We recently connected with Ginette Nean and have shared our conversation below.

Ginette, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

8 years ago I had the dream of owning the building of my own shop, soon after that the owner of the building we were currently renting decided to sell the building and we had about 4 weeks to find another location. so with a lot of stress, I started driving around Conyers to find a new location. while on i-20 driving down, I saw a sign on the access road for lease. it was an old building that required a lot of work. I told myself this is a sign for me to own the space. so I met with the owner of the building and I ask him if he was open to do a lease to purchase. Of course, he agreed. meanwhile, the new owner of our current location gave us some money to leave. so we use the money to renovate the building . the unexpected happen. it took us 6 month and all of my savings. a lot of headache and signing a not so good lease . story short after two years of being at the place. the owner decided to triple the rent and told me a ridiculous price if I wanted to buy and I only had 3 weeks to make a decision. back at it again. I had to look for a place and move in two weeks. luckily I found a place on parker road. when I sign the lease I told her we are only going to be here for a year and I’m going to buy a building .long story short djea salon was there for 6 years. during that time I was still sharing with my team this will be temporary and we are going to find a place to own. through the help of Okeeba Jubalo, my than operation manager, I was introduce to a banker who helped me get my finance in order so I can get a loan to purchase a building . it took consistent meeting with her and consistent saving in order to be able to qualify for a loan for the bank. than covid happened . it was a blessing in disguise. because of the years of preparation and saving. I was able to finally get a loan to purchase the building I have dream of. may 24 2021 djea finally purchase the building. while excited. I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen. I purchase a building in a historical district. was not anticipating the amount of work needed for the place ..was scam by contractors who took a lot of money from me. I was in a tremendous amount of stress. we had to move from the rental place because the new owner of parker road would not let us do month to month until our new place was renovated. I went from 7 staff to 2 staffs. thankfully all this is almost over. We are going to open by July 2022 at our permanent location

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started djea natural hair spa in January 2010. I’m originally from ivory coast, west Africa. I wanted a place where clients can come and relax and be able to try a different style with their natural hair while learning how to maintain their hair. our focus is a holistic approach to hair. We believe it is more than just getting a style we focus on doing an ongoing consultation so we can better understand the need of our clients. we believe in using natural ingredients and work with suppliers that believe in a more sustainable and holistic approach on hair. we focus on educating our team and clients on hair

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

What I had to unlearn is that not everyone think the way I do. my mantra is do as you want others done unto you . I learned very quick through the many challenges I had that some people goals is to take advantage of a situation if you allow them to. Not everyone share the same values I have. I’m learning to take my time to get to know people first and move with cautions. do my research and protect my peace

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Renovating an old building taught me a lot. I had to learn to be patient, be humble, ask for advice, readjust when needed and not be attached to the outcome. Let go really quick and cry when needed but don’t stay depressed. While renovating my new salon building, it felt like the whole world was caving on me. My older son and daughter were going through their own challenges, which had me doubt myself. I felt like trying to achieve a professional growth had impacted my kids. I felt shame and frustration. I seek out some personal help which helped me have a sound mind.

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