We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Guslene Bubak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Guslene thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The passion for the Salon Suite was born several years ago. One of the many reasons I created The Salon Suite was to provide a one-on-one experience for my clients and other service industry individuals. As a cosmetologist/ hair loss practitioner,I work with clients suffering from scalp problems and hair loss and as we all know, hair loss and scalp problems can be difficult. So I want to cater and be sensitive to all the clients who walk through my doors. I want them to leave with the best experience and feeling empowered.

In addition, the Salon Suites concept allows entrepreneurs and other creatives to have their own private space through our rental spaces. With COVID, The salon suite could not be more timely. With the private suite and the cleaning protocols, the salon suite meets the needs of the ever-so-changing community. We are aiming to stay ahead of the curve.

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?

My name is Guslene Bubak, and I have over 15 years of experience as a hairstylist. I am the founder of the non-for-profit Terre Rouge Project and the owner of The Salon Suite in Brooklyn, New York. In 2019, after more than 10 years of corporate experience, my life completely changed. I left my job as an assistant director and started to pursue my career as a full-time cosmetologist, trichologist, and hair loss practitioner. I’m most known in the community for excellent work, above-and-beyond customer service, and scalp care solutions.

The Salon Suite is a unique concept that offers individual salon suites to beauty professionals who aspire to be a solopreneur. It is designed to provide a space for professionals in the beauty industry with all the benefits of a luxury salon at affordable rates. The Salon Suite is available for all beauty professionals – makeup artists, eyelash techs, wax professionals, estheticians, hair stylists, and more – who need a place to practice their artistry.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Regardless of any job that I’ve had, I always did hair on the side. I got the entrepreneurial bug my second semester in grad school. Not long after I started, I had a particularly bad experience with the director of my former employer. The experience made me realize that I was being disrespected and that there was no real opportunity for advancement, so I quit. Soon after, I stumbled upon an opportunity to work at a nearby salon. After working there for 8 months, I realized that the work environment was hostile, and I couldn’t be there any longer. I took a leap of faith and rented a room in the rear of a barbershop in pursuit of starting my own business. It was a rough start as I didn’t know my niche and had to build up a network of clientele. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to make enough money to sustain myself. Here I am, 3 years later, and I’m in a 1,200-square-foot space with 5 private salon suites. I am beyond proud of myself and this accomplishment.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Growing up in a Caribbean family, we were told that our career choices only included becoming a nurse, doctor, or engineer. Hairstyling was never a career that was encouraged in the Caribbean household. Throughout my journey, naysayers would tell me that I would never make it doing hair and that I should go back to the corporate world. I stayed the course, trusted the process, and today I’m the owner of The Salon Suite.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesalonsuiteny.com/
• Instagram: TheSalonSuite.ny
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guslene-bubak-025701122/

Image Credits
Gusléne Bubak