We recently connected with Louanne Ferro and have shared our conversation below.

Louanne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At LaunchPad. A Salon our mission has always remained Simple. Our mission statement is to not only make someone look good but feel good too. Our outer and inner appearance are closely linked and many studies over the years have talked about this. From medical professionals looking to see us brushing our hair or applying makeup in the hospital to therapist reminding us the power in getting up and getting dressed for the day to help create productivity, the two are interlocked. We understand that individuality is invaluable and what makes someone feel good and look good is a completely customizable experience. Weather your confidence beams though a green mullet or a blonde bob, we don’t want to box anyone in! We’re here to celebrate your authentic 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’ve always known that I wanted to be a hair stylist. When I was a toddler, I used to make my mom sit on the floor while I’d stand on the sofa and play with her hair. By my teen years I was cutting, styling, and coloring my friends and family hair. It was a no brainer for me to go to cosmetology school. However, I was also a nationally ranked gymnast and had college scholarships. Everyone wanted me to go to college first and I’d reply “but I want to go to hair school”. I’d explain and justify how I was going to be the world best hair stylist! Two days after high school I was accepted, through a cancelation, into a hair apprenticeship program and never looked back. When acessing the past 20 years of my career I’ve worn multiple hats for this industry I love so dearly. I think people assume that when you go to cosmetology school that you only work in a salon and service clients. While that is absolutely true for many, there are many other business avenues for a cosmetologist. For myself, the majority of my career has actually been 3 different jobs.

They are:
-Working for haircare manufactures.
-Being a Salon owner.
-Being a stylist behind the chair.

I believe explaining each area of my work will help not only stylists understand what else is possible but also help readers understand our industry better and my personal business story.

Working for a Haircare Manufacture: 17 years ago I landed my first job with the Haircare company TIGI, also known as Toni and Guy. I first started out teaching lower level education for them but as the years went on I grew in the company. I worked my way up into a higher position where I was not only teaching and training other educators who came to the brand for advanced education but also created course curriculum, educational videos, and ad campaigns. I wrote trend blurbs for magazines, and traveled to work for high level fashion shows designers and private celebrity clients. After working on both the Makeup side and Hair side for the company, I grew a love for learning more about hair color and the science behind it. I decided to sign up at my local community college, take chemistry, and applied what I learned to my craft. I started leveraging my relationships in the industry and seeking out chemist and product developers to learn from. As I started to learn more, I decided it was time to make a shift in my career and I approached a clean beauty brand out of Australia called EVO. They were getting ready to launch their hair color line here in North America and I joined forces with them to launch the brand across NA. Its been a great transition for my journey with a manufacture and a beautiful marriage for the concept and vision of my salon, LaunchPad.

Owning a Salon: In 2013 I opened up my small studio style salon in the heart of North Park with a dear friend of mine. It was a beautiful way to test the waters of salon ownership and go into a environment that was pre-built out for me. It allowed me to learn the back side of our business more in depth and truly become an entrepreneur. As we evolve over the years, l believe our businesses do to. Just this past July, LaunchPad. A Salon, relocated it’s Salon to the heart of Hillcrest. We are inside a beautiful artisans workshop called Axis. The spaced is filled with other small business owners who are curating their dreams and successfully perusing their passions. The space is used as a community flag ship and since it’s large enough to have event space, the building holds charity events, neighborhood board meetings, or any other event that someone has in mind. This space was specifically made to support the community in which supports it. LaunchPad has always had a giving heart. We has been paired with a local children’s cancer foundation since the day we opened our doors and LaunchPad is one of the few salons in San Diego that is Green Circle certified. At the salon we are able to Reuse and Recover up to 95% of materials from a customers visit. Stepping into such a vibrant and loving community just felt right. It was a perfect place for me to merge my three career paths and we are proud to be part of such a beautiful movement at Axis.

Being a stylist behind the chair: Every time I make a move in one area of my business, weather that’s on the product development side or educational side with a manufacture or relocating the salon, there’s one population I always keep at the forefront of my decisions and that population is my clientele. When I say I love my clients, it almost doesn’t feel enough. My clients have supported me day in and day out over the last 20 years of business. They’ve believed in my craft and out of the thousands on hairstylists in San Diego, the chose me! I will never take that for granted. Working behind the chair full time is a place that not only challenges me but allows me to share my knowledge and passion. Being behind the chair will always remain my constant. Getting to connect with people and not only make them look good but feel good will always remain my “why”. It’s WHY I wake up every day with a sense of joy and gratitude to go to work. It’s all because of them and what they bring to my daily life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want everyone to be their most confident and authentic selfs. Weather that’s a stylist whom I’m teaching and they are learning a new technique or a client who’s figuring out who they are and how their image will help represent them, my goal will always be to support you.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think this is a combination of things but the main things that have helped me over the years is:
-showing up, remaining on time, and writing down notes after each appointment with a client so I know their color history and how I cut there hair. I believe sometimes we forget just how important those simple actions are to retaining a long term clientele but I do believe it’s something customers truly value.
– My knowledgeable. I have said this over and over but the day I decide to stop learning is the day I need to quit my industry. We are a industry that is always evolving. Not only within our craft behind the chair but also our businesses. Always be a student. Always keep learning. It will allow you you confidently pivot as our industry pivots
-Allow clients to be themselves and truly accept them for who they are. Beauty and self expression is is vital to our overall heath and being flexible in anything from no product/air dried styles to shaved heads with artistic colors allows you to service a variety of people and keep your job interesting daily.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LouanneFerro.com
• Instagram: @LaunchPadSalon