We were lucky to catch up with Lindsey Condra recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsey, thanks for joining us tod

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ricka Graves. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ricka below.

Ricka, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today

Ownership. After a decade plus of consistent dedication and the ingenuity to make our business stand the test of time, we were forced to close our doors due to the sale plaza that we were located in. With just a simple stroke of the pen the property owners gave us 60 days to transition a 5000 square foot business elsewhere. That’s all. With the changes being made around the City of Atlanta many land owners in the area and around the perimeter cashing on the “gold rush” search for commercial property within the city limits that have seen unprecedented increases in value. As a real estate professional, I can not blame the market or the property owners, it is a wise choice to make a profit on your investment while it is available. However, as a small business owner that started out with barely enough capital to get the basic resources to open the business. That location was chosen because it was a low income, run down area and the overhead was lower than well established, high income per capita areas. Like most people of color, we do not have the financial education, outstanding credit history, not the inherited nest egg to prepare us for purchasing commercial property, even though it is our community’s dollars that drive the economy and our energy that brings interest to these overlooked places like the location we’re in that we built up from scratch. So I think today there are more programs available than 12 years ago for startups. With the internet, social media, and so many successful small business owners who give back, it would be much easier to come together and buy the land than it was before. This is very important and a step our people most often overlook out of the desperate need to make income as soon as possible. Therefore the purchase a small lot, or plaza to then opening the business in may intimidate us. It is time that we prioritize the real keys to generational wealth such as real estate ownership so that we are not faced with the future of our hopes and dreams being torn away.

Ricka, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, I am the Founder and CEO of the Strands Beauty & Barber Salon that was featured previously as a hidden gem in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. We opened in 2010 and grew to become a pillar in the community. Over the 12 years of being in the one location, I employed well 100 plus operators that I considered to be small business owners. That is one of the things that set us apart. Our focus has always been on family business and by family we mean humanity. So our doors remained open for anyone looking for a place to call home and many did just that. I was able to encourage many stylist to brand their own products, start online businesses as second streams of income, formally start their own business with State, create website, and just believe in themselves. Some of these people had struggles and stories as we all do and it is apart of our motto to let them know that they are not in it alone. Some branched out to opened their own establishments and others, like my daughter , Esthetician and Owner of Lashed by Ki who took her act on the road as a traveling instructor. Later I offered specials to Traveling stylists and surprisingly, Strands Salon Atl became a household name in other parts of the country for people aspiring to be apart of the Atlanta Entrepreneurial lifestyle.
We are still promoting the brand and sharing our enthusiasm, just in a better way. These unexpected changes became a blessing in disguise as we have been fortunate enough to partner with Dr.James, Land and Business Owner of the Illustrious Ideal Salon Suites, also located in Southwest Atlanta. Now we are able to bring our expertise and clientele to another Atlanta community that is near and dear to out hearts, Campbellton Rd. Raised just a few blocks away, It will be a pleasure to participate in growing this business mall that strictly dedicated to small business and especially the beauty industry into a conglomerate that will bring life back to that area’s economy. Let’s hope that it will become as well renown as the Strands Beauty and Barber Salon location also grew to be!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

It’s ironic that we’re speaking the topic of resiliency as it has been one of the words that stuck with me throughout my life. A former employee called me resilient one day when she discovered that I had been working a physically demanding full time job with her, while running the business weekends, maintaining my household with my four children, and handling the stressor of having a spouse that was at the time incarcerated. On top of that I had the audacity to try and convince her to give more hours. She said “I know one thing, you are Resilient. No one would ever look at you and think that was going on.” It made realize that I was stronger than I gave myself credit. Strands Beauty and Barber Salon was created to be a family run business for that ex and me to operate as a team. However, it never came to full fruition that way. There were always rumors swirling around us whenever he would come back from his “vacations” The shame and embarrassment of knowing that Stylists and fellow business owners had more respect for me and the brand than my own “other half” took a toll.
For a moment, I remember that the allegations were so tumultuous that II couldn’t stand to step in the place for almost a year. It put me in a compromising position and I realized that I had to stand for the integrity of my establishment or risk the tarnishing making a permanent stain.
One week, I held meetings, the seniors were complying about the new crowd and the married staff were uncomfortable with the way things were going. I was so disappointed and tired that I held an emergency meeting and released so many people that half of my income was gone. It was a tough and risky choice that was necessary for the sake of the reputation we held as a one stop shop for the family. Needless to say, we, as in Strands Beauty and Barber Salon survived.

