Carla Clarkson, a respected 35-year old entrepreneur from Philadelphia already owns one hair salon, and is set to open a second location this year. She calls herself a "Hair Maven", does business with both celebrities like actress Sheryl Lee Ralph and other professional working women, and her monthly revenues range from $6,000 to $10,000 each month.
How did she do it?
She recently told The Network Journal that she learned hair styling from her grandmother. "I watched her curling family members’ hair in the kitchen and basement. I picked up her curling irons and her old cosmetology textbook and started reading it when I was 12 and decided that’s what I wanted to do," she says.
She then went on to get her cosmetology license in 1998. Afterwards, she worked in a few hair salons, and then at the age of 21, she decided to started her own salon called Honey Hair Studio.
Overcoming challenges
Obviously, a hair salon needs start-up funds. So how did she do it? Well, she worked with Finanta.org, a local non-profit lending corporation that promotes the growth and economic expansion of local businesses, and she was approved for two microloans of $2,600 each. "Mostly, I’ve bootstrapped the business," she says.
Clarkson admits that she initially doubted whether or not she could run a hair business because she was a Black woman with no college education. But she mustered up the confidence to make it happen anyways!
Being different
Part of her success is because she figured out how to be different and more innovative than other competing hair salons. She comments, "You have to give your client some home-care regimen, and I can offer them my own handmade products. The first thing we discuss before styling your hair is how we’ll treat your hair."
Her own hair care products are called Starr Luxury Hair, and she even has a flagship treatment for her customers called "Honey Blowout" - a shampoo and blowout that keeps their hair fortified and moisturized.
For more details about Carla Clarkson and/or her salon, visit www.HairByCarlaClarkson.com or www.CarlaClarkson.com