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

Bayyinah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

As a hairstylist for more than 3 decades now, I’ve seen a very common and consistent pattern and theme in the beauty industry with regard to how we are treating our guests. That common theme is a poor salon experience for our guests.

For many, the salon experience is known for being an underwhelming experience to say the least. Clients complain about lateness from their Stylist, being kept in the salon for far too long, little to no communication and not feeling like the Stylist is hearing them.

My goal is to treat each guest, including existing guests, as if it was their first time every time.

I want my clients to feel welcomed, wanted and cared for.

My superpower as a hairstylist, is an amazing salon experience for my guest.

Bayyinah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Bayyinah S. Marbury- lover of good people.

I’ve been a hairstylist for more than 3 decades. I started shortly after high school graduation at 18 years old. I’m actually a second generation hairstylist. My paternal grandmother, Grandma Marie, was a Hairstylist for more than 40 years. I like to say that my gift was God-given and grandma nurtured.

I’ve never not known that I would be a Hairstylist. I’ve ALWAYS known for as long as I can remember. I remember getting in trouble as a little girl for using an entire jar of my mother’s Noxema cold (face)cream on my doll as a relaxer. Mom wasn’t too happy with me:)

My first “client “was my sister. I was 9 years old and she was 8. I had to pay her .50 to let me braid her hair while she slept.

I’m thankful that I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My father owned a very popular meat market in the 60s and 70s and he’s still self employed at 80 years young. He’s always been his own boss. My grandparents on both sides owned restaurants, a gas station and other businesses so, It’s in my DNA… but aside from that, my decision to own my own salon came from the realization that I needed to be in control of the tone that was set in the salon and the experience that I was able curate and offer to my clients, that could only happen when I owned the salon.

I needed my salon to be a place of peace and refuge. A safe place for my guests to rest their spirit.

That was something that I couldn’t offer from someone else’s business, because I knew that the owner dictated the energy and the mood of their space.

Being a hairstylist is my first true love. It has allowed me to meet some incredible women and touch lives and hearts in a way that not only fills the clients love tank but fills mine as well.

As a hair artist, I specialize in healthy relaxed hair, short pixie cuts, custom pops of color on short hair and an amazing guest experience..

Wearing a short haircut is powerful! Short hair gives you a confidence that you can take to the board room or the beach!

Coco Chanel said it best, “A woman who cuts her hair is getting ready to change her life.”

Our salon is branded as one that specializes in short hair and the guest experience. While most salons focus on mainly hair or beauty
services, we focus on the whole woman.

We cater to busy moms and professional women who are looking for a little “me time” and a reprieve from the day to day hustle and bustle.

We are a timely Salon that only keeps you in the salon for as long as it takes to provide you with your desired services.

We are a judgement free salon where you are free to share, cry or just be. We want you to feel welcomed, wanted and cared for, when we’re together so that you can leave feeling refreshed and ready to finish running the race that God has set before you.

We also serve a yummy, customized BChic Signature hot Tea that my girls have lovingly nicknamed, “A hug in a mug” and delicious snacks to be enjoyed while they sit under the dryer or as their hair processes.

Because I know all too well what it feels like to try and serve from an empty cup, my heart was to create an intimate space where women would feel loved up on, encouraged, uplifted, renewed and leave with beautiful hair.

I’m really proud of the woman that I am becoming. I’m in a constant state of reinvention, where my goal is to always be the best version of myself.

In 2003, I had been a hairstylist for 15 years and married to my sweetheart Jeffrey for 8 years when God answered my very specific prayer of finding our first dream home with a (legal) hair salon attached to it!
I wanted so badly to be a mom and to spend as much time with my babies as I could and I understood the demand that a hairstylist’s career could have on our family.

I was blessed to have our home and salon for 12 years. When our youngest daughter was about two years old, my honey was laid off from work for more than a year and our sweet girl was diagnosed with a developmental delay. I fell apart. An extreme sadness came over me as I wondered what my baby’s future would be.

In 2016, after 25 years in the industry, we lost our home and our salon at the same time. I went to work in a commission salon where I walked in with my tail between my legs. The shame and embarrassment was almost unbearable. I was devastated but determined to rebuild and reinvent myself. I just needed to get out of my comfort zone and to the other side. On the other side of our comfort zone is where the blessings are waiting for us.

It was during this season that I realized my love for short hair and color and decided to niche down. I immersed myself into education and hired a business coach. It was in this new salon that I realized that my love of welcoming and caring for my clients was actually called something. It was called The Guest Experience and I have mastered it.

While my target market, client is a woman who wants short, relaxed, healthy hair, she’s also a busy, tired, overworked, professional, and/or mom who might just need a hug before her shampoo.

I’m proud of my resilience and ability to get back up after failure. I want people to know that failure doesn’t have to be as devastating as it was to me. I now understand the failure is just redirection. It’s God‘s way of saying, “I don’t want you to go this way, I want you to go that way.”

Because of my life experiences, when I encounter a woman in the salon, who is struggling with believing again, or getting back up after being knocked down, I can share a bit of my story with her and encourage her letting her know that it’s not too late to begin again.

I’m very grateful for every lesson learned throughout my 33+ year journey in the beauty industry. I look forward to continuing to encourage, uplift and inspire women all while giving them beautiful and healthy hair.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Being a hairstylist in the 1990s was very different than the hairstylist that I need to be today. 33 years ago we didn’t have social media, Google/Yelp or online scheduling services and apps. I was quite resistant to change and scared of the new.

Because I took too long to pivot and adapt the the change that was happening around me, I felt lost and left behind as the digital world began to evolve, and I had to make a decision to sink or swim.

I decided to swim.

A few years into owning our first salon, my husband was laid off of work for more than a year, and our youngest daughter was challenged with a developmental delay. Things got really hard and overwhelming.

I struggled with being able to give my clients, the best of who I am, and I found myself serving from an empty cup.

At that time, I did very little to build my clientele. I was focused on helping my baby and that’s a decision I will never regret.

My personal
Life was struggling and that bled into my business, and it began to suffer. After 12 years of owning our salon and 25 years in the industry, we lost our salon.

I went to work in another salon for 6 years to reset and regroup. That’s when I hired a business coach and turned my business around.

I invested in all things that I needed to better myself and my business. I reinvented myself and my business. It took lots of hard and intentional work but I did it and I’m really proud of myself.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

For me, it’s all about connection. My clients and I feel deeply connected to each other because we share similarities like the fact that we’re busy moms and professional women who want to grow and thrive.. I send out monthly newsletters,encouraging my clients and providing them with important information, and reminding them of any changes in my schedule. I also text them individually when I know they are interviewing for a new job to send them a bit of encouragement. If someone isn’t well, or is having a surgery, I’ll send them a prayer via text or call them, My clients have structured access to me. They are respectful of my business hours and I am very intentional with the boundaries that I set that allow me to be available to them during designated office hours , but not at the expense family time or rest.

Contact Info:

• Website: Bchicsalon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bchicwithbayyinah2?igsh=MXZtMnZveHViYzJpaQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/BChicwithBayyinah?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bayyinahmarbury8682?si=j-_WwAnEUxdDKSfo
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/9O7AOV1iA9
• Other: Google Bchic with Bayyinah https://g.page/r/CWhO6pMToojzEBE/review/