We were lucky to catch up with Angela Volpe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Angela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

From the birth of our business it was myself and my business partner Becca Bachman. We started Three Strands in a sola suite just her and I for 8 months. Before we even opened our storefront in October of 2022, we had a third stylist already committed to our team. She was a friend already and eager to take a risk on us. She was the start of the foundation of a very strong team. For us, we were extremely prayerful and relying on God this to help us build our team. To be candid, this part of opening our business was the scariest part for us. Through our years in this industry, we’ve learned that creating a healthy environment for your team is crucial and picking the right people was even more crucial. Little did we know, God was already sending people our way. Next we hired Becca’s sister straight from beauty school as an assistant and another hairstylist from our church jumped on board as well. Months later, we were ready to expand again, we acquired two more incredibly talented stylists in a 5 month time frame. By July 2023 we had 6 working stylists and one assistant. We added another assistant as our current one was transitioning to stylist in December of 2023.

For interviews, we had an outline of points we like to touch on and really just feel out the person to see if it is someone who we can spend time with. In a small business setting, we spend so much time together we become a family, so we try to envision that from the get go. We always explain our vision for the business to see if it aligns with the interviewee.

We have a training program for up and coming stylist who are just beginning their career. It’s roughly anywhere from 1 to 1.5 years based on their starting point. This process allows them to learn up and coming techniques, customer service and the ins and out of being a successful stylist.

We now have 7 stylists behind the chairs and one apprentice about half way through her training program. We have something incredibly special. We are all likeminded women who have become so close. We are a family and when you walk into the salon, you certainly can feel that.

Angela , 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 have been in the industry for almost 20 years. I went to a Vo-tech school during high school and by the time I graduated high school, I was a licensed hair stylist at 18 years old. I went on to California university for an associate’s degree in Business all while doing hair as well.

Over the course of my career, I started at a small salon where I learned a great foundation of the industry, then moved to a bigger high end salon where I stayed for 10 years. Over those years I got married and started our family and began to crave more of my hearts desire in my career. My personal life was flourishing, but it was time to take the next step in my career. It was something I know God was calling me to do, and that was start my own business.

My coworker at the time, Becca, was also feeling the exact same way. We unknowingly were creating the exact same business model and as we met for brunch one random weekend it all unfolded. We thought, “let’s just do this together”. So we did. We put our two creative minds together and added the center focus, the Lord.

Our brand is founded on a Christian foundation. Between the two of us we have created a luxury space that is warm and welcoming. Neutral tones for a clean feel and an open space for great lighting. You will find little pieces that glorify God in scripture cards placed throughout the salon.

We designed our service menu to be customized for each client. From customized foiling to Invisible bead extensions we strive to give the most luxurious experience. We have 4 certified extension specialist , which I would say is about 50% of our business.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

So, I am 9 years older than Becca. At the time, I was a stylist at my old salon and Becca was hired as an assistant right after high school. So oddly enough, she was our assistant. Haha. It was very apparent though, that she was going to move quickly through training. She had a God given talent that’s for sure.

Over a few short years she had worked her way up to a full time stylist like me and we worked along side each other for about 8 years. Over those 8 years her hunger for excellence was obvious and she has taught me more than I could express.

We are a really great balance. She is a very creative and visual mind. She thinks of things I never would and has an eye for aesthetics. She also handles our social media as well. I am very visually creative as well, but I also handle a lot of the administrative things. We make every decision together and they are never difficult because of how well we balance each other out. She knows what I’m thinking before I say it and vice versa.

The reason why this works so well is because we have a common denominator. The Holy Spirit.

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

The most effective way to grow your clientele in our industry in this current day and age, is social media. This was a struggle for me, as I technically started as an old school stylist almost 20 years ago. There was no social media. Over the years I’ve had to build an online presence and it’s still a work in progress lol. Creating a clean, aesthetically pleasing page is crucial. Posting things to actually bring in the clientele and followers you want. I post services that I want to have booked with me. Also just being authentically yourself through your Instagram so people fall in love with not only your work, but you as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Threestrandssalon.com
• Instagram: @Threestrands.salon
• Facebook: Three Strands Salon

Image Credits

Dacosta Creates
Jolie Studios