About Nina L. Kovner
Pronouns: They/Them
The Short Story… Mostly for Show Brochures and Trade Magazines
From the shampoo room to the boardroom, Nina L. Kovner took the world of pro beauty by storm with her thoughtful attention to detail and never-ending tenacity. After 26 years of conquering obstacles in an ever-changing business landscape and helping to build one of the most recognized professional haircare brands in the world, they respectfully walked away from a career at the top to help small business owners and artists discover and live their purpose with passion and empower their businesses. Now, as Chief Awesomeness Empowerer at Passion Squared, they wake up every morning saying to themselves… “How I am going to help people create awesome today?”
The Real Story… In My Own Words
From the shampoo room to the boardroom. A Cinderella story so to speak. At least it was someone’s Cinderella story.
I discovered beauty school in 1987 and found my passion and what I thought was my purpose. I became the best shampoo girl ever, at least in my mind I was, at The Falls Salon in Falls Church, Virginia, and worked there as a stylist for a few years. To this day that was one of my fave jobs in the beauty biz.
In the late 80′s, I got my dream job as a Paul Mitchell educator and Brand Manager at Davidson Beauty Supply, my first introduction to the business of beauty. What an amazing education I received.
At the age of 24, I was named Regional Sales Director for the Southwest United States for Paul Mitchell. I had arrived!
The Career College Association inducted me into their Hall of Fame, the first beauty school graduate to ever be inducted. Yes, they let me speak to Congress at the age of 25. Awesome.
In early 2000, I was named VP of Marketing for Paul Mitchell and had the honor of working with and for the best people in the biz, including my mentors and heroes John Paul DeJoria and Luke Jacobellis.
In 2006, I was accepted into the UCLA Anderson School Executive Management Program, only one of two hairdressers ever to be accepted. I learned so much in those 9 months and even became President of my class. I was honored and humbled to sit side by side with rocket scientists, engineers, and really super smart people.
In 2009, I graciously walked away from an awesome career of 26 years.
Discovering my WHY
You may be thinking; are you crazy? You walked away from the best company and career in the world? Yes, I did.
The truth is I was dying inside. I loved my company and the people I worked with, but there was a big hole in my heart. My outsides did not match my insides. And I learned the hard way, it catches up with you, eventually. At least that is my truth.
I realized my true passion was to empower those I love through sharing my journey and experiences, the real world shit that mattered to me. I needed to speak my truth.
Like many in our world, nothing has ever come easy to me. I am dyslexic, ADD, and lovingly battle anxiety on a daily basis. But none of that has stopped me from living, dreaming, and pursuing my passion and purpose.
Today, I know deep in my soul I am here to help people discover and live their purpose with passion and use that to empower others and their businesses. Just like I have.
Want to hear more of the gory and awesome details of my insane life? Check out my book, Follow Your HEART. And to go even deeper, check out My AwesomeAF Healthy Boundary Handbook.