Pro Collection, which includes a Botanical Moisturizing Shampoo and Humectant Conditioner, Sculping Foam and Moroccan Oil Serum. All are available on her website kendalltjohnson.com. 

During all of her ups and downs, Johnson found time to write and publish a book, “I Am Not My Circumstance,” which when released reached No. 1 on Amazon in the dysfunctional families category.  

 

In addition to her book and hairstyling workshops, Johnson also holds women leadership getaways in which she encourages women to understand that pain is the catalyst for success and not an excuse for failure. She also instills in women the following pillars: become; evolve; command; optimize; monetize; extraordinary; elevate and revive.   

 

They are steps she’s taken on her own path to success.