Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Grunder Mattozzi.
Hi Rachel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was a sophomore in high school, I accompanied a friend who had a tanning appointment at one of our town’s trendiest salons “The Shop”. It was my first time experiencing a hometown salon. As an avid people watcher, I was in heaven. The salon was full of beautiful people both in and behind the chair. Everyone was so happy. It was at that moment that I knew that I wanted to work as a beautician. Little did I know that exact salon would set the foundation of my journey as an entrepreneur.
I left that day with a strong determination to reach my goal of becoming a hairstylist; and for the following two years, I attended my county’s vocational school. After earning my Advanced Cosmetology License, I accepted my first beautician job at a walk-in salon about twenty miles outside of town. Learning the ropes comes from making mistakes and in a small town, that was not how I wanted to build my reputation. I spent four years there working on my consultations and haircutting skills, and I got to be quite confident in them. In 2003, I became a single parent, and that is when I knew it was time to start planning my return to my hometown to build a career and find childcare.
My entrepreneurial journey started in 2004 in Newton Fallls. I acquired an independent contractor’s license and began renting a station at that very same salon that sparked my interest in the cosmetology field. I will never forget how excited I was when Brenda (the owner of Brenda’s Salon, “The Shop”) put my name on the marquee sign out by the main road into town. I got right down to business and ordered my first set of business cards; I could not believe that at the age of 22 I had the opportunity to be my own boss and set my own schedule. It was there that I would learn coloring techniques and start to build a clientele. I spent the next ten or so years there but started to feel a shift, that salon slowly became unaligned with my vision. After my time at “The Shop” ended, I explored booth rental at several of the other salons in town, and even though I met and worked with some of the most talented and amazing stylists, I started becoming reactive and felt out of place. I just could not find my perfect fit.
It was when my mental health became a top priority that I realized that working in an open-air salon was the only factor that was holding me back from creating the experience that I dreamed of giving my clients, and ultimately myself. In January of 2020, I decided to take the leap and became the owner of a private salon called Solo Styles LLC. For the next 5 weeks, my father, along with my teammate for life put endless hours into turning an old office building into the salon of my dreams. From the opening date of February 24th, until the governor of Ohio mandated all salons to shut down on March 17th, 2020, my little salon flourished. In those short three weeks, it was obvious that my guests loved the solitude of a private appointment. I had several clients express how they felt lighter physically and emotionally after their appointments. I knew then that the move was beyond successful for my business; however, upon reopening after the governor lifted the shutdown, I felt the need to take things a step further. As a result, I designed an atmosphere that aims to soothe a client’s subconscious with the diffusion of essential oils, relaxing visual aids, and EMDR-inspired sound stimulation. However, my attempt to aid in the grounding process was not going to stop there. In August of 2020, I enrolled in college courses to support my knowledge of psychology. I am currently on the path to earning a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in counseling careers. I did this because I want to help my clients make the connection between their self-esteem and their mental health and to be honest, I love watching them decompress after a hard day’s work.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
To be completely honest, like many people Covid19 was my biggest struggle; however, I did learn and grow quite a bit from it. During that unprecedented time, I had to make adjustments to my service menu. Due to the regular reoccurring expenses of owning a salon and the lack of income the shutdown caused, I was forced to make the decision to temporarily discontinue all chemical services. Luckily, I had the best hair color distributor ever and she offered to return my entire stock of unused hair color and replaced them with shampoos and styling products that I could sell. Selling products enabled me to produce some sort of income while I was unable to perform in-person services; however, when it was time to reopen, I was barely hanging on financially and definitely not ready to restock my color line. At that point, I opened with limited services until further notice. Even though I could not afford to offer color services in my salon, I could afford to offer the most valuable service ever, my time. I had plenty of it to give and I made the best of what I had. In the end, my clients ended up loving it.
Another setback due to covid was adjusting to fewer clients per working day. In order to accommodate clients during the “responsible restart,” I had to extend the allotted time saved for appointments. Doing so allowed me to completely disinfect the entire service area and all touchable surfaces between each appointment. I also have to add that during that time of covid chaos all stability in scheduling was non-existent; therefore, I had to adopt a scheduling structure that would allow for my clients to cancel on the spot if they were experiencing symptoms and the same with myself. Although it turns out, that the same-week appointment scheduling turned out to remain a permanent practice and the safest for myself and my immunocompromised clients as well.
These disruptions in my business were minor in the grand scheme of things and some of them ended up being blessings in disguise. My business did survive Covid19, and I have some pretty beneficial practices from it. I have learned a lot about adjusting and adapting in order to survive and that is something I will use throughout my lifetime.
We’ve been impressed with Solo Styles LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I love to reach each client on a deeper level and cater specifically to their needs by providing a space that is designed to facilitate emotional healing as well as great haircare. As they enter the salon, they have the option of hanging out in the boutique browsing and absorbing the healing energy of a wide variety of crystals, or they may want to take advantage of the journaling station out in the waiting area. Guests of the salon can write down the thoughts that create clutter in their minds to make space for positive energy flow. I like to consider it as a type of emotional clearing. Once at the shampoo bowl, they are offered reiki, a Japanese form of energy healing that allows for the delivery of positive energy while simultaneously releasing any negative energy they are experiencing. During certain services, guided meditation may also be available. Throughout their haircare service, the client will be listening to bilateral sounds that promote subconscious soothing or sublimination. Guests may choose to talk about things that are bothering them or can simply listen to the sounds during their hair treatment. The blowout phase is accompanied by dim lighting and appeasing videos that allow for imagery meditation. During that time, they are given education on proper styling techniques and a crash course on basic product knowledge of the haircare line being used. Each client is given the ultimate experience, to say the least.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success can be defined in many different ways depending on the perception of the person attempting to define it. For me, success is the result of having a perfect balance between emotional and financial health, work and family, and not any particular order. I believe that each one has an effect on the others. Experiencing highs and lows in any area of life is inevitable; however, one must be able to adapt, and adjust, to find their flow towards that balance. I believe that success is achievable for anyone as long as they have the belief that they are worthy of it.
Pricing:
- Cleanse and Hydrate $35
- Mini Escape (1-hour Haircut) $35
- Total Escape (Chemical Services) varies
- Infrared Sauna Session $25
- Salt Therapy Session $15
Contact Info:
- Website: www.solostylesllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solo_styles_44444
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoloStyles44444
