Kayla McNeill of Head Kandy on Navigating Risk, Building Resilience, and Redefining Leadership in the Beauty Industry

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kayla McNeill.

Kayla McNeill is the founder of Head Kandy. A salon quality, innovative beauty brand that has a massive social media presence. Kayla started Head Kandy in her basement which is becoming a household name for direct to consumer beauty products.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I was born in California, grew up in Colorado where I still reside. I knew from a young age I had a passion for beauty. In grade school I told everyone I was going to be a hairdresser when I grew up. I was always the one doing everyones hair for school dances in highschool. I seemed to always know what I wanted to do.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

I just loved hair and makeup. I felt as I got older I was talented at styling hair and knew it was what I was meant to do.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I think the most interesting thing that has happened in my career is the people I have come across. People you would never think you would meet or cross paths with. The networking has been interesting to say the least.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I think to be a leader you have to be brave. You can’t be scared to fail. When I first graduated from beauty school I wanted to work for. myself. I think if I would have been scared to fail I would never be brave enough to try to reach my potential.

Being outgoing is so helpful. Even if you aren’t comfortable talking to people it’s so important to try. You have to let people know who you are. You have to be the biggest mouth about what you are doing. In a positive way, you are your biggest cheerleader. Don’t be afraid to let people know who you are.

I always say you need to be a little bit crazy! Having the sense to take risks, think outside of the box, and be ok with being uncomfortable is so important! You have to jump. My husband always says “the parachute will eventually open. So jump.”

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

I think that for the longest time if you were a “strong women” you came across as intimidating. But I really believe that you are not intimidating. They are intimidated. There is a difference. If being strong challenges their comfort that is a THEM issue.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

I have always been assertive, vocal and confident. I remember being younger and being able to express myself in many situations. This sometimes can make people uncomfortable. To this day I am so thankful growing up I had these life skills. Even if it meant not everyone liked me.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

Not feel bad for who you are. You shouldn’t have to feel like a diluted version of yourself just because someone is intimidated by you being strong. Remember that doesnt make you intimidating.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

I think it is important to continue to cheer on powerful women. As a whole, cheering on your girlfriends is never a bad thing. Uplifting and encouraging our daughters and girlfriends daughters to be strong, vocal women and to use their voice is also something I find very important.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

I have been blessed to never feel like I have been put in this situation. And if I had I must have decided to confidently ignore it. Not drawing attention to issues that could tear you down is so important. Rise above and prove everyone wrong!

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Women in today’s world seem to have a lot of pressure to balance careers and being a mother. It’s hard to make all the meetings, make dinner and the Friday night soccer game. It just seems like today, social media places a lot of pressure on women to have it all together.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I think as a family we decided early on with our business that in order to live the life we want later we had to sacrifice things in the beginning. Our kids just always knew this was life. We might not always get to be done with work at 5. Let’s be real, when you own your business , work is never really “done”. Going into it I feel if you have that attitude it sure makes it easier to get through when you are in those hard times.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

I have built my business on being realistic. I create products and tools that help busy women just like myself achieve realistic styles at an affordable price. I think one of the biggest appeals that I have with my customer base is that I can be looking glamorous and put together on a Monday, but on Tuesday I look like an everyday busy mom in a messy bun and no bra! That is real life. Instagram and social media has really put a lot of emphasis on looks and sadly it doesnt make you a better person to have make up on or not! I always want to show up looking my best when it matters because that for sure makes me feel better but on the daily, I’m a flip flops and baggy sweats kind of business lady!

How is this similar or different for men?

I think men dont have as much pressure to be looking a certain way! A quick shave and some hair gel in 3 mins makes them a completely different looking person. Women seem to have a lot more pressure to look a certain way.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

I think it is so important to have dedication, drive, communication, faith, and a dash of crazy for the perfect “How to Thrive” recipe.

1. Being dedicated to my passion in the beauty industry keeps me moving forward in my business. I want to make sure I am innovative and creative. That takes dedication. Anyone can do the basics, it takes dedication to do the extra. The extra is where you thrive.
2. The drive to keep going is so important. You have to be dedicated but you have to actually drive the ideas and passion forward. Sticking to it is one thing, but to move forward is key.
3. Communication is another huge factor in thriving. If you are a powerful woman, don’t ever forget to communicate your needs with the people around you. You sometimes need the help of others to get where you are going and communicating that is so important. I used to try to take on too much, and it wore me out. It wasn’t until I started communicating with my employees what I was needing I found so many of them were beyond capable of helping. That then relieve stress and helped me focus on other areas I am good at to continue to be dedicated and drive the company forward.
4. Having faith in my opinion is so important. If you are confident and you know your vision makes sense then have faith that you are doing what you need to be doing to reach those goals. Faith gives you hope in your dark times when you are scared and worried. Be strong in your faith.
5. Finally that little dash of crazy. Don’t be afraid to fail. Do things outside of the box. This is so important for thriving.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I love this question. Tell Reese Witherspoon I am ready when she is! I love that she not only is an incredible actress but that she really paved her own way by becoming a producer and entrepreneur. I love her passion and dedication to causes for women and children.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.