We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mendy Hoffman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mendy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Passion for what you do is a big key to success! I believe it takes heart and tenacity to be successful. Knowing when to say yes and when to say no is huge to avoid burnout. Giving yourself grace is really important on the challenging days.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I grew up on a small farm in Idaho, worked as a correctional officer in a men’s prison and had a background in Dermatology since 2005. I knew I wanted to reach others in our community and have a passion for helping teens and women struggling to love themselves.
I had two memberships to two different blow dry bars due to my hair always being in a sugical cap and being too tired to do my own hair. It was my splurge and a way to relax and get me time. When I was asked what business I would start if I did my own ventrure, I said ” that’s easy, a local blow dry bar”. This discussion was in September 2018 and Velocity’s doors were open for business January 2019 with the focus of community. We provide services for blowouts, makeup, braids, trims and event styling. We want our clients to feel important and cared for. Velocity stylebar is local and has one unique location with exclusive memberships.
We now partner with Phoenix Fashion Week, have been featured in Life in Paradise Valley magazine, Paradise Valley Lifestyle magazine, AZTV, Sonoran Living and more. I personally volunteer with Streetlights USA, an organization for girls who have been sex trafficked or at risk. We sponsor Faith Phares, Miss Arizona. I serve on the Auxiliary Board for Fresh Start Women’s Foundation.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Velocity stylebar’s social media was grown organically. I didn’t have Instagram when I opened so I had no idea how it worked or what to post. Authenticity was important to me to reach our ideal client. Since we are locally owned and operated, I knew I was the face of my business. That was a huge barrier at first as I was scared of the camera. My advice would be…..tell a story, be goofy if you are goofy, let your self be creative and ask others for feedback.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to unlearn is/was getting out of my own way. If I am scared, do it anyway. The backstory in a nutshell is staying stuck or paralyzed by fear to the point of quitting wasn’t working. I have learned to keep going and do it anyway even if I am fearful. This has created personal growth and confidence withing myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: Velocitystylebar.com
- Instagram: @Velocitystylebar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Velocitystylebar/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mendy-hoffman-a952b77
- Twitter: @Vstylebar
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY5RHh1BKlS7rfETMqvrLwA/featured
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/velocity-stylebar-phoenix