You may know her as a Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, but Jessi Draper is serious about business. She built JZ Styles out of a YouTube channel into a multi-million hair empire—now 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.
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.
JZ 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?
“Probably when we were able to purchase the building we’re in now. Up until that point, we had rented, and we’d expanded a couple of times, but actually buying the building we’re in—warehouse, retail store and salon all in one—was 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.”
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Salma Hayek Uses This $29 Mascara to Cover Up Her Gray RootsWalk me through JZ Academy. What gap were you trying to fill with stylist education when you started?
“I started out doing continued education for stylists who were already licensed—that’s how I got into teaching. I kept noticing a pattern: People would come to my classes and tell me, ‘I learned everything from you on YouTube while I was in beauty school.’ That’s when I realized most schools don’t focus on the trends or techniques stylists actually want to know. They teach you the bare minimum—enough to pass state boards and roll a perm—and that’s about it.
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—you get a hair designer license, not a full cosmetology license, so you’re 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.”
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