We recently connected with Mai Khanh Nguyen and have shared our conversation below.

Mai, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My parents are my heroes. They moved to the US when I was just a child, and I remember their struggle to seize any opportunity so that we could have a better life than the one we had in Vietnam. Their strength, coupled with resilience, is my greatest inspiration on my journey.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m the founder and the owner of Plaza Hair Salon in Rancho Bernardo, CA. My mom is the one who inspired me to follow this fantastic line of work. I used to observe her create fabulous hairstyles for our neighbors. It always fascinated me how she carefully carried out the hair care process, almost like a ritual, so that when I was old enough to pursue a career,
I realized that hairstyling did not just represent a hobby for me but could become a lifelong profession and career. I’ve been in the esthetic industry for three decades now. Being up to date with the constantly changing beauty trends and hair styling techniques has always been important to me. Therefore, over the years, I completed courses from the renowned Joe Blasco Studio in Hollywood and Dinair Studio in North Hollywood. I obtained my cosmetology license from Marinello School of Beauty in Lakewood, and I’m also a facial esthetician trained by Dermalogica in Irvine, CA.

Ultimately, my passion and skills have led me to hair styling, where I have completed additional hairstyling courses at Redken Academy in New York and supplemented them with online classes.
The most challenging part of my journey as a small business owner was taking a leap of faith and quitting my job to become self-employed. It was a tough decision but one that I am incredibly proud to have made. The first years running my hair salon were filled with stress and insecurities. Learning how to navigate the complexities of running a business on my own was a challenging yet necessary process.
 
The success of my hair salon is a result of doing something with passion, sustained by years of professional training and experience. Success for me is about having a productive mindset coupled with hard work and bold risk-taking.

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

Over the years, I’ve learned that achieving success and maintaining continuity in a highly competitive and ever-changing industry can be challenging to do on your own. Having a reliable and highly trained team of professionals by my side has increased the productivity of my business and transformed my hair salon into my second warm and welcoming home. For that, I am deeply grateful to all the extraordinary ladies I work with.
We established an atmosphere where all team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns. Celebrating not only our achievements but also every milestone that marks our journey fosters a sense of community and belonging. To give you a few examples, our team participates in social events, celebrates birthdays, and the Lunar New Year. We always have a blast decorating the salon for Halloween and dressing up for the occasion.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Highlighting my clients’ features in the most harmonious ways gives me great pleasure, especially when I see that the result of my work is stunning and the client is speechless. For a stylist, seeing clients feel more confident and better about themselves is the utmost reward.
 
Building up trust with our clients is the foundation for long-term relationships and a flourishing hair salon. When clients trust us, they are more likely to recommend us to others. When a client requests a hairstyle change and describes their desired look, we give them our full attention and discuss the details, ensuring we both stay on the same page and avoid misunderstandings.
Flawless customer service is the key to building consistent brand loyalty. To ensure that we utilize high-quality products and attend regular workshops and courses to stay up to date on industry trends, hairstyling techniques, and hair care procedures.
Transparency and open communication are also essential in having a loyal clientele that keeps coming back. We are upfront about our pricing and services. Offering personalized services is another important factor. Therefore, we always tailor the hairstyling services to suit each client’s expectations, preferred treatments, or personal needs.
Also, a stylish, clean, well-organized salon with a warm, welcoming atmosphere is a must in earning our clientele’s loyalty. We also focus on maintaining high work standards by treating all clients respectfully, being punctual with appointments, and keeping private information confidential.
By focusing on each interaction, we can foster strong relationships based on mutual respect with every one of our clients. Ultimately, the smile on their faces as they look into the mirror after a hairstyling session is the best proof of a job well done.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.plazahairsalon.com/blog/?page=1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZJC-MxrRI5/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlazaHairSalon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PlazaHairSalonSanDiego/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/plaza-hair-salon-san-diego

Image Credits

Mai Khanh