We recently connected with Isabella Mariani and have shared our conversation below.

Isabella, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.

In 2020, my mom, sister, and I opened Salon Mariani. We definitely had hesitations opening a small family business, but it was the best decision ever. There’s been a learning curve for sure, but we are three years in and I think we have it down pretty good! Because we are family, we’re not afraid to tell each other how we actually feel or what we want to change, which is definitely a pro and con! We also know each other better than anyone and that helps us work as individuals without getting in each others way, but we also aren’t afraid to ask for help. It’s easy to take work home as a family and discuss what we can do better or differently, but we have learned to keep work at work and only discuss the necessities outside of the salon. I absolutely love working with my mom and sister and I would be so honored if I had children in the future who wanted to work with me!

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 grew up in a family of hairstylists and have loved everything about hair since I was a little girl. I quickly learned to french braid on my American Girl Dolls and became the teammate braiding everyone’s hair before volleyball games!

My grandparents met in cosmetology school and opened their own salon in Minneapolis in 1965. After 41 years they decided to close in 2006, when my grandma was ready to step back a bit and rent a chair at another salon. My mom went to cosmetology school after high school and continued on to manage several salons and become an educator. I followed in her footsteps and graduated from the Aveda Institute in 2018, and worked in a salon for a few years before opening Salon Mariani in White Bear Lake with my mom. Soon after we opened my sister finished school and joined us. We are each self employed and run our own LLCs along with three other women who work with us.

I love everything about doing hair. My days mostly consist of creating custom colors for my clients whether it’s bright blonde, rich brunette, or a more natural and lived-in color. I absolutely love creating something new for every client and adding haircuts with a style and movement to match my client’s lifestyle and hair texture. I am also certified in sew-in hair extensions and love to give my clients a chance to have their dream hair by adding extensions the perfect volume and/or length. I also love to educate my clients on our product lines (Onesta, Olaplex, & Unite) and help them find a few products to recreate their salon style at home.

I am a big advocate for setting service prices at an amount that reflects my skills, but is also affordable for my clients. I want everyone to have their dream hair, and the service shouldn’t cost so much that you can only afford to get your hair done once a year.

I am always continuing my education not only to provide the best possible service for my clients, but also because I love what I get to do for a living!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has become the most popular way to advertise and get new clients in the beauty industry. I started my Instagram account the day I started cosmetology school and it grew from there. I probably had a handful of followers to begin with, but really focused on taking high quality photos with natural lighting that show off my skills. The actual photos are extremely important, but getting people to see the posts is even more important. When we first opened Salon Mariani I was constantly running ads through Instagram and Facebook. I took a few different social media classes by other stylists and that helped me really dial in on what was most important when posting. I came up with a list of about 20 hashtags that had to do with my profession, the services, and mostly the location of our salon. And I always tag the city we are located in or surrounding cities! I absolutely love when my clients share my posts, but when I was just starting out I also offered a discount on their next service if they shared my post on their page or story. My best advice when working with social media is to just be yourself, never give up, and try your best to keep up with the trends!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

For the most part I keep in touch with my clients via social media, but I do also give my clients my phone number so they can send me a text if they ever need anything! I follow back each of my clients on Instagram and I love staying up to date on their lives! I love being able to like and comment on their pictures, tell them happy birthday, or even just see how they’re styling their hair for every day life! It also always gives me a conversation starter for their next appointment when I can ask about school, recent travels, etc!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salonmariani.com
• Instagram: @isabella_salonmariani
• Facebook: Isabella at Salon Mariani

Image Credits
@amylynnwagner_photo