We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alana Polanco . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alana below.
Alana , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I have loved the salon since my Aunt Hattie Mae used to press my hair and I had to sit on a booster to be tall enough for her to reach me. The salon has always been a happy place for me. It is a place where I feel at peace and the rest of the world fades away. In those moments, the two most important things to me are patience and precision. I know that both the stylist and I are making an investment and the mirror payoff is what makes every minute worth it for me. My dream has been to be a part of creating this happy place for others. In fact, at Concourse Dream salon we think that this is a true part of well-being that people should take the time to prioritize and experience. Our salon is a place of peace and tranquility. I’d almost say a midtown Atlanta well-being oasis. Each person that enters our salon has an idea of how they want to see themselves, we take that image and use that to create their experience. We do see each appointment as a unique opportunity to send a client into the world feeling and looking their best. We believe beauty is a universal language and we offer services for both women and men. One of my most important goals is to create cultivate and maintain a salon where top talent stylists are able to thrive in a positive uplifting environment with support and encouragement.
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?
To start, I am an Atlanta Native… Interestingly enough, I am a pharmacist by education.
What sets us apart from others is our diverse refined exclusive expertise of our stylists. We are able to service clients from different ethnicities with a myriad of hair textures. Our focus is on total health and with that hair and skin services are crucial cornerstones. As a pharmacist, when we have clients that may have disease/conditions/medications that require special considerations I am happy to provide my expertise.
We are most proud of our holistic approach to wellbeing and salon teamwork at Concourse Dream Salon. The salon experience of our team is beyond 50 years …
Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?
Yes, I purchased the salon from an owner the was retiring and moving. I bought the business because for years hair and beauty have been a love of mine. For years I would research and research about what it took to open and manage but I allowed fear to deter me. After COVID, I finally had enough courage to tell FEAR, “ NO! This is my dream” I starting looking up salons and found this salon in an area that I’ve loved for years and I went to see it and fell in love with the salon and I really had a great felling about the owner..:I remember her telling me that I was the person for the salon.
In order to get the deal, I had to have a business plan and show a proof of funds for the sale. I spent time developing and researching to ensure with my business plan was actually viable and able to be executed. I also created a project plan to start the steps to begin to ensure that I had the business set up inclusive of bank, account, credit, DUNS number, EID number, website, LLC, etc.
After a few months, the deal was ready to close with attorneys. Then I needed to file for city license and salon license. After that, the previous business actions fell into place.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
I met my cofounder, my husband, online actually lol…. He has been my biggest supporter. On days when I may feel I am not enough, he reminds me I am the MORE than ENOUGH! He encouraged me to step out on FAITH and live my Dream. Funny thing is, Faith was actually my online name…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://concoursedream.com/
- Instagram: Dreamsp0209