We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marissa Burkhead a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

When people see Society today, they see a thriving salon with a large team, a beautiful flagship location, and a strong culture. What they don’t see are the years spent building the foundation that made that growth possible.

When we opened Society in 2019, we started with a team of about ten people. Like many entrepreneurs, I initially believed scaling meant working harder, taking more clients, and being involved in every decision. Eventually I learned that approach doesn’t scale… it creates a bottleneck.

One of the biggest turning points was realizing that growth isn’t about building a business people depend on you to run. It’s about building a business that can operate successfully without you being involved in every detail.

We became intentional about creating systems, tracking key performance indicators, documenting processes, and investing heavily in education. We developed leadership roles within the company and empowered team members to take ownership of specific areas of the business. That shift allowed us to stop managing every problem ourselves and start building a leadership team capable of helping carry the vision.

The process wasn’t always glamorous. There were difficult conversations, hiring mistakes, turnover, operational challenges, and plenty of moments where growth felt uncomfortable. Scaling required us to raise our standards, improve accountability, and make decisions based on long-term health rather than short-term convenience.

The greatest test came during our recent expansion into a nearly 4,000-square-foot flagship location in Huntsville’s Village of Providence. What many people saw was the grand opening. What they didn’t see were the months of construction delays, operating from temporary locations, managing financial uncertainty, and continuing to lead a growing team through constant change. It was one of the most stressful periods of my career, but it reinforced an important lesson: growth requires resilience long before it produces visible results.

Looking back, the biggest factor in our ability to scale wasn’t marketing, financing, or even talent. It was people. We invested in building leaders, creating opportunities for growth, and developing a culture where individuals could succeed together. The systems mattered, but the people made the systems work.

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned about scaling a business, it’s that sustainable growth comes from building something bigger than yourself. The moment I stopped trying to be the person who did everything and started focusing on developing people, the business began to grow in ways I never could have accomplished alone.

Marissa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Marissa Burkhead, co-owner of Society Salon, a luxury salon and spa located in Huntsville, Alabama. I’ve been a licensed hairstylist since 2010, but over the years my passion evolved far beyond the technical side of the beauty industry. While I still love helping clients look and feel their best, I discovered that I was equally passionate about leadership, education, and building opportunities for others.

In 2019, my business partner Jamie and I founded Society with the vision of creating more than just a salon. We wanted to build a company where guests felt genuinely cared for and where beauty professionals could build meaningful, long-term careers. What started with a small team has grown into a thriving organization focused on exceptional service, education, leadership development, and community involvement.

Today, Society offers a wide range of beauty services including hair, extensions, esthetics, lashes, and hair loss solutions. While we’re known for our technical expertise and luxury guest experience, what truly sets us apart is our commitment to people. We invest heavily in continuing education, mentorship, and leadership development because we believe great businesses are built by helping people grow.

One of the biggest problems we solve for our clients is confidence. Whether someone is coming to us for a simple refresh, a complete transformation, or support through hair loss challenges, our goal is to help them feel seen, understood, and empowered. Beauty services may be what bring people through our doors, but confidence and connection are what keep them coming back.

What I’m most proud of isn’t the size of the business or the beautiful space we’ve created – it’s the culture. We’ve built a team that genuinely cares about one another, our guests, and our community. Watching people develop confidence in themselves, advance their careers, and achieve goals they once thought were out of reach has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.

If there’s one thing I’d want people to know about me and Society, it’s that we’re committed to growth. Growth as professionals, growth as leaders, growth as individuals, and growth as a community. Everything we do is rooted in the belief that when people are given the right support, encouragement, and opportunities, they’re capable of far more than they realize.

How’d you meet your business partner?

One of my favorite things about our story is that Jamie and I actually started out as each other’s clients.

For years, I did her hair and she did my lashes. Through countless appointments, we talked about life, our careers, and our shared dream of owning a salon one day. At the time, we were both building successful careers independently, but we often found ourselves having the same conversations about what we wished the salon experience could be… for both guests and beauty professionals.

As those conversations continued, we realized something important: we were both working toward a very similar vision. So, what if we did it together?

The more we talked about it, the more it made sense. We knew we could accomplish more as partners than either of us could alone. We brought different strengths, different perspectives, and different experiences to the table, but we shared the same values and long-term goals.

What began as conversations during hair and lash appointments eventually became a business plan, and in 2019 we opened Society together.

Looking back, I think one of the reasons our partnership has worked so well is that it was built on friendship, trust, and years of knowing each other before we ever signed paperwork. We had already spent countless hours talking about our goals, our work ethic, and the type of business we wanted to create.

Today, we’re incredibly proud of what Society has become, but it’s still funny to think that it all started with a hairstylist and her lash artist dreaming about the future during appointments.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

People often assume the biggest risks in business happen when you first open your doors. For us, the biggest risk came years later.

When we decided to build our current flagship location, we knew it would stretch us. What we didn’t anticipate was just how many moving pieces would begin falling apart at the same time. Construction delays pushed timelines back. Contractor relationships deteriorated. Original plans had to be rewritten. Costs continued to rise while revenue opportunities were being delayed.

At one point, we found ourselves in a position where we were funding our future location while also paying for temporary spaces to keep the business operating. Between multiple rents, construction expenses, and the everyday costs of running a growing company, the numbers became difficult to ignore.

There were so many moments when the easiest decision would have been to stop. Instead, we kept finding a way forward. We borrowed from family. We put personal resources into the project. We renegotiated, recalculated, and reworked plans more times than I can count. Every time a door closed, another problem had to be solved before we could even think about the next one.

What stands out most when I look back isn’t the financial strain – it’s how isolating those decisions can feel. As a business owner, there are moments when you carry information and worries that your team never sees. You still show up. You still lead meetings. You still encourage others. Meanwhile, you’re quietly trying to figure out how to bridge another gap or overcome another obstacle.

The experience changed the way I view success. Today, when I walk through our space, I don’t just see beautiful finishes or a thriving business. I see every difficult conversation, every setback, every sleepless night, and every person who believed in us enough to help us get across the finish line.

That chapter taught me that entrepreneurship isn’t really about avoiding risk. It’s about deciding which risks are worth taking and having the perseverance to keep moving when the outcome is still uncertain.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.societysalonal.com
• Instagram: @marissa_burkhead @societysalonal
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/societysalonal

Image Credits

Azlyn Photo + Media
Light Rain Production