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

A significant idea that I had to unlearn is the notion of being a ride or die is synonymous with the meaning of true love. Strands Beauty and Barber Salon was created to be a family run business for that ex and me to operate as a team. However, it never came to full fruition that way. There were always rumors swirling around us whenever he would come back from his “stay-cations” One day, I held meetings and my Senior Stylists were concerned about the new crowd and the married staff were uncomfortable with the way things were going. The shame and embarrassment in knowing that Stylists and fellow business owners had more respect for the brand and for me than my own “other half” took a toll.
For a moment, I remember the allegations were so tumultuous that I couldn’t stand to step in the place. It put me in a compromising position and I realized that I had to take a stand or else the tarnished image would leave a permanent stain on the business that we all had worked so tediously to form.
The result was that I decided it best release anyone , everyone that put the brand at risk. So many people were let go that half of my income was gone. It was a tough, risky choice that was necessary for the sake of the “One-stop shop for the entire Family that we proclaimed to be.
Needless to say, we, as in Strands Beauty and Barber Salon not survived, we soared to heights I never imagined. Opportunities flowed in and I felt relieved in the end.
The lesson that I unlearned is that Love, like Family are more than just a title and repeat history. The meaning of them are in those who value your well being, there is a mutual respect, support, and unconditional love shared that even money can not buy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.strandssalonatl.com
• Instagram: Strandssalonatl
• Other: Partnership location: Ideal Salon Studio Suites 2797 Campbellton Rd SW Suite C, Atlanta, GA 30311 www.idealstudiosalonsuites.com

Image Credits
Ideal Salon Studio Suites

ay. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

I have three college degrees and for a long time had the intention of going into medicine…not dog training. Dog training and a career with dogs was always plan B but I was too scared to try and figure out how to make it work. If I could go back a decade and talk to younger me, I would have completely bypassed college and done strictly internships after high school to gain knowledge for dog training faster and to get started with this career that I love sooner.

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

I was initially a pre-medical student applying to medical school and got really sick. I’ve always had two great loves: medicine and dog training. I do have a service dog that I’ve trained myself, but work mostly with dogs to do obedience and fix behaviors that aren’t desirable. I had been training dogs for people, more has a hobby for years, and the harder I pushed to go into medicine even while I was sick, the more phone calls I got from people to help with training their dogs. I finally had a client who was in business help me come up with a business plan and rates and the rest is history!

I honestly can say I love my job and working with dogs. There are days that can be hard, but I genuinely love the dogs and their owners. When people send me their dogs for board and trains, I found a way to have them in my home, not in a big commercial building. I feel like the dogs have more success when they learn and live in a house instead of being in a commercial kennel environment. Some of my favorite dogs that I’ve had the privilege to work with were reactive to other dogs and people. Seeing their progress is so rewarding.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is probably the hardest part of my job. I don’t have a huge following, but I have some really amazing followers. I know a lot of businesses are looking for masses of followers, I much prefer more intimate interactions with people. A lesson I’ve had to learn with social media is to post once a day in stories for instagram. I have not worked on building my TikTok account much at all and I’m inconsistent there…Instagram and Facebook are how most of my clients find me. The biggest lesson for social media is to be genuine to who you are and what you do. The right audience will find you.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I was born into a family of people who enjoy entrepreneurship and working for themselves: a family of stubborn people. My dad, mom, grandfather, and great grandfather all were self employed.

So when it came to starting my business, I had a lot of support but there was also a factor of needing to do it myself. I worked 2 jobs while I built this business. Having been involved in canine sports for years prior, I didn’t need a lot of infrastructure, but there were still several thousands of dollars in startup costs. After I had consistent clients and success stories, I quit both jobs because I could not manage the super long days and the business needed my full attention.

Contact Info:

• Website: stillwaterranchtraining.com
• Instagram: @stillwaterranchtraining
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stillwaterranchtraining/

Image Credits
none