We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nikolette Rivers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nikolette below.

Alright, Nikolette thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I have been in the salon industry in some form since I was 14 years old. I knew in middle school I wanted to become a licensed cosmetologist. I got a job at a salon near my house as a shampoo girl. I really loved working there. At the time however, I thought the owner was “mean” haha, but looking back after all these years I can truly appreciate how she ran her salon. I have worked in commission salons, hourly salons, and I have owned my own business. When I thought about how I wanted the vibe of my salon to be, I encompassed all of those. I knew I definitely wanted to do booth rent so that I could give other fellow stylists an opportunity to run their own businesses without the cost it takes to get started. I also didnt want to deter other srylists who were not ready to completely run their own business from coming to join my team. That being said, all of my commission stylists have complete control of their work/life balance. I allow them to work as much or as little as they want, take off when they want/need to, go on vacations, have a sick day etc. Whatever they need for themselves and their families. If they are sick, they contact their clients regarding that. If they are going on vacation, again it is on them to reschedule their guests. Everyone has 24 hour access to our salon space and I want everyone to feel like the salon is their home. For my booth rental girlies, I wanted them to be able to run their own businesses without feeling isolated in a suite rental setting. Now dont get me wrong, I ran a suite twice, each for 4 years, so I am in no way negatively referring to suite rentals. I think there is room in our industry for both. That is where the idea of independent but not alone came from.

Nikolette, 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 decided in middle school that I wanted to attend my local technical center to become a licensed cosmetologist. I knew I would need to work while attending college and thought working as a hairstylist would provide a better work/school balance than working a retail or waitress job. I attended the technical center my junior and senior year of high school and received my cosmetology license when I graduated in 2000. I went on to attend VCU and ODU from which I graduated in 2005 with a bachelors degree in chemistry. I went to work for a pharmaceutical company as a lab chemist, while continuing to work as a hair stylist on Saturdays. After about a year in the lab, I decided I missed doing hair. The lab was very isolating and boring. I quit and embarked on my stylist life full time. In 2009, I opened my first independent studio. I had that for 4 years, during which time I got married and had 2 children 2 years apart. When my daughter was about to turn 1, I decided running a business and raising two small children was too much so I decided to go work as an hourly employee at a salon. I always knew I would go back to owning a business when the time was right. In 2017, the time had come. I was going through a separation but felt everything was lining up for me to open another studio. In January of 2019, that vision became a reality with the birth of Eastern Rose Hair Studio. I derived the name from my kids names of Easton and Emmie Rose. Right before the pandemic, another beauty professional friend of mine and I decided we wanted to open a salon. Unfortunately the world shut down and that dream had to be put on hold. Once things were somewhat normal again, I wanted to re visit the idea. She however decided she didn’t want to have to manage other people so I proceeded on my own. Being that over the course of 20 years in the industry, I had experienced working for all types of people, salons, and running my own business. I wanted to create a space where others could have complete control over their work life balance. I did that by offering booth rental as well as commission to the stylists that wanted to come work in my new salon. In April, we celebrated our one year anniversary and I couldn’t be happier.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Being that I have been in the industry for 24 years, guests have definitely come and go. The thing I have learned over the years is to not get complacent. Treat every visit with your guest like its their first. Don’t assume you already know what they want to do. Also, my personality is my best trait haha. My clients love that I keep it real and honest with them. At this point in my career, I grow my clientele strictly off of referrals, which is the biggest form of flattery to me.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

As I stated before, I have been in this business for 24 years and worked in a lot of different salons and work environments. The biggest thing for me when working for someone else, was always feeling unappreciated. I feel sometimes as a business owner it is easy to forget who is actually your bread and butter. Whether the salon owner is an actual stylist themselves or not, the business would not be able run at the capacity it does if it werent for the hard work of all the employees. I believe regardless of the type of compensation system is in place, it is important to make your employees feel like their opinion matters. I strive to bring my girls in on a lot of the decisions when it comes to the salon. I value their feedback on what products we carry, what offerings we have for the clients, certain policies that may need to be implemented. At the end of the day, it is them that show up to work everyday. It is them that the clients come to see. They are the face of the salon and their imput is just as important and valuable as mine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.easternrosehairstudio.com
• Instagram: @easternrosehairstudio

Image Credits

Ty Jackson with Laacesoutmedia