Entrepreneur, Hair Salon Queen free essay sample

Owning a business is something that I’ve always wanted to do since I became old enough to understand the real world. What I didn’t realize was the amount of schooling, money, time and hard work along with labor was required. I used to think as a young child that all you had to do was buy a building and turn it into whatever business you wanted. In this paper I interviewed a hair salon/barber shop owner by the name of Francette Jean-Louis. She has been in business for a little over 25 years. I believe she has the keys to succeed and in this text you will see. The Type of Business I chose to interview Francette because of two reasons. One reason is because she is my mother’s beautician and a very close family friend. The second reason is because she owns a business that I will someday own my very own. The type of business Francette owns is a hair salon/barber shop by the name of Nu Look Salon and Barber Shop. The types of services that she offers in her shop are hair care and styling services, barber services, along with facial and skin care services. Francette’s Dream The business is a local business. She chose to operate this way because she likes to keep her shop family oriented and close to what she considers a busy part of the city. As I interviewed Francette I asked her, out of all things she could have gotten into for business why choose this? Well to my knowledge she had the response that I would have had if someone were to ask me the very same question. Since she was a young girl she has always had the desire to be a hair stylist. She used to have little baby dolls and would do their hair, she also has a younger sister that when they were younger, experiment in her hair also. So this was something that she always wanted to do. As she got older, she started brainstorming ways she would go about making this her life long career. Dream to Reality Francette is originally from Haiti. So growing up there she knew that in order to make her dreams become into reality she had to make her way to the land full of opportunities†¦ America! Prior to her leaving Haiti, she was met whose now her husband; Romeus Jean-Louis. Romeus was well aware of Francette’s dream. She made her money by offering her services to people around her community for a small fee, which is actually how she met her husband. Romeus wanted a better life for the both of them, so they made their way to the states. Once they made it to the states, it took several years to become established and Francette had to put a hold on her dream. Once the both of them got their feet on the ground, she then expressed her interest in hair again. Francette and Romeus then worked hard to gain the funds necessary to put her through cosmetology school. She obtained both her cosmetology and business license after three years of hard work. The Next Step Not too long after Francette obtained her licenses, Romeus decided to pursue a barber’s license. He thought it would be a great idea to assist his wife in her venture to success. So they decided to make it a partnership. They started off small and turned the garage of their family home into a small beauty salon. Francette stated during the interview to me that she would have rather went into the business as a partnership. She named to me some advantages and disadvantages to having a partnership type of business. One of the advantages that stood out to me was the fact that she said she could sometimes lack the perspective on certain situations, may it be financial or just dealing with customers, her husband being her partner would come and handle whatever it was that she couldn’t at the moment. A disadvantage to her was the fact that because her partner is her husband they are constantly with each other. There is never that space needed between them which caused problems in the past. She also mentioned the financial part, which could also create a wedge between the two of them. The Standards Francette expressed her position on ethical behavior and responsibility to me by her telling me during the interview, that she finds ways to maintaining her employees and their well-being. By doing that she’s sure that her customers’ well-being will be well taken care of. So by taking care of her employees, her employees are taking care of the customers; in return that takes care of her business. Challenges and Rewards Francette has indeed faced challenges over time of having her business. It started with the most common challenge a business could face: finances. When she had her beauty salon in her garage it was because they didn’t have enough money to rent a spot to open up. Her and her husband eventually gained the funds needed to rent a building and start the real deal. Now that she has had several different spots that her business has moved to because of their finances. She now has an establishment that her and her husband has maintained for some years now. This is a major upgrade and accomplishment. There is always rewards that come with any business. Francette’s biggest reward is to see customers leave satisfied with the end result. The customers then become repeat customers, and refer her shop to other people, who in return become repeat customers, that consistently bring in more clientele. Community Benefits Francette and her husband Romeus benefits the community locally, by offering tax services once a year for anyone who would like to get their taxes filed by a professional. Where the benefit that her business really offers to the community doesn’t happen locally. Francette and her husband gave back to their hometown community in Haiti. They constantly do humanitarian missions to help the people in Haiti. She and her husband has aided in opening up a church and small school house in Haiti. I admire her for the way they give back to the Haitian community. New Opportunities Francette and her husband believe that a way for them to gain more opportunities for business are to go out and watch, look and listen to what the needs of the community are and compares it to what they already have to offer in their business and try to correlate it to enhance their business. Keys to Success Now as I stated before Francette has been my mother’s beautician for as long as I have been on this earth. So I figured that she is apparently doing something right. She has been at it for years and has yet to fail. So knowing this it brought me to asking her what was her keys to success. This response to me was quite obvious†¦ she offers her clients quality services. Francette maintains the qualities by making sure her employees are always comfortable in the work environment and being sure they have everything needed to offer quality services to the customers; such as, the proper equipment, and supplies. Possible Regrets As I came to the conclusion of my interview with Francette, I was curious and eager to know if she had any regrets to having her business. Or even things that she would do differently if she had to do it all over again. Francette stated that there was nothing she would do over again. She believes that all the speed bumps that her and her husband went through for their business to work are what made their business what it is today. To her it built the foundation to their success. She also believes that God doesn’t put people through anything that they cannot handle, but he will run you through the dirt in order for you to learn what’s necessary to become great. Which she said was in God’s plan for her. Conclusion To wrap this all up, I believe that the future of Francette’s business is nothing more than further success. I think that this business can possibly become a chain of Nu Look salons and expand the brand. I would indeed invest into this business because to me the services that this business offers will never perish. It’s almost like having a mechanic shop. As long as there are vehicles on the face of this earth, people will always need something in or on their vehicle fixed. The same way humans will always grow hair on their heads, they will always have the needs of hair care. Francette and her family are well known in the Haitian community and the way they give back is admired by many, including me. Her salon will go on for as long as they allow it to. It’s something I believe will be succeeded and always be around.