We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alina Zarzycki. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alina below.

Alina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

It’s hard to define something that is so fluid for many people… but for me, being successful means committing to never giving up…

It’s realizing that things are going to get hard. You’re going to fail. That’s just part of it. And because you’re in the public eye, people are going to watch you fail. But we have to push our ego to the side, accept it, and keep going.

To be successful, means taking major risks. Sometimes we will have major gains, but we may experience major losses too.

Being successful is believing in yourself almost to the point of delusion, because no one else is going to. At least not at first…

In the beginning, I had so many doubts placed on me from people I am close to. And the people I most expected to support me, didn’t.

But on the opposite side, I found endless support from complete strangers. It’s a weird paradox.

Being successful means getting to live life in a way that looks and feels different from most others. We have different experiences, different connections, as well as different hardships.

In my experience, it means that I have autonomy over my life. I get to have dinner with my family every night. I get to go to every single basketball game or school event. And I never miss a holiday.

But at the same time, my work brain never really shuts off… I don’t just clock out and end my day. I have ideas flowing through me all the time. I’m constantly investing in education and learning from others. And I am always looking for ways to improve myself as well as my business so that I can make a bigger impact within my community, and to the world…

Because to me, success is not just about what I can achieve for myself… it’s about what I can do for others too.

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 feel really thankful to have followed my heart into the beauty industry… I always loved hair and makeup since I was a little girl. I can vividly remember saying “I wish I could get paid to give people makeovers.”

I truly believe everyone is beautiful in their own way, and I love to help bring that side out of people.

I started cosmetology school in 2014, and shortly after, landed a job at a well-known Aveda salon in my city. I started off as the front desk associate. Then became an assistant, then an apprentice, and finally I became licensed in 2016.

At the end of 2017, I traveled away to go work in luxury salons in Florida and in Georgia.

By 2021, I moved back to North Carolina to settle down with my family. And 1 year later in 2022 was when I decided I was ready to start something of my own.

August 1, 2022 I opened my salon, Wildstylez Asheville, where we combine beauty and wellness to help our clients feel as beautiful as they look.

What sets up apart, is our luxurious guest experience and commitment to sustainable practices.

We start every service with a shoulder, neck, and scalp massage with an essential oil to help clients relax. And we only use high-quality, non-toxic products that are safe for humans and safe for the environment.

We have committed to sustainability by becoming a Green Circle Salon, which means we have eliminated 95% of our waste through recycling.

We believe in approaching beauty in a holistic way, because when we look good, we feel good. And when we feel good, we add good energy back into the world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

This one is a hard one, but had also become a vital part of my motivation to keep pushing forward…

I named my salon Wildstylez because my Granny always called me her “little wild child.”

Through all my ups and downs, she has always been my biggest supporter in life…

Tragically, exactly 1 week before our opening date, she committed suicide…

In that moment, I truly wanted to say “f*ck it.” And just give up.

But I knew she wouldn’t have wanted that for me…

So instead of giving up, I used my pain to fuel my passion. I feel like I have created my salon in her memory. I see her through the decor I have. And I feel her presence in there all the time…

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without my husband. We got married in June 2022, and we used the money we got as gifts to fund my business. He also worked extra hours at his job to help pay for startup costs of the business.

He is my other biggest supporter in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wildstylezasheville.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildstylezasheville
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildstylezasheville

Image Credits

Veronica Stein of Vibrating Visons