Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Anderson.
Hi Becky, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I originally wanted to be a history teacher! My parents divorced when I was 5. I am one of three girls, now a single mother. After a few years of living and seeing my mother’s abusive relationships, we moved to Ohio when I was 8 to live with my grandparents. My Grandparents were raised in the Depression Era. They instilled a “work hard if you want something” ethic in my upbringing. My sisters and I settled in quickly, in school, and learning responsibility. My mom applied for welfare, and college, and went to school too! My mom graduated summa cum laude when I was 14. During those years, both my grandparents worked and help raise us. I learned so much from them in my life, I don’t think I would be who I am today without their guidance, nurturing, and love. If I wanted something I did chores to earn money to buy it! I learned the value of a dollar and how to make it last.
I idolized my grandmother. She was a strong, tall, tell -it like it is retired gym teacher, in her second career. Pushing my mom to do right for her family. She taught me so much I wanted to be just like her, but I was a chubby kid, and I preferred a good history lesson over any sport or exercise.
My mom worked 2 jobs to support us after we moved out of my grandparents’ home. My sister graduated high school the following year and started college in the fall. She struggled to make enough money after her scholarships ran out, and mom couldn’t help. The following year my mom came to me and my younger sister and explained that if we wanted to go to college, we would have to get a job to pay for it or go to the JVS to get a career to pay for college.
We toured the Jvs a few weeks later. I was interested in culinary arts, Horticulture, and since I had to have 3, I blindly chose Cosmetology.
The second I walked into that Cosmetology classroom I fell in love with hair and beauty!
I had only been to a salon once before in my life before that night!
I took school very seriously, I achieved high honors in my program, and I had almost all as in my college credit classes. I started working in a salon at the end of my Senior year of high school. I assisted, I ran the desk, and I ordered inventory. My Boss had me doing all of the extra work she didn’t have time to do, including painting after hours! I had many great mentors and memories at that salon. I learned so much about salon life there. I finally was promoted to the main floor, after 18 months of training. I had the start of a following, I had clients and I was still helping the boss with all of the extra stuff she still needed! I worked for that company for 3 years, and then I moved to the Westside of Cleveland, to be with a boy I thought was a man.
I started working for Charles Scott when I was 21. In the beginning, I loved the busyness of the salon, I was young and working as much as they would let me. By the time I was 22 I had enough money to purchase a house. I grew up quickly after I purchased my house, I realized the boy I was with was just holding me back from the career I loved so much, and we went our separate ways. I met my husband soon after, he supported my career and love of hair. I became the highest producer of the salon, I was sent to classes in LA, I was a product educator for one of our lines, and I was always educating myself, my coworkers, and my clients with all my learnings.
As I got closer to my 30s I decided I wanted to have a family. My goal in life was to be successful at work and at home raising my children. I cut back on my crazy hours and enjoyed my young family and my career. Before I was 35, I was one of the senior stylists on the floor, training the younger stylists, and watching the company I loved working at becoming more than I could imagine. It was too much, I wanted to cut back more, and I only wanted to be available for my family more. I noticed customer service wasn’t as high of a priority to them as it was for me. The salon moved several times and got bigger each time. I decided it was time to move on and focus more on the clients I had, treat them like people, not dollar signs. I left Charles Scott and went to a much smaller salon, I was done with the hustle.
I worked peacefully at that Details for 5 years. I enjoyed my people, my family, and my life. As my kids got older and didn’t seem to need me as much, I started to think more about my career again. I wanted to be busier, I wanted more. I had met a friend at Details, and she was looking to do more with her career. I was offered a position as manager at another salon. I took it! And my friend followed.
I can’t really say a lot of nice things about this place, I don’t even want to say its name! After about 6 months all the promises of management were broken, and poor management of clients, staff, and money, I told my friend, “With or without you I am leaving this place!”
I decided I wanted to start a salon! After all these years of watching and learning from all of my previous bosses, (good and bad) I knew I had the right idea on how to run my own place, manage staff, and have success in my career again! I wanted to focus on the clients and make sure I always had my staff’s best interest in mind. If everyone is happy, then I will be happy!
The buildout of my salon seemed to take forever. I was working, I was building, I was raising my family, I was busy! My salon was completed almost 1 year from the date of my proclamation to be my own boss, and a good boss to others. I opened the doors to Crazy Beautiful Salon in Avon, Ohio on December 20, 2019. Little did I know in my time of building and opening I would be shut down 13 weeks later because of the pandemic. In the short time I had in the beginning, I was learning so much of important things about how to run my business. I had a full salon, 6 stylists, and 3 receptionists and we were doing great, with only a few hiccups along the way, learning curve!
When the shutdown happened, I wasn’t sure what to do, I was still learning how to be an owner and a boss. I wasn’t in business long enough to receive any governmental help. I tried applying everything I could find to keep my business open after I just opened. I was able to secure help from the SBA, with deferred mortgage payments, and my landlord deferred my rent. The utilities came out of our personal bank account. Salons do not make money without clients, or when they are closed!
When I was finally able to reopen, I lost 2 stylists, a receptionist, and my friend that helped with some of my buildouts. She moved on to do her own thing a few months later.
I continued to apply for assistance after the shutdown, and I did get some money to help the slow regrowth/new growth of my salon.
Just these past few months we are finally back to where we were in the first weeks of opening, I have a great group of stylists and staff. I am now training apprentices and interns. I am teaching this wonderful trade while I am doing what I love to do. My daughter is now going to Cosmetology. I feel like things are starting to go the right way for me and my business. I have learned so much about people, staff, life, and business in the past 3 years. I hope to continue the way things are going for a few minutes at least. I am still driving to create the perfect place for my clients and staff to be happy, and I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a challenge, to open a salon right before the pandemic shutdown. I have learned how to defend my salon from covid. I have learned how to remove toxic people from my life and business. Now I look forward to having my first normal year, I am hoping that this year is it! refer back to my story
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Hair is truly an art. It isn’t an exact science, there is a lot of room to create beauty out of any hair type or condition. I love the challenge of trying new styles, colors, and techniques and working with all hair types. At the end of the service, I know how the clients feel with the smile I get from them. I will do anything in my power to make the clients happy. I truly love doing anything with any hair type, but I love fixing bad hair color!
What do you think about luck?
I benefitted from my mother’s bad luck, being raised by my grandparents helped me understand so much of life lessons. I was lucky to marry someone so understanding and caring. My husband has taken on a lot of my roles, so I can put most of my focus on my salon. He has stood by all my good and bad decisions.
I would have never pushed myself to own a salon if I hadn’t dealt with the turmoil of the last salon I worked at. Big Mistake, but a good ending!
Contact Info:
- Website: crazybeautifulsalon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crazybeautifulsalonllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crazybeautifusalonllc
Image Credits
Ann Eberly
Becky Anderson
