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

Michelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Even though the beauty industry is centered around customer service, it amazes me that when it comes to standing behind the chair many stylists don’t become relational with their guests. It has become about making money. Don’t get me wrong, making money is AWESOME, but if the guests don’t feel like you can relate to them and meet their needs, you will not keep them very long. I make the difference by gettin to know each and every one of my guests, therefore, I can meet their needs in haircare and when they leave they have a lot more self-confidence in their strut! It has also granted me the privilege of retaining most of my clientele for over 25 years! It limits having a revolving door and creates a comfortable feeling of belonging. Serene By Nature feels like home.

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 Michelle Johnson, I am a wife, mother, business owner, minister of preached word and song, and I bake!! I am the proud owner of Naturally You,LLC (dba Serene by Nature Natural Haircare Salon).

At the age of 6 my mom’s close friend taught me how to do my first braid. I practiced on that doll diligently, mainly because I hated the way my mom did my hair (ugh!). Sorry mom (lol)! By the age of 9 I went into the bathroom and I did it, I cornrowed my entire head. I proudly walked up to my mom and said “mom, you don’t have to do my hair anymore, I did this myself”. She looked at me and said, “Good! Now you can do your sisters hair too!” Well that plan didn’t work out well, I just wanted to do my hair, not my 3 sisters!!

I found out that I had a skill, which brought me through a journey of stylists and salon owners, going to houses and braiding hair, sometimes for pennies, until I recognized my value! I attended the hair school (Capri Institute), and finished in 11 months. Throughout my practice of hair, I realized that I LOVED natural hair: I loved its texture, I loved watching it grow, and most importantly I loved they way natural hair moved when healthy. It took me awhile to get a conviction to stand on when I recognized my passion. I had to embrace the fact that I would be different, but once I accepted it I flourished.

My first salon opened in 2007, It wasn’t a complete nightmare, but needless to say, I closed 3 years later, because I didn’t understand the business side of hair. Doing hair was one thing, maintaining a team of stylists and paying rent, etc… was another. It did teach me a lot, but it also caused me to fear opening a salon again. A very dear friend of mine gave me an opportunity to do that 13 years later. I am forever grateful to him, because if he didn’t push me I wouldn’t have done it.

At Serene, we provide a very comfortable atmosphere. I was listening to a guest describe her feelings while getting her hair styled and I was truly amazed. We are very skilled at hair, but we create an atmosphere of comfort, transparency, and serenity. My guests tell me all of the time when they come in they feel relaxed, No drama, no gossip, gospel music that hits the soul, and getting their hair correct. They even explained to me that they never met someone that actually cares about their hair.

We don’t offer fluff, we are honest about your hair journey, I always tell new guests, give me 6 months and I promise you will see a difference. We are big on saving hair, if a style is going to damage the guests hair, we are not afraid to say, no, wait, or maybe in a year. We don’t solve everyone’s problem, but the majority of people that come AND follow the instructions and advice given to them it’s a 100 percent turnaround. That’s IT! That’s the difference we make. With over 25 years of experience, I must say I have seen more smiles then frowns and to me that makes the difference.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This is a loaded question! I had to unlearn not recognizing I was worth it! While learning I was worth it, I had to charge my worth.

Here’s the backstory: because I developed this philosophy of making the salon a comfortable atmosphere, while doing that, it was hard to charge “family” the full price. For a long time I wouldn’t. I charged much lower than the style was worth, and of course I suffered because of it. I had to decide that in order for me to make it in business, it wasn’t personal, my prices were because I was worth it. I work hard, I study my craft, I am always in a class and most importantly, I didn’t just get here, I have experience upon experience and ALWAYS evolving.

When I finally decided I was worth it, I found out who didn’t think I was, that hurt a little, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Know my value and worth, even if people don’t. At the end of the day I need to know what I can do, and what I am capable of, people only treat you how you allow them to.

When being in business, owners must know their value, it really is the only way to get respect in this industry.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I am going to get a lot of slack from this but when I was in school they taught us word of mouth was the best strategy, and oh boy were they right!

In a world where social media is an awesome tool, nothing is better than doing Susie and her entire family!! I have a saying if 1 person is pleased, they will tell 10 people, if the ten people are pleased they tell their 10 and now you have 100 people! It has worked for me so far!

When you are in this type of industry, it needs to be understood that its ok to have only 5 guests in the beginning, I’d rather have 5 consistent guests than 100 inconsistent guests. Let me explain: I tell any stylist that I train to focus on 1 person at at time, slow and steady is still growth, social media gets you followers, but in a world where there is a hair salon on every corner, you have to show not only your skill, but your customer service: you have to be relatable, and most importantly you have to care. That is the difference, guests want to know that you care about what they care about.

With that being said, knowing your worth and showing guests that you care, word of mouth is endless, and not only will you have a consistent guest, they will bring other consistent guests, before you know it, you have to give some guests to the next stylists! We live in.a fast-paced society, but stay steady and you will grow!

Contact Info: 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Naturallyyou35
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serene_by_nature/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
• Others: https://www.instagram.com/naturallyyouloc/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D , https://www.instagram.com/michellesworship/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Image Credits
@sworncreativesolutions