Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dominique Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dominique, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I started my first business when I was 15 years old, I had a online website where I shared hair tutorials. I used to play in my sisters and my cousins hair. I would upload YouTube videos and pictures onto my website. I did that for several years and even generated enough revenue that I sold my website and bought my first car at 19.

After I graduated from high school, I worked in a blow job bar, which paid me hourly and I was able to do simple services while building my client on the side.

One thing I really wish people would stop telling entrepreneurs is that it takes “a year” to get your business up and running. As someone who has been licensed to stand behind the chair for over ten years now, I really truly feel like it takes closer to 3 to 5 years to get a good business running.

By year three, I kinda knew what I was doing. By year five, I actually knew what I was doing. And finally, at year 10, I don’t really need to look at my schedule anymore. I can finally just head to work and somehow get everyone out on time and really execute what I need to get done. Of course, I wouldn’t be this lackadaisical about running a business, I check and double check my schedule, do weekly inventory checks and confirm everything is ordered, but once they walk in the door, I know I can handle it.

I wish people would stop with all the encouragement upfront, because when you really need the encouragement is in the latter part. It’s hard. I was a young mom with kids little kids trying to get my business up off the ground and it took a lot of hard work. I remember going into the salon at 6 AM and not leaving till 10PM. A concerned manager asked me if I was living at the salon at one point because of the hours I was doing. I had a bust my butt for years to get where I am today. Honestly, I’m so happy I didn’t know how hard it would be, I think I would’ve chickened out.

I am beyond grateful for my six-year-old girls, my four-year-old son, and my amazing, very supportive husband. We’ve worked hard to build the life that we have now and I’m so proud of where my business is today. My dad has been my number one cheerleader since day one. Thank you, dad, I definitely couldn’t have done it without you.

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 am a 29-year-old mom of three kids. My girls are six and my son is four. My husband and I purchased a home last year out in the country and we are loving living in the rural part of Nashville. I have lived in Nashville since I was three years old!

Heiress Hair Care LLC has been a true labor of love. I specialize in knotless braids and micro locking. Locking hair is my first passion, I have done many establishments and corrections over the years. I’m currently working on copywriting my own style of locking hair.

I am most proud of my product line, Heiress Hair Care Products, which I launched last year. They’re my favorite to use in the salon as I have discovered which ingredients are best formulated to take care of our hair.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My dad is a big reason why I do hair today. I always enjoyed doing hair, but I watched my four older sisters all go onto traditional academic schools and just kind of figured that was expected of me. It wasn’t until my dad encouraged me that since I loved doing hair, it might be in my best interest to really pursue it.

My biggest milestone is probably my client retention. I have clients with me now who started with me 10 years ago. Reviews are nice and testimonials are wonderful, but when you have people that stick through you through different salon moves, price increases, maternity leaves…

That to me is the ultimate thank you. My client retention has stayed between 95% and 96% for the last few years and I am humbled by that.

My auntie told me when I was younger that the longer she stayed with her hairdresser, the worst she was treated. A lot of times in the service industry, we get comfortable and we let the professionalism slip. I made a vow that I would treat every single client who walks in my door like royalty and honestly it has worked out pretty well. People just wanna be treated right. They are spending their hard earned money to sit in your chair, that is a honor. Your hair technique is equally as important as your customer service.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I don’t really focus on my brand per se, I really focus on the client experience.

Listen. Listen. Listen.

I’m invested in my clients life, I wanna know if you and hubby have decided to start trying for your first baby? Has your sister got that promotion that she’s been praying for? Have you finally fixed the fence and your dog stoped running away?

Once I got my technique to a certain place, I could kind of forget about that and focus on my clientele. That’s when I saw the biggest shift from it becoming a business and becoming an experience. We have all felt a shift in the economy right now. If people are taking their hard earned money and giving it to you, you had better earn it. Listen to them. Take care of their hair, but more importantly, take care of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://heiress-hair-care.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heiresssalonllc?igsh=MWhmMWY4cWFvY3I2Mw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr