Every Beauty Pro Needs This App

Nikki Dominguez, a New York City-based hairstylist, and her sister April, who is in tech solutions, don't come across as natural business partners. But when Nikki was venting frustrations about hiring for a salon, and her sister suggested using LinkedIn, Nikki explained a site like that didn't work for beauty pros, which begged the question: Why not? Enter Tradiies, a networking platform created specifically for the beauty industry. Individuals can create profiles, which encompass education, awards and past salon employers, and chart growth from beauty school student to professional. “A Tradiies portfolio is not a social media profile with a gallery of work—it shows an entire career,” April says.

Tradiies also allows pros to describe their personality and culture, and has a section for endorsements. “Yelp is for business owners only, and social media is not a professional setting to give recommendations,” April says. “Tradiies encourages the salon owner to give an acknowledgment, like, ‘She is excellent at balayage and consulting and customer service.’ It also allows individuals to give acknowledgments to their colleagues or educators, like, ‘They really inspired me in the growth of my career, and I'm more passionate because of it.’”

Likewise, salons are able to create business profiles where they can post jobs. “This allows beauty pros to see the salon’s team members, the products they carry, the location, the hours and what they’re looking for in an employee, plus photos to get an idea of the work environment,” Nikki says. A beauty pro’s profile is sent to the salon like a digital resume, including a portfolio of work, acknowledgments and skill sets. “Our goal is to get the entire salon industry to start acknowledging each other, recognizing each other and uplifting each other through the app,” she adds.