What I Wish I Knew Before I Took My First Client
(Especially When That Client Was Family… or Someone Just Playing Me)
Before I ever had a booking link, policy page, or pricing menu—I had a comb, a little hustle, and a whole lot of heart.
In high school, I started doing my peers’ hair. I was passionate, talented, and still figuring things out. Doing hair in the basement of my mommy’s house. But what I didn’t realize was that just because I had a gift didn’t mean people would automatically respect it. One of the first people to teach me that lesson was a guy I went to school with. He will remain unnamed in this case. He had hounded me down for weeks to do his locs multiple times, and one day I accepted his appointment request—he decided to skip out on paying me. Just like that.
No explanation. No apology. Just entitlement.
And honestly? It cut deep. Not because of the money, but because I felt so played. I was always that girl who stood up for others, who had no problem checking someone on their foolishness—but in that moment, I didn’t speak up fast enough. And the shame that followed made me question more than just that situation—it made me evaluate how I allowed people to treat me when I was offering something valuable.
That moment planted the seed.
The next one watered it—and it grew into a boundary.
The Last Straw
I’ll never forget the day I did my manager’s hair from a restaurant I worked at. She asked if I did braids and I told her did. She made an appointment to get her hair braided. She came over, sat through the entire service, and then said she needed to grab cash from her car. But instead of returning, she jumped in her man’s car and sped off.
Yes. She ran off on the plug… and the plug was me.
She thought she got away with it.
But we worked together.
So when I saw her at work, I calmly let her know: you still owe me. She brushed it off. Refused to pay. So I called my brother and his friends—yeah, that kind of day—and they made sure she understood there would be no more playing me. She paid me back that night—and then some.
Now, I’m not suggesting that strategy today (I was young, with not much to lose 😅), but the point still stands: at some point, people have to understand that your kindness is not weakness—and your work is not a freebie.