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

Michelle, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Ya know, I do. But I also know what its like to have a “regular job”. Generally when I start contemplating my choice to be a business owner its because I’m in a rough patch like, business is slow, I have to make some hard choices, the uncertainty of the future and economy, the service I provided wasn’t exactly what I or the client wanted, or just a bad day all in all. Then I go full doom and gloom and question everything. I go down this rabbit hole of, because of the choice I made to have my own salon I have now ruined my families life because they supported me through long hours and always working even when I’m “off” because a business owner is never “off”, overhead, the waisted donated free labor from my husband and friends, the money my mom waisted investing in my education, overhead, how do I build this business and maintain home life work balance and boundaries, overhead, managing social media, will I make a paycheck this month, and did I mention overhead?! My 9 year old son knows what overhead is now, I talk about it that much. Since 99′ going through cosmetology and after I always had a regular job and ran my own business. But my business was never my main focus even though I wanted it to be. Survival was. My dream was to have my own salon and be a staple part of the community. You know like a Hallmark Christmas movie! But I was a struggling single mother, I needed the regular paycheck and the insurance for my child and my sanity. So I shoved my dream down and worked on it from time to time. Every now and again I would get excited and think it just might be possible, but ol’ reality put me back in place. So I maintained my regular 40 hour a week, and did hair on the weekends and nights. I was also very young and making choices about my life to make everyone else happy, and what I thought they wanted for me. So insecure about who I was, how I looked, what people thought of me, and most of all disappointing my parents more than I already have. Constantly feeling like I had to dig out of the deficit I had already created by not living up to the life they wanted for me. Mind you they have never said anything like that to me this was all in my head. So with all of that I never fully invested and put a 100% into my business, so I really had no idea what I was doing when I started up all over gain back in late 2020.
Looking back, I wasn’t ready. I needed to experience more…life. I needed to grow up and really fine tune myself and what I really wanted and needed. Reflecting back on all my regular jobs, I hated them all! I hated the hours, the stress and politics, the *ss kissing, and just the monotony of it all. I would have full anxiety attacks before I left the house, all the way there. I didn’t even now I was having them till my therapist at the time told me. I thought I was just being dramatic. Yes, I had to go to therapy because I was so depressed and could not figure out why. I was depressed because I hated the life I had created for myself, silencing and suppressing my truth. I then realized I am not for the corporate world. It’s just not my kink. I told my husband, I will never work for corporate again. Well I did… again, as a stylist. Which I talk about in my last interview, but that’s how I got here.
As much stress and fear that comes with being a business owner, it is also the most exciting, rewarding and fun thing I have ever done. It’s like watching and nurturing a baby, from birth on. I have shed so many tears of pure joy over my salon than anything else. I can remember one time offhand crying over fear in the very beginning like, “what have I done?!”. But I have yet to regret my decision to start my own business. I love it! You will work harder for yourself then you will ever will for someone else. Am I happier as a business owner? Hell yeah I am! If you are reading this and contemplating starting out on your own, this is your sign to go get it, start!

Michelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I think I was about 4 or 5 when I knew I was interested in fashion and cosmo stuff. My parents met in the Navy and I think I was about 3 or 4 when we moved to Tacoma, WA. Both worked and our neighbors were retired and the biggest blessings to our lives. He was a Filipino retired Army Vet, she was Norwegian and retried from Boeing. Well I practically lived with them. I was there every day and every night (that my parents would let me). I call them my grandparents, since I really didn’t have a relationship with my own. Both of my parents were adopted from Korea as young kids and moved away from home once they joined the military. My grandmother was this beautiful blonde, and she was in to all things pretty and ladylike. She taught me how to set and roll her hair and give he hair treatments. Let me do her nails and play salon with her. She also gave me full access to her closet and let me play with her shoes and clothes. My grandfather used to pay me in pennies to brush his hair… it was more like his scalp. He had no hair, he just liked the way it felt and it kept me busy. My mom has always been a no fuss kind of woman, so makeup, hair and fashion knowledge was not coming from her. My mom still as the same blow dryer from the 80’s! I roast her to this day about it, and yes it still works! So from very early on I have been into fashion, and all things cosmetology. Although growing up I wanted to be a veterinarian, until I shadowed at a vet’s office in high school and realized that I didn’t want to be a veterinarian, I just wanted to play and love on all the animals. Then I decided I wanted to explore the fashion world, in secret. I was so insecure I didn’t want to get made fun of for of my interest because I was a big girl. But I did end up getting a scholarship (in secret) to a fashion school and thats when I decided I was going to go to cosmetology get my license then move back to California and go to work in a salon while going to fashion school and life a fabulous life. The universe had a different plan for me, while I was in cosmo school I got pregnant. So I finished school, never went back to California for school I stayed in Washington and worked multiple jobs and did hair. No, I don’t regret it at all. I hyper focused on hair and makeup, even though I worked regular jobs I continued my education any time I could and went to all the shows. Met so many inspiring people and that kept me driving forward and really solidifying my love for the cosmo world. To this day my passion for this industry is strong if not stronger. I thrive on education and sharing that with my peers and my clients. The beauty world has evolved so much in my 24 years in the industry there is no shortage of education, or any way to get bored. It keeps me passionate and striving to find new ways to do what I do. To find new ways to provide my clients with the best products and services that will fit into their lifestyles.
My salon The Beauty Bar is an intimate suite inside Rogers Premier Luxury Salon Suites in Flower Mound, Texas. I don’t say “intimate” because it’s small, because it is, I say “intimate” because intimacy is important to me. I want to make sure that my clients know how important they are to me. How much I care about them, their family and their hair. I pride myself on providing my clients an environment to get comfortable, take a deep breath, speak freely, get emotional, work and take calls, and just off load. That is not always possible in a larger shared setting. I also offer spa hair services that are done in a dark low lit space that is specifically targeted towards relaxation. I use high end products, that are also earth conscious and gentle on the body. My sole product line is Lanza, but I do work with other product lines as I learn more about them and their mission. My clients are very hard working, extremely busy out conquering the world, so when they sit in my chair, it’s my turn to take care of them. That is one of the things I am most proud of, ask anyone of my clients, they know without a doubt how much I care about each and everyone of them and this industry.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is kind of a two parter. One is honesty. I am brutally honest when it comes to my clients and potential clients. I absolutely REFUSE to sell you a bull shit line just to get you in my chair. Like I was explaining before my clients are not just numbers to me, I care. If you sit down with me and asking me questions about your hair, products, your inspiration picture, or this person you are trying to date… I’m going to tell you the truth. A lot of times it’s a “yes, let’s do this”, more times than not its “It can be done, but not right now, let’s go on a hair journey!”, or “absolutely not! They are not worthy of your time, you can tell them your hairstylist said NO!” Two is referral. I know, that one is rough, it’s not what a new growing business wants to hear. But it is so true. My clientele is 90% referral. Which really is the biggest compliment to your product, you! I whole hearted believe that if I was not brutally honest with my clients, they wouldn’t trust me to have their back. They wouldn’t be able to sit down in my chair and say “just do what ever, I trust you, I don’t want to make another decision today”. Which gives me such joy, and by the way, that’s the best way to a hairstylist heart! Not the coffee, “do whatever” ugh melts me! Now that my clients trust and believe in me, they will send their friends and family or people that have stopped them and asked where they got their hair done. Even on social media they will tag me in groups. Your clients are now also invested in your growth as a business and what to see you be successful too.
I used to stress out about my growth and want to grow faster and make more money, but I watched my peers around me and watching their burnout and it reminded me of my burn out. So even though I am not banking a fraction of what they are right now, I look back and see where I started and that gives me joy. I’ve really enjoy watching the steady growth. It has helped me fine tune and upgrade as I go. Also allowing myself learn how to create healthy boundaries and manage that work life balance that took me down a few years ago.

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

My resilience…ha! Ya know, people have been betting against me and wanting me to fail my whole life. Why? I don’t know, honestly. It’s something I have always wondered myself. I am mature enough to know I am not for everyone, and thats ok. I’m not supposed to be, no one is for everyone ya know. Thinking about it over the years and I think it’s because I don’t fit in the box, none of the boxes and I refuse to fit in the box. I have beat myself down for 20 years trying to fit in someones box and I hated myself for it. Once I broke free I have been happier and more successful for it. Because when you are not in the box, there are no limits. I have tried and failed so many times, especially when it came to having my own business. This is my third run at it, and it’s been the most successful in the shortest amount of time. I needed to fail the first two times. This time I took my time, I went slow and small. I can grow, I can get bigger, but when I am ready. I had just come from working 6 to 7 days a week 10 to 14 hours at a time, had a full mental and physical break down, I was not about to throw myself into the same thing. That’s just insane. I learned from my lesson. Everything this time is in my control Even though its small, it’s still scary, because it’s all me. My space is me and its crazy to think about how intimate and vulnerable that really is. My point is, as a first generation Korean American woman, the odds are stacked against all of us, some more than others. But we need to learn and take from those odds, and failures and push on. Pick up and keep going. Try something new because there really isn’t anything to lose, it’s all gains. You gain from failed attempts and you gain from successes. Stay resilient, it’s inspiring, and you will look back and be happy you did.

Contact Info:

• Website: google.com/thebeautybar2019
• Instagram: @thebeautybar2019
• Facebook: facebook.com/thebeautybar2019
• Youtube: youtube.com/thebeautybar2019

Image Credits
All photos by Michelle Bierman