BE on Fire - Laura Saftner Interview

Laura has been a licensed cosmetologist since 1994, working her way from owning a small salon to managing corporate chains and eventually supervising 22 locations. She served five years on the Florida State Board of Cosmetology and has taught cosmetology for nearly 17 years—including high schoolers, adults, and students from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.  Today, Laura teaches cosmetology in a correctional institution because she believes in second chances. The women she works with want to break generational cycles, build careers, and create a better future for their families. They’re not failures—they’re fighters. Laura is raising awareness in the industry to see these women as worthy professionals with talent, drive, and purpose.  Outside the classroom, Laura has played piano since age five, serves as a church pianist, loves to paint, and is a proud mom and grandma. A defining moment in her life? When her husband told her she’d never survive on her own—and then left her with a two-year-old and a five-month-old. That moment became the fire that made failure not an option.