Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Megan Huntey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

When I sat down and really thought about starting a business, I think the best thing I could have done was ask for help. I researched how other successful owners in the business started, how they laid out a business plan, and I asked for help with the financial aspects that weren’t my strong suit. Asking for help and acknowledging that we can’t do everything perfectly is the best thing someone can do for their business.

After a lot of research and brain storming, I started to lay out exactly what I wanted my business to look like and why. I wanted to put an emphasis on my employees and their lives, because I knew that the beauty industry doesn’t always treat the stylists and employees as great as it should. I wanted to make a change in how we charged, how we treated clients, and how they treated us in return. I also knew that I wanted my salon to be a positive space for everyone, and that the products and services that we offered in the salon reflected that.

After deciding on our core values, I used my Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design to create a space that reflected everything I wanted to represent. The building we started with was rough and empty, but we used the next 4-6 months to renovate it and created a beautiful space.

We had to jump through some hurdles along the way like set backs with licensing, set backs with product orders and furniture orders, and even worked with another salon in the area to keep our stylists working until we were open.

The beginning phase was frustrating and felt so slow, but I’m so thankful that we stayed patient and made everything perfect before opening.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Megan Huntey, I own a small salon space in Big Rapids, Michigan. I started going to cosmetology school my senior year in high school and started working as a stylist during my first year of college in 2018. I worked throughout classes at Central Michigan University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design in 2021.

I opened my salon, Bello Skin & Beauty, in 2022 and have been open for a little over a year now. I specialize in blonding and bridal services, but my salon offers all hair services, facial services, waxing, and lash and brow services.

I think we are unique to the area because we focus on some things that are less talked about it in our community. For example, we made it a priority that all of our stylists take education courses in textured hair. We also offer quite a few different styles and services for textured hair that aren’t offered anywhere else in the area. We focus on reducing our carbon footprint as well as creating healthy work-life balance for our employees.

Our salon is a safe space that all of our community members can enjoy and we love to support our clients, friends, and their families as much as we can.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I think listening would be my best advice to anyone dealing with employees. I schedule group meetings and individual meetings with my employees and always try to give them a healthy space to talk to me and communicate with me about their needs or feelings at the time. I find that most times, people don’t always come to you with concerns and continually giving them the floor to be able to change things for the better really improves our communication.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I really have leaned into podcasts in our industry. I find that with podcasts, educators are really just having every day conversations that answer a lot of my concerns or questions about my business or how I am feeling. It’s also so much more honest in my opinion, they usually aren’t selling something or trying to advertise for something so it just feels like an open, honest conversation. For example, I always listen to The Thriving Stylist Podcast and it’s free advice everyday that keeps me focused and gives me topics to look into to improve my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bellosalonco.wixsite.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bellosalon.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083278955927&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
All photos done by Alex Lang Photography and Moments By Meg Photography