You may know her as a Secret Lives of Mormon Wives<\/em> star, but Jessi Draper is serious about business. She built JZ Styles out of a YouTube channel into an estimated $14.6 million hair empire\u2014now a salon, an extensions and product line and JZ Academy, where she certifies the next wave of stylists. This year, the mom of three added executive producer to her title, formal recognition for a role she and her castmates have played behind the scenes for years. <\/p>\n We caught up with Draper to talk about the moment JZ Styles stopped feeling like content and started feeling like an empire, the gap in stylist education she built her academy to fill and how she unwinds after running a business, raising three kids and filming seven months out of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cProbably when we were able to purchase the building we\u2019re in now. Up until that point, we had rented, and we\u2019d expanded a couple of times, but actually buying the building we\u2019re in\u2014warehouse, retail store and salon all in one\u2014was a huge moment for me. Knowing we own the building that runs everything we do meant a lot. Another milestone was when we started shipping worldwide. Now our extensions and products are available not just in this country, but internationally, which was a huge accomplishment too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI started out doing continued education for stylists who were already licensed\u2014that\u2019s how I got into teaching. I kept noticing a pattern: People would come to my classes and tell me, \u2018I learned everything from you on YouTube while I was in beauty school.\u2019 That\u2019s when I realized most schools don\u2019t focus on the trends or techniques stylists actually want to know. They teach you the bare minimum\u2014enough to pass state boards and roll a perm\u2014and that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n So I set out to open a school that actually makes a difference. We certify students in extensions, which most schools charge extra for, and we teach trends that are relevant to what clients are asking for now, so graduates feel confident doing the work clients actually want. We still prep students for state boards and cover everything required, but we also teach what they need to succeed. Our school is hair-only\u2014you get a hair designer license, not a full cosmetology license, so you\u2019re not learning pedicures alongside haircutting. That was the whole point: focusing on the art of hair. We also offer continued education alongside the licensing program, so stylists can come back and keep learning after they graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been loving layers. I\u2019ve been such a proponent of them for so long, but I\u2019ve noticed over the last 10 or 11 years that clients get scared of them\u2014especially with extensions. They\u2019re afraid of cutting too much off or losing hair. Now the butterfly cut and \u201890s blowout are back, and I love that because it brings movement, bounce and texture back into the hair. I\u2019m loving curtain bangs and the whole layers movement\u2014it adds so much character and personality, and it holds a style better too. Big hair and layers are having a moment, and I hope it sticks around!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur show is unique in that we\u2019re constantly filming\u2014most reality shows film once a year, but we film about seven months out of the year. Production is so involved in our lives; we even do our confessionals at my warehouse. My real life and my business are intertwined with the show because of that. All of us girls already have a hand in everything going on, so giving us the producer credit just made sense\u2014we have that close a relationship with production, where we feel comfortable pitching ideas and being vulnerable. We were really honored to get that title.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo two days look the same for me. I love taking a bath at the end of the night to decompress\u2014glass of wine, iPad, a show. I\u2019ve been trying to read more lately, too; it helps me slow down. Honestly, I think every hairdresser needs a massage. Our bodies take a beating from being on our feet all day servicing clients, so that\u2019s something I try to prioritize. A chiropractor and a massage\u2014I\u2019d recommend both to anyone in this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want it to be a business that helps empower women and entrepreneurs. I love when people come to my classes or hear my story and feel inspired that they can do it too. I didn\u2019t graduate high school in the traditional sense\u2014I got my GED, and now I own a multimillion-dollar business. If you can dream it, you can do it. If you\u2019re passionate about what you do, it can set your whole world on fire.<\/p>\n Beyond that, it\u2019s about helping people feel beautiful. Everything we create\u2014our extensions, our products\u2014comes from wanting to help people feel more confident. We\u2019re building a new building this year, even bigger than this one, and I hope the empire keeps growing while everything we put out there helps people feel beautiful and confident.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nJZ Styles is pulling in multiple millions of dollars a year. What was the moment you realized this was a real business empire and not just content?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Walk me through JZ Academy. What gap were you trying to fill with stylist education when you started?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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You have two million-plus followers across Instagram and TikTok, and you\u2019ve seen every hair trend come and go. Is there one you\u2019re especially excited about this summer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You\u2019re also executive producing the show now. What made this the right time to step behind the scenes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Between the company, the kids and the show, how do you get through the day-to-day? <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Ten years from now, where do you want JZ Styles to be?<\/strong><\/h2>\n