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

Alright, Louanne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

I have been in Business for myself since 2002. When I tell most people that, they are shocked and say “But you look so young!”. I started my business at the age of 17 years old and it’s amazing to see how it’s blossomed. When I was 17, I had the dream of being “One of the Great” hairdressers. It was a vague dream but a dream you’d expect from a teenager. I wanted to be the next Vidal Sassoon or Anthony Mascolo. As a young one, I had no idea what it would take to obtain such success but I knew that I am a determined human being and hard work is engrained in me. Prior to my career, I was actually a nationally-ranked gymnast. I guess you could say I had been training my whole life to gain skills such as goal setting, determination, team work, perseverance, and so on. I got right to work finding myself a mentor who worked for TIGI (Anthony Mascolo’s company). I would show up to every show with my mentor, grab a broom, and go right to work sweeping hair. I’ve always been okay with starting at the bottom and working my way up. In my opinion, there’s so much to be learned when you do that and you gain such respect for those who came before you. At the age of 19, I landed my first job with TIGI. That lead to 17 years of working with an iconic company that gave me opportunities that my 17-year-old self could never have dreamed. In 2021, I took on a new position with the Australian haircare brand EVO. I joined their international team and helped launch their hair color line here in North America. Simultaneously, I was also building up my business behind the chair for all those years. I went from booth renting in a salon, to suite ownership, to salon ownership. Doing hair came very naturally to me but learning how to run a business did not. I did what I believe a lot of hairdressers do — I took tons of hair classes, got very good at doing hair, showed up on time, and got my rent paid…….BUT, I was constantly treading through rough waters when it came to saving for taxes, insurances, giving myself a raise, and making a “salary”-based income. I made a lot of mistakes as I believe a lot of business owners do, however, I learned very quickly that it was important for me to find people who were experts in their fields. I hired them or would have them teach me what they knew. Finding a trusted accountant, tax preparer, financial planner, marketer, virtual assistant, business lawyer, and so on has been key to my continued business success and growth. Because of them, I have been able to build the life I want. I own a salon, I own a home, and I’m able to live a life that’s meaningful and successful to me. My advice to newer entrepreneurs would be: It’s ok to ask for help. You don’t need to run every aspect of your business although you do want to be knowledgeable in them. The sooner you find your trusted people and get back to doing what you love to do, the quicker you’ll make more money to pay your team of people and yourself. It’s truly a win/win.

Louanne, 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?

When I started out in this industry, I had a love for haircutting. As haircutters, we work on a sphere, hold the hair at certain angles, cut at an angle, and create a shape. It was something I loved and where I began my teaching career. Little did I know though that I also had an eye for color. I would find myself applying makeup to my haircut models before we’d go on stage and a person by the name of Kevin Givens (who eventually became my boss) came up to me and asked why I wasn’t doing makeup professionally. Although I gave him 1,001 reasons as to why I wasn’t a professional makeup artist, he saw a talent in me that I didn’t see in myself. I spent 10 years doing makeup around the world because of him. Eventually, my love of color theory brought me to teaching hair color. For the longest time I was always apprehensive around teaching hair color because there are so many variables in a hair color service. However, as I mentioned previously, I love to learn and I love a challenge. I hit the ground running and dove right into learning every aspect of hair color. It was in 2019 that I decided to head back to my local community college to take chemistry. I don’t think there’s many people who show up in a college chemistry class for fun but my professor welcomed my passion for learning and boy did I learn a lot. In 2022, I recognized that I can be a super knowledgable haircutter and colorist but if someone doesn’t have a healthy scalp or hair, I’m limited as to what I can do for them. It was at that time that I decided to head back to school to become a Trichcologist. Trichcology is the study of hair loss and scalp diseases and a trichologist is a homeopathic clinician who helps those struggling in these areas. In 2023, I obtained my trichology hair practitioners certificate through the International Association of Trichology and I now help clients work on their hair health from the inside out. I had a great friend once tell me that “I was addicted to learning.” I chuckled, but I think he was right. I love to learn and that is a core character trait of who I am. When you sit in my chair, I have the tools and knowledge to help you in so many aspects regarding your hair. It’s not uncommon to leave my chair with vitamins, scalp serums, custom, color-protection products, and a lesson in clean beauty ingredients. I’ve always said “I know what I know, until I know more” and that’s a promise I give to myself and my clients. I will continue to learn so I can be the best hairstylist, salon owner, and clinician for you.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What has helped me build my reputation is hard work and honesty. I recognize that my educational portfolio as a hairdresser is most likely equivalent to a PHD in other fields at this point in my career and for as much as I love to learn personally, I also believe in the power of sharing. It’s not uncommon to sit in my chair as a client and become part of the whole appointment process. Wether that’s listening to how I adjust your color formula and show you custom swatches I make in front of you, to looking at scalp and hair follicle images I take from my dermascope, you will learn and understand about why we are making the choices we are making to achieve your personal hair goals. If you are a student who attends one of my classes, you will learn your “why” with me. I believe in teaching why we have the ingredients we have available to us and what they do for us. I believe in empowering you to learn more so that you can make educated decisions behind the products you use and why you’ve chosen to use them. Being honest and not getting wrapped up in marketing stories or product gimmicks is something I found that both my clients and students appreciate.

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

That saying “Theres many roads that lead to Rome” I find to be very relevant when building and growing your business. We all have our special ways to grow and continue to obtain our client bases. I personally believe and have seen for myself that growing and maintaining a clientele goes above and beyond our educational knowledge. It’s how you make people feel. My mission statement has remained the same since the day I opened my business and that’s “Not only make people look good but feel good, too.” We can have all the knowledge in the world as stylist but we need to know how to make people feel good. I believe in the power of accepting and loving people, ALL people. When you come into our hair space, you can rest assured that you are accepted for who you are. Wether you are looking for a classic cut and color, a androgynous shape, vivid colors, or a safe space to talk through your trauma that has lead you to significant hair loss, you will be met with love and acceptance. Never underestimate the power of not only making someone feel better but also feel their most authentic self.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LouanneFerro.com
• Instagram: @Joy.AHairSpace