Take care of employees. Weekly check-ins, including non-work, and to offer emotional support if necessary, as well as financial literacy discussions, and personal and work goal setting.
Asa part of my series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Successful Service Business”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michaella Blissett Williams.
Michaella Blissett Williams is the mastermind behind the [salon]718 brand. She started her first salon in her brownstone in Brooklyn and the brand is now six salons strong and growing. Michaella is driven by her connection to her local community and promoting the growth of her team through education and outreach.
From her salon’s humble beginnings in her Bergen street basement, [salon]718 was born on the pillars of education and inclusive beauty. During the pandemic, [salon]718 pivoted and through innovation offered custom at home hair color kits for clients in quarantine. Following the city-mandated closure the salon proudly reopened all its locations by the end of 2020 and invited all team members to return to work.
Now with a team of 65+ members, Michaella paves the way for her staff to unlock their creative potential. Her continued mentorship from the Goldman Sachs & Bloomberg, 10K Small Business program provides her with ongoing support for success in her growing team.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Asearly as I can remember, I’ve always had a love for beauty and fashion. That love became a career when I started working at age 13 at the salon my mom worked at. After graduating from Nassau Community College at 21, I decided to work as an assistant at Maximus Salon and Spa, the preeminent and most prestigious in Long Island at the time. Shortly afterwards I became the assistant to Maximus’ founder, Richard Calcasola. I then became a stylist/colorist, and within a few years, a manager. I moved to Brooklyn in 2001, and discovered that there were no salons in the downtown Brooklyn area providing the level and quality of hair services I had grown accustomed to, and had developed a skill to manage. So in the basement of my brownstone, I set up a studio and began to work with clients and within months, recognized that a proper space was required. That’s when I opened the first [salon]718 location at 80 Dekalb Ave. Today, we have six locations.
What was the “Aha Moment” that led you to think of the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
My husband insisted Brooklyn was ready for a salon of the caliber I had grown to know and understand. My perception was the wave of higher income earners moving to Brooklyn between 2002–2005 were keen to get their hair done in Manhattan rather than Brooklyn. It seemed like there was an apprehension to try local salons in Brooklyn based on a belief that they could not satisfy their needs, nor live up to their expectations. My husband was instrumental in laying out the opportunity; by comping a few influential community members’ hair, word spread, which led to multiple referrals. Little did we know that today’s social media influencers are an offshoot of word-of-mouth influencing. True to form, the community influencers spread the word, and paying customers steadily booked appointments for services. The tipping point though, was promoting a “deal of the day” Living Social (new at the time) promotion. We sold out of 350 deals within 1 hour (our website even crashed because of the traffic!), expanded to 500, sold out of those the next day, and there was no turning back!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
One day, I was, per usual, juggling clients, when my assistant gave me a little surprise twist, creating a highlights saga. She called me over with panic in her eyes, as she had mixed a brunette potion, instead of blonde. We each took a deep breath and embraced the mystic teachings of staying calm. Picture this: me at the sink, the assistant frantically mixing new potions, and the client blissfully unaware, probably contemplating the meaning of life as her hair went through its unexpected transformation.
I told her that a simple mistake should always be treated as a discovery. In the world of hair styling, surprises come in all SHADES. We fixed it with the finesse of hair wizards, all while the client enjoyed an unintentional spa moment.
Thank you for that. Let’s now pivot to the main focus of our interview. Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven business” are more successful in many areas. When you started your company what was your vision, your purpose?
The vision behind [salon]718 was to create a salon centered on inclusivity, diversity, and education:
- Create — we are passionate artists with licenses to create
- Community — we exchange ideas/discoveries/solutions and empower each other
- Integrity — we vow to do the right thing
- Trust — we vow to have trust in each other
- Inclusive — we believe in all things beauty under one roof
What do you do to articulate or demonstrate your company’s values to your employees and to your customers?
To embody our values, we actively participate in local charities, engage in team huddles, team-building events, and conduct regular round-robin meetings with our team members. We also take trips with several members of the team throughout the year to London, the Cayman Islands, and California. I find these efforts really pay off since we have very loyal employees and customers.
Do you have a “number one principle” that guides you through the ups and downs of running a business?
Our guiding principle during the ups and downs is a willingness to pivot while maintaining a focus on the end goal. During the challenges of the Covid era, we transformed [salon]718 into a virtual consultation service and shipped color kits to clients during lockdown. Our efforts helped our community during a very challenging and often lonely time.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
I always looked ahead each day rather than at where we were presently. Securing a retail space initially posed a significant challenge. Many landlords doubted a black woman’s ability to open a multi-ethnic hair salon. My determination to prove them wrong and not limit the salon to a specific demographic kept me going. “Hair is a texture not a color.” Needless to say, I prevailed!
Did you ever consider giving up?
No. Giving up is not in my DNA. I would simply walk away, sleep on it and wake up rejuvenated.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Having a supportive partner is crucial for any entrepreneur and my husband always told me to look at the business from 34,000 ft above, rather than trying to look at it from within. He’s been my “rock” who keeps me in check when times are tough.
So, how are things going today?
Things are going great. We are constantly growing double digits year-over-year organically and by acquisition. We have a few acquisitions and new locations under review, and our intention is to open a cosmetology school in the next couple years. Our 2024 theme is transformation not transaction — focus on the moment and build relationships within our community and client base. We are also focused on operations — to leverage technology as much as possible so that our leaders can allocate most of their time to developing and growing talent.
How did your values lead to your eventual success?
We have a strong people culture that forms the core of our DNA. Education is the key to our success. We substantially fund education and training. Other owners ask, “what if the talent leaves” after so much investment and I always say, “what if they stay?” This positive “paying it forward” mantra has been a large part of our success.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a founder or CEO should do in order to create a very successful service based business?
- Create a strong culture. We have daily huddles to reinforce the 4 indicators (goals) that drive business.
- Develop and articulate core values to drive business strategy and execution. Our mission statement on inclusivity, and integrity is central to this.
- Take care of employees. Weekly check-ins, including non-work, and to offer emotional support if necessary, as well as financial literacy discussions, and personal and work goal setting.
- High standards. Each client gets a survey to rate us. We pride ourselves on high ratings found on Google and Yelp from standards of consistency, efficiency, esthetics, and quality.
- Embracing technology but always remembering it cannot replace people and is an enabler of great things. Every facet of our operations are managed by technology and wherever there’s a gap, we are constantly closing with developing new technology.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Joy Crichlow, an amazing realtor, was the one who encouraged our move to Brooklyn. She understood the market like no other and identified the potential. As the owner of Maximus Hair Salon and Spa, and Creative Director of Intercoiffure, Richard Calcasola mentored me until his last day. Richard was very big on creating experiences for his associates such as taking us to beauty shows in London where we would also visit high end local salons such as TONI&GUY UK to understand the magnitude of the industry and the infinite possibilities.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
A movement to tackle equity disparity and to close the wealth gap. I plan to establish a summer beauty camp for underserved girls and young women for them to appreciate the possibilities of this profession.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Absolutely! They can follow us @salon718 on Instagram and Facebook.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!