Kristen Livingston
Age: 37
City of residence: Kingsland
Current title: Salon Owner/Stylist
Place of business: Mona Fay’s Beauty Co.
Professional responsibilities: I operate and run the salon full time, manage 18 wonderful women I work with and also work behind the chair full time taking clients.
Accomplishments/Honors: Mona Fay’s won Best Hair Salon in Camden County in 2021. We also got Best of Georgia in the Georgia Business Journal 2023 for Best Hair Salon. We were featured on Minerva Beauty website & Behind the Chair showcasing our beautiful too of the line equipment & decor.
Community Involvement: I am a board member for The Salvation Army. We donate free haircuts for back to school through the Salvation Army and beauty services for the Special Steps Prom. I am a huge supporter for local recreation sports teams & middle/high school sports teams as well as Miss Wildcat.
Why did you go into your particular field? My late grandmother, Mona, inspired me to go to cosmetology school. Before I went to beauty school I worked for 8 years at the Amelia Island Club as a restaurant manager and that’s where I learned to manage business.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A real estate agent or hairstylist.
What was your first job? A lifeguard at the Aquatic Center.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? Work smarter not harder and to take hate and turn it into hustle.
What’s your favorite thing about your job? The women I get to work beside everyday!
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started your career? Boundaries! Set them early.
Who do you consider to be your greatest mentor and why? My best friend, Brittney. She runs three busy businesses on Jekyll Island, is a wonderful wife, mother and friend. She is the busiest person I know and always makes times to listen. Success isn’t just about money. It’s about the balance of work life, home and peace. I strive daily to be more like her. Everyone needs a Brittney in their life.
When you’re not at work, what do you do to relax? I love our family boat days, laying by the pool or watching my kids play sports.
What is something about you that most people don’t know? I was born in Oneonta, New York.
How do you hope to grow in your career?
I hope to continue to grow Mona Fay’s and help develop stylist into being business owners. I really enjoy working beside people and not being their “boss.” I want everyone around me to be financially successful while having more time with their family!
This brings me back to working smarter not harder!
If you couldn’t do what you’re doing now, what would you be doing? Law enforcement or investigative work